permaculture

[Keith Johnson <keithdj@mindspring.com>]

Organics AND genetic engineering? Release date Mar 2008.
(Links from Kim Stanley Robinson)

Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food

http://indica.ucdavis.edu/news/in-press-tomorrows-table

In modern agricultural politics, organic farming and genetic engineering 
occupy opposite ends of the spectrum. In the Ronald-Adamchak household, 
the world is not so black and white. Ronald is a professor of plant 
pathology at the University of California, Davis. Adamchak manages the 
student-run organic farm on campus. Together, they're exploring the 
juncture where their methods can (and they argue, should) meet to ensure 
environmentally sustainable food production. Revealing common principles 
and "leveling the playing field," this book roughly chronicles one year 
in the lives of the Ronald-Adamchack family. Through dialogue with 
friends and family, the authors thoughtfully explore the use of GE 
agriculture and the concerns expressed by consumers. They discuss the 
contents of their own largely organic pantry, what they choose to feed 
their children, and how over the last ten years of their marriage, they 
have developed a specific criteria for the use of GE in agriculture. 
From their personal vantage points, Ronald and Adamchack explain what 
geneticists and organic farmers actually do, and help readers 
distinguish between fact and fiction in the debate about crop genetic 
engineering. Loosely organized by season, each section of the book 
addresses a different issue related to the role of GE and organic 
farming in food production. Raoul provides a farmer's view of the 
philosophy and practice of organic farming and how it differs from 
conventional agriculture; Pam describes the tools and processes of 
genetic engineering, the potential ecological benefit of using GE 
technology to generate plants, and the associated risks. At the end of 
the book, they describe one of their typical family dinners, explain 
their choice to bring both genetically engineered and organic food to 
their table, and share some of their family's best recipes.

Authors:
Pamela C. Ronald is a Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at 
the University of California, Davis. Her laboratory has genetically 
engineered rice for resistance to diseases and flooding. Her work has 
been published in Science, Nature, and other scientific periodicals and 
has also been featured in newspapers including The New York Times, The 
Wall Street Journal, and Le Monde. She is an elected Fellow of the 
American Association for the Advancement of Science. Raoul Adamchak has 
grown organic crops for twenty years, part of the time as a partner in 
Full Belly Farm, a private 150-acre organic vegetable farm. He has 
inspected over one hundred organic farms as an inspector for California 
Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) and served as a member and President of 
CCOF's Board of Directors. He now works at the UC, Davis Student Farm, 
where he teaches organic production practices and manages a five-acre 
market garden.

also see:
http://ucbiotech.org/

--
Keith Johnson
"Be fruitful and mulch apply."
Permaculture Activist Magazine
PO Box 5516, Bloomington, IN 47407
(812) 335-0383
http://www.permacultureactivist.net
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http://www.jointhesolution.com/KeithJ-SunPower
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Blog: http://kjpermaculture.blogspot.com/
also Patterns for Abundance Design & Consulting
http://www.permacultureactivist.net/design/Designconsult.html
also Association for Regenerative Culture
http://www.ARCulture.org
also APPLE-Bloomington (Alliance for a Post-Petroleum Local Economy) It's a 
small world after oil.
http://www.relocalize.net/groups/applebloomington
also Bloomington Permaculture Guild
http://my.calendars.net/bloomingtonpccal/
and: http://bloomingtonpermacultureguild.blogspot.com/
also: Bioregional Congress
http://www.bioregional-congress.org