Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply

Culture of the Land

by Vandana Shiva

In Stolen Harvest, Vandana Shiva describes how industrial agriculture steals food from nature and poor people. She urges us to reclaim our right to protect the earth and her diverse species. Food democracy, she says, is the new agenda for ecological sustainability and social justice.

Genres: Food, Nonfiction, Environment, Politics, Science, Economics, Agriculture

140 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

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

[Andrew]

Hm. Let's start with the obvious. Big agribusiness fucking sucks. I'm from Iowa. I know this in my bones. Anyone who tries to argue that seed-saving is theft is an enemy of the people and deserves a day in the stocks at the very least.

But... why does her argument have to be so bullheadedly unscientific? Sure, genetic modification presents some challenges and needs to be approached with humility and caution, but at the same time, it does not represent an inherent evil and could, if liberated from rapacious corporate enterprises, forge a path forward for humanity in an overpopulated world. And when she talks about soy.... it is as frantic and moronic as some weird alt-right Youtube video with a title like "Vandana Shiva DESTROYS soyboy cucks with FACTS and LOGIC" (yep, she says soy is destroying virility urghhhhhhh).

Basically, her heart is in the right place -- she wants farmers to have more power, corporations less. She rightly points out numerous contradictions in industrial food production, and these are things that people should be aware of. But when she bards her arguments with woo-woo bullshit about "the dignity of all living things" or whatever, I turn off. I'm too cold and too Marxist for that.

[Dan · Rating 1 out of 5]

My opinion of Dr. Shiva and her work has been on something of a roller coaster since I first discovered her over a decade ago - or perhaps 'on a log flume' is a better analogy. I have gone from deeply admiring Dr. Shiva, to being troubled by her lack of academic rigor, citations, or corroborating evidence, to feeling she is doing more harm than good for the environmental movement, through her hyperbolic and frankly sensationalist claims, her aforementioned lack of rigor, and her outright falsifications.

Transgenics is an important and controversial field, and we have to accept that a certain amount of fear and uncertainty will accompany any new technology. However, while caution, earnest discussion, and vigilance are healthy and wise, recidivism and Luddism must be resisted and countered. Having read a large portion of Dr. Shiva's work, I am forced to conclude she will not be happy in any world that has not been rolled back to an pre-industrial, agrarian society, and preferably one that mimics pre-modern India as closely as possible.

I understand her fears. But I will not accept profiteering, nor baseless claims, such as the implied accusation that international agribusinesses have been responsible for mustard seed oil adulteration in India. This claim is preposterous and substantiated by nothing. Her claims regarding the ecological impact of transgenics are little better, and her many, many lengthy passages regarding biopiracy are overwrought or misstate the case[1].

We must have this conversation, and we must have it publicly. But the conversation must be had with facts, not innuendo, suspicion and fear. Dr. Shiva seems to have no interest in being a part of such a dialogue.

A final note, regarding rigor: it's unseemly to cite oneself repeatedly and blatantly in a book intended for mass consumption. Surely, if the matters discussed are as serious and insidious as Dr. Shiva claims, she could have found third party corroboration.

[1] - Global Biopiracy: Patents, Plants and Indigenous Knowledge, Ikeji Mgbeoji

[Charles Henri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must. Tried to read it years ago. I was in shock and got depressed. Time has passed. I now knew most of what's inside this book by having read and watch stuff on the subject. It's the kind of book that should be a prerequisite at school to wake people up.

[Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe it’s 20 years written, but it could not be more timely. How corporate greed is diminishing and damaging our food supply, particularly in impoverished countries, is explained quite clearly and concisely in this quick read. Ever wondered what those demonstrators at WTO conferences were protesting? Read and understand. It’s worse than you think.

[Rachel Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, opinionated & just scratches the surface of most topics. If you want a brief introduction to food systems and food sovereignty this is your book.

[Claire Ruben · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book dives into the complexity surrounding commercialized, and more specifically Americanized, food systems. Author Vandana Shiva argues that industry's hyper-focus of a single food component or nutrient within westernized agricultural systems has fostered an irreverence and dismissal of the natural ecological balance and abundance of nature’s inherent equilibrium.
As a scientist, I was under the presumption that my knowledge of GMOs was relatively solid, yet the author truly complicated my perspective on how GMOs strip biodiversity and fail to produce increased yields. I would have loved to see her address some of the scientifically bogus claims regarding, GMOs, as I think this would only further prove her point. This definitely reads more like a paper and less like a book, but nonetheless an important read.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that everyone should read. It is an education about our food; what is happening around the world as we walk through ample grocery store aisles. Shiva is an environmentalist, and food activist and we have a responsibility to pay attention.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main idea of the book is that factoring all the negative externalities of making transgenic crops a viable option in the long run, it simply doesn't make economic or environmental sense. Shiva suggests that one way biotech companies like Monsanto make profits is by letting ordinary citizens and farmers shouldering these hidden costs that cannot be easily assessed by short-term epidemiological or environmental studies. By the time anything close to definitive is made public, most farmers and growers would have been tied down by contractual obligations and financial burdens that the trend would be nearly impossible to reverse.

It is disconcerting to think that all this started only thirty years and we are arrogant enough to think that the science is mature enough to be applied globally to the things we eat and drink. I find Chapter 6 extremely useful in its debunking of some of the myths associated with genetic engineering. To be fair though, I think GMO crops have their place, such as making local varieties more nutritious to improve the overall health of impoverished villages and reduce occurrences of preventable birth defects. It must be resorted to as a short-term solution however and administered as a government programme.

Chapter 4 "Mad Cows and Scared Cows" is the most enlightening chapter. It explains the gist of why industrial scale farming and animal husbandry are unsustainable and why they should not be decoupled and be kept small scale. The cost of neglecting the sustainable ways of nature often has to be made up with exploitation and abuse, of the growers, the animals and ultimately us the consumers. The documentary "Food Inc." has many scenes depicting what was recounted in this chapter and I highly recommend watching it afterwards.

Monsanto and its business practices exhibit that strand of America which is righteous in tone yet pharisaical in practice, highly idealistic in proclamation yet ruthlessly pragmatic in execution ��� in essence, the worst of what the country is. It should not be this way. Shiva at the end offers us some hope and optimism and at the same time reminds us that change will not come without a fight.

[Chris Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vandana Shiva is an eco-feminist. This book is about the ways in which big corporate interests in the food industry are undermining and monopolizing the food supplies around the world. Some of this book terrifies me. A lot of it saddens me. And I am left feeling--well, hell, NOW what can I eat? This should probably be required reading for everyone.

[Mountainman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shiva begins to tell the story of how corporate control of food and globalization of agriculture are robbing millions of their livelihoods and their right to food. With her emphasis on Indian agriculture, she begins to say that farming is a the main source of life for 75% of all Indians. The increased use of agricultural farming is felt in every society, as small farms and farmers are forced to extinction, monocultures are replacing biodiverse crops, and farming is transformed from the productions of nourishing and diverse foods into the creation of markets for genetically engineered seeds, herbicides, and pesticides. Markets are destroyed locally and nationally but expanded globally and the myth of “free trade” and the global economy becomes a means for the rich to rob the poor of their rights to food and even their right to life. Shiva stresses that 70% of the world's people makes their livelihoods by producing food.
While Shiva does a fantastic job of explaining the role of industrialized and globalized agriculture has within globalization, she fails to touch upon an important topic. What can individuals do to help stop the corporate takeover of the world's food supply? If we were to take action against the corporate control of food and globalization, it would be an enormous undertaking similar to mobilizing for World War II.
Stolen Harvest refers to the corporate control over global food, primarily in India. The presence of globalized industrial farms in India caused the food grains to be appropriated and exported forcefully. The export of food grains continued in spite of the fact that people were going hungry. New intellectual-property-rights regimes, which are being universalized through the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO), allow corporations to usurp the knowledge of the seed and monopolize it by claiming it as their private property. This monopolistic control over agricultural production, along with structural adjustment policies that brutally favor exports, results in floods of exports of foods from the United States and Europe to the Third World. Over time, this results in corporate monopolies over the seeds and thus robs the farmers of seeds, and the people of their harvest. Eating more cheaply on imports is not eating at all for the poor.

This book is slim, but does a fantastic job at explaining the role of industrial agricultural in a globalized world. This book is for the person eager to learn about industrialized agriculture. If you already know a lot about this topic, then skip this one.

[Tory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells an important story of the impact of our current industrial food system on our environment, our culture, and our bodies. It is compelling and disturbing. It amazes me how easily the American people have relinquished our rights to nutritious and diverse foods without even realizing it. This is a quick read that has a lot of important information. An example of what I learned in this book: cows are herbivores; they need roughage. However, they are being fed a high-protein diet on these big industrial farms, so to compensate for the lack of roughage they are being fed plastic scrubber sponges. I didn't believe it at first but found an article in a 1991 Journal of Farm Sciences that this has been determined to be an acceptable solution to the cow's need for roughage. Does anyone else find this inhumane and inappropriate?

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vandana Shiva is an amazing woman to take on such an imposing mission - exposing and halting the globalization of food and the genetic engineering of seed. Her book could have easily been 3" thick, but in keeping with her 'get to the point' style, she keeps it short. The book is loaded with facts and figures with footnotes, and references at the end of each chapter for further scrutiny or investigation, at the reader's discretion. I thought I was aware of the dangers of what corporations are doing to the ecosystem, but I had no idea how it impacted so many of the lives of the poor they are supposedly trying to "feed" and in so many ways. She packs a lot of punch in this small book, and will bring many more loyal followers to the bija satyagraha....

[Bremen Whitlock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an incredible collection of research presented in a digestible manner. I can hardly believe it was written two decades ago, and it makes me so angry how the problems addressed here have been rebirthed in new forms today. I will definitely be reading more of Dr. Shiva's work, and if it just so happens that a new edition comes out with updated research and an examination of the history of GMOs, WTO, and the state of industrial agriculture as well I would buy it in a heartbeat.

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I valued learning about instances where feminist approaches can alter our understandings of environmental destruction, monocultures, and global hunger. These approaches and ideas hold up in ways statistical data of the 1990s of course does not.

[Gabe Baskin · Rating 4 out of 5]

While a tad dated, Stolen Harvest is the holy grail within the sociology of food. Highly recommend for anyone interested in food systems and food justice or anyone interested in thinking complexly about something often perceived as mundane. This book will take your sociological imagination for an adventure.

[Vaishali · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a serious lapse in logic when the author links large scale hunger in Bengal to kids refusing Mom's meals cooked sans mustard oil. An otherwise highly informative book.... but if there's hyperbole in one location, can the book be trusted throughout?

[Nuttawat Kalapat · Rating 5 out of 5]

ชื่อหนังสือโหดมาก
เล่มนี้อารมณ์เหมือนดูสารคดี แฉ บริษัท ยักษ์ใหญ่ ด้านการเกษตรครับ
หรือ เรียกวงการนี้ว่า เผด็จการด้านอาหาร
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บริษัทระดับโลกเพียงหยิบมือเดียวควบคุมเสบียงอาหารของคนเกือบทั้งโลก
โดยไม่ยั่งยืนโคตรๆ
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เล่มที่ 189/2021 (295)
ปล้นผลิตผล! ปฏิบัติการจี้ยึดเสบียงอาหารโลก
ผู้เขียน: วันทนา ศิวะ
สำนักพิมพ์: สวนเงินมีมา
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ส่วนใหญ่พูดถึงในอินเดียครับ
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ทำให้เห็นภาพว่า บริษัท ขายเมล็ดพันธ์ หรือเจ้าของสิทธ์พันธ์ พืช GMO ทั้งหลายโหด ยิ่งใหญ่ และ รวยแค่ไหน และพวกนี้ทำอะไรได้บ้าง เพื่อกำไร
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ทำไมธัญพืชที่ทุกวันนี้ผลิตมากขึ้นเรื่อยๆ ทำให้เกษตรกรในอินเดียมีข้าวกินน้อยลง
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เรื่องราวเช่น การด้อยค่าน้ำมันที่มันอยู่แล้ว แล้ว ยัดน้ำมันถั่วเหลืองเข้ามาในตลาดของ บ ยักษ์ใหญ่
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การสร้างพืชที่ต้านยาฆ่าแมลงเพื่อขายยาฆ่าแมลง
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ทำไมอุตสาหกรรมการเลี้ยงกุ้งจึงไปได้ดีในประเทศโลกที่3
ตามมาด้วยผลกระทบมโหฬารของอุตสาหกรรมนี้
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9/10 รู้วึกเปิดหูเปิดตาพอสมควรสำหรับผมที่ไม่ค่อยรู้เรื่องนี้

[Catherine Bishop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stolen Harvest by Vandana Shiva tackles an important topic and does it with solid research and a fresh perspective. As someone who works in the agricultural industry, I can't say anything in this book was surprising. I think it does have groundbreaking information for the average American consumer, but unfortunately, the structure and style of this book would be inaccessible to most Americans.

This is the problem with almost all non-fiction. Our options are poor research with sensationalist writing (Sapiens being the perfect example) or accurate and important information that is out-of-reach for readers. It's a long-standing problem that did not start or end with Stolen Harvest but still left me deeply dissatisfied when I put the book down.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A CRITIQUE OF “TRANSGENIC” FOODS, AND CORPORATE CONTROL

Vandana Shiva is an Indian scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, and anti-globalization author and activist; she won the Alternative Nobel Peace Prize (the Right Livelihood Award) in 1993.

She wrote in the Introduction to this 2000 book, “These are exciting times. As the examples in this book show, it is not inevitable that corporations will control our lives and rule the world. We have a real possibility to shape our own futures. We have an ecological and social duty to ensure that the food that nourishes us is not a stolen harvest. In this duty, we have the opportunity to work for the freedom and liberation of all species and all people. Something as simple and basic as food has become the site for these manifold and diverse liberations in which every one of us has an opportunity to participate---no matter who we are, no matter where we are.”

She explains, “I focus on India to tell the story of how corporate control of food and globalization of agriculture are robbing millions of their livelihoods and their right to food both because I am an Indian and because Indian agriculture is being especially targeted by global corporations. Since… every fourth farmer in the world is an Indian, the impact of globalization on Indian agriculture is of global significance. However, this phenomenon of the stolen harvest is not unique to India. It is being experienced in every society, as… small farmers are pushed to extinction… as farming is transformed … into the creation of markets for genetically engineered seeds, herbicides, and pesticides… [as] the myth of ‘free trade’ and the global economy becomes a means for the rich to rob the poor of their right to food and even their right to life. For the vast majority of the world’s people---70 percent---earn their livelihood by producing food. The majority of these farmers are women. In contrast, in the industrialized countries, only 2 percent of the population are farmers.” (Pg. 7)

She asserts, “Perhaps one of the most fallacious myths propagated by Green Revolution advocates is the assertion that high-yielding varieties have reduced the acreage under cultivation, therefore preserving millions of hectares of biodiversity. But in India… industrial breeding actually increases pressure on the land, since each acre of a monoculture provides a single output, and the displaced outputs have to be grown on additional acres…” (Pg. 13)

She points out, “What we are seeing is the emergence of food totalitarianism, in which a handful of corporations control the entire food chain and destroy alternatives so that people do not have access to diverse, safe foods produced ecologically. Local markets are being deliberately destroyed to establish monopolies over seed and food systems… and new technologies are used to destroy people-friendly and environment-friendly alternatives and to impose anti-people, anti-nature food systems globally.” (Pg. 17)

She observes, “It is estimated that over 18 million acres were planted with genetically engineered Roundup Ready soybeans in 1998… The sole purpose of Roundup ready soybeans is to sell more chemicals for seeds tailored to these chemicals. The United States has been unable to sell it genetically engineered soybeans in Europe because of European consumers’ demands that such food be labeled, something that is ardently opposed by agribusiness interests and their allies… U.S. companies are therefore desperate to dump their genetically engineered soybeans on countries such as India.” (Pg. 26-27) She adds, “The three new genes genetically engineered into the soybean---from a bacterium, a cauliflower virus, and a petunia---don’t do a thing for the taste or nutritional value of the bean… [it just] makes the soybean resistant to a weed-killer… [so] Monsanto gets to sell more of both.” (Pg. 30)

She notes, “Trawler fleets use nets to scoop up whole shoals of fish, many of which are not of commercial value, although they are highly valuable to the ecosystem. Those species that do not have commercial value… are killed and thrown back into the sea… the technologies of industrial fisheries… are rather inefficient. Over-capitalized fisheries are collapsing in region after region. Nine of the world’s major fishing grounds are threatened. Four have been ‘fished out’ commercially.” (Pg. 39-40)

She states, “traditional fishing communities have been calling for a ban on mechanized trawlers in order to protect marine life and livelihoods… Unfortunately, U.S. environmentalists’ unawareness of the … stances of traditional fishing communities and environmental movements in India ultimately worsened the situation… [they] took on the issue of turtle deaths due to shrimp trawling, [but] did not join Indian environmentalists in calling for a ban... and consumer boycotts of shrimp…” (Pg. 41)

She suggests, “While genetic engineering… is promoted to increase fish production… it could in fact deplete fish stocks… Transgenic fish could ruin aquatic ecosystems by preying on and outcompeting native species... the displacement of native species by the introduction of exotic species [has been dubbed] the ‘Frankenstein Effect.’” (Pg. 51-52)

She laments, “At a time when meat consumption is declining in Western countries, India’s trade-liberalization program is trying to convert a predominantly vegetarian society into a beef-eating one… However, it is not the case that higher animal-protein consumption makes for a better quality of life … the trend is that people seeking a genuinely high quality of life are shifting to vegetarianism.” (Pg. 66) Later, she adds, “Globalization has created the McDonaldization of world food, resulting in the destruction of sustainable food systems. It attempts to create a uniform food culture of hamburgers.” (Pg. 70)

She argues, “Corporations [such as Monsanto] argue that such technology is necessary in order for them to recoup their investment. But this argument would mean that arms manufacturers must be allowed to sell arms and that the nuclear industry should be freely allowed to make bombs. As humans with a duty to preserve life on this planet, we have a duty to stop certain activities on social and ecological grounds no matter how profitable they may be.” (Pg. 84)

She says, “The ‘green’ image that genetically engineered crops are sustainable is an illusion manufactured by corporations. This illusion is created by several means. First, corporations attempt to portray biotechnology as an ‘information’ technology with no material ecological impacts… Second, corporations promote the misinformation that transgenic crops require fewer agrichemicals. In fact, evidence shows that transgenic crops lead to increased use of hazardous chemicals… Third, when corporations describe the benefits of genetic engineering, they do so in comparison to large-scale industrial agriculture rather than to ecological, small-scale agriculture.” (Pg. 97)

She suggests, “The Green Revolution narrowed the basis of food security by displacing diverse nutritious food grains and spreading monocultures of rice, wheat and maize, However, the Green Revolution focused on staple foods and their yields. The genetic engineering revolution is undoing the narrow gains of the Green Revolution both by neglecting the diversity of staples and by focusing on herbicide resistance, not higher yields.” (Pg. 103)

She observes, “While organic agriculture is a low-input, low-cost option, and hence an option for the poor, it is often presented as a ‘luxury of the rich.’ This is not true. The cheapness of industrially produced food and expensiveness of organic foods does not reflect their cost of production but the heavy subsidies given to industrial agriculture.” (Pg. 119)

Shiva’s books are of tremendous interest to those studying the economic, political, and spiritual ramifications of environmental issues.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

At 127 pages (not including the index) _Stolen Harvest_ is a very slim book, but there's an enormous amount of information / argument packed into these pages. The book focuses mainly, although not exclusively, on the effect of global industrial agriculture on the culture, spiritual systems, economy, and politics of India, and this is one of its real strengths - it doesn't just condemn genetically modified seeds, as I'm sure many books would, but asks what our responsibilities are to other species, and if cultural expressions of worship and celebration don't contain deep wisdom about ecology and sustainability without consciously being designed to do those things. I would love to discuss this book with my students - I can imagine countless productive conversations about where they stand and what their responsibility is to the farmer in India who used to grow rice half the year and shrimp the other half, but who is now not only out of business but living without adequate drinking water because of the industrial practices that provide seafood to Red Lobster.

I'm sure this is not an uncontroversial book - I can imagine lots of people feeling it goes 'too far' or that Shiva doesn't give the 'other side' a fair shake (although I studied her footnotes and her evidence appears to come from a variety of disciplines and reputable sources). But that may only make it a more fascinating text in that it is so wholly uncompromising. And when it comes to matters of life, death, spirit, and sustenance, is compromise really the approach we should take?

[Silvio Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A denunciation of what global capitalism is doing to agriculture worldwide. Treats plenty of frightening issues that deserve attention, like the patenting of traditional plant varieties by multinational companies and trade laws that can make it illegal for farmers to sell seed directly to each other without going through a company. Unfortunately, the book is often not organized and clear enough to state precisely what the abuse is that it is denouncing.

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really informational and easy to read, which is always a great combination. I am amazed at how much was going on behind the scenes of growing and providing food, and how much I didn't know about the injustice happening with third world farmers and multinational corporations. Highly recommend!

Fuck Monsanto!!!

[Carroll]

I highly recommend reading/seeing Shiva. She has a PhD in physics, has done the research, and has effective arguments to counter the lies of transnational corporations.

[Bridget Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing and completely scary. Shiva deos a great job of breaking down all the ways the US has ruined global agriculture. Everyone who eats should read this book!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vandana Shiva is amazing. The book is a slap in the face: so much information about all the things we never knew was wrong with the global food supply. It's very fact-filled, and very interesting.

[R C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Using India as a case study, the author dives into the topic of how the Global Food Chain is being hijacked away from small farmers. Nice short read for academic research

[Irina R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a such an eye-opening read! I love it! I am definitely checking out all of her books!. Why i chose to read this book because food security and food sovereignty is one of our pressing issues now that demands our attention!. Just as the Palestinians being denied access to their own crops by the Israelis, so do we by the same corporate entities, the infamous Monsanto being one of them!. Monsanto was the one involved in creating an environmental warfare and ecocide in Gaza by poisoning the Palestinians crops with their pesticides!. According to Shiva, among the ways that private transnational corporations deprived us from our food sources is by stealing our local agricultural seeds, then genetically modified them to make new varieties of seeds and patented them under their names!.Our cattles and fish were also genetically modified and bred to fasten breedings,our lands being deprived out of a healthy ecosystem by enforcing us to plant Monoculture plants (or the Cash Crops) meant not to feed us but to feed the wallets of these few very rich private entities! (also a form of environmental warfare and ecocide and eco apartheid like what happened in Palestine! where the Israeli settlers removed all the native plants and planted the local soils with foreign invasive species like the Pine trees which also destroyed the land and the soil system! and when disasters strike,the whole land gets burned down like what happened previously. Same thing that that happened in Sumatera recently where the level of damages,deaths and casualties is devastating because of the level of deforestations is so bad on the island. The native forest trees that absorbs water and access carbon were all cut down for palm oil plantations, another Monoculture crops meant to feed the Capitalists! the lands natural ecosystem destroyed as private mining and energy companies were opened on the critical and very sensitive points that blocked the rivers accessways! built in the supposed to be National Park and wildlife reserves too! The massive illegal loggings destroying all the native forest trees gone. Hence, a devastating disaster occured that killed thousands of lives and some of their most endemic and endangered wildlifes!. Monoculture deprived us of Real, Variety and Wholesome foods too as we were forced to eat very few varities of foods which are mostly processed, GMO and pesticides-laden foods sold at our supermarkets!. The foods that we ate are also monotonous and very limited choices of a certain variety of mostly cash crops not food crops such as corns, soybeans, tobacco, sugar cane etc. After you read this book, then you are going to understand why we should boycott companies like Mondelez, Nestle, Unilever, Coca Cola and the likes!

[Giorgio Bugnatelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vandana Shiva is an Indian physicist turned environmental activist, renowned for her advocacy of biodiversity, farmers’ rights, and food sovereignty. This book is a work of environmental non-fiction, blending social critique with calls for action. It appeals to readers interested in food politics, globalisation, environmental justice, and grassroots activism.
In Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply, Vandana Shiva delivers a sharp critique of industrial agriculture and the global commodification of food. She argues that corporate control, genetic engineering, and the rise of monocultures have wreaked havoc on small farmers, biodiversity, and traditional food cultures, especially in India but also globally. Shiva exposes how multinational corporations exploit intellectual property laws to privatise seeds, pushing farmers into debt and eroding their autonomy. The book calls for a return to sustainable, small-scale farming and food sovereignty, where communities reclaim their right to grow and share food freely. Shiva urges readers to resist the forces turning food into a profit-driven commodity, advocating instead for ecological balance and social justice. Having read another book by Shiva, her passionate defence of traditional farming sometimes overlooks the complexities of feeding rapidly growing populations and the practical challenges of scaling up agroecological methods, potentially limiting the book’s appeal to those seeking balanced, actionable solution.
Memorable quote: “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.”

[Octavia Cade · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was published back in 2000, and while I'd like to think that in the subsequent 23 years corporate greed has been booted from the food industry, I suspect that if I did I'd be very disappointed. This short book makes no bones about the damage that the World Trade Organisation and its corporate supporters have done to food production. The lack of diversity, the grab for genetic patents, the flat-out lies and essentially mob tactics that bully farmers into using products that will only make them poorer and more beholden, as well as the environmental consequences of monoculture and pesticide use... it's all depressingly laid out, with lots of accessible examples so that readers can understand the scale of the scam. The book has a strong focus on India, which is interesting (I don't know a lot about farming in India, not being from there) and so there's a lot of emphasis on small-scale farming, and the effects of the above on the sustainable, local communities there. Shocker: they are not good.

On the bright side, Shiva's argument that community mobilisation has (and can) succeed in combating this sort of food exploitation is both encouraging and well-taken. I hadn't heard the phrase "food democracy" before, but it makes perfect sense. Food's a necessity for all living things, and so deliberately undermining its production in the desperate search for profit before all else is hopelessly shortsighted and, honestly, just plain morally void.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Stolen Harvest was originally published in the year 2000 so picking it up twenty years later I was unsure if it would still have as much interest or relevancy for today. I’ll confess to being painfully ignorant as to the current state of play with GMO’s and Western worlds imposition of these and other farming practices in countries like India with which most of this book was concerned.

What I did learn reminded me of the discussion about GMO’s back at the beginning of the twentieth century and beyond, of the mad cow debacle, of the 1999 protests in Seattle against the WTO and made me angry all over again at the hubris of these companies such as Monsanto that used the ‘feeding the world’ tagline to sell more chemicals and destroy small scale organic farming and fishing.

It’s made me want to look further into so many topics including women and ecology and sustainable farming practices as Shiva shows how it is the third world who are most negatively affected by the globalization of our food network. It has also made me even more aware how we need to know where and how our food is produced and how as consumers we do have power to push for change.