Gene Revolution

The high-yield selective breeding of 'the Green Revolution' of the 1960s and '70s is now being overtaken by 'the Gene Revolution' - the development and spread of GM crops across the world. With over 90 million hectares already under cultivation and 60 countries conducting research, GM is reviled by some as a vast Pandora's Box and corporate sell-out, while hailed by others as the necessary technological solution to stagnating agricultural output, ballooning populations, climate change and drought. Sandwiched in between are developing and transitional countries where the need to feed vast populations and to compete against the US in international markets are compelling reasons to get on the GM bandwagon. This is the first book to bridge the gap between the 'naysayers' and 'cheerleaders', and to provide a penetrating examination of the realities, complexities, benefits and pitfalls of GM adoption in developing countries that are desperately fighting poverty while trying to stay afloat in the hyper-competitive global economy.