Pesticides, A Love Story America's Enduring Embrace of Dangerous Chemicals

America's embrace of synthetic pesticides began when they burst on the scene during World War II and has held steady into the 21st century-for example, more than 90% of soybeans grown in the US in 2008 are Roundup Ready GMOs, dependent upon generous use of the herbicide glyphosate to control weeds. Mart investigates the attraction of pesticides, with their up-to-the-minute promise of modernity, sophisticated technology, and increased productivity-in short, their appeal to human dreams of controlling nature. She also considers how they reinforced Cold War assumptions of Western economic and material superiority.
Though the publication of Rachel Carson's
Read more