Unearthing the Agribusiness Secret That Poisoned My Farming Community
June 9, 2023
Veterinarian and EPA environmental health scientist Hilborn lives with her husband on a farm in North Carolina, where they grow their own fruits and vegetables. Here she recounts pausing--after a day spent working on their land--at a sunlit section of the farm's swale to enjoy a visit to her "natural aquarium," usually brimming with life. On this date, however, she sees only murky, golden-brown water with no sign of live animals. She begins a quest to determine why the animals have died or disappeared by talking to neighbors and scientists at government agencies and universities. With growing dread and feelings of profound loss, she notices that the pollinators, beetles, spiders, ants, and earthworms have also vanished, and the birds are abandoning their nests. By studying scientific papers to try to make sense of it all, Hilborn perseveres when no one seems able or willing to help her. She ultimately learns that chemicals believed to be safe are in fact quite destructive. VERDICT A beautifully descriptive, lyrical immersion in the natural world that's coupled with a detective story, reminiscent of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. Will likely appeal to readers interested in natural history, ecology, and pollinators.--Sue O'Brien
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July 1, 2023
Environmental scientist, veterinarian, and honeybee specialist Hilborn was shocked by the devastation wrought on her North Carolina farm following a small flood. The swale, a half-mile long ditch that forms a seasonal wetland, had been home to amphibians and birds, but to her horror she finds that it is suddenly a poisoned wasteland. What begins as a nearly frenetic rush to learn what could have damaged the swale, and if it can recover, soon becomes an exercise in frustration as she deals with local governmental agencies (sympathetic but ill-equipped to help) and tensions rise with the neighbors. Hilborn's investigation reveals that local farmers, longtime friends, use Roundup and pesticide-coated corn seed. Her sensitivity to honeybees becomes especially significant as she comes to grips with the long-term damage every local living thing is now facing. Other titles have been written about Roundup--Toxic Exposure (2023), by Chadi Nabhan; Seed Money (2021), by Bartow J. Elmore--but Restoring Eden brings a personal approach. This is an environmental memoir that stirs emotions with the author's enormous empathy for the wildlife who share her land.
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