How Should We Feed the World?

Abstract

First paragraph: Vandana Shiva’s Who Really Feeds the World? focuses on the ever more critical issue of food security. Throughout the book, Shiva juxtaposes the current global food system and her feminist agroecological solution to demonstrate the failing of the former and the potential of the latter. Each chapter does an excellent job of laying out the shortcomings of the current agribusiness model. The author pulls no punches and makes no attempt to hide her position that agroecology feeds our planet, while agribusiness is slowly killing it. There is little in the way of nuance; her goal is clearly to out agribusiness as being at “war” with the planet and the life that depends on it. To vali­date this claim, the author describes several areas in which agribusiness has served to destroy a diversity of life and may end up severely damaging the planet’s food sources.

Keywords

• Agroecology
• Industrial Agriculture