Chicken Little, Tomato Sauce and Agriculture: Who Will Produce Tomorrow's Food? (Toes Book) - Softcover

Gussow, Joan Dye

3.71

7 ratings by Goodreads

9780942850321: Chicken Little, Tomato Sauce and Agriculture: Who Will Produce Tomorrow's Food? (Toes Book)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0942850327 ISBN 13: 9780942850321

Publisher: Bootstrap Pr, 1991

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Once again it is not neccessary to speculate about possible "surprises". The "attractive" and very new field of biotechnology has already seen an intentional non-release of possibly damaging information on the part of interested scientists. In 1989, a mysterious outbreak of illness that ultimately killed 27 people and afflicted 1,535 others was rapidly traced to the use of an amino acid, L-tryptophan as a dietary supplement. It was traced somewhat more slowly to specific batches of that supplement made by a Japanese company over a particular time period. What was not publicly revealed until almost nine months later was the deadly tryptophan was produced by gene splicing.

Review:

Most of us are so far removed from the process of growing or producing food, we don't even think about it. The question of who will produce tomorrow's food has been stealthily parked in the next lot over from who is producing today's food. Both look suspiciously like the private spaces of some mega-corporation's executives. The fact that our food system is becoming increasingly controlled by giant industry may not surprise you; you probably just haven't thought about it. This is an excellent text for understanding how the current food production system really operates and where it is heading. We have a system of agriculture based on diminishing returns. In other words, it takes more energy to produce our food than our food produces-almost 10 times more. If you think the endlessly increasing use of technology will solve our world's hunger problems, Joan Dye Gussow will open your eyes. She offers not only a chilling prospect for the future, but also the possibility that forewarned is forearmed. -- From The WomanSource Catalog & Review: Tools for Connecting the Community for Women; review by Ilene Rosoff

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