Growing Resistance up for THREE SBAs!

Emily Eaton’s Growing Resistance: Canadian Farmers and the Politics of Genetically Modified Wheat received three nominations for the 2014 Saskatchewan Book Awards!

Growing Resistance was nominated in the Non-Fictionm Best First Book, and Scholarly Writing award categories.

The guest speaker will be Winnipeg writer and editor Warren Cariou (who is the editor of UMP’s First Voices, First Texts series) who will be speaking on the subject “Stories as Strong as the Stones: Aboriginal Voices & Writings.”

Award winners will be announced on Saturday, April 26, 2014 at the Saskatchewan Book Awards Gala at the Conexus Arts Centre in Regina.

About the Book
In 2004 Canadian farmers led an international coalition to a major victory for the anti-GM movement by defeating the introduction of Monsanto’s genetically modified wheat. Canadian farmers’ strong opposition to GM wheat marked a stark contrast to previous producer acceptance of other genetically modified crops. By 2005, for example, GM canola accounted for 78% of all canola grown nationally. So why did farmers stand up for wheat?

In Growing Resistance, Emily Eaton reveals the motivating factors behind farmer opposition to GM wheat. She illustrates wheat’s cultural, historical, and political significance on the Canadian prairies as well as its role in crop rotation, seed saving practices, and the economic livelihoods of prairie farmers.

Through interviews with producers, industry organizations, and biochemical companies, Eaton demonstrates how the inclusion of producer interests was integral to the coalition’s success in voicing concerns about environmental implications, international market opposition to GMOs, and the lack of transparency and democracy in Canadian biotech policy and regulation.

Growing Resistance is a fascinating study of successful coalition building, of the need to balance local and global concerns in activist movements, and of the powerful forces vying for control of food production.

About the Author
Emily Eaton is an associate professor of geography at the University of Regina specializing in political economy and natural resource economies. She is also active in a variety of social justice struggles.