Lords of the harvest; biotech, big money, and the future of food. (Current Topics).

CHARLES, Daniel. Lords of the harvest; biotech, big money, and the future of food. Perseus. 348p. illus. notes. index. c2001. 0-7382-0773-X. $17.50.

SA

The story of how genetic engineering came to enter the arena of plant development, and how the matter is influencing food production, is expertly told by an author with a wide-ranging knowledge of the subject. The book is not a polemic--the author endeavored to find his way to truth among a cacophony of voices--but it has within it plenty of information that will be useful in consideration of the topic. Says the author, who describes himself as a storyteller, "I've tried in this book to liberate agricultural biotechnology from the seductive clutches of myth, to give it its own space in our mental world, carved exactly to fit." Charles's researches brought him to an understanding of the science of bioengineering, how it all got started and by whom, and how an intricate web of interrelated issues has entered a heated (often overheated) public debate. He reveals an excellent grasp of corporations' drive for profit, the ego involvement of the scientists who probe the natural world to achieve specific genetic goal s, farmers' need to control pests, and activists' inclination to sound an alarm when unfamiliar elements enter the food supply. His book is replete with an incredible chain of one-upmanship, hunches that led to breakthroughs, fights for monopolies, competition between companies, and clashing philosophies. He is aware of the ramifications of patenting genes and treating seeds as commodities. He has a global perspective and considers how interrelated the world's food supply has become. A surprising element is the extent to which genetic engineering has focused on resistance to commercial pesticides such as Roundup and Liberty (Basta in Europe).

Charles depicts the genetic engineers and the corporations who employ them as being insensitive to farming itself and sometimes alarmingly ignorant of its processes. This could also be said of Charles himself. Though he grew up on a farm, he tends to view the farmer as a shadowy figure with arcane skills. The science is a volatile enterprise in more ways than one, and it will be some time before we know if it has given rise to Frankenfoods or a new age of bounty. The book is very well written and expertly organized; it has good flow, and the author makes good use of anecdotes. It will inform the debate for the many readers interested in genetic engineering. Edna M. Boardman, Bismark, ND