Edit: I wrote at length about this book on Clear Eyes, Full Shelves: http://cleareyesfullshelves.com/blog/... 
 This was an interesting read. There's a lot of elements that feel very possible to me, including the political stuff and the food contamination disaster. I do wish the author hadn't been so heavy handed with the characterization of the bad guys and they'd been more nuanced and there are a number of world building issues related to the food contamination disaster. I also could've done without the animal death scene; I know it was meant to shock and illustrate the ruthlessness of the bad guys, but it I kind of already knew they were terrible. 
 But with that said, I read this book in a couple evenings and found it very hard to put down. I think there's going to be a sequel and I'll definitely be picking that up.