Description
Book Synopsis: In the 1940s chemists discovered that barbasco, a wild yam indigenous to Mexico, could be used to mass-produce synthetic steroid hormones. Barbasco spurred the development of new drugs, including cortisone and the first viable oral contraceptives, and positioned Mexico as a major player in the global pharmaceutical industry. Yet few people today are aware of Mexico’s role in achieving these advances in modern medicine.
In Jungle Laboratories, Gabriela Soto Laveaga reconstructs the story of how rural yam pickers, international pharmaceutical companies, and the Mexican state collaborated and collided over the barbasco. By so doing, she sheds important light on a crucial period in Mexican history and challenges us to reconsider who can produce science.
Soto Laveaga traces the political, economic, and scientific development of the global barbasco industry from its emergence in the 1940s, through its appropriation by a populist Mexican state in 1970, to its obsolescence in the mid-1990s. She focuses primarily on the rural southern region of Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, where the yam grew most freely and where scientists relied on local, indigenous knowledge to cultivate and harvest the plant. Rural Mexicans, at first unaware of the pharmaceutical and financial value of barbasco, later acquired and deployed scientific knowledge to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies, lobby the Mexican government, and ultimately transform how urban Mexicans perceived them.
By illuminating how the yam made its way from the jungles of Mexico, to domestic and foreign scientific laboratories where it was transformed into pills, to the medicine cabinets of millions of women across the globe, Jungle Laboratories urges us to recognize the ways that Mexican peasants attained social and political legitimacy in the twentieth century, and positions Latin America as a major producer of scientific knowledge.
Details
Discover the untold story of Mexico's role in revolutionizing modern medicine with Jungle Laboratories: Mexican Peasants, National Projects, and the Making of the Pill. This captivating book by Gabriela Soto Laveaga unveils the incredible journey of how barbasco, a wild yam found in the jungles of Mexico, became the key ingredient for the mass production of synthetic steroid hormones, including the first viable oral contraceptives and cortisone. Uncover the collaboration and clashes between rural yam pickers, international pharmaceutical companies, and the Mexican state that paved the way for Mexico to become a major player in the global pharmaceutical industry.
Through Jungle Laboratories, Soto Laveaga takes you on a fascinating exploration of the political, economic, and scientific development of the global barbasco industry. Learn how this humble plant emerged in the 1940s and was eventually embraced by a populist Mexican state in 1970. Discover the pivotal role of Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, where local farmers harness indigenous knowledge to cultivate and harvest the yam. Witness the transformation of rural Mexicans from being unaware of the pharmaceutical and financial value of barbasco to becoming empowered negotiators with pharmaceutical companies and influencers in Mexican politics.
Jungle Laboratories not only highlights the remarkable scientific advancements achieved through the extraction and transformation of the yam into pills but also sheds light on the social and political impact it had on Mexican peasants. Gain a deeper understanding of how rural Mexicans attained social and political legitimacy in the twentieth century and how Latin America emerged as a major producer of scientific knowledge. This groundbreaking book challenges traditional narratives and encourages us to recognize the hidden contributions made by individuals often overlooked in the history of science.
Don't miss out on this eye-opening journey into the world of modern medicine and the incredible role played by Mexico. Grab your copy of Jungle Laboratories today and be inspired by the untold stories of ingenuity, collaboration, and triumph. Click here to order now!
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