Lords of the Harvest: Biotech, Big Money, and the Future of Food

by Daniel Charles

Book Overview

Once confined to the research laboratory, the genetic engineering of plants is now a big business that is changing the face of modern agriculture. Giant corporations are creating designer crops with strange powers-from cholesterol-reducing soybeans to plants that act as miniature drug factories, churning out everything from vaccines to insulin. They promise great benefits: better health for consumers, more productive agriculture-even an end to world...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 073820773X
• ISBN13: 9780738207735
• Release Date: December 2002
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

EXCELLENT Survey of Plant Biotech

Daniel Charles crafts an incredibly well-balanced and thoughtful account of plant biotechnology from inception to near-present. With evenhanded treatment of both sides of the debate, Charles weaves a fascinating and informative narrative.

great book, strange reviews

I thought a lot of the reviews listed here accusing the author of bias were very misleading. I feel that some of those reveiwers did not read the book, or missed vital pieces while considering thier claims. While certainly no account can claim to be perfect, this book is a fantastic reference for those interested in the subject on many levels. The author weaves a story that helps readers to sympathize with and understand both sides of the debate. Additionally, by bringing together many different resources his list of sources and references for each chapter can help the reader delve further into agriculture, bioengineering and eco-activism as they choose. I would strongly reccomend this book for anyone seeking an overview of the basic conflicts in the world world of bioengineering, agriculture or environmentalism.

A wonderful storyteller, a thoughtful book

In the epilogue of Lords of the Harvest, Daniel Charles talks about the power of stories to illuminate, and also to obscure. He talks about the mythologies that drive agribusiness and other competing mythologies that drive it's opponents. He can stand at a distance from both kinds of stories, and reflect on how well they are illuminating and obscuring. On the other hand, Daniel Charles is himself a great storyteller.I appreciated the way Daniel Charles helped me to think about both these kinds of stories, and what they have to do with food and science, religious faith and moral values in the 21st century. Mostly, Charles stays very close to the "everyday stories of ordinary people," end of the spectrum. How he managed to get so close to the lives of these people is something I wonder about! People on both sides of this issue obviously trust him a great deal, or he would never have been able to write this book.The "grand myths" he talks about in the epilogue, this was a very nice way to wrap it all up. Part of the difficulty of these issues is that there is no overarching spiritual/ ethical framework that can encompass this conversation. Just competing ideologies, and very little common ground. (Where common ground does exist, Charles is good at finding it.)It irritates me when scientists who write about agribusiness and genetic engineering castigate others who don't have their scientific credentials for being "sentimental" or ignorant. They do this in a way that intimidates ordinary people who do not have Ph.Ds, as if you have to have a particular diploma to discuss these issues. We need to fight this kind of arrogance and parochialism. Science may be an elite field, but food belongs to everyone. Daniel Charles makes the discussion accessible to everyday people who want to know what is happening to our food, and who are trying to understand why it is happening.

Bravo!

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a fair and reality-based account of the world of plant genetic engineering--that also happens to be an entertaining and well written page-turner. I have been studying, working, and ever wondering at the world of plant molecular biology and genetic discovery since the 1980's. Though I've remained a fairly secure civil servant, I could see from the people that passed through our labs and the general panic and depression in the field that somewhere... something other than the interest of healthy crops and feeding people was driving research and key decisions at high levels. Mr Charles gives a truly excellent educational and entertaining account of what was going on at the lab bench as well as the accounting department--from the consumers in Europe to activists in America. I appluade Mr. Charles for his accurate and unbiased account of exactly how Monsanto impacted the field--changing the research environment and general morale so negatively and irrevocably. His accounts of the complexities of the resistance movement and the swings of opinion and policy worldwide are clear and based in reality. I'm glad someone was willing to get the real story out there in a fair, honest and very well-informed manner. Thanks Mr. Charles!

A great read for those interested in the food they eat!

If you want to understand the world of biotech foods, this book has it all - science you can understand, amusing accounts of corporate hubris; and the voices of passionate people on both sides of the issue. This is a well-written, balanced account of an important topic. I'm an English lit major who married an NIH scientist. In the past five years I've read a number of books on biotech topics - partly to understand what my husband does, and partly to get a better grip on what I think are some of the most pressing issues of our time. This is one of the best. It is spectacularly unbiased. One reviewer I read called it the most balanced and even-handed book he's read on the topic. It is also a pleasure to read. The scientists seem like real people (gosh, maybe they are), as do the business executives, and the protesters opposed to "Frankenfoods." I tend to be on the liberal end of the spectrum myself, and believe there's much to be concerned about in agribusiness. But I think the good solid arguments are often lost in the clamor of people who haven't taken the time to understand an issue. Whether you already have an opinion, or, more importantly, if you've heard a lot of rhetoric and are looking to understand how and why biotech foods have come to be, this is a good place to start. In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I attend the same church as Dan. But I think this is an unbiased review, and would urge you to read (buy!) the book.