"A riveting true story of industrial espionage in which a Chinese-born scientist is convicted of trying to steal U.S. trade secrets, by a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction. In September 2011, sheriff's deputies in Iowa encountered three neatly dressed Asian men at a cornfield that had been leased by Monsanto to grow corn from patented hybrids. What began as a routine inquiry into potential trespassing blossomed into a federal court case...

"One woman's tenacious journey to escape poverty and create a billion-dollar farming business--without ever leaving the land she loved. The youngest of her parents' combined twenty-one children, Sarah Frey grew up on a struggling farm in Southern Illinois, often having to grow, catch, or hunt her own dinner. She spent much of her early childhood dreaming of running away to Hollywood, Chicago--or really anywhere with central heating. At fifteen, she...

Through meticulous research, Hauter presents a shocking account of how agricultural policy has been hijacked by lobbyists, driving out independent farmers and food processors in favor of the likes of Cargill, Tyson, Kraft, and ConAgra. She demonstrates how the impacts ripple far and wide, from economic stagnation in rural communities at home, to famines in poor countries overseas. In the end, Hauter illustrates how solving this crisis will require...

The four women of the Gardin family live side-by-side in Edin, Georgia, but residing in tight proximity doesn’t mean everything is picture-perfect. Ruth runs the family’s multimillion-dollar peanut business, a legacy of the Gardins’ formerly enslaved ancestors. But tensions have intensified since the death of her husband, Beau, and she feels like an outsider in the very place she wishes to belong. Sisters Mary and Martha fuel the family tension....

Flint Corp., a multinational agribusiness, has perfected weather control, altering the atmosphere to create and steer storms and reaping massive profits from the resulting crop failures and successes. When Greg Simpson, the inventor and chief programmer, goes rogue, pummeling Flint's own holdings, a hotshot young weather scientist Tess Beauchamp is sent to Antarctica to oust him and take control of the TESLA installation. But Greg won't go quietly--he's...

A quarter of our carbon emissions comes from food. This accessible description of how food and climate change are connected, inspired by the author's former mentor David Mackay (Sustainable Energy without the Hot Air), steers clear of emotive words to focus on facts. From breakfast to lunch, snacks to supper, Professor Bridle outlines the climate impact of the food we eat, how food production contributes to climate change and how climate change impacts...