Tomorrow's Table Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food

by Ronald, Pamela C.; Adamchak, R. W.

• ISBN13: 9780195301755
• ISBN10: 0195301757
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-04-18
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In modern agricultural politics, organic farming and genetic engineeringoccupy opposite ends of the spectrum. In the Ronald-Adamchak household, theworld is not so black and white. Ronald is a professor of plant pathology atthe University of California, Davis. Adamchak manages the student-run organicfarm on campus. Together, they're exploring the juncture where their methodscan (and they argue, should) meet to ensure environmentally sustainable foodproduction. Revealing common principles and "leveling the playing field," this book roughlychronicles one year in the lives of the Ronald-Adamchack family. Throughdialogue with friends and family, the authors thoughtfully explore the use of GEagriculture and the concerns expressed by consumers. They discuss the contentsof their own largely organic pantry, what they choose to feed their children,and how over the last ten years of their marriage, they have developed aspecific criteria for the use of GE in agriculture. From their personal vantagepoints, Ronald and Adamchack explain what geneticists and organic farmersactually do, and help readers distinguish between fact and fiction in the debateabout crop genetic engineering. Loosely organized by season, each section of the book addresses a differentissue related to the role of GE and organic farming in food production. Raoulprovides a farmer's view of the philosophy and practice of organic farming andhow it differs from conventional agriculture; Pam describes the tools andprocesses of genetic engineering, the potential ecological benefit of using GEtechnology to generate plants, and the associated risks. At the end of thebook, they describe one of their typical family dinners, explain their choice tobring both genetically engineered and organic food to their table, and sharesome of their family's best recipes.

Author Biography

Pamela C. Ronald is a Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of California, Davis. Her laboratory has genetically engineered rice for resistance to diseases and flooding. Her work has been published in Science, Nature, and other scientific periodicals and has also been featured in newspapers including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Le Monde. She is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Raoul Adamchak has grown organic crops for twenty years, part of the time as a partner in Full Belly Farm, a private 150-acre organic vegetable farm. He has inspected over one hundred organic farms as an inspector for California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) and served as a member and President of CCOF's Board of Directors. He now works at the U.C., Davis as the Marrket Garden Coordinator at the certified organic farm on campus.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
About the Authors	p. xvii
Introduction
Cultivating Rice in Nihe, China and Davis, California (Pam)	p. 3
The Farm
Why Organic Agriculture? (Raoul)	p. 13
The Tools of Organic Agriculture (Raoul)	p. 29
The Lab
The Tools of Genetic Engineering (Pam)	p. 43
Consumers
Legislating Lunch (Pam)	p. 63
Who Can We Trust? (Pam)	p. 81
Is GE Food Risky to Eat? (Pam)	p. 85
The Environment
Conserving Wildlands (Pam)	p. 105
Weeds, Gene Flow, and the Environment (Pam)	p. 115
Ownership
Who Owns the Seed? (Raoul)	p. 127
Who Owns the Genes? (Pam)	p. 137
Dinner
Deconstructing Dinner: Genetically Engineerd, Organically Grown (Pam & Raoul)	p. 155
Glossary	p. 169
References	p. 179
Index	p. 199
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