Monday, March 2, 2009

eng 278: all over creation

Ruth Ozeki's novel All Over Creation (2003) responds to cultural concerns about agriculture and the food chain.

See Michael Pollan's article "Playing God in the Garden," which Ozeki alludes to on page 85. Pollan is regarded as the food politics journalist of our time, raising consciousness about agricultural practices.

Towards the end of today's reading, we learn of the NuLife Enhanced potatoes--genetically modified and capable of repelling pests without many inputs. The NuLife is based on the New Leaf potato, introduced by Monsanto in the 1990s. See this graphic on Monsanto's website for a visual representation of how they see the potato working. For a little history on these potatoes, see this website from Cornell University.

And, to see a real collection of seed savers, look at the Seed Savers Exchange website and catalog.

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