High Tech Harvest: Understanding Genetically Modified Food Plants

Description

A research biologist tells the clear-eyed story of modern plant genetics, the human manipulation of biotechnology, and the reality of genetically engineered plants worldwide. Genetically engineered plant products line the shelves of our grocery stores, but we don't know which ones they are because no label identifies them. Should we be concerned? It is true that biotech companies are saying that engineered corn and canola are safe, but are they telling the truth? In High Tech Harvest , Paul Lurquin answers these questions and more, believing that the public has a right to know and understand how its food is manipulated at the most basic level, that of the DNA itself. With the goal to inform, and a mission to reinforce the importance of the scientific method, Paul Lurquin writes a comprehensive and user-friendly description of the scientific origins, the development, and the applications of genetically modified plants throughout the world today. Lurquin argues that only with an understanding of the basic science can people make informed and reasonable decisions about genetically modified foods.

Dr. Paul Lurquin, Ph.D. is Professor of Genetics at the School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University. He is one of the pioneers of the science of plant genetic engineering and the author of The Green Phoenix: A History of Genetically Modified Plants (2001).

"An interesting and remarkably even-handed history of the development of GM technology."