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High tech harvest: understanding genetically modified food plants
Plant Science 164 (2003) 889 www.elsevier.com/locate/plantsci
Book review High tech harvest: understanding genetically modified food plants Paul F. Lurquin. Published by Westview Press. ISBN 08133-3946-4 When the subject of genetically modified crops comes up at social gatherings, we plant scientists are often put on the spot. Discussion ensues, at times unfriendly. Feeling tipsy from libations and tired after a hard week, we would sometimes rather not be forced to again defend plant science and its applications. What to do? Escape is out of the question. Staying and fighting seems like the only alternative... How useful it would be to be able to say ‘‘I’m not explaining this very well, but a recent book does an excellent job. Could I give you a copy?’’ ‘High Tech Harvest’ should have been that book, but this hard bound volume with 11 figures and three photographs already gives mixed impressions at a first glance through its 218 pages. The quality of the diagrams seems good, but then the photographs of people and inanimate objects (e.g. a grown gall tumor) are often poor. Closer examination reveals a chronology of events (starting with Mendel), a short glossary, an eclectic index, four appendices and a short reference section. In addition, the main titles in the table of contents read: ‘Before Biotechnology; From Mendel to DNA; Genes in the Test Tube: The Recombinant DNA Revolution; Difficult Beginnings and Great Triumphs: The Transformation of Plants; Plant Biotechnology: Accomplishments and Goals with Food Plants; Other Applications of Plant Biotechnology; Controversies’. But does this book simply and fairly inform the lay public and can it be read and recommended by a plant scientist without displeasure or embarrassment, perhaps even with a hint of pride? No, this book is unfortunately not an elegant and dispassionate masterpiece, like ‘The Eighth Day of Creation...’ in which H. F. Judson recounts the birth of molecular biology. It comes across more as a cheap shot from a minor witness. The style here is first person, chatty. The information is sometimes of dubious quality and necessity. For instance,
under the section ‘The Discovery of Genes’, we learn that Mendel invented genetics, then we are asked, ‘How did he do it?’ and the author’s response is ‘First, he was a genius, and second, because he was a monk (although not a celibate one; apparently he fathered a son), he must have had plenty of time available to do his seemingly useless research on pea plants.’ We are then given a long, text book course on Mendel and his findings, which leads to an apparent thorn in author’s side: the claims by Ledoux that seeds could be transformed by externally applied DNA. Lurquin was a young scientist in Ledoux’s laboratory in the 1970s, at the time of these erroneous claims. In a later chapter, ‘Difficult Beginnings and Great Triumphs’, he writes at length about Ledoux’s mistakes. But is this important to the reader who wants to understand transgenic crops and decide how to react to claims of risk? Certainly not. So much needs to be said on the subject of plant biotechnology and Lurquin is qualified, but the information must be carefully chosen, and it should be communicated objectively and impersonally. Many of the failures of this book are thus cosmetic. The poor photographs, the tabloid style, the talking down to the reader */these should have been fixed by the editors. Maybe the book could be used in an undergraduate, non-major course on biotechnology? Maybe Lurquin’s purpose is to keep students awake with his ‘This happened to me’ approach? If so, it still misses the mark because Lurquin was not close enough to the key events to know the intimate details. His is not Jim Watson writing ‘The Double Helix...’. The need remains for a book to pull out of your pocket at dinner parties. Would somebody please write it? I’ll take 20 copies.
0168-9452/03/$ - see front matter # 2003 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0168-9452(03)00020-7
David Tepfer Biologie de la Rhizosphe`re/Phytopharmacie, INRA, 78026 Versailles, Cedex, France E-mail address: [email protected]
Book review High tech harvest: understanding genetically modified food plants Paul F. Lurquin. Published by Westview Press. ISBN 08133-3946-4 When the subject of genetically modified crops comes up at social gatherings, we plant scientists are often put on the spot. Discussion ensues, at times unfriendly. Feeling tipsy from libations and tired after a hard week, we would sometimes rather not be forced to again defend plant science and its applications. What to do? Escape is out of the question. Staying and fighting seems like the only alternative... How useful it would be to be able to say ‘‘I’m not explaining this very well, but a recent book does an excellent job. Could I give you a copy?’’ ‘High Tech Harvest’ should have been that book, but this hard bound volume with 11 figures and three photographs already gives mixed impressions at a first glance through its 218 pages. The quality of the diagrams seems good, but then the photographs of people and inanimate objects (e.g. a grown gall tumor) are often poor. Closer examination reveals a chronology of events (starting with Mendel), a short glossary, an eclectic index, four appendices and a short reference section. In addition, the main titles in the table of contents read: ‘Before Biotechnology; From Mendel to DNA; Genes in the Test Tube: The Recombinant DNA Revolution; Difficult Beginnings and Great Triumphs: The Transformation of Plants; Plant Biotechnology: Accomplishments and Goals with Food Plants; Other Applications of Plant Biotechnology; Controversies’. But does this book simply and fairly inform the lay public and can it be read and recommended by a plant scientist without displeasure or embarrassment, perhaps even with a hint of pride? No, this book is unfortunately not an elegant and dispassionate masterpiece, like ‘The Eighth Day of Creation...’ in which H. F. Judson recounts the birth of molecular biology. It comes across more as a cheap shot from a minor witness. The style here is first person, chatty. The information is sometimes of dubious quality and necessity. For instance,
under the section ‘The Discovery of Genes’, we learn that Mendel invented genetics, then we are asked, ‘How did he do it?’ and the author’s response is ‘First, he was a genius, and second, because he was a monk (although not a celibate one; apparently he fathered a son), he must have had plenty of time available to do his seemingly useless research on pea plants.’ We are then given a long, text book course on Mendel and his findings, which leads to an apparent thorn in author’s side: the claims by Ledoux that seeds could be transformed by externally applied DNA. Lurquin was a young scientist in Ledoux’s laboratory in the 1970s, at the time of these erroneous claims. In a later chapter, ‘Difficult Beginnings and Great Triumphs’, he writes at length about Ledoux’s mistakes. But is this important to the reader who wants to understand transgenic crops and decide how to react to claims of risk? Certainly not. So much needs to be said on the subject of plant biotechnology and Lurquin is qualified, but the information must be carefully chosen, and it should be communicated objectively and impersonally. Many of the failures of this book are thus cosmetic. The poor photographs, the tabloid style, the talking down to the reader */these should have been fixed by the editors. Maybe the book could be used in an undergraduate, non-major course on biotechnology? Maybe Lurquin’s purpose is to keep students awake with his ‘This happened to me’ approach? If so, it still misses the mark because Lurquin was not close enough to the key events to know the intimate details. His is not Jim Watson writing ‘The Double Helix...’. The need remains for a book to pull out of your pocket at dinner parties. Would somebody please write it? I’ll take 20 copies.
0168-9452/03/$ - see front matter # 2003 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0168-9452(03)00020-7
David Tepfer Biologie de la Rhizosphe`re/Phytopharmacie, INRA, 78026 Versailles, Cedex, France E-mail address: [email protected]