The saga of genetically modified wheat in Canada is a fascinating story revealing the conflicting producer, agribusiness and consumer interests that emerge when scientific discoveries affect the way we grow and market food. Growing Resistance: Canadian Farmers and the Politics of Genetically Modified Wheat has an engaging tale to tell and a great deal to recommend it, although it suffers from an academic style and a polemical approach that may limit its readership to specialists.
The book grew out of Emily Eaton’s doctoral dissertation and focuses on the politics of genetically modified wheat. It asks a question key for anyone interested in genetic engineering and other forces driving contemporary farming: why was GM wheat not approved for use in Canada, while other genetically engineered crops such as canola were? In answering it, Eaton’s book casts an uncommonly in-depth look at the culture of farming in Canada.
The wheat in question was...
Mark Winston is a professor and senior fellow at Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue, and author with poet Renée Sarojini Saklikar of the recently published book Listening to the Bees.
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