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Hybrid: The History and Science of Plant Breeding

by Noël Kingsbury

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811328,939 (4.06)10
Disheartened by the shrink-wrapped, Styrofoam-packed state of contemporary supermarket fruits and vegetables, many shoppers hark back to a more innocent time, to visions of succulent red tomatoes plucked straight from the vine, gleaming orange carrots pulled from loamy brown soil, swirling heads of green lettuce basking in the sun. With Hybrid, Noel Kingsbury reveals that even those imaginary perfect foods are themselves far from anything that could properly be called natural; rather, they represent the end of a millennia-long history of selective breeding and hybridization. Starting his story at the birth of agriculture, Kingsbury traces the history of human attempts to make plants more reliable, productive, and nutritious--a story that owes as much to accident and error as to innovation and experiment. Drawing on historical and scientific accounts, as well as a rich trove of anecdotes, Kingsbury shows how scientists, amateur breeders, and countless anonymous farmers and gardeners slowly caused the evolutionary pressures of nature to be supplanted by those of human needs--and thus led us from sparse wild grasses to succulent corn cobs, and from mealy, white wild carrots to the juicy vegetables we enjoy today. At the same time, Kingsbury reminds us that contemporary controversies over the Green Revolution and genetically modified crops are not new; plant breeding has always had a political dimension. A powerful reminder of the complicated and ever-evolving relationship between humans and the natural world, Hybrid will give readers a thoughtful new perspective on--and a renewed appreciation of--the cereal crops, vegetables, fruits, and flowers that are central to our way of life.… (more)
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This book was every bit as nerdy as it sounds from the title, but not at all dry or boring - in fact, I found it a really readable and accessible book which was surprisingly fascinating. I know absolutely nothing about plant breeding, and I suspect if it had just been about the science of it all I would have skimmed it, but the history side of it was really interesting, particularly as Kingsbury covered developments throughout the world, including the developing world and former Soviet Union. I found the discussion on ownership of genes, and of issues around sharing knowledge between developed and developing world particularly interesting, but there were also fascinating insights into empire, history of genetics, farmers vs academics vs private enterprise, etc etc. It was also primarily focused on food crops rather than ornamental plants (which just got one chapter). The fact that I knew nothing about the subject (science especially, or the history) wasn't a barrier to understanding what was going on, and in fact I feel like I've learnt quite a lot! It concluded with a brief overview of GM technology and the debates around that.

There were a few places where I thought the proof-reader had had a bad day (especially chapter 14 - lots of silly errors!), but other than that minor irritation I'd actually really recommend this as accessible and interesting, it would be a good present for the nerd in your life! ( )
  Jackie_K | Nov 21, 2016 |
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Disheartened by the shrink-wrapped, Styrofoam-packed state of contemporary supermarket fruits and vegetables, many shoppers hark back to a more innocent time, to visions of succulent red tomatoes plucked straight from the vine, gleaming orange carrots pulled from loamy brown soil, swirling heads of green lettuce basking in the sun. With Hybrid, Noel Kingsbury reveals that even those imaginary perfect foods are themselves far from anything that could properly be called natural; rather, they represent the end of a millennia-long history of selective breeding and hybridization. Starting his story at the birth of agriculture, Kingsbury traces the history of human attempts to make plants more reliable, productive, and nutritious--a story that owes as much to accident and error as to innovation and experiment. Drawing on historical and scientific accounts, as well as a rich trove of anecdotes, Kingsbury shows how scientists, amateur breeders, and countless anonymous farmers and gardeners slowly caused the evolutionary pressures of nature to be supplanted by those of human needs--and thus led us from sparse wild grasses to succulent corn cobs, and from mealy, white wild carrots to the juicy vegetables we enjoy today. At the same time, Kingsbury reminds us that contemporary controversies over the Green Revolution and genetically modified crops are not new; plant breeding has always had a political dimension. A powerful reminder of the complicated and ever-evolving relationship between humans and the natural world, Hybrid will give readers a thoughtful new perspective on--and a renewed appreciation of--the cereal crops, vegetables, fruits, and flowers that are central to our way of life.

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