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Amber waves : the extraordinary biography of wheat, from wild grass to world megacrop / Catherine Zabinski

Author
Zabinski, Catherine
Published
Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, 2020.
Copyright Date
©2020
Physical Description
246 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm

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Contents
Introduction. A biography of wheat? -- The whispering of the grasses -- The first encounter -- Intertwined lives -- From villages to cities -- Relationships are hard work -- Nurture and nature -- War and peace and wheat -- Order in chaos -- A love-hate relationship -- Epilogue. An eternal harvest.
Summary
"Wheat was one of the first domesticated food crops, and for roughly 8,000 years it has been a dietary staple in Europe, West Asia, and North Africa. Today, wheat is grown on more land area than any other commercial crop, and it continues to be the most important food grain for humans. A plant this prolific surely deserves its own biography. This book, by plant ecologist Catherine Zabinski, invites readers to follow the evolutionary journey of wheat while exploring its symbiotic relationship with humans. In the early chapters, we are introduced to the habits and history of this member of the grass family, how it lives, how it thrives, and how it arrived at its current form. The action swells when our ancestors discover and exploit grain, which went on to be foundational to the development of civilization -- from the wild grasses first cultivated in the Fertile Crescent to the ancient empires that sought to control its production. Later chapters track a more modern history, with wheat playing a starring role in the Green Revolution and the rise of genetically modified food. The end of the book explores the plant's place in the creation of a sustainable food system"--
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ISBN
9780226553719 hardcover
022655371X hardcover
Bibliography Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Binding Information
Copy 1. Binding: Includes original dust-jacket.
Endowment Note
Benzak Foundation American Environmental History Collections Endowment at the Penn State Libraries
View MARC record | catkey: 32497032