The sex must be good
GE_News
11-30-07
A Marriage of Genetic Engineering and Organic Farming
Tomorrow's Table: A Marriage of Genetic Engineering and Organic Farming (Hardcover)
by Pamela C. Ronald (Author), R. W. Adamchak (Author)
Description from the publisher:
By the year 2050, Earth's population will double. If we continue with current farming practices, vast amounts of wilderness will be lost, millions of birds and billions of insects will die, and the public will lose billions of dollars as a consequence of environmental degradation. Clearly, there must be a better way to meet the need for increased food production.
Written as part memoir, part instruction, and part contemplation, Tomorrow's Table argues that a judicious blend of two important strands of agriculture--genetic engineering and organic farming--is key to helping feed the world's growing population in an ecologically balanced manner. Pamela Ronald, a geneticist, and her husband, Raoul Adamchak, an organic farmer, take the reader inside their lives for roughly a year, allowing us to look over their shoulders so that we can see what geneticists and organic farmers actually do. The reader sees the problems that farmers face, trying to provide larger yields without resorting to expensive or environmentally hazardous chemicals, a problem that will loom larger and larger as the century progresses. They learn how organic farmers and geneticists address these problems.
This book is for consumers, farmers, and policy decision makers who want to make food choices and policy that will support ecologically responsible farming practices. It is also for anyone who wants accurate information about organic farming, genetic engineering, and their potential impacts on human health and the environment.
http://www.amazon.ca/Tomorrows-Table-Marriage-Genetic-Engineering/dp/019...
Book Description
In modern agricultural politics, organic farming and genetic engineering occupy opposite ends of the spectrum. In the Ronald-Adamchak household, the world is not so black and white. Ronald is a professor of plant pathology at the University of California, Davis. Adamchak manages the student-run organic farm on campus. Together, they're exploring the juncture where their methods can (and they argue, should) meet to ensure environmentally sustainable food production. Revealing common principles and "leveling the
playing field," this book roughly chronicles one year in the lives of the Ronald-Adamchack family. Through dialogue with friends and family, the authors thoughtfully explore the use of GE agriculture and the concerns
expressed by consumers. They discuss the contents of their own largely organic pantry, what they choose to feed their children, and how over the last ten years of their marriage, they have developed a specific criteria
for the use of GE in agriculture. From their personal vantage points, Ronald and Adamchack explain what geneticists and organic farmers actually do, and help readers distinguish between fact and fiction in the debate about crop genetic engineering. Loosely organized by season, each section of the book addresses a different issue related to the role of GE and organic farming in food production. Raoul provides a farmer's view of the philosophy and practice of organic farming and how it differs from conventional agriculture; Pam describes the tools and processes of genetic engineering, the potential ecological benefit of using GE technology to generate plants, and the associated risks. At the end of the book, they describe one of their
typical family dinners, explain their choice to bring both genetically engineered and organic food to their table, and share some of their family's best recipes.
About the Authors
Pamela C. Ronald is a Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of California, Davis. Her laboratory has genetically engineered rice for resistance to diseases and flooding. Her work has been published in Science, Nature, and other scientific periodicals and has also been featured in newspapers including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Le Monde. She is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Raoul Adamchak has grown organic crops for twenty years, part of the time as a partner in Full Belly Farm, a private 150-acre organic vegetable farm. He has inspected over one hundred organic farms as an inspector for California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) and served as a member and President of CCOF's Board of Directors. He now works at the UC, Davis Student Farm, where he teaches organic production practices and manages a five-acre market garden.