As an introduction and summation of this issue, it is excellent.
—Whole Earth Review
An important reference for everyone concerned about global food supplies and saving biodiversity.
is a book with a message that abounds with energy and enthusiasm. . . . full of history, color and drama, well referenced and easy to read.
—Science Books & Films
Good reading for anyone interested in conservation; should be required reading for policymakers who control political decisions in agriculture.
Given the alarming nature of the news that these authors must put before us, we are fortunate that they are possessed of both a wry sense of humor and a keen sense of history. . . . This accessible, inspiring book should be read by everyone who eats.
—Wilson Library Bulletin
Not since Silent Spring
has a book presented a warning as dire and as worldwide in its implications for the environment and the future of our food supply. . . . Written in a highly appealing narrative and factual style, underscored throughout with thoughtful political and economic analysis and not without touches of sardonic humor, this book by two long-time agricultural activists is a must read. Shattering
provides a well-documented, clear-headed analysis of the challenges the world, particularly its agriculturally wealthy nations, face in confronting the question of genetic diversity.
It is fascinating and sobering reading, even (perhaps especially) for the concerned but non-expert human resident of planet Earth.
—Third World Resources
's unmatched and seemingly exhaustive documentation of genetic erosion should convince even the most skeptical policymaker of the need for change.
—Biodiversity Conservation Strategy Update
If you are fond of having salads generous in diversity of vegetables, enjoy them while you can. If you would like your children and grandchildren to enjoy similar culinary options, then you really should be worried and do whatever you can to preserve the plant genetic diversity that makes those wonderful salads and most other food possible. . . . A highly valuable book. . . . Nobody concerned with food, agriculture, and equitable social development can afford to miss.
—Society and Natural Resources
Like most environmental problems, it is not so much the degree of change, but the rate of change which threatens the biosphere. The roots of modern agriculture go back about twelve thousand years to when humans first sowed the seeds which
from edible plants. . . . A provocative attempt to awaken people to these issues and to press policy-makers into taking the urgent measures which will be vital to preserving the earth's remaining genetic diversity.
—International Journal of Environment and Pollution