Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply

by Vandana Shiva

Overview

For the farmer, the seed is not merely the source of future plants and food; it is a vehicle through which culture and history can be preserved and spread to future generations. For centuries, farmers have evolved crops and produced an incredible diversity of plants that provide life-sustaining nutrition. In India alone, the ingenuity of farmers has produced over 200,000 varieties of rice, many of which now line store shelves around the world. This productive tradition, however, is under attack as globalized, corporate regimes increasingly exploit intellectual property laws to annex these sustaining seeds and remove them from the public sphere.

In Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply, Shiva explores the devastating effects of commercial agriculture and genetic engineering on the food we eat, the farmers who grow it, and the soil that sustains it. This prescient critique and call to action covers some of the most pressing topics of this ongoing dialogue, from the destruction of local food cultures and the privatization of plant life, to unsustainable industrial fish farming and safety concerns about corporately engineered foods. The preeminent agricultural activist and scientist of a generation, Shiva implores the farmers and consumers of the world to make a united stand against the genetically modified crops and untenable farming practices that endanger the seeds and plants that give us life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813166551
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	01/14/2016
Series:	Culture of the Land
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	152
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Vandana Shiva is the director of Navdanya in India. A physicist, philosopher, and feminist, she is the author of more than twenty books and the recipient of more than twenty international awards.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply 5

Chapter 2 Soy Imperialism and the Destruction of Local Food Cultures 21

Chapter 3 The Stolen Harvest under the Sea 37

Chapter 4 Mad Cows and Sacred Cows 57

Chapter 5 The Stolen Harvest of Seed 79

Chapter 6 Genetic Engineering and Food Security 95

Chapter 7 Reclaiming Food Democracy 117

Afterword 125

Index 129

About the Author 145

Editorial Reviews

Stolen Harvest is an unremitting indictment of genetic engineering, on moral, cultural, and economic grounds, especially as it applies to the third world.

New York Review of Books

The South's best known environmentalist.

New Internationalist

Shiva has devoted her life to fighting for the rights of ordinary people in India. 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 leading thinker who has eloquently blended her views on the environment, agriculture, spirituality, and women's rights into a powerful philosophy.

Utne Reader

" Stolen Harvest is an unremitting indictment of genetic engineering, on moral, cultural, and economic grounds, especially as it applies to the third world." -- New York Review of Books

"A leading thinker who has eloquently blended her views on the environment, agriculture, spirituality, and women's rights into a powerful philosophy." -- Utne Reader

"Shiva has devoted her life to fighting for the rights of ordinary people in India. Her fierce intellect and her disarmingly friendly, accessible manner have made her a valuable advocate for people all over the developing world." -- Ms. Magazine

"The South's best known environmentalist." -- New Internationalist

From the Publisher

T]his activist ... has done so much to reveal the human and environmental trade agreements. In this book, she looks at the effects of industrial agriculture on small farmers and the environment.

Feminist Bookstore News

The accusations made by Vandana Shiva deserve to be considered.

New Agriculturist

More than a searing indictment of the growing coporatizing of agriculture, Shiva's book is a call to arms. She encourages readers to join the growing food fight and...profiles a number of citizen groups who are doing just that, successfully.

L.A. Times Syndicate

Stolen harvest is a passionate, articulate, highly recommended wake up call to the public...

Wisconsin Bookwatch