An important contribution to an issue with enormous potential for
benefiting humanity. Stephen Pinker
The inside story of the fight for and against genetic modification in
food, from someone who's been on the front line of both sides of the
argument.
Mark Lynas was one of the original GM field wreckers. Back in the
1990s--working undercover with his colleagues in the environmental
movement--he would descend on trial sites of genetically modified crops
at night and hack them to pieces. Two decades later, most people around
the world--from New York to China--still think that GMO foods are bad
for their health or likely to damage the environment. But Mark has
changed his mind. This book explains why.
In 2013, in a world-famous recantation speech, Mark apologized for
having destroyed GM crops. He spent the subsequent years touring Africa
and Asia, and working with plant scientists who are using this
technology to help smallholder farmers in developing countries cope
better with pests, diseases and droughts.
This book lifts the lid on the anti-GMO craze and shows how science was
left by the wayside as a wave of public hysteria swept the world. Mark
takes us back to the origins of the technology and introduces the
scientific pioneers who invented it. He explains what led him to
question his earlier assumptions about GM food, and talks to both sides
of this fractious debate to see what still motivates worldwide
opposition today. In the process he asks--and answers--the killer
question: how did we all get it so wrong on GMOs?
