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Overview
Evolution has evolved into a booming industry. As humans continue to use technology to reshape for their needs everything from wheat to cows to chickens, the evolution of these organisms is no longer merely a matter of natural selection, but something far more artificial ... and profitable. Bringing us to the threshold of the new field of evolutionary history, Industrializing Organisms explores the implications of mankind's direct intervention into evolutionary dynamics for both convenience and profit -- from the creation of "turbo-cows" and "war horses" in the nineteenth century to the manufacturing of "green gold" and the "chicken of tomorrow" today.Synopsis
Scientists have developed a featherless chicken designed to make industrial chicken production more efficient, while specially trained Pacific bottlenose dolphins are being deployed in the Persian Gulf to disarm mines and protect our Navy. Everyone knows Darwin's theory of natural selection, but what about his idea of artificial selection—how humans, not nature, rework natural organisms to meet our needs? Industrializing Organisms brings us to the threshold of the new field of evolutionary history—from the mobilization of war horses in the 19th century to today's engineered plants and manipulated animals.