I don't get to read much over the summer, but I just got through a fascinating book written by a husband and wife, an organic farmer and a plant geneticist who does biotech research.
She makes a compelling case for the environmental benefits of genetically engineered foods, judiciously cultivated. These crops do, in fact, have the potential to reduce pesticide use and increase agricultural productivity, especially in developing nations where food security is an particularly urgent issue. I found it much easier to hear these arguments from a university researcher who eats a vegetarian diet of mostly organic foods and works with international nonprofit organizations than from marketing materials produced by secretive, sinister multinational corporations.
The book starts off with alternating chapters by the two authors on organic farming and bio-engineering, but most of the subsequent chapters are written by Pamela, the researcher. I couldn't help feeling that Ronald's chapters were mostly there to give her arguments credibility with the sustainable food community. Still, on some level this strategy worked, and I was more willing to accept her point of view because she clearly had a solid grasp of the tenets of organic agriculture.
And yet I wished that she wasn't quite so dismissive of the arguments of anti-GMO activists. Even though there are clearly some potential benefits to cultivating genetically engineered food, much of the research and patenting has been done by companies interested more in financial gain than in the common good. Given the fact that these foods have been introduced to the food supply in sneaky, secretive ways, it's understandable that folks distrust them. This suspicion isn't just an irrational fear of the unknown, it's a reasonable reaction to a powerful new technology in the hands of the folks who brought us toxic pesticides, high fructose corn syrup, artificial trans fats, chemical preservatives...
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