The Death of Ramon Gonzalez: The Modern Agricultural Dilemma

The Death of Ramon Gonzalez is a blockbuster. In a dramatic, readable story, Wright has provided a new way of looking at the tragic human and environmental consequences of chemical-dependent agriculture. His case study of the Mexican export vegetable industry and of migrant farmworkers shows how what we call 'agricultural development' is really a headlong rush toward ecological catastrophe. His synthesis of the thoughts and experiments of those working for alternatives makes a major new contribution. --Wes Jackson, The Land Institute[Wright's] concern is for the victimized men, women, and children in a beautiful land, living and working in a cloud of toxins of which they have no understanding. If this story has any lasting effect on Mexico's environmental policies, the death of Ramon Gonzalez may prove to have been weightier than the usual statistic. --Audubon. . . competitive in a class with Barry Commoner's The Closing Circle or Rachael Carson's Silent Spring in vividly drawing attention to the destructive, unsustainable logic behind much of modern agricultural practices, particularly in developing countries like Mexico. --Stephen P. Mumme, associate professor of political science, Colorado State University