Biotech Updates

Food for Africa Book by Professor Jennifer Thomson

October 9, 2013

The University of Cape Town (UCT) Press has released Food for Africa: The life and work of a scientist in GM crops by UCT Professor Jennifer Thomson. The author traces through anecdote and science the development of a hotly contended area of research, from the dawn of genetic engineering in the USA 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 book describes a personal and scientific evolution and looks to a future in which staple crops may be grown in difficult conditions by smallholder farmers and help Africans achieve food security.

For more information about this book, visit the UCT Press at http://uctpress.bookslive.co.za/blog/2013/05/14/introducing-food-for-africa-the-life-and-work-of-a-scientist-in-gm-crops-by-jennifer-thomson/.