Natural Defense: Enlisting Bugs and Germs to Protect Our Food and Health

Patients suffer from C.diff, a painful, potentially lethal gut infection associated with multiple rounds of antibiotics; orange groves rot from insect-borne bacteria; and the blight responsible for the Irish potato famine outmaneuvers fungicides. There are viruses that infect and bust apart bacteria; vaccines engineered to better provoke our natural defenses; and insect pheromones that throw crop-destroying moths into a misguided sexual frenzy. Monosson gives readers a peek into the fascinating and hopeful world of natural defenses. For more than a century, we have relied on chemical cures to keep our bodi

"Monosson offers a positive outlook on the future of plant protection and our subsequent health benefits with innovative scientific advancements that look to germs and bugs to work with nature instead of fighting against it."

For every pathogen there is a phage Hiding in plain sight all these years, the microbiome has been providing exciting new paths for discovery, wonderment, and amazement. Looking at the world with new eyes, we can (at last) see that the air, soil and water themselves contain microbiomes, with similarly impressive properties. Natural Defense is the latest addition to the burgeoning shelf of biomic revelations. This one is focused on practical application. It is all about how we can . "New techniques against pests and pathogens: ecological wisdom or more technological hubris?" according to B. Ranalli. We know that the use of chemicals on the farm leads pests to develop resistance. And we know that the indiscriminate use of antibiotics is leading human pathogens to develop resistance as well. The promise of “better living through chemistry” appears to have stalled. What comes next? In Natural Defense, Dr. Emily Monosson takes us on a tour of new technologies coming down the pipeline, based on biology and high-performance computing . Good look at science but with some reservations I am torn about this book. I like Emily Monosson’s writing style. She uses plain language and presents the science clearly. On the medical chapters, she follows the science stringently which is great. But on the environment she subtly undermines the science by, for example, promoting organic foods and by giving equal emphasis to two sides of the GMO argument on yellow rice. Running through the book is an undertone of natural is good, synth