Who Really Feeds the World?: The Failures of Agribusiness and the Promise of Agroecology

by Vandana Shiva

Overview

Debunking the notion that our current food crisis must be addressed through industrial agriculture and genetic modification, author and activist Vandana Shiva argues that those forces are in fact the ones responsible for the hunger problem in the first place. Who Really Feeds the World? is a powerful manifesto calling for agricultural justice and genuine sustainability, drawing upon Shiva’s thirty years of research and accomplishments in the field. Instead of relying on genetic modification and large-scale monocropping to solve the world’s food crisis, she proposes that we look to agroecology—the knowledge of the interconnectedness that creates food—as a truly life-giving alternative to the industrial paradigm. Shiva succinctly and eloquently lays out the networks of people and processes that feed the world, exploring issues of diversity, the needs of small famers, the importance of seed saving, the movement toward localization, and the role of women in producing the world's food.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781623170622
Publisher:	North Atlantic Books
Publication date:	06/28/2016
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	287,553
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Vandana Shiva is a physicist, world-renowned environmental thinker and activist, and a tireless crusader for economic, food, and gender justice. She is the author and editor of many influential books, including Making Peace with the Earth, Earth Democracy, Soil Not Oil, Staying Alive, Stolen Harvest, Water Wars, and Globalization's New Wars. Dr. Shiva is the recipient of more than twenty international awards, among them the Right Livelihood Award (1993); the John Lennon-Yoko Ono Grant for Peace (2008); The Sydney Peace Prize (2010); and the Calgary Peace Prize (Canada, 2011). In addition, she is a board member of the World Future Council and one of the leaders and board members of the International Forum on Globalization (whose other members include Jerry Mander, Edward Goldsmith, Ralph Nader, and Jeremy Rifkin). She travels frequently to speak at conferences around the world.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

1 Agroecology Feeds the World, Not a Violent Knowledge Paradigm 1

2 Living Soil Feeds the World, Not Chemical Fertilizers 15

3 Bees and Butterflies Feed the World, Not Poisons and Pesticides 27

4 Biodiversity Feeds the World, Not Toxic Monocultures 41

5 Small-Scale Farmers Feed the World, Not Large-Scale Industrial Farms 55

6 Seed Freedom Feeds the World, Not Seed Dictatorship 67

7 Localization Feeds the World, Not Globalization 85

8 Women Feed the World, Not Corporations 111

9 The Way Forward 125

Endnotes 141

Index 157

About the Author 167

Editorial Reviews

07/11/2016
Shiva (Soil Not Oil), noted environmental activist and physicist, relays the emphatic message that "industrial globalized agriculture driven by greed and profits" direly threatens the wellbeing of Earth and all its inhabitants, and that "ecological and just alternatives have become an imperative." Shiva's "agroecological" manifesto identifies several distressing social and environmental trends stemming from industrialized agricultural practices, including the rampancy of malnutrition and food-based diseases, critical endangerment of pollinators such as bees, pollution of Earth's water and atmosphere by industrial farms, displacement and impoverishment of small-scale farmers, and privatization of seeds. Into this ominous commentary Shiva incorporates feminist thought, arguing that "when women control the food system, everyone gets their fair share to eat," as well as warnings against the prevalence of genetically modified monocultures that threaten the biodiversity necessary to sustain a healthy planet. While this urgent critique of "agribusiness" seems unlikely to persuade those readers not already in agreement with its author, it takes a productively interdisciplinary approach to the modern-day food crisis and plots a tentative route toward "a food and agricultural system that is at peace with the Earth." (June)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Who Really Feeds the World?

​"[Shiva] makes many points that refute reflexive anger and demand immediate discussion. [She] brings new urgency to her explanations of the problems caused by monoculture agriculture, anchored by corn and soybeans in America... A book to jump-start conversations about a crucial subject."—Booklist


Praise for Vandana Shiva
 
"Her fierce intellect and her disarmingly friendly, accessible manner have made her a valuable advocate for people all over the developing world."—Ms. magazine
 
“A rock star in the worldwide battle against genetically modified seeds.”—Bill Moyers
 
"Shiva is a burst of creative energy, an intellectual power."—The Progressive
 
"One of the world's most prominent radical scientists."—The Guardian

From the Publisher