Travels in the Genetically Modified Zone [Hardcover]

Mark L. Winston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 28, 2002

With genetically modified crops we have entered uncharted territory--where visions of the triumph of biotechnology in agriculture vie with dire views of medical and environmental disaster. For two years Mark L. Winston traveled this fraught territory at home and abroad, listening to farmers, industry spokespeople, regulators, and researchers, canvassing high-security laboratories, environmentalist enclaves, and cyberspace, making a thorough survey of the facts, opinions, and practices deployed by opponents and proponents of transgenic crops.

Through his sympathetic portrayal of the passions on all sides, Winston brings a clear, unbiased perspective to this bewildering landscape. Traveling with Winston, we see the excitement and curiosity that pervade laboratories developing genetically modified crops, as well as the panic and outrage among dedicated opponents of agricultural biotechnology; the desperation of conventional farmers as they look to science for solutions to the problems driving them from their farms, as well as the deeply held values of organic farmers who dread the incursion of genetically modified crops into their expanding enterprise. And, Winston shows us, these contrasting attitudes transcend national borders, with troubling counterparts and consequences in the developing world.

As he seeks a middle ground where concerns about genetic engineering can be rationally discussed and resolved, Winston gives us, at long last, a full and balanced view of the forces at play in the chaotic debate over agricultural biotechnology.

(20020817)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Winston (Nature Wars; biological sciences, Simon Fraser Univ., British Columbia) spent more than two years traveling around the United States, Canada, and Europe in an attempt to better understand the "politicized world of agricultural biotechnology." He visited scientists, government officials, corporations, environmentalists, farmers, and consumers and searched cyberspace for information and contacts. The result is a balanced report of the facts and myths about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), from seed production to consumption, and the strong feelings that emerge from all players in this debate. Winston describes the sense of excitement and scientific curiosity in the research community, the fears and anger of opponents, and the desperation of farmers who are caught in the middle trying to gain the public trust and save their farms. Winston is distressed by the rigidity of opposing viewpoints and the unwillingness of the parties to talk to each other in order to reach an acceptable middle ground. His effort to find that middle ground makes his book a worthwhile addition to all biotechnology and agriculture collections. Irwin Weintraub, Brooklyn Coll. Lib., New York
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Traveling where Winston has for this book can be dangerous because there are fanatical elements at its fringes. A researcher of bee biology and management at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, and a science writer to boot, Winston bases this broad-ranging book solidly on the literature but also on interviews with farmers, activists, industrial workers, and publicists. He first describes the development of hybrid corn, then delves into the use of genetic modifications to combat weeds and diseases. The facets of genetic modification he takes into account include research, industrial processes, growing modified crops, protecting nearby crops, the safety of consumers, and the profits of agribusiness. He is especially instructive on the use of patents, the control of seeds, and the technical-use agreements that companies force farmers to sign. The book isn't just reportorial, though, for Winston also fields practical ideas for solving the major problems involved in the rapidly growing field of genetically modified crops. Throughout, however, he maintains a moderate stance on his controversial subject. William Beatty
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press; 1st edition (June 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674008677
• ISBN-13: 978-0674008670
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #875,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A solid backgrounder, December 26, 2002

By 

Robert Adler "science writer & author" (Santa Rosa, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Travels in the Genetically Modified Zone (Hardcover)

If you are interested in learning what's behind the headlines concerning genetically modified crops and foods, this is a good choice. The author is a professor of biological sciences at British Columbia's Simon Fraser University, and clearly knows what he is writing about. He traces the history of GM crops and presents the controversies concerning them in a balanced way. That balance is both the book's strength and weakness. Winston gives the pro- and anti-GM arguments equal time, and describes them in an even-handed way. However, the absence of a strongly stated point of view made the book less interesting, at least to me. Actually, Winston does have a point of view, which he reveals towards the end of the book. He thinks that the issues swirling around GM agriculture and foods can and should be resovled with a lot less rhetoric and more reason. Given the depth of feelings on the side of people and groups opposed to GM agriculture and foods, and the amount of money at stake for companies developing and pushing them, the author's hope for reasonable solutions seems admirable, but perhaps naive. Still, if you want a factual, balanced account of the GM issue to date, this book would certainly be useful.

Robert Adler, author of Science Firsts: From The Creation of Science to the Science of Creation (Wiley, 2002).