Terra Viva: My Life in a Biodiversity of Movements

Shiva (Who Really Feeds the World??), an activist in the biodiversity and sustainable agriculture movements for many years, has written 13 other books on conservation and the Westernization of agriculture. In her latest work, she argues that the villages of the Indian forests managed to preserve their productivity for centuries, but industrial farming, such as the replacement of oak forests with fast-growth pine trees, has had many unconsidered deleterious effects. An ecologically sustainable and just approach to biodiversity conservation needs to begin by halting and reversing the primary threats to biodiversity. Her view of the Green Revolution is one of serious damage to the environment and the economic destruction of small farmers. This memoir recounts her activities both in India and in international forums to resist forces like the World Trade Organization, GMOs, and political projects to clear land for intensive food production. The issues it addresses are of worldwide concern.