Abstract

'One of the world's most prominent radical scientists.'
The Guardian

This book is classic of the environmental movement. In it, Vandana Shiva envisions a world beyond our current dependence on fossil fuels and globalization, and makes the compelling case that food crises, oil dependency and climate change are all inherently interlinked. Any attempt to solve one without addressing the others is therefore doomed to failure.

Condemning industrial agriculture and biofuels as recipes for ecological and economic disaster, Shiva instead champions small independent farmers. What is needed most, in a time of hunger and changing climates, are sustainable, biologically diverse farms that are better able to resist disease, drought and flooding. Calling for a return to local economies and small-scale agriculture, Shiva argues that humanity’s choice is a stark one: we can either continue to pursue a market-centred approach, which will ultimately make our planet unliveable, or we can instead strive for a people-centred, oil-free future, one which offers a decent living for all.

This edition features a new introduction by the author, in which she outlines recent developments in ecology and environmentalism, and offers new prescriptions for the environmental movement.

'One of the world's most prominent radical scientists'
The Guardian

'This book wakes us up to some of the fundamental realities of food production on which we all depend … should be essential reading for all students of community development.'
Community Development

'A world leading expert on food sustainability.'
Refinery 29

'Shiva has devoted her life to fighting for the rights of ordinary people in India.'
Ms Magazine

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

'Shiva is a burst of creative energy, an intellectual power.'
The Progressive