Home / Quotes / Quote by Vandana Shiva

Quote by Vandana Shiva

“Nature has given us this for free, it was meant to sustain us, we will not allow it to become a monopoly to finance the Imperial Army.”

Quote by Vandana Shiva

Author

Vandana Shiva is an Indian environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, and author. Born on November 5, 1952, she is recognized for her efforts in promoting sustainable agriculture and organic farming. Shiva has authored many books and articles on environmental issues and is a vocal critic of corporate control over seeds and food systems. more

You May Also Like

“Nature has gifted this rich biological diversity to us. We will not allow it to become the monopoly of a handful of corporations. We will keep it as the basis of our wealth and our sustenance.”

Wealth Rich Diversity Bases Corporations Gifted Monopoly Handful Sustenance

Author:Vandana Shiva

“For us, not cooperating in the monopoly regimes of intellectual property rights and patents and biodiversity - saying "no" to patents on life, and developing intellectual ideas of resistance - is very much a continuation of Gandhian satyagraha. It is, for me, keeping life free in its diversity.”

Ideas Rights Diversity Intellectual Property Resistance Developing Regimes Monopoly Saying No Property Rights Patents Continuation Biodiversity Intellectual Property Satyagraha Cooperating

Author:Vandana Shiva

“The spinning wheel became the symbol of Indian independence. So we always say, "if the spinning wheel was the symbol of our first independence, then the seed is the symbol of our second independence."”

Ifs Firsts Independence Seeds Symbols Indian Wheels Spinning

Author:Vandana Shiva

“The people who see the population explosion in the Malthusian way - as a geometric progression - forget that population growth is not a biological issue. People are not increasing in numbers out of stupidity and ignorance. Population growth is an ecological phenomenon linked very intimately to other issues, such as the usurpation of the resources which allow people to live.”

“In England, the population explosion can be linked very clearly with the enclosure of the commons that uprooted the peasants from their land. In India, it was the same thing: the population increased at the end of the 18th century when the British took over and Indian lands were colonized. Instead of the land feeding Indian people it started to feed the British empire. So we had destitution. Destitute people who don't have their own land to feed themselves can only feed themselves by having larger numbers, therefore they multiply. It's the rational response of a dispossessed people.”

“The population explosion is an ecological phenomenon of displacement. Unless we solve that ecological problem of displacing people - to build huge dams, to build motorways, to take away what people need in order to survive - we will keep pumping more and more money into population programs. We will have more and more coercive and violent methods through which women's bodies are treated as experimental grounds for new contraceptives. Yet we will not have a solution to the problem of numbers.”

“The problem of numbers can only be dealt with by recognizing that people have a fundamental right to economic security. If you provide them with economic and environmental security, the population will stabilize itself.”

People Ifs Problem Numbers Economic Security Fundamentals Environmental Population Recognizing Economic Security

Author:Vandana Shiva

“Population control is not an issue involving contraceptives for third world women. It is an issue of ecological justice.”

World Justice Issues Thirds Population Involving Ecological Third World Contraceptives Population Control

Author:Vandana Shiva

“I do sculpting sometimes when I have the time, and the first thing I sculpted was a bust of [Albert] Einstein. It still sits on my table and still inspires me. He was a person who triggered my imagination and my ideas.”

Firsts Persons Stills Ideas Sometimes Imagination Inspire Tables My Imagination Sculpting

Author:Vandana Shiva

“I believe that we will see a lot of destruction, but I believe that if we can see the right patterns and draw the right lessons from that destruction, we might be able to rebuild before it's too late. And then I have that ultimate optimism that even if we can't, life will rebuild itself. In a way, the global economy might collapse, but Gaia won't, and people's ingenuity won't. We will rebuild society, we will rebuild local economies, we will rebuild human aspirations.”