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Mendel in the Kitchen: A Scientist's View of Genetically Modified Foods. Nina V. Fedoroff and Nancy Marie Brown. Joseph Henry Press, Washington, DC. 2004. Hardcover, 352 pp., $24.95. ISBN 0-309-09205-1.
Since their creation, genetically modified (GM) plants and foods have been a matter of controversy and public debate worldwide. In the maze of information and misinformation that has been presented over the years, a person or consumer could find it difficult to distinguish between facts on the one hand and perceptions, assumptions, or politics on the other. Despite the fact that GM plants have met with strong resistance, an argument is made in this book that resistance to change is nothing new; it was initially experienced in response to the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and other products of the Green Revolution. This book attempts, and is by and large successful, to educate a person willing to learn about the scientific aspects of developing GM plants. In the preface, the authors acknowledge the issue of significant and seemingly unstoppable increase in world population and the associated predicted danger of world hunger. This is followed by an attempt to explain how GM plants can help alleviate or deal with this danger. It is somewhat less clear how the authors came up with the premise of "plant breeders... running out of breeding room" against evidence of continuing annual yield increments in major field crops such as corn and soybean. The book comprises 15 chapters along with notes that help the reader...