Vandana Shiva
Earth democracy: food freedom and ecological balance
By Cecily Milne

“Funny the way it is, if you think about it—somebody’s goin’ hungry and someone else is eating out...”
–Dave Matthews Band

This simple lyric stuck with me the other day, as I caught myself humming along behind the wheel of my car. The polarities that the song touches on—life and death, poverty and power, right and wrong—are no different than the typical clichés gracing the pop charts on a regular basis. On this day, though, the song had my mind racing and I began to ask myself: Would our understanding of the world as we know it exist without contradiction? The master as defined by the slave. The presence of love, dependent on the absence of hate. The principle of truth clarified against fiction and falsity.

We exist in a climate of extremes. Where there is starvation, there is gluttony. Where there is celebration, there is also grief. We operate under these circumstances, comfortable with the reality that as long as we live at one end of the spectrum, someone else is simultaneously experiencing the direct opposite. Considering how such dichotomies influence society, will humanity ever know a time when human rights are not only upheld, but enjoyed equally the world over?

Vandana Shiva is a renowned author, ecologist, physicist, activist, the vice-president of Slow Food International and proponent of Earth Democracy—her philosophy based on inclusion, nonviolence, reclaiming the commons and freely sharing the Earth’s resources. Through countless articles, books and television interviews, Shiva is calling attention to the international food crisis resulting from the forced integration of local economies in the developing world into the international market, where control is in the hands of major monopolies such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. What Shiva refers to as “manmade hunger” has become a major cause of social unrest throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. As such, the fact that people are being forced to fight for food has become a matter of social security.

According to Shiva’s concept of Earth Democracy, food is a basic human right. Seeds should be viewed no differently than the soil, water and air required to make them grow. In the age of oil and bio-fuels, however, seeds have entered the political realm of privatization, commodification and intellectual property. The resulting disconnect between local farming in rural areas and subsidized mass production in the developed world has led to the disintegration of complete economies, not to mention suffering and starvation on an unprecedented scale.

To democratize food and prioritize humanity’s right to sustenance is underlined by the responsibility each of Earth’s citizens has to uphold a sustainable environment. Shiva’s call to action emphasizes how this is best practiced at the community level. By promoting cooperation and compassion rather than competition and profit Earth Democracy seeks to revolutionize the distribution of the planet’s food resources.

Rectifying the current food crisis would introduce balance between wealthy nations and the developing world. The line drawn between rich and poor, starving and sustained would become faint or perhaps cease to exist altogether. Up until now, however, the world has operated according to disproportion. Is it really possible to lessen the extremes and uncover a new equilibrium where success is achieved through moderation? Or is the concept of Earth Democracy nothing more than a Utopian ideal? Regardless of where your opinions lie now, there is certainly something more to be learned from this advocate of change.

Cecily Milne:
Cecily Milne received an MA in Social Anthropology from Dalhousie University where she focused on the role of culture in shaping sexual health education. Upon returning to Toronto, Cecily established Writeability, which offers professional writing services to small businesses, and launched The Yoga Element, dedicated to the practice, teaching and exploration of yoga.

In celebration of World Food Day, Vandana Shiva will be speaking about Earth Democracy and the global food crisis on October 22, 2009, at 7:00 pm in the Hart House Theatre. For more information about the event or for tickets, go to www.harthouse.ca/earthdemocracy.