Tomorrow's Table

Pamela C. Ronald, a UC Davis plant geneticist, and Raoul W. Adamchak, an organic farmer — a married couple — wrote this 2008 book (Oxford University Press) arguing that genetic engineering and organic farming are complementary tools for feeding a growing population sustainably. It alternates chapters between the lab and the farm, at 167 pages.

Gates came to it on the recommendation of his foundation's agricultural development group, and his note captures the whole pitch: "This is an important book for anyone who wants to learn about the science of seeds and the challenges faced by farmers. It's only 167 pages, and includes personal stories that give you a sense of the authors as people and how strongly they feel about farming, food and the environment." Each author writes against their own tribe's orthodoxy — the geneticist for organic methods, the organic farmer for engineered seed — which is why the book lands where polemics don't.

Two things transfer. First, the analytical hygiene: the book cleanly separates three questions that food politics fuses — are new seeds safe, how should they be priced, and who should own them. Second, the both/and conclusion: Gates's takeaway was that "we will need the best ideas from 'organic' thinkers and from scientists – including genetic engineers – to feed the world and help the poorest," noting that many organic techniques are more cost-effective for poor farmers than conventional ones. Toolkits that are supposed to be enemies usually compose.