Food for Africa : the life and work of a scientist in GM crops / Jennifer Thomson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Thomson, Jennifer A., 1947-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Thomson, Jennifer A., 1947-.

Thomson, Jennifer A.

Genetically modified foods--Biography.

Genetically modified foods.

Genre:

Biographies

Physical Description:

1 online resource (181 p.)

Place of Publication:

Cape Town UCT Press 2013

Claremont, South Africa : UCT Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Tracing through anecdote and science the development of a hotly contended area of research, this account expounds the dawn of genetic engineering in the United States in 1974, through the early stages of its uptake in South Africa, to the current situation, in which approximately 80 percent of maize in South Africa is genetically modified for drought resistance. The guide through this history is Jennifer Thomson, whose own story of how she came to choose genetic modification (GM) as a career and her path-breaking involvement in the development of GM research. S

Contents:

Front cover; Title page; Imprint page; Table of contents; Foreword; Acknowledgements; List of acronyms; Introduction; From Sunday school teacher to scientist; To college at Cambridge; South African PhD; Harvard post-doc; The debate begins; The controversy is my solution; Frequent debates; The recent Séralini saga; Writing on science; Chapter 1: The SAGENE years; A visit to Basel; The Ledeganck Street lab, Ghent; My own laboratory; Restructuring the CSIR; The role of SAGENE; Chapter 2: From SAGENE to the GMO Act; Establishing procedures; GM tomatoes; GM cotton; From a committee to an Act

Blocked by bureaucracySuccesses none the less; The International Service for the Acquisition of Agribiotech Applications; AfricaBio; Chapter 3: Into Africa; Playing in another field; Pariahs stick together; The potential of African students; South African Women in Science and Engineering; Landing in Kenya; The University Science, Humanities and Engineering Partnerships in Africa; Florence Wambugu; Venturing into Nigeria; Fears around DNA transfer; Chapter 4: To Davos and further into Africa; Intellectual property and life forms; How the AATF works; IR maize; Bt cowpeas; Banana bacterial wilt

The farmers' viewAddressing the UN; L'Oreal/UNESCO award; The ICGEB project; The InterAcademy Council; Chapter 5: A South African National Biotechnology Strategy; The biotechnology innovation centres; The National Biotechnology Advisory Committee; A calamitous development; The Bioeconomy Strategy; Chapter 6: African National Biotechnology Strategies; Kenya; Uganda; Tanzania; Burkina Faso; Ghana; Egypt; Chapter 7: The maize streak virus story; Help from abroad; The Claude Leon Foundation; Learning the technique; Getting the equipment; Wild grasses; Publicity; Chapter 8: David vs Goliath

Rockefeller to the rescueThe South African Maize Trust; Monsanto, our Goliath; Chapter 9: Food for Africa; Can GM crops help feed the hungry in Africa?; Environmental effects; Insect-resistant (Bt) cowpea; Disease-resistant bananas; Cassava resistant to cassava mosaic virus (CMV); Drought-tolerant maize; Improved rice varieties; Striga-resistant maize; Vitamin-enhanced crops; Sorghum; In the hands of the politicians; The views of Africans themselves; Glossary; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

CC BY-NC-ND

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781775820499

1775820491

9781775820482

1775820483

OCLC:

868964292

Access Restriction:

Unrestricted online access