This was an interesting read. I am always on the look out for any info concerning the toxic we not only put into ourselves, but also into our environment. The author makes very valid points, but I'm a natural born cynic. I've seen and heard too many "next great things" to believe anyone. The great cure-alls never panned out. I am aware of looking into natural cures and organic farming, and it all sounds great, BUT I also know the world cannot be fed using all natural farming methods, and I don't care how many "experts" are spouting it. The world does need more biodiversity to counter crop devastation (think the Irish potato famine and the current banana fungus...). I would recommend reading this book by anyone who wants to learn about this issue.

Monosson explores options for when drug-resistant bacteria threaten and pesticides fade in utility--fecal transplants, crop rotations, bacteriophages and encouragement of beneficial insects in crop fields. All of these come with trade-offs--especially in the current expectations of crop yields and mechanization of agriculture, but offer options when the fungicide doesn't work any more.

Thank you Net galley for the free ARC.

This is a very thorough analysis of why microbiologists, ecologists and medical doctors and farmers should all work together. The understanding that our approach to increasing crop yield and curing diseases may have been wrong and has resulted in pesticide resistant bugs and antibiotic resistant bacteria is becoming painfully obvious. We need to consider the whole ecosystem of each organism and use natural enemies of invaders to keep ourselves and our crops healthy. I had already read a lot about the gut bacteria/immunity link and learned a lot about the plant/crop ideas of interplanting, using pheromones and even gene swapping.

Great book.

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, synthetic is bad. Nonetheless I enjoyed the book and hence gave it the 4-star rating.

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 improve ourselves and save our planet from, well, us.

The basic message is that Nature has it handled. We can do better learning from Nature than by creating poisonous chemical compounds by the tens of thousands. Monosson begins with the story of fecal transplants, suddenly in vogue in the West. They seem to cure a wide swath of otherwise unmanageable conditions. Sometimes overnight, after months of antibiotics have failed. The Chinese figured this out a thousand years ago. The FDA is still not convinced, but is tolerating it.

Next up are phages, which target specific pathogens. If we figure out how phages and pathogens line up, we can have an endless cheap supply of tightly targeted miracle meds that have worked, by evolutionary design, for eons.

We have begun trying some of this. We do use sex odors – pheromones, to confuse destructive moths. It saves spraying pesticides on fields, saving fruit crops from becoming worthless almost overnight. With pheromones, it is a matter of milligrams per acre, compared to carpet bombing with pesticides. For some reason, despite the evident, documented success, pheromone treatments have not made a big dent in the market, she says. As with anything in science, acceptance is problematic.

Natural Defense is a most accessible, plainly written briefing on the state of our ignorance and the wonderful vistas opening up to us. As Monosson says in the Epilogue, each chapter could become its own book. Some of those books have been written, and many more are on the way. This is a fine, fast intro.

David Wineberg