The Origins of the Organic Agriculture Debate

About this book

This book explores the factors involved in our modern fear of technology, a fear which forms the foundation for anti-technology beliefs and practices. It explains the history of nitrogen in life and in agriculture, countering myths of scarce resources and beliefs about the sufficiency of organic nitrogen to feed the world's population.

Contents
Chapter 1) Science,Technology and the Critics of Modernity;
Chapter 2) Science, Integrated Inquiry and Verification;
Chapter 3) Reductionism: Sin, Salvation or Neither?;
Chapter 4) On the Trail of DNA: Genes and Heredity;
Chapter 5) Vitalism and Homeopathy;
Chapter 6; Disenchantment and the Cost of Rejected Knowledge;
Chapter 7; Rejected Knowledge, Nature and the Occult;
Chapter 8) Vitalism, Luddism and the "Organic";
Chapter 9) Feeding Six Billion People;
Chapter 10) Romantics and Reactionaries;
Chapter 11) Risk, Fallibility and Change;
Epilogue: Science, Technology and Humanity

Contents

Preface. Introduction. 1. Science, Technology, and the Critics of Modernity. 2. Science, Integrated Inquiry, and Verification 3. Reductionism: Sin, Salvation, or Neither? 4. On the Trail of DNA: Genes and Heredity. 5. Vitalism and Homeopathy. 6. Disenchantment and the Cost of Rejected Knowledge. 7. Rejected Knowledge, Nature and the Occult. 8. Vitalism, the Organic, and the Precautionary Principle. 9. Feeding Six Billion People. 10. Romantics and Reactionaries. 11. Risk, Representation, and Change. Epilogue: Science, Technology, and Humanity. References. Index.

Customer Reviews

Biography

Thomas R. DeGregori, Ph.D., is a professor of economics at the University of Houston, Texas, and author of numerous scholarly books, articles, and reviews. His fields of expertise are economic development; technology and science in economic development; and African, Asian, and Caribbean economic development. Dr. DeGregori has served on many editorial boards and boards of directors and is currently on the Board of Directors of the American Council on Science and Health. He is a popular speaker, lecturer, and consultant both nationally and internationally.