Earth Democracy

Since CGIU, I've been making an effort to read more non-fiction. It even pained me a little to say that because seriously, I don't think I have read a non-fiction book for fun since I went through an Audrey Hepburn biography phase in middle school. The speakers at CGIU were just so engaging and committed and amazing, though, that I couldn't not learn more about them and their work. Ergo, to add to my book list for this year, I want to tell you about Earth Democracy, by Vandana Shiva.

She is an environmental activist, an ecofeminist, and has done a whole lot of amazing work on affecting change with regard to corporate biopiracy and agricultural inefficiency. Earth Democracy is an idea and movement surrounding the idea that we are all connected by compassion and nature, and not greed and profit. She talks about how we can change the current agricultural system so as to conserve resources and benefit more people. Reminded me a lot of the Circle of Life, to be honest. One of the things I loved about this book was the number of examples and case studies she used to illustrate her points, because they really helped me understand an otherwise dense topic that was fairly out of my little biology-comfort-zone. The book was eye-opening, but be warned if you give it a try, she is unrelenting. It definitely wasn't impartial on the subject. Next up, Bill Clinton!