World Hunger

by Brian Kenneth Swain

Vanguard Corporation, an agricultural company led by a greedy and mercurial CEO, has developed a new line of genetically modified seed products. Designed to significantly increase crop yields and resist drought, pests, and disease in the hopes of reducing hunger in Third World countries, the seeds should also earn huge profits for the firm. Vanguard's testing in Belarus, Colombia, and India initially goes well, but midway through the crops' development, reports begin to emerge of bizarre insect observations linked to incidents of domestic animal slaughter, and eventually, the death of several people. The high-growth genetic enhancements engineered into the seeds have been transferred into the insects through their ingestion of the test crops. The strains of these "super" insects are much larger, more aggressive, and increasingly resistant to pesticides and disease than their natural counterparts. As the insects become more plentiful and widespread, Vanguard desperately combats them while dealing with the media, environmentalists, the government, and other distractions. Meanwhile, scientists, entomologists, and field operatives frantically work together to eradicate the new species and deal with the fallout of mankind's apathy toward environmental meddling.

312 pages, Paperback

First published August 8, 2007

Reviews

[Brian Swain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it? I wrote it!

[John Damaso · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Crichton-esque fashion, this bio-thriller spans several continents to entertain what might happen if GMO bioengineering -- whether developed with altruistic or pecuniary motives -- creates super-insects capable of destroying the very crops grown with it and the very corporation, Vanguard, responsible for inventing for it.

The novel follows short chronological chapters time-stamped for currency, which makes for great commuter reading. Multiple shifts in setting are usually handled with aplomb through the use of "in media res" dialog. The contemporary setting is believable and Vanguard could very well be Monsanto.

Swain's prose races satisfyingly during the novel's three tensest moments (UPS Flight, CEO's laboratory debacle, duster plane's descent) but struggles for emotive power with the ostensible main characters of Barrett, the cautious lead scientist and unwitting corporate pawn, and Julia, the assistant scientist with a somewhat irrelevant young son.

In all, the story broaches important fodder for conversation: corporate greed, corporate responsibility, GMOs, entomology, man v. nature, unintended consequences, collateral damage, American export of domestic problems, etc.

Despite addressing important constituencies here (corporations, academia, scientists, activists, farmers, middle-men), the novel lacks adequate scenes depicting the consumer role in the food-industrial complex. A grocery store (or farmer's market) scene would have contextualized the macro concepts at a micro level. A few passing references to nachos, American Thanksgiving, borscht, and New York City bagels do not quite suffice.