Wilted. Julie Guthman

Strawberries are big business in California. They are the sixth-highest-grossing crop in the state, which produces 88 percent of the nation&rsquo;s favorite berry. Yet the industry is often criticized for its backbreaking labor conditions and dependence on highly toxic soil fumigants used to control fungal pathogens and other soilborne pests.<BR /><BR /> In <I>Wilted</I>,&#160;Julie&#160;Guthman tells the story of how the strawberry industry came to rely on soil fumigants, and how that reliance reverberated throughout the rest of the fruit&rsquo;s production system. The particular conditions of plants, soils, chemicals, climate, and laboring bodies that once made strawberry production so lucrative in the Golden State have now changed and become a set of related threats that jeopardize the future of the industry.