• Deals extensively with the problem of population, while also discussing the issue of poverty and its relation to hunger and inadequate nutrition in developed and developing countries.

• Provides an overview of plant biotechnology, starting with simple technologies such as hydroponics and ending with complex ones such as gene transfer.

• Illuminates the source of mineral nutrients that plants need and the importance of the soil ecosystem. Introducing the ideas that nutrients are recycled, that cereals and legumes have different ways of acquiring nitrogen, and that the soil is an incredibly complex ecosystem about which people know little.

• Covers the evolution of agriculture as a human enterprise, from the domestication of wheat, rice, and corn thousands of years ago, to the impact of genetics and modern technology in the Green Revolution.

• Genetic engineering will have a major effect on the way people protect plants against predators and pests. In turn, a large section is devoted to the problems caused by weeds, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and insects. This section concludes with a discussion of genetically engineered herbicide-tolerant plats, virus-resistant potatoes, insect-resistant tomatoes, and crops resistant to bacteria and fungi.

• A substantive discussion of the methods, goals, and achievements of genetic engineering is provided, including the methods used to introduce novel genes into plants, as well as the objectives: improve pest management, agronomic properties, nutritional quality, improvements that affect post-harvest quality, and molecular farming.

• Overall discussion of sustainability and some the non-technical issues facing agriculture strive to answer five major questions:

• What is sustainable agriculture, and how does it differ from organic farming?

• What is the role of the political system in pushing agriculture toward sustainability or away from it?

• How does the world attain food security?

• What type of research is needed to make food production truly sustainable?

• How do people achieve a truly "green" agriculture?