{"product_id":"9781472946973","title":"Seeds of Science : Why We Got It So Wrong On GMOs","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eSeeds of Science\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Mark Lynas\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"An important contribution to an issue with enormous potential for benefiting humanity.\" Stephen Pinker\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMark 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis 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?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“In short, \u003cb\u003eMark Lynas is a saint\u003c\/b\u003e.” —\u003ci\u003eDominic Lawson, Sunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An excellent read, \u003cb\u003efluent, persuasive and surely right\u003c\/b\u003e.” —\u003ci\u003eEvening Standard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eSeeds of Science\u003c\/i\u003e tells the [GMO] story from \u003cb\u003ea unique perspective\u003c\/b\u003e. The logic of Lynas's conversion is an implicit challenge to both the American right and the left.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Gives readers a firsthand look at both sides of the discourse [...] The book begins with \u003cb\u003eheart-racing\u003c\/b\u003e accounts of the law-breaking activities Lynas engaged in [...] By the end of chapter 7, science has won the debate.” —\u003ci\u003eScience\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Mark Lynas has written \u003cb\u003ea rattling good account\u003c\/b\u003e of his conversion from student activist to respected science writer. This is serious stuff, enlivened by all elements of a popular thriller.” —\u003ci\u003eJohn Deben, Literary Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The book is \u003cb\u003efull of factoids\u003c\/b\u003e that'll make you rethink a highly debated subject, and also what's really going on with those giant apples that don't bruise or brown.” —\u003ci\u003ebonappetit.com\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Seeks to understand why greens, including Lynas himself, saw genetic engineering as an enemy from the very beginning [...] Lynas's experience suggests that the most important mind you can change is your own [...] \u003cb\u003eLynas has been through the fire to bring us this insight\u003c\/b\u003e.” —\u003ci\u003eGrist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Partly a level-headed look at the benefits as well as the downsides of genetic modification, and partly a personal account of how Mark came to believe that the scientific method was, on the whole, not a bad way of analysing questions of crop production and farming. I found it riveting, largely because \u003cb\u003ehe writes so well and so open-mindedly\u003c\/b\u003e, and\u003cb\u003e I warmly recommend it\u003c\/b\u003e.” —\u003ci\u003ePhilip Pullman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Mark Lynas tells the remarkable story of a mass delusion fuelled by primitive folk-science intuitions, sacred values, and disinformation from some of our most sainted organizations. His exposé is \u003cb\u003ean important contribution\u003c\/b\u003e to an issue with enormous potential for benefiting humanity, and \u003cb\u003ea gripping account \u003c\/b\u003eof the tensions that can surround technological progress.” —\u003ci\u003eSteven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and the author of The Better Angels of Our Nature and Enlightenment Now\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A gripping story of how a passionate troublemaker became an equally passionate campaigner for the facts. \u003ci\u003eSeeds of Science\u003c\/i\u003e is not only \u003cb\u003ea compellingly-researched argument\u003c\/b\u003e, it is the tale of how Mark Lynas's life changed. \u003cb\u003eReading it may change your life\u003c\/b\u003e, too.” —\u003ci\u003eTim Harford, author of Fifty Things That Made the Modern Economy and presenter of More or Less\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Mark Lynas is \u003cb\u003ea courageous writer \u003c\/b\u003ewhose evidence-based turnaround on GMOs should be a lesson to all environmentalists. A \u003cb\u003emust-read\u003c\/b\u003e for anyone who cares about our future.” —\u003ci\u003eSimon Singh, popular science writer and author of The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781472946973\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Bloomsbury Sigma","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40731988590798,"sku":"9781472946973","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781472946973","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}