Soil Not Oil

Because I'm a college student, I have these sweet opportunities to go to interesting lectures from time to time. Dr. Vandana Shiva came to my campus recently to speak about her newest book "Soil Not Oil: Food Security in Times of Global Climate Change." I have to admit that the topics she addressed were ones I haven't thought much about (ecology, feminism, world politics). The take-away for me was that it is difficult to impute American culture (in all of it's facets) into Indian culture and be very successful. There is too much of a contrast, and their way of life was apparently working. I also learned that there is a monopoly on the seed market (who knew?), and so many small farmers are under the thumb of this large, American seed company. She also discussed seed patents and intellectual property. It was rather interesting overall and I'm glad that she is giving a voice to the many women in India whose livelihood depends on agriculture, but do not have a say in its politics.

For More Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandana_Shiva