History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply

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great information, weak on analysis
Informative and compelling
great book, scared me to death !
Critically important for environmentalists & students.
Brilliance

Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply
Vandana Shiva
Manufacturer: South End Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0896086070

Book Description

Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1 The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply
Chapter 2 Soy Imperialism and the Destruction of Local Food Cultures
Chapter 3 The Stolen Harvest Under the Sea
Chapter 4 Mad Cows and Sacred Cows
Chapter 5 The Stolen Harvest of Seed
Chapter 6 Genetic Engineering and Food Security
Chapter 7 Reclaiming Food Democracy

Customer Reviews:

great information, weak on analysis.......2004-10-15

I'm afraid I must dissent from the rave reviews this book has gotten. It's a good book, but it's not wonderful. It's very strong at presenting the ways that the corporatization of food production is destructive of human health, the environment, and the livelihood of poor farmers, fisher folk and the like. There's lots of examples, lots of strong empirical data to back up Shiva's claims. Her analysis about why all this is going on is lacking though. It's not that I disagree with her critique of the WTO, multinational corporations, monoculture and her affirmation of the need for humanity to live in harmony with nature. It's just that she barely does more than sketch these arguments out. I understand that this is not meant to be an academic book, but she could have developed her points in much more depth, while still using accessible language and ideas. This book has potential it didn't achieve.

Informative and compelling.......2002-05-18

In this remarkable book, Vandana Shiva effectively contrasts corporate command-and-control methods of food production with the small farmer economy that predominates in the third world (especially in her native India). In contast to what many here in the U.S. might perceive as the conventional wisdom, Shiva makes a strong argument that local, small scale agriculture is superior to the agribusiness model for a number of reasons.

First, Shiva points out that many of the productivity gains attributable to the Green Revolution were achieved by dramatically increased inputs of fertilizer, seed and water. When one compares units of input with units of output, however, native practices produce higher yields -- especially when one takes into account the multiple uses derived from a single product.

For example, mustard oil is a vital product used by many of India's poor for cooking, seasoning, medicine and other uses. But it has been banned by the Indian government (under highly suspicious circumstances) in order to allow imports of soybean oil products. While giant corporations benefit from expanded sales, native industries have been destroyed, contibuting to poverty and malnourishment.

Shiva discusses the commercial fishing and aquaculture (shrimp farming) practices that inevitably result in environmental destruction and reduced catches. She compares this short-sighted approach with traditional Indian fishing techniques that have successfully sustained themselves for generations while protecting important ecosystems such as mangrove forests.

Shiva discusses corporate patenting of seeds, which insidiously transforms the cooperative ethic of seed sharing into a criminal offense. The author supports a non-cooperation movement in India that is resisting corporate attempts to claim ownership of seeds that have been cultivated by countless generations of farmers.

Shiva's sacred cow / mad cow metaphor effectively and appropriately contrasts agribusiness with small farming. India's sacred cows live in harmony with the environment, performing multiple services and producing multiple products for the community; whereas mad cows are a grotesque manifestation of an industrial system obsessed with uniformity, technology and profit.

Shiva also touches on the topic of genetic engineering (GE) and discusses the threat it poses to biodiversity, food safety and human health.

The Afterword to the book alludes to the WTO protests in Seattle. Shiva believes this watershed event proves that people are becoming more aware of the dangers of unaccountable corporate power, yet she believes that positive change is possible. This opening of consciousness to new possibilities may be attributable to the extraordinary work of people like Vandana Shiva, whose intelligence and compassion is abundantly evident in this book. Highly recommended!

great book, scared me to death !.......2001-09-29

this is a great book, i highly recomend it. i must warn you its not for the weak stomached, this book will CHANGE your view on the food you eat. i didnt eat for a week after reading this.

Critically important for environmentalists & students........2000-05-09

In Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking Of The Global Food Supply, renowned environmental activist Vandana Shiva charts the impacts of globalized, corporate agriculture on small farmers, the environment, and the quality of the food we eat. Shiva writes about genetically engineered seeds, patents on life, mad cows (and sacred cows), shrimp farming, and more. Stolen Harvest is a passionate, articulate, highly recommended "wake up" call to the public regarding the role of genetic engineering in commercial agriculture, the growing domination of agribusiness with respect to world food supplies, and the need for sound environmental thinking with respect to feeding the burgeoning populations of the world.

Brilliance.......2000-04-29

If you deplore the WTO and MN corporate control over the world's food supply through intellectual property rights and patents on genetically engineered seed - then reading Stolen Harvest is a must. Vandana Shiva brilliantly reveals the current crisis that Indian farmers are facing as Monsanto and other mega corps are jeopardizing the livelihoods of impoverished persons (worldwide) through seed monopoly and a centralized system of agriculture commerce. Shiva discusses the impact of industrial farming and aquaculture on the environment and how it stresses local populations and threatens the diversity of species. A MUST READ!

From Land Reform to Revolution: The Political Economy of Agricultural Development in Iran 1962-1979 (Library of Modern Middle East Studies, 4.)

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From Land Reform to Revolution: The Political Economy of Agricultural Development in Iran 1962-1979 (Library of Modern Middle East Studies, 4.)
Fatemeh E. Moghadam , and E. Fatenmeh Moghadam
Manufacturer: I. B. Tauris & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1860640060

Book Description

An examination of the political economy of agricultural development in Iran during the oil-boom period of the 1960s and 1970s. The author focuses on two interdependent aspects of agricultural development: structural changes in property and labour relations, and productive efficiency and growth of output.

Basing her approach on a consideration of the political, social and historical contexts of change, the author shows how developments in the agricultural sector affected the broader society. The period under study is initially marked by the consolidation and enhancement of the power of the monarchy, and ends with its downfall in 1979. Moghadam argues that structural changes in property and labour relations in the agricultural sector help account for the revolution and for the active role of the "ulamar" in it.

Pesticides: An International Guide to 1800 Pest Control Chemicals

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Pesticides: An International Guide to 1800 Pest Control Chemicals

Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0566085429

Book Description

Organized by functional category, this compilation provides important chemical and toxicity data for the 1800 substances registered by the US Environmental Protection Agency and used largely in the agricultural environment. The chemical, physical and bioactivity properties of each agent are recorded along with a comprehensive listing of product trade names and synonyms as well as manufacturers. The EPA status of each agent is given and each record carries the appropriate CAS Registry Number and the associated EINECS Number where available. The Merck Index number is provided for all chemicals in this edition which also appear in the 13th edition of the Merck Index. Wherever possible, the following information is also displayed for each entry: melting point, boiling point, density or specific gravity, refractive index, optical rotation, ultraviolet absorption, and solubility as well as chronic and acute toxicities.

Brewing Justice: Fair Trade Coffee, Sustainability, and Survival

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Great overview of fair trade coffee

Brewing Justice: Fair Trade Coffee, Sustainability, and Survival
Daniel Jaffee
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520249593

Book Description

Fair trade is a fast-growing alternative market intended to bring better prices and greater social justice to small farmers around the world. But is it working? This vivid study of coffee farmers in Mexico offers the first thorough investigation of the social, economic, and environmental benefits of fair trade. Based on extensive research in Zapotec indigenous communities in the state of Oaxaca, Brewing Justice follows the members of the cooperative Michiza, whose organic coffee is sold on the international fair trade market. It compares these families to conventional farming families in the same region, who depend on local middlemen and are vulnerable to the fluctuations of the world coffee market. Written in a clear and accessible style, the book carries readers into the lives of these coffee producer households and their communities, offering a nuanced analysis of both the effects of fair trade on everyday life and the limits of its impact. Brewing Justice paints a clear picture of the complex dynamics of the fair trade market and its relationship to the global economy. Drawing on interviews with dozens of fair trade leaders, the book also explores the changing politics of this international movement, including the challenges posed by the entry of transnational corporations into the fair trade system. It concludes by offering recommendations for strengthening and protecting the integrity of fair trade.

Customer Reviews:

Great overview of fair trade coffee.......2007-07-20

Jaffee did a great job covering the important aspects of fair trade coffee. He thoroughly explained the history of the market and explained the coffee market during the ICA years as well. He also covers the drawbacks of fair trade. I would recomend this book to anyone interested in coffee as well as anyone interested in social justice.

French Beans and Food Scares: Culture and Commerce in an Anxious Age

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An excellent book.

French Beans and Food Scares: Culture and Commerce in an Anxious Age
Susanne Freidberg
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195169611

Book Description

From mad cows to McDonaldization to genetically modified maize, European food scares and controversies at the turn of the millennium provoked anxieties about the perils hidden in an increasingly industrialized, internationalized food supply. These food fears have cast a shadow as long as Africa, where farmers struggle to meet European demand for the certifiably clean green bean. But the trade in fresh foods between Africa and Europe is hardly uniform. Britain and France still do business mostly with their former colonies, in ways that differ as dramatically as their national cuisines. The British buy their "baby veg" from industrial-scale farms, pre-packaged and pre-trimmed; the French, meanwhile, prefer their green beans naked, and produced by peasants. Managers and technologists coordinate the baby veg trade between Anglophone Africa and Britain, whereas an assortment of commercants and self-styled agro-entrepreneurs run the French bean trade. Globalization, then, has not erased cultural difference in the world of food and trade, but instead has stretched it to a transnational scale. French Beans and Food Scares explores the cultural economies of two "non-traditional" commodity trades between Africa and Europe--one anglophone, the other francophone--in order to show not only why they differ but also how both have felt the fall-out of the wealthy world's food scares. In a voyage that begins in the mid-19th century and ends in the early 21st, passing by way of Paris, London, Burkina Faso and Zambia, French Beans and Food Scares illuminates the daily work of exporters, importers and other invisible intermediaries in the global fresh food economy. These intermediaries' accounts provide a unique perspective on the practical and ethical challenges of globalized food trading in an anxious age. They also show how postcolonial ties shape not only different societies' geographies of food supply, but also their very ideas about what makes food good.

Customer Reviews:

An excellent book........2005-02-22

This book was a pleasure to read. Part of the enjoyment derived from the delightful writing style which is rare in academic books explaining complex topics like this. However, a great deal of the pleasure came from the author's comprehensive research, including extensive interviews, and her extremely sophisticated analysis. Among other things, she explores the historical bases of two contemporary global networks trading in highly perishable vegetables and clearly demonstrates the continued influence of colonial ties in the contemporary links between African vegetable growers and European retailers. This is something often mentioned but rarely demonstrated in such convincing detail as it is here. I was also particular impressed with the author's detailed exploration of the contemporary social and cultural factors (including media influence) that have produced quite different fresh vegetable retailing behavior in France and U.K. She shows how this, in turn, contributes to different sets of relationships between growers, middlemen and retailers and among African growers themselves. It is one of the most interesting books I have read to date in the area of global horticultural chains and networks and establishes a very high standard against which to measure similar publications. Anyone interested in globalization, food studies, horticultural production in Africa, contemporary European food retailing and supermarket chains, would learn a great deal from this book.

Globalising Food: Agrarian Questions and Global Restructuring

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Globalising Food: Agrarian Questions and Global Restructuring
David Goodman
Manufacturer: Routledge
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The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

ASIN: 041516253X

Book Description

Big Macs, chickens and cut flowers are commodities beginning to dominate the global agro-food system. Using case studies from the US, Britain, India, South Africa, New Zealand and Latin America, Globalising Food addresses the key themes that are transforming the character of the traditional agricultural communities, ranging from multinational food corporations and World Bank policies, to regulation of pollution and labor relations.

Food Is Different: Why the WTO Should Get out of Agriculture (Global Issues)

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Review by GRAIN

Food Is Different: Why the WTO Should Get out of Agriculture (Global Issues)
Peter M. Rosset
Manufacturer: Zed Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1842777556
Release Date: 2006-10-17

Book Description

Peter Rosset argues that what is at stake is the very future of our global food system, of each country's unique agricultural and farming systems, and the livelihoods of rural people in both the rich industrial countries and the South. He unravels the complex ways in which agriculture in the North is supported, subsidized etc. and argues for the future of agriculture to be taken completely out of the WTO's ambit since food is not just another commodity, but something which goes to the heart of human livelihood, local cultures and national security.

Customer Reviews:

Review by GRAIN.......2007-02-07

"I am 56 years old, a farmer from South Korea. I have mostly failed, as many other farm leaders elsewhere have failed. We cannot seem to do anything to stop the waves that have destroyed our communities, where we have been settled for hundreds of years. I have tried to find the real reason and the real force behind those waves. And I have reached the conclusion, here in front of the WTO.

Our fears became reality in the marketplace. We soon realised that, despite our best efforts, we could never match the prices of cheap imports. We became aware that our farm size, 1.3 hectares on average, is a mere one-hundredth of the farms in the large exporting countries. Since massive importing began, we small farmers have never been paid as much as our production costs. Sometimes prices would drop fourfold, all of a sudden.

The farmers who gave up early went to urban slums. Others who tried to escape from the vicious cycle have met with bankruptcy due to accumulated debts. For me, I couldn't do anything but look around at the vacant houses in the village, old and decaying. Once I went to a house where a farmer took his life by drinking a toxic chemical because of his uncontrollable debts. I could do nothing but listen to the howling of his wife."

This is an edited version of the statement distributed by Lee Kyung Hae shortly before he took his own life on 16 September 2003 in Cancún, Mexico, in the mass protests against the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks. In the early 1990s, after the Korean government had dismantled trade barriers and the market had been flooded with very cheap imported food, millions of farmers lost their farms. For many, the shame brought by losing their ancestral land was unbearable. Peter M. Rosset dedicates this book* to Lee Kyung Hae.

Rosset, a food rights activist and rural development specialist, has written a clear and extremely accessible account of the impact of trade liberalisation on farming and, more particularly, on small farmers throughout the world. Much of the material is well known, but Rosset provides flashes of insight. For instance, he questions the widely held assumption that it is the high level of subsidies that the US and the European community pay to their farmers that makes their produce so cheap. It might seem logical, he says, to blame subsidies, when you see very cheap American maize flooding the Mexican market, but it is wrong: it mistakes cause for effect. Subsidies are triggered by weak commodity prices, not vice versa.

The main cause of the low prices, he says, is the power of the agri-food conglomerates. These have a vested interest in paying as little as possible for their raw materials (crops and livestock) and they use their huge influence within state bureaucracies to stop governments applying effective policies as in the past to regulate supply and demand. As a result, commodity prices continue to drop, often way below production costs, even in the industrialised countries. Thousands of small farmers are put out of business and the governments have to subsidise the big farmers to keep them producing.

Rosset, who lives in Chiapas, Mexico, has an interesting section on the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA). Because of the cheap US maize pouring into Mexico as a result of NAFTA, Mexican peasant farmers cannot sell their produce. Yet, he says, almost three million mostly poor farmers stubbornly continue to grow maize. How is this possible? Quoting a Mexican study, Rosset says that it happens only because of the remittances sent by migrants in the US, who are in effect subsidising Mexican production. Their action, he says, reflects the peasants' deep cultural resistance to the dislocation and destruction caused by the `free trade' model.

The section of the book concerning the `uniqueness' of food, which leads to the book's title, is the least convincing. Food is not just any merchandise or commodity, say Rosset; it "means rural livelihoods, traditions and cultures and it means preserving, or destroying, rural landscapes". Because it is special, he says, food should not be covered by WTO agreements. But is food so different? Isn't it just as damaging for a country to have its industry and its culture destroyed by cheap imported goods? It is the free trade model as a whole that needs to be rethought, not only its application to farming.

* Peter M. Rosset, Food is different - why we must get the WTO out of agriculture, 2006, joint publication: Canada: Fernwood Publishing; India: Books for Change; Malaysia: SIRD; Southern Africa: David Philip; Rest of the World: Zed Books

The International Politics of Genetically Modified Food: Diplomacy, Trade and Law

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The International Politics of Genetically Modified Food: Diplomacy, Trade and Law

Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0230001254
Release Date: 2006-12-26

Book Description

Why has genetically modified food become a focal point in international conflicts over agriculture, trade and the environment? What are the chances for achieving effective global governance of new technologies such as genetic engineering? This book brings together state-of-the-art analyses of the international politics of biotechnology regulation. It presents explanations for the transatlantic biotech dispute, explores the growing North-South differences over how to ensure biosafety, and discusses the implications of the GM food battle for international trade and environmental law.

Shifting Ground: The Changing Agricultural Soils of China and Indonesia

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Innovative use of archival data for soil degradation trends
Shifting Ground uses doubtful methodology

Shifting Ground: The Changing Agricultural Soils of China and Indonesia
Peter H. Lindert
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0262122278

Book Description

In this book Peter Lindert evaluates environmental concerns about soil degradation in two very large countries--China and Indonesia--where anecdotal evidence has suggested serious problems. Lindert does what no scholar before him has done: using new archival data sets, he measures changes in soil productivity over long enough periods of time to reveal the influence of human activity.

China and Indonesia are good test cases because of their geography and history. China has been at the center of global concerns about desertification and water erosion, which it may have accelerated with intense agriculture. Most of Indonesia¹s lands were created by volcanoes and erosion, and its rapid deforestation and shifting slash-burn agriculture have been singled out for international censure.

Lindert's investigation suggests that human mismanagement is not on average worsening the soil quality in China and Indonesia. Human cultivation lowers soil nitrogen and organic matter, but has offsetting positive effects. Economic development and rising incomes may even lead to better soil. Beyond the importance of Lindert's immediate findings, this book opens a new area of study--quantitative soil history--and raises the standard for debating soil trends.

Customer Reviews:

Innovative use of archival data for soil degradation trends.......2002-05-17

The title of the book is an allusion to the widely known and influential Losing Ground by Eckholm (1976), one of the early doom-sayers, who like several writers after him warned of the dangers of soil erosion and the impending calamity in food security. Lindert came, with respect to China and Indonesia, to a different conclusion which is partly unconvincing. He deals with arable soils only, representing a small percentage of the total area. His methodology of using archival soil analyses is innovative, but using data for total P and total K and an uncommon statistical analysis, makes the findings very doubtful and unconvincing. The overall picture is more complicated, with patchy improvements as concluded here, but also with well documented severe local erosion and desertification examples, disregarded in this treatment. Recommended for a serious evaluation and as a challenge for obtaining better data for such trend analyses.

Shifting Ground uses doubtful methodology.......2002-01-24

I wrote a rather critical review, but it disappeared from the screen. Please recover it.

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