I have a deep connection with Mahatma Gandhi, partly because my mother was a very, very staunch Gandhian and brought us up that way. When I was six years old, and all the girls were getting nylon dresses, I was very keen to get a nylon frock for my birthday. My mother said, ยI can get it for you, but would you ratherยthrough how you live and what you wear and what you eatยensure that food goes into the hands of the weaver or ensure that profits go into the bank of an industrialist?ย That became such a checkstone for everything in life.
Vandana ShivaI absolutely get thrills from taking on these big guys and recognizing how, behind all their power, they are so empty. I just keep going at it. Each of these balloons does deflate. Iยve seen a lot of balloons get deflated in my life.
Vandana ShivaThe role of geo-engineering should, in a world of responsibility, in a world of scientifically enlightened decision making and ecological understanding, it should be zero. There is no role for geo-engeneering. Because what is geoengineering but extending the engineering paradigm?
Vandana ShivaIf you see cattle as a source of organic manure, animal energy, as well as milk products, then Indian cattle are not inferior. It is only when you measure them as milk machines that they become inferior. What if we measured the dairy cows of America or Jersey or the Swiss Alps in terms of their work functions? They would be terribly inferior.
Vandana ShivaIf you read Wall Streetยs reports, they donยt talk of soya bean as originating in China. They donยt talk of soya bean as soya bean. They talk of Monsanto soya. Monsanto soya is protected by a patent. It has a patent number. It is therefore treated as a creation of Monsanto, a product of Monsantoยs intelligence and innovation.
Vandana Shiva