By Vandana Shiva
Australia’s National Times
When we think of wars in our times, our minds turn to Iraq and Afghanistan. But the bigger war is the war against the planet. This war has its roots in an economy that fails to respect ecological and ethical limits – limits to inequality, limits to injustice, limits to greed and economic concentration.
A handful of corporations and of powerful countries seeks to control the earth’s resources and transform the planet into a supermarket in which everything is for sale. They want to sell our water, genes, cells, organs, knowledge, cultures and future.
The continuing wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and onwards are not only about “blood for oil”. As they unfold, we will see that they are about blood for food, blood for genes and biodiversity and blood for water.
The war mentality underlying military-industrial agriculture is evident from the names of Monsanto’s herbicides – ”Round-Up”, ”Machete”, ”Lasso”. American Home Products, which has merged with Monsanto, gives its herbicides similarly aggressive names, including ”Pentagon” and ”Squadron”.This is the language of war. Sustainability is based on peace with the earth.
The war against the earth begins in the mind. Violent thoughts shape violent actions. Violent categories construct violent tools. And nowhere is this more vivid than in the metaphors and methods on which industrial, agricultural and food production is based. Factories that produced poisons and explosives to kill people during wars were transformed into factories producing agri-chemicals after the wars.
Read the full post at National Times
Food Freedom 
May we now ask our “leaders” to address their higher selves to find out if he/she is seeking undeserved riches or if their actions are for the greater good for the benefit of all sentient beings?
Will they be able to say, with clear conscious, that their decisions are beneficial to mankind? They do not need to answer to us, they need to answer to their individual souls. Their responses will be evident to all.
Somebody please tell the people who are leading and governing this planet that it’s not just for plunder, pillage and ruin. Can we charge them with crimes against Life? I think it’s about time that Corporations paid for what they cause in suffering, death and spoilage.
I’ll be sure to read the full speech, but to me she comes across, through hyperbole, as being rather overcritical of free enterprise, and appears to promote some form of global government in line with her beliefs. However, in my humble analysis of them, only by what is contained in the speech, her views in total are shared by perhaps a scant few – so its difficult to understand what is meant by ‘democracy’ here. I for one certainly support a good stewardship of the environment, and from a Catholic heritage within Western Civilization, support a view consistent with the Church with respect to the role of man in Creation, our Creator endowed rights, social justice in a proper subsidiarity and healthy solidarity… But I don’t think Dr. Shiva means quite the same thing here.
Pax et bonum
Bona fortuna omnihumanity in novum annum…
Mr. Byrne: I have no analysis of the weight of your soul, but Dr. Shiva has dedicated considerable of her life to the betterment of all humanity… your response, especially in your efforts to cite a discredited foundation as the Church is nothing short of BAFFLING WITH BULLSH*T.
For clarity… keeping the status quo.
Whoever spoke of a “Catholic” heritage, I don’t see it reflecting my thoughts re a church which should be in the forefront of decrying the horrible CAFOs in particular. No, I am not a normal “Catholic.” When I was getting a haircut and when I spoke of some animal concern, the Catholic hairdresser gave me the same tired rationale of so many Catholics that people are first- I replied to her – in that case animal issues will never be addressed. No, I am not proud of most of the Catholic and Christian churches as regards the humane and compassionate stewardship of this earth. They do not relflect in my opinion the loving care that Jesus would accord the animals and the environment were He walking among us today. I subscribe to the mantra – What would Jesus do? Would he put little calves in smallish crates where they can’t turn around? Would he destroy millions of male chicks by putting them alive through shredders?
Would he approve of the Big Farm Corps spraying our food crops with herbicides and pesticides as well as depriving small farmers of a livelihood? And to top it off, our government is subsidizing these big corps with our tax dollars. Now with the House basically RED, will we ever hope for change and relief from these wrong policies? I was told that the Republicans are for Big Oil, Big Farm Corps and dirty coal. God help us if this is true.
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