Monocultures of the Mind

Product 7/10

USD 12.00 Publisher: TWN
ISBN: 983-9747-04-5
Year: 1993
No. of pages: 184
Size of book: 14.5cm x 21.5cm
Author: Vandana Shiva

About the Book

In this book Vandana Shiva, who has established herself as a leading independent thinker and voice of the South, brings together her thinking on the protection of biotechnology, and the consequences for agriculture of the global pre-eminence of Western-style scientific knowledge.

She examines the current threats to the planet's biodiversity and the environmental and human consequences of its erosion and replacement by monocultural production. She calls for a halt to the aid and market incentives to both large-scale destruction of habitats where biodiversity thrives and the introduction of centralised, homogeneous systems of cultivation.

"....famous Indian woman activist and environmentalist....brings together her thinking on the protection of biodiversity, the implications of biotechnology, and the consequences for agriculture of the global pre-eminence of the Western-style... explains what these technologies involve and gives example of their impact in practice....questioned their claims to improving natural species for the good of all and highligts the ethnical and environmental problems posed...."
Development & Communications.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 Monocultures of the Mind The 'Disappreard' Knowledge Systems
The Cracks of Fragmentation
The Destruction of Diversity as 'Weeds'
'Miracle' Trees and 'Miracle' Seeds
The Green Revolution and 'Miracle' Seeds
The Non-Sustainability of Monocultures
Democratising Knowledge

Chapter 2 Biodiversity: A Third World Perspective
'The Crisis of Diversity'
Primary Threats to Biodiversity
Effects of Biodiversity Erosion
First World Bio-imperialism and North-South Conflicts
Limitations of the Dominant Approaches to Biodiversity Conservation
From Bio-imperialism to Bio-democracy

Chapter 3 Biotechnology and the Environment
Introduction
Biotechnology and Biohazards
Biotechnology and Chemical Hazards
Biotechnology and Biodiversity
Biotechnology Substitutes and Economic Displacement in the Third World
Biotechnology, Privatisation and concentration
Biotechnology, Patents and Private Property in Life Forms
Appendices to Chapter 3

Chapter 4 The Seed and the Spinning Wheel: Technology Development and Biodiversity Conservation
Introduction
Technology Development and Sustainability
Diversity and Productivity
Conservation of the Seed and the Spinning Wheel
Conclusion

Chapter 5The Biodiversity Convention: An Evaluation from the Third World Perspective
Appendix to Chapter 5 (Convention on Biological Diversity, 5 June 1992)

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This product was added to our catalog on Sunday 19 February, 2012.

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Monocultures of the Mind