"Shiva is a burst of creative energy, an intellectual power."-The Progressive

Manifestos on the Future of Food and Seed is a short, pocket-sized collection that goes to the heart of our existence-what we eat and how we grow it. It covers the questions:

How are seeds cultivated and saved?

How far must food travel before reaching our plate?

Who gets paid for the food we eat?

Why does our food taste like this?

We live in a world where of the eighty thousand edible plants used for food, only about 150 are being cultivated, and just eight are traded globally. A world where we produce food for 12 billion people when there are only 6.3 billion people living, and still, 800 million suffer from malnutrition and 1.7 billion suffer from obesity. A world where food is modified to travel long distances rather than to be nutritious and flavorful.

Manifestos on the Future of Food and Seed lays out, in practical steps and far-reaching concepts, a program to ensure food and agriculture become more socially and ecologically sustainable. The book harvests the work and ideas produced by thousands of communities around the world. Emerging from the historic gatherings at Terra Madre, farmers, traders, and activists diagnose and offer prescriptions to reverse perhaps the worst food crisis faced in human history.

There is a growing realization that food politics is vital to the health of our bodies, economies, and environment-in other words, a matter of life or death. Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food, writes, "Reinstating food as a central, primary element in our lives seems an obvious thing to do, since without food, no living things would exist." Thousands of communities around the world are working to do just this.

A world-renowned environmental leader and thinker, Vandana Shiva is the author of many books, including Earth Democracy, Water Wars, and Staying Alive. Manifestos includes essays by Prince Charles and Carlo Petrini.

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0

A deftly composed treatise:

No matter how much technology advances, no matter what new advances in medical science society make, somethings will never change - that humanity will have to do one thing the same way it did when it was closer to beast then man - eat. "Manifestos On The Future of Food & Seed" is an examination of modern agriculture, and an encouragement to increase the world's cultivating range and trade amongst each other, stating the fact of 80,000 plants in the world are edible for food, 150 of them are grown... more info

Excellent call(s) to action:

Okay. Michael Pollan's note (see his "review" of this book) has worked. He's clearly no longer listed as the "author" of this wonderful little book. I'm glad that this was straightened out. The problem is that his 1-star rating has pulled down the overall rating for Manifestos on the Future of Food and Seed. This is a real shame, because the book is a gem.
Edited by Vandana Shiva, the tireless scientist and food activist/ecologist, the book collects papers read at Terre Madre conferences in Italy.... more info

It did say Manifestos:

I bought this (mini)book because Michael Pollan was a contributor, and I really enjoyed The Omnivore's Dilemma. I did realize before I bought it that he was only a contributor, not the "author".
I was disapointed. It was radical screed, not reasoned discourse. No verified facts, just bald assertions. Even if you're a member of the choir there is nothing you can use in conversations with those who aren't.
But I guess I was warned--it did say Manifestos right in the title.

Pollan is not the author, and that's ok.:

Like Michael Pollan, I have not yet read "Manifestos", but I have purchased it and I'm sure it will be deserving of the 5 stars I gave it. I gave it one star for featuring the art of the wonderful Nikki McClure on the cover. I've purchased her cards and calendars in the past, and thoroughly enjoy her work. Collect Raindrops: The Seasons Gathered
I gave "Manifestos" another star for featuring Vandana Shiva, an internationally-renown renaissance woman who has been challenging agribusiness lobbyists and... more info

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