Seed Sovereignty, Food Security: Women in the Vanguard of the Fight against GMOs and Corporate Agriculture

by Vandana Shiva (Editor)

In this unique anthology, women from around the world write about the movement to change the current, industrial paradigm of how we grow our food. As seed keepers and food producers, as scientists, activists, and scholars, they are dedicated to renewing a food system that is better aligned with ecological processes as well as human health and global social justice. Seed Sovereignty, Food Security is an argument for just that--a reclaiming of traditional methods of agricultural practice in order to secure a healthy, nourishing future for all of us. Whether tackling the thorny question of GMO safety or criticizing the impact of big agribusiness on traditional communities, these women are in the vanguard of defending the right of people everywhere to practice local, biodiverse, and organic farming as an alternative to industrial agriculture.

Contents

• Seed Sovereignty, Food Security VANDANA SHIVA
• Fields of Hope and Power FRANCES MOORE LAPPÉ & ANNA LAPPÉ
• The Ethics of Agricultural Biotechnology BETH BURROWS
• Food Politics, the Food Movement and Public Health MARION NESTLE
• Autism and Connecting the Dots STEPHANIE SENEFF
• The New Genetics and Dangers of GMOs MAE-WAN HO
• Seed Germany SUSANNE GURA
• GM Soy as Feed for Animals Affects Posterity IRINA ERMAKOVA & ALEXANDER BARANOFF
• Seeds in France TIPHAINE BURBAN
• Kokopelli vs. Graines Baumaux BLANCHE MAGARINOS-REY
• If People Are Asked, They Say NO to GMOs FLORIANNE KOECHLIN
• The Italian Context MARIA GRAZIA MAMMUCINI
• The Untold American Seed in the US DEBBIE BARKER
• Reviving Native Sioux Agriculture Systems SUZANNE FOOTE
• In Praise of the Leadership of Indigenous Women WINONA LADUKE
• Moms Across Shaking up the System ZEN HONEYCUTT
• Seed Freedom and Seed Bangladesh Today FARIDA AKHTER
• Monsanto and Biosafety in Nepal KUSUM HACHHETHU
• Sowing Seeds of Freedom VANDANA SHIVA
• The Loss of Crop Genetic Diversity in the Changing World TEWOLDE BERHAN GEBRE EGZIABHER & SUE EDWARDS
• Seed Sovereignty and Ecological Integrity in Africa MARIAM MAYET
• Conserving the Diversity of Peasant Seeds ANA DE ITA
• Celebrating the Chile Nativo ISAURA ANDALUZ
• Seed Saving and Women in Peru PATRICIA FLORES
• The Seeds of Liberation in Latin America SANDRA BAQUEDANO & SARA LARRAÍN
• The Other Mothers and the Fight against GMOs in Argentina ANA BROCCOLI
• Seeding Australia SUSAN HAWTHORNE

Genres: Environment, Nonfiction, Politics, Nature, Feminism, Economics

424 pages, Paperback

First published February 2, 2016

About the author

A major figurehead of the alter-globalization movement as well as a major role player in global Ecofeminism, Dr. Vandana Shiva is recipient to several awards for her services in human rights, ecology and conservation. Receiving her Ph.D in physics at the University of Western Ontario in 1978, Dr. Vandana Shivas attentions were quickly drawn towards ecological concerns.

Reviews

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 5 out of 5]

At times this book was hard to read, heartbreaking, full of scientific terms (well explained but still difficult) and at times it seemed repetitive as the picture is built up of what is happening in each county and it seems the same anywhere where there are farmers and traditional knowledges to be colonised and exploited (yes colonialism in 2015).

I didn't equally agree with all authors, one seemed to be writing from a rationalist, capitalist perspective (sort of a soft-version of capitalism) whereas to me there is no way forward without a stronger critical thrust...but even she was problematising. Noone gives easy answers however the universal call is for respecting the land and its peoples as something more than "resources". This applies whether we are talking about the "resources" of the earth itself or knowledge resources.

It was wonderful (though sad) that the book finished with such a detailed, head and heart integrating look at Australia. For me as an Australian reader that was powerful. I feel powerless to know what to do after reading this book but I hope everyone reads it and someone is wise and brave enough to start actions I can support.

We need to ensure our children and children's children will have food to eat so they can keep enjoying the blissful hours reading that I have had (please note this book was not bliss, but it was worthwhile)

[Andrew Price · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess there are two main themes running through the book. GMOs are necessarily bad because they're unnatural, and the seed companies that produce them are "playing God" and so forth. Tack on the argument that GMOs contain dangerous chemicals that can cause autism, cancer, etc. Therefore traditional, organic farming, based on varieties bred over generations to adapt to local climates are inherently superior.

Then there is the other major theme, that the large seed companies (Monsanto, Syngenta, DuPont) and their agents in government are destroying traditional farming. They do this through intellectual property, criminalizing seed saving and attacking farmers for "biopiracy." They use patents on their hybrids to monopolize the seed market, and jack up prices. This helps lead to displacement for poor farmers, indebtedness and even suicide. This phenomenon exists all across the world.

The latter I think is a strong argument. I'm not as keen on the former just because I don't think the anti-GMO science holds up. I looked up some of the authors arguing from this point of view, and they had dubious credentials. So I guess I still don't see much evidence to incriminate GMOs themselves, but I can get on board with the argument that IP and regulatory capture is destroying "seed sovereignty." And there may be places where local knowledge is superior. Im surprised there's no mention of the permaculture movement here. But at least we're in the same page for the most part. Knowledge, especially that derived from nature, is not like land. You cannot merely enclose and privatize it by being the first to "mix your labour" with natural seed varieties to produce hybrids. That says nothing about producing hybrid seed for the market itself, but rather the artificial monopoly on it. For this the book is very strong. For its attempt to discredit the scientific community's claim on the safety of GMOs, not so much.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A breathtakingly diverse survey in which thirty authors from around the globe describe their respective parts in and perspectives on a worldwide movement in which millions of smallholder farmers are fighting to regain or retain the right to practice seed-saving, as they and their ancestors have done for thousands of years -- since humans began to cultivate food.

I've summarized the range and trajectory of this anthology in a post on Medium (which the anthology's editor, Dr. Vandana Shiva, was kind enough to recommend), which I also re-posted to my Goodreads blog.