Vandana Shiva – Defending Traditional Agriculture

Abstract

Vandana Shiva is the best-known proponent of traditional agriculture. She heavily criticises intensification, the use of high-yielding varieties, chemical fertilisers, pesticides, irrigation, and machinery, which result in biodiversity loss, water shortage, pollution, farmers’ indebtedness, social conflicts, and serious health effects. Vandana Shiva favours traditional methods, which are adapted to local conditions and are able to produce food without hazarding ecological and social integrity. In 1991 Shiva launched the Navdanya movement, which has created more than hundred seed banks, and collected and saved thousands of local plant varieties. Also, Vandana Shiva criticises GMOs. According to her, traditional agriculture, diverse farming systems, and local varieties provide more food of better quality than GMOs.