Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food (Hardcover)

by Pamela C. Ronald (Author), R. W. Adamchak (Author)
Key Phrases: golden rice, tbsp chopped, tbsp olive, Tomorrow's Table, United States, Sang Min (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
With the world’s population projected to grow some 50 percent by midcentury, rigorous agricultural planning becomes indispensable to forestall the onset of ecological and human disaster. Ronald and Adamchak, a wife-husband team from the University of California at Davis, combine the training and insights of a geneticist and the know-how of a committed organic farmer. They examine the often-passionate debate about genetically engineered food and how it may affect the food supply of the future, meticulously dissecting arguments for and against such application of science. This wildly eccentric book juxtaposes deep scientific analysis of genetically engineered agriculture with recipes for such homey kitchen staples as cornbread and chocolate chip cookies. In a marvelously useful table, they outline a history of biological technology from 4000 BC through the dawn of the twenty-first century. A glossary of agricultural genetics and an extensive bibliography supplement the text. --Mark Knoblauch

Review

Referenced in Slate article
"The authors are eminently qualified to present authoritative descriptions of their respective disciplines, which they do in a readable and accurate manner. But the noteworthy aspect of the book is the way they then marry their separate fields to argue logically for the use of GM technologies to improve organic agriculture. Ronald and Adamchak's clear, rational approach is refreshing, and the balance they present is sorely needed in our increasingly polarized world." -- Science
"One of the best, most balanced accounts of transgenic agriculture that I have read."-- David McElroy, Nature Biotechnology
"We found the book insightful and well-documented." -- Organic Gardening Magazine
"This book is a tale of two marriages. The first is that of Raoul and Pam, the authors, and is a tale of the passions of an organic farmer and a plant genetic scientist. The second is the potential marriage of two technologies--organic agriculture and genetic engineering. ... Like all good marriages, both include shared values, lively tensions, and reinvigorating complementarities. [The authors] share a strong sense of both the wonder of the natural world and how, if treated with respect and carefully managed, it can remain a source of inspiration and provision of our daily needs."--Sir Gordon Conway KCMG FRS, Professor of International Development, Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College, London, and past President of the Rockefeller Foundation, from his foreword
"Here's a persuasive case that, far from contradictory, the merging of genetic engineering and organic farming offers our best shot at truly sustainable agriculture. I've seen no better introduction to the ground truth of genetically engineered crops and the promising directions this 'appropriate technology' is heading."--Stewart Brand, creator of the Whole Earth Catalog
"Whether you ultimately agree with it or not, Tomorrow's Table brings a fresh approach to the debate over transgenic crops."--Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma
"Welcome as water in the desert--at a time when partisans compete to see who can deliver the hardest slam against those who think differently, what a welcome surprise to find this book building bridges between unnecessary antagonists. The developers of crops improved through biotechnology and the practitioners of organic agriculture want the same thing-a way to grow food that helps farmers tread more gently on the land. Ronald and Adamchak explain how simpatico these two approaches are at heart. For a future that will bring unprecedented challenges we will need all the tools we can muster. Tomorrow's Table shows how organic and biotech can coexist and complement one another. Bravo, and bring on Volume II."--L. Val Giddings, President, PrometheusAB
"A unique, personal perspective on the ways in which genetically enhanced crops can improve wholesome agricultural productivity, helping to achieve the low chemical inputs that are the goal of organic agriculture and of those who care about our environment and health. Highly recommended."--Peter H. Raven, President, Missouri Botanical Garden
"This wildly eccentric book juxtaposes deep scientific analysis of genetically engineered agriculture with recipes for such homey kitchen staples as cornbread and chocolate chip cookies."--Booklist


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Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; illustrated edition edition (April 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195301757
• ISBN-13: 978-0195301755
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #272,363 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #21 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Crop Science
  #26 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Special Topics > Agricultural Engineering

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who would have guessed?, December 6, 2008

By	Anastasia Bodnar (Ames, IA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A partnership between organic farming and genetic engineering might sound impossible, but might be the best chance we have to feed our growing population while taking care of the planet.

Tomorrow's Table is not a technical text. It is a friendly discussion with a friend who invites you over for lunch. In their conversational tone, the authors make a strong case for integrating genetic engineering into organic farming, leaving behind many aspects of so-called conventional farming. Their points are backed up by much research, and references are provided the reader so he or she can learn more if they like.

I hope this book will help some people to take a second look at genetic engineering, but it made me take a second look at organic farming. I had become convinced that organic farming was pointless and only for rich hippies. The discussion of the benefits of organic methods was more than enough to jolt me back to reality.

In the interests of full disclosure, I'm a PhD student in genetics, and was generally in favor of genetic engineering before reading this book.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reason and humanity....Enough?, May 26, 2008

By	Steven D. Savage "The grape doctor" (Encinitas, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Pam and Raul's very well written book makes the rational and even emotional argument that biotechnology is fully compatible with the core ideals of the organic movement. I completely agree with that position looking back to my grandfather's version of "organic" from the 1960s.

I wish I could believe that Pam and Raul's logical arguments will fly with the core of the "organic consumer" movement. They make excellent rational arguments. I'm not sure this debate is about that. As Mark Twain said, "you can't reason someone out of a position they weren't reasoned into in the first place."

As much as I wish otherwise, I'm not optimistic that this book will succeed in its aim to reconcile "organic" and "biotech". Even so, it does a great job of explaining the societal benefits of biotech crops and it helps to humanize the people that have made this a reality.

This is a book that everyone focused on the environment should read.

Steven Savage, Ph.D.
[e-mail]

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Introduction To Biotech and A Unique View, July 20, 2008

By	J. Canestrino (Lodi, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I made it through the book in a day or two. It is not overly technical; it is an excellent introduction to biotech and organic farming. I did not really get into the book until the last chapter; I guess I kept wishing for more technical information, for the authors to drive home their point of view.

However, the point they are trying to make cannot be more important. That is that biotech has a place in organic farming to make it more "sustainable". RoundUp ready crops have made it possible for farmers to stop using much more damaging and toxic herbicides and to go to no-till farming to preserve topsoil. It is the only answer for some problems sometimes, such as virus resistance. It would allow conventional farmers of sweet corn to stop using a slew of really noxious insecticides.

Like Dr. Savage said in his review, I do not think that the organic farming movement is going to "hear" this message and see the wisdom in it, but if they could I think they would have to redefine the way they think of organic vs. sustainable.