Customer Reviews:
 Knowing what's best April 3, 2008
Newton Ooi (Phoenix, Arizona United States)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
One of the more important, but under-reported issues in 21st century international relations is GM (Genetically-Modified) food such as livestock, grains, fruits and vegetables. Specifically, America produces a lot of GM food and would like to export it to other countries, and get other countries to also produce GM food. Other countries, led primarily by the EU countries, are going against GM food, blocking GM food imports, and encouraging many trading partners, such as African countries, to not plant GM food. This book is a series of extended articles that deal with this issue, from the stance that GM food is fine for human consumption. The title declares this book as plainly partisan, and the individual articles by different authors each offer different reasons for the acceptance of GM crops and hence GM food. The book's publication was supported by the American Enterprise Institute, an overtly free-trade conservative think-tank. The contributors lined up for this book are quite impressive, and include one of Greenpeace's cofounders.
The book is written more as a public policy statement, and numerous scientific publications are cited to support the safety of GM food, both in terms of ecological impact and in terms of human consumption. The book also examines the roots of the anti-GM forces in both America and Europe.
I found the book lacking in several respects. First of, it lacks, and should have included a detailed history of how the food we eat is modified by man both at the genotype and phenotype level. Second, the book seems to conclude that there are zero cases of GM food causing harm. I find this hard to believe. When one side says their cause is perfect, I automatically suspect their facts and conclusions. Third, the book should have included several tables listing the various GM crops out there, where they are grown, and why the genetic modification was done in the first place. So overall, not enough context for such a highly partisan book.
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