Summary Of Influenza By Dr. Shiva

Dr. Vandana Shiva
“When the U.S. sneezes, the world experiences influenza”
The lecture by Dr. Vandana Shiva on the global food crisis was an insightful presentation of Dr. Shiva’s overall knowledge of globalizations failures in social responsibility. She began with several facts supporting her theories against current practices that drive the economic instability of the world food supply. She also explained the causes of the events in which 40 countries around the world faced rioting due to escalating food prices. Economically, the 75% rise in food prices around the world can be directly attributed to the U.S. demand for biofuels. Because of U.S. government mandates on ethanol and biodiesel, and the inability of America to domestically meet
Another problem Dr. Shiva addresses relating to the changing effects of globalization on food, pertains to the stance the U.S. has taken on global food markets since the cold war. Government policy towards communism in developing nations worked on the idea that a rich populous would be less likely to adopt communism. In adapting this policy, the U.S. government promoted intensive agriculture that utilized fertilizers and the growth of crops that were globally traded commodities. This lowered the diversity and sustainability of regional crops and dropped the output of foodstuffs per acre. Farmers now needed to buy nitrogen fertilizer for the crops they were getting paid to grow, which they could barely do as prices were set to be profitable to the commodity markets. This has resulted in a dramatic shift, according to Dr. Shiva, from rural farmers being producers, to being consumers, with crops that are exported while their communities often go hungry. Dr. Shiva believes global problems are directly tied together as well. She explained how the recognition of a climate crisis has inadvertently led to a food crisis only to be currently followed
With her concerns for the escalating rates of these global crisis that primarily hurt the poorest of the world, Dr. Shiva also provides her ideas on solving global problems and creating a more socially responsible environment around the world. Vandana Shiva’s first goal is to reduce the stranglehold global corporations have on food production. She believes that food should not be a commodity and domestic sustainability through diverse food production is the solution to needless hunger. No life should be tied into so much monetary value is the theme of Dr. Shiva’s philosophy on these matters. She advocates against the World Trade Organization and firmly disagrees with the idea of patents for genetically engineered foods. Additionally, the current system for global food production is a major hindrance to solving the “climate chaos” issue. The unnecessary transportation, mass production and fertilizing that is the standard of food production, all contribute to greenhouse gasses that should be offset by the practice of farming. All and all, Dr. Vandana Shiva has a clear and concise argument,