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Culture of the Land
The Violence of the Green Revolution: Third World Agriculture, Ecology, and Politics
The Green Revolution has been heralded as a political and technological achievement -- unprecedented in human history. Yet in the decades that have followed it, this supposedly nonviolent revolution has left lands ravaged by violence and ecological scarcity. A dedicated empiricist, Vandana Shiva takes a magnifying glass to the effects of the Green Revolution in India, examining the devastating effects of monoculture and commercial agriculture and revealing the nuanced relationship between ecological destruction and poverty. In this classic work, the influential activist and scholar also looks to the future as she examines new developments in gene technology.
266 pages, Paperback
First published September 28, 1991
24 people are currently reading
1772 people want to read
About the author
Vandana Shiva
194 books1,326 followersA major figurehead of the alter-globalization movement as well as a major role player in global Ecofeminism, Dr. Vandana Shiva is recipient to several awards for her services in human rights, ecology and conservation. Receiving her Ph.D in physics at the University of Western Ontario in 1978, Dr. Vandana Shivas attentions were quickly drawn towards ecological concerns.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 6, 2022
It was a pretty good in depth excursion into the green revolution in Punjab and the effects on the soil, the seeds, the water and the people.
My takeaway is that green revolution was inappropriate for punjab and mostly an imperial form of domination from the US.
Worth archiving to show the faults of the chemical/GMO based agriculture.
My takeaway is that green revolution was inappropriate for punjab and mostly an imperial form of domination from the US.
Worth archiving to show the faults of the chemical/GMO based agriculture.
December 31, 2025
Excellent, excellent book. Its not an easy read in the sense that its light, as the topic is on the heavy side. However, it is absolutely worth it to go through it slowly and really let her arguments sink in, she gives them from a place backed by data, and figures merged with a deep experience of the nuanced ways that United States capitalism has created a dark shadow across the world, particularly in dealing out pesticides and fertilizers, while ensuring that every next harvest is more expensive to farmers and on collapsing ecosystems. Not collapsed because Nature is not abundant, but because first there is the narrative that Nature cannot give to mankind what it needs, which needs to be re-examined in the light of, Nature cannot give capitalist mankind what it needs, which is very true. What proponents of genetically engineered seed, and the patenting of life propose is a world where what was once free and regenerative, now has several financial barriers, and further more to access, as germplasm from developing nations is often used freely, by US companies and research to then create germplasm that is not free, to sell back to the countries where it got it in the first place. I could go on and on about the insights that Vandana sheds on the reader, about the double standards that the United States has placed on other countries across the agricultural and environmental sector, that is really brought into place by foreign trade policies, which are my country's way of twisting another's arm to benefit only the people who are to make the most profit from these trades, that is, the sellers and producers of pesticides, germplasm, and fertilisers. What i have really come away with after reading this book is a way to think about what i see; or, a new way to not fall for the greenwashing that is widely fed to the population about products, but which we don't really think about in law, and policy. It makes the West solely responsible for the tragedy's of climate change that have been brought to other country's not because some of their leadership stood to make a lot of money in acting accordingly, but because they knew the effects this would have on the ecosystems of other places and they still spread it like a plague, all across the world to Latin America, the Philippines, Africa, and India. It reclaims for me the value in involution and the land races of seeds and plants that generations of indigenous people and farmers have brought us from centuries of selection. This is no longer left to the realm of primitive, as she argues, but it is very much to be given the same weightiness when considering who are the innovators- we don't create new things in a lab, we assemble new associations from old ones, and to put those people and processes in the category of no value is to do a massive injustice to our history, and to creation. She really pins down the root of the problem as being the way that we consider what is valuable in terms of what can be used in market, and for profit. To rethink a new way would require us to shed this old skin entirely, and to begin to see the world through a different lens. I think this book does an incredible job of helping us to see with clarity. She is one of the environmental intellectuals of our times, and I am saddened I only heard of her when this book called out to me instinctually at an Oxfam, during a random book browse. I am so thankful now that I went with my feeling that it had some crucial knowledge I needed to fit the direction my mind is forming in.. and well.. Thank God. I do believe that these ideas are those that are trying to get us back to the good days, to the old ways of seeing and respecting nature, not as a commodity or background to our lives and posts, but to the integrity of living alongside such a splendid creation that we are a part of and not separate from. To have branched and webbed thinking, instead of monoculture and sameness; to see connections and associations, and not skin tone and nationality; to see how this lever effects that lever, and not to think we all act in isolation, this is the better way.... the natural way....The Garden Life way...
I wish they published it in Spanish, and in various African languages, and Tagalog, so that all of the affected countries people could get up to speed with what is actually happening below the phantasm of progress. Once you know, you cannot be fleeced in the same way. This is currently trying to be done in Mexico, and I am constantly chiming in where I can, knowing that as an English speaker, we have access to many many books because of the privilege of westerners, but privilege should always be married to responsibility, and the responsibility English language readers have is to spread the information far and wide to places that it may not have reached yet. Knowledge is power, and right now, there are book bans trying to hide crucial information of sins past and present- reading is power, and choosing well what we allow to shape our minds is resistance, and a honing of spirit.
I wish they published it in Spanish, and in various African languages, and Tagalog, so that all of the affected countries people could get up to speed with what is actually happening below the phantasm of progress. Once you know, you cannot be fleeced in the same way. This is currently trying to be done in Mexico, and I am constantly chiming in where I can, knowing that as an English speaker, we have access to many many books because of the privilege of westerners, but privilege should always be married to responsibility, and the responsibility English language readers have is to spread the information far and wide to places that it may not have reached yet. Knowledge is power, and right now, there are book bans trying to hide crucial information of sins past and present- reading is power, and choosing well what we allow to shape our minds is resistance, and a honing of spirit.
December 12, 2017
First of all kudos to author for her unbiased ,courageous and intensified research on Punjab Agriculture.
The complex intricacies and adverse consequences resulted from Green and Biotech revolutions were explained in layman terms .
The primitive or indigenous farming was replaced by high responsive and over utilization of natural resources.Green revolution is meant to bring peace and better livelihood by increasing productivity and profits for farmers. Instead it encouraged monoculture , of course increased productivity by increasing input costs to buy fertilizers, pesticides and seeds. Hi-Bred seeds in Green revolution brought imbalance in
Ecology, economy ,power and water disputes. Instead of balancing or taking into account of all kinds of aspects,GR(Green revolution) has only increased productivity by destroying soil fertility, plant’s life style .
In grand scheme of things, the way we do agriculture has been changed. We cannot find the actual primitive type of seeds today. MNC’s had masked truth on the basis of increased productivity but not on profit margins.
They have polluted eco-system and nature in very hellish ways that it takes decades to revert the effects.
The lessons learned from GR helped policy makers to reduce the impact of Bio-tech revolution. Increasing productivity in staple foods makes us self dependent ,instead of relying on commercial crops like vegetables and fruits.
Exploitation made by MNC’s for their profits resulted in collapse of African countries and latin America.These countries promoted single crops and exported to industries/countries by reducing harvest of staple foods.This made them not only to
Import staple food from other countries but also decreased demand for their production .
Now-a-days altruistic farmer has been ripped off and thriving for survival .We all are obliged to fix this issue and save nature, food and next generations.
It would have been more useful , if Author had concentrated on Indian Agriculture rather than on one state.While she was able to explain in laymen terms about the consequences of centralized agriculture, she failed to explain on how we can increase profit margins for Framers.
I wouldn’t agree with her view on negative impact of technology on farming. We have to use technology by balancing and undisruptive ways to other fields.
There are few major methods to save farmers:
1. provide MSP for their produce
2. provide crop insurance during crop destruction from natural calamities.
3. supply continuous energy resources to farmers.
4. Revert farming methodology to prior 1965 ways (organic farming).
Artificial intelligence can bring a huge change in the way farming has been done.
We should make sure to decrease input costs and increase profit margins. Framers should not rely on labour. There should be innovative ways to make them self reliant on using energy (electricity) by introducing renewable energy sources .
There should be technology to calculate resource consumption by plant basis and provide that data to farmers. This way, we can optimize water and electricity consumption. Instead of waiting for government to provide MSP, e-commerce websites like e-bay and Alibaba should be
introduced in farming. At the end of the day introduction of technology or new methods should be cheaper and they should not disturb primitive cultivation.
The complex intricacies and adverse consequences resulted from Green and Biotech revolutions were explained in layman terms .
The primitive or indigenous farming was replaced by high responsive and over utilization of natural resources.Green revolution is meant to bring peace and better livelihood by increasing productivity and profits for farmers. Instead it encouraged monoculture , of course increased productivity by increasing input costs to buy fertilizers, pesticides and seeds. Hi-Bred seeds in Green revolution brought imbalance in
Ecology, economy ,power and water disputes. Instead of balancing or taking into account of all kinds of aspects,GR(Green revolution) has only increased productivity by destroying soil fertility, plant’s life style .
In grand scheme of things, the way we do agriculture has been changed. We cannot find the actual primitive type of seeds today. MNC’s had masked truth on the basis of increased productivity but not on profit margins.
They have polluted eco-system and nature in very hellish ways that it takes decades to revert the effects.
The lessons learned from GR helped policy makers to reduce the impact of Bio-tech revolution. Increasing productivity in staple foods makes us self dependent ,instead of relying on commercial crops like vegetables and fruits.
Exploitation made by MNC’s for their profits resulted in collapse of African countries and latin America.These countries promoted single crops and exported to industries/countries by reducing harvest of staple foods.This made them not only to
Import staple food from other countries but also decreased demand for their production .
Now-a-days altruistic farmer has been ripped off and thriving for survival .We all are obliged to fix this issue and save nature, food and next generations.
It would have been more useful , if Author had concentrated on Indian Agriculture rather than on one state.While she was able to explain in laymen terms about the consequences of centralized agriculture, she failed to explain on how we can increase profit margins for Framers.
I wouldn’t agree with her view on negative impact of technology on farming. We have to use technology by balancing and undisruptive ways to other fields.
There are few major methods to save farmers:
1. provide MSP for their produce
2. provide crop insurance during crop destruction from natural calamities.
3. supply continuous energy resources to farmers.
4. Revert farming methodology to prior 1965 ways (organic farming).
Artificial intelligence can bring a huge change in the way farming has been done.
We should make sure to decrease input costs and increase profit margins. Framers should not rely on labour. There should be innovative ways to make them self reliant on using energy (electricity) by introducing renewable energy sources .
There should be technology to calculate resource consumption by plant basis and provide that data to farmers. This way, we can optimize water and electricity consumption. Instead of waiting for government to provide MSP, e-commerce websites like e-bay and Alibaba should be
introduced in farming. At the end of the day introduction of technology or new methods should be cheaper and they should not disturb primitive cultivation.
September 12, 2021
“The Green Revolution has been heralded as a political and technological achievement, unprecedented in human history. It was designed as a techno-political strategy for peace, through the creation of abundance by breaking out of nature’s limits and variabilities. Paradoxically, two decades of the Green Revolution have left Punjab ravaged by violence and ecological scarcity. Instead of abundance, Punjab has been left with diseased soils, pest-infested crops, waterlogged deserts, and indebted and discontented farmers. Instead of peace, Punjab has inherited conflict and violence. 3,000 people were killed in Punjab during 1988. In 1987 the number was 1,544. In 1986, 598 people were killed.”
This stands up very well for a book published 30 years ago. It presents a study of the fundamental changes in agriculture in a single Indian State - Punjab - over the preceding 30 years. Vandana Shiva's criticisms of the Green Revolution are still very important today because her warnings were ignored so peremptorily. Corporations and neoliberal states have spread the Green Revolution techniques and technologies elsewhere in the years since. The new strains of crops produce higher yields only if farmers provide higher inputs of fertilizer and pesticides, which must be bought from agribusinesses. Farmers must also purchase the seeds themselves, whereas they harvested their own seeds previously. The new strains also require more water, which has led to waterlogging and soil salinity in some places, and water shortages in other areas. The new yields, and the high use of fertilizers and pesticides, has greatly reduced ecological diversity leaving crops more vulnerable to diseases and others pests. The fertilizers and pesticides themselves pollute the soil and water, ruining their long term viability. It's not mentioned in this book but artificial fertilizer production and use is a major contributor to climate change too. The ecological and economic damage wrought by the Green Revolution policies in Punjab also intersected with and added to communal divisions between Sikhs and Hindus, which at times exploded in localised protest and conflict (and was often met with state repression).
The book also includes some strong criticisms of the GM foods and the accompanying rise in intellectual property claims over modified food seeds and plant genes. This problem has spread widely since the book was written but Shiva was an early and eloquent critic of this expansion of "the domain of and drive for capital accumulation".
“Putting value on the gene through patents makes biology stand on its head. Complex organisms which have evolved over millennia in nature, and through the contributions of Third World peasants, tribals and healers, are reduced to their parts and treated as mere inputs into genetic engineering. Patenting of gene thus leads to a devaluation of life-forms by reducing them to their constituents and allowing them to be repeatedly owned as private property.”
November 13, 2018
I read this book in less than a day. It was both detailed but also broadly applicable to my own work and research which is in a different context. If you are interested in reading about a different narrative or position of the Green Revolution in Asia (particularly Punjab, India) this is the book for you. At times, the lessons and detailed charts and pieces were a bit repetitive, but a really quick read as a critical alternative look into domineering (often mythical) stories about the successful development of the Green Revolution in India, including a brief historical narrative.
March 28, 2023
The book focuses on the negative side of the green revolution and how technology which plans to replace nature cannot ever achieve it. Nature has its regenerative spirit which the technology lacks and not considering indigenous species is a mistake that caused violence and spread discontent.
The book gives the message that as we move away from nature and try to bend it to our terms, the consequences are going to be so enormous that it would leave no one.
The book gives the message that as we move away from nature and try to bend it to our terms, the consequences are going to be so enormous that it would leave no one.
January 16, 2020
Concise, engaging, superbly documented, multidisciplinary analysis of the Green Revolution. I also learned quite a few new units of measure. What's a cusec, bullock hour, or lakh hectare? Read to find out!
November 8, 2018
A good read for anyone who wants a critique of agrarian revolutions in the global south.
July 31, 2022
A good research and insight into environmental and social economic losses and long term effects of unsustainable agricultural practices
Want to read
September 30, 2023Okk
December 30, 2023
Simultaneously extensive and concise for what it is. Incredibly insightful - especially in regards to the "poison cartel" - Bayer, Dupont, and ChemChina
December 29, 2024
read for research (fall 2022 global studies term paper)
November 15, 2014
A little note on the presentation. There is a bit of repetitiveness, but that allows for each chapter to be read independently.
I think this book is very important, if not the most important book I've read. The accumulated knowledge of 10,000 years is not an object for tampering by foreign interests. The new seeds American scientists introduced to India's most efficient agricultural system in need of no improvement disrupted the delicate balance of ecology, which required external inputs, such as pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and additional water. The widespread uniformity, and hence loss of diversity, left the crops vulnerable to new pests and new diseases, whereas the old system of diversity and crop rotation dealt with pests sufficiently. These new pests and diseases increased the need for pesticides and herbicides. The Green Revolution, originally instated as a means of counter revolution, to kill any potential that rural Indian farmers might become communists, has caused many social ills, suicide and violence. Are you interested in the implications of genetic modification in India? Read this book!
I think this book is very important, if not the most important book I've read. The accumulated knowledge of 10,000 years is not an object for tampering by foreign interests. The new seeds American scientists introduced to India's most efficient agricultural system in need of no improvement disrupted the delicate balance of ecology, which required external inputs, such as pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and additional water. The widespread uniformity, and hence loss of diversity, left the crops vulnerable to new pests and new diseases, whereas the old system of diversity and crop rotation dealt with pests sufficiently. These new pests and diseases increased the need for pesticides and herbicides. The Green Revolution, originally instated as a means of counter revolution, to kill any potential that rural Indian farmers might become communists, has caused many social ills, suicide and violence. Are you interested in the implications of genetic modification in India? Read this book!
April 4, 2015
Vandana Shiva analyses the Green Revolution and its components very lucidly and with good perspective. She talks about how Green Revolution has become a bane in disguise of a boon!
She touches upon
* how Green Revolution leads to Genetic Uniformity (& how it affects Bio-diversity),
* how it acts against the farmers/peasants (and the marginalised)
* how it leads to greater unrest -especially in Punjab- the place where the First Green Revolution gave tremendous growth with the usage of High Response Variety of Seeds,
* how Intensive Irrigation (which is a mandatory requirement for Green Revolution) causes major troubles - like Desertification (by ground water receding in some parts or by water-logging in other areas),
* how it brings about conflicts between classes & communities, & amongst states & amongst the State and Centre.
Lucidly explained is the blind eye that we turn towards the actual cost of Green Revolution which has in-fact (substantiated by the author)- proved to be counter-productive and how it has actually caused a lot of distress vis-a-vis food security!
She touches upon
* how Green Revolution leads to Genetic Uniformity (& how it affects Bio-diversity),
* how it acts against the farmers/peasants (and the marginalised)
* how it leads to greater unrest -especially in Punjab- the place where the First Green Revolution gave tremendous growth with the usage of High Response Variety of Seeds,
* how Intensive Irrigation (which is a mandatory requirement for Green Revolution) causes major troubles - like Desertification (by ground water receding in some parts or by water-logging in other areas),
* how it brings about conflicts between classes & communities, & amongst states & amongst the State and Centre.
Lucidly explained is the blind eye that we turn towards the actual cost of Green Revolution which has in-fact (substantiated by the author)- proved to be counter-productive and how it has actually caused a lot of distress vis-a-vis food security!
August 4, 2011
This book was first published almost 20 years ago and at that time The Guardian called her "one of the most prominent radical scientists". However, I find Dr. Shiva's view not only sensible but also useful in constructing a wonderful postmodern world.
Western science and technology has done enough damage to this planet and to human beings, we need to rein its unrelenting force and restrain them to serve humanity instead of cookie-cutting humanity to fit the agenda of western science and technology.
Capitalism has a hidden history of denying people's right to create new property rights, western science and technology also has a hidden history, a history of denying people's creativity and intelligence to create esoteric "expertise".
It is time for a change, a change of direction and a change for a constructive way of life.
Western science and technology has done enough damage to this planet and to human beings, we need to rein its unrelenting force and restrain them to serve humanity instead of cookie-cutting humanity to fit the agenda of western science and technology.
Capitalism has a hidden history of denying people's right to create new property rights, western science and technology also has a hidden history, a history of denying people's creativity and intelligence to create esoteric "expertise".
It is time for a change, a change of direction and a change for a constructive way of life.
May 1, 2012
The book now is more that 20 years old but able to drive home some points that still ring true. Especially in regard to agriculture a sustainable approach should be the better one in the long run. Shiva shows how misleading the numbers are and how sometimes good intention (feeding the poor) can have so many detrimental side effects that the opposite is achieved in the long run.
Besides all the strong arguments Shiva makes there is a lot of repetition found in this not very long book that could have been boiled down to two longer papers. As it is, it takes something away from the reading experience. Further Shiva appears to treat water during the last third of the book, criticizing rightfully the detestable bio piracy by the Multinationals but not displaying the same profundity of arguments as before.
Besides all the strong arguments Shiva makes there is a lot of repetition found in this not very long book that could have been boiled down to two longer papers. As it is, it takes something away from the reading experience. Further Shiva appears to treat water during the last third of the book, criticizing rightfully the detestable bio piracy by the Multinationals but not displaying the same profundity of arguments as before.
September 25, 2007
The book as a whole does a good job confronting some very important topics in modern agriculture, specifically those piting scientific study against traditional knowledge. The author's thesis that the violence cause in the Punjab region is not due to religious sectarianism as the Indian government and media would have everyone believe but by problems caused by modernizing the region's farming to reach an unsustainable level of production is both interesting and strong. However, in what I would guess is an attempt to get her point across in no uncertain terms, she repeats the same concepts and phrases many times throughout the text. This I found to be rather annoying.
April 5, 2015
Truly brilliant. This should be mandatory reading for all humans. Shiva connects so many crucial strands of environmental politics from the corporate multinationals to the local, cultural elements to the science behind our practices. What was especially enlightening about this book is the depth to which the US--as USAID and the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations--played a significant role in undermining India's food sovereignty in the years just after independence. Not surprising given the US propensity to do this around the globe, but that it happened in India that long ago was quite a revelation for me.
Read
February 7, 2015Hmm. There were some interesting things about the politics of food production, but I'm not sure how seriously I should take her; http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonentine...
A recommendation from someone I like but who isn't any more educated on the subject than I am, so I'm taking this one with a grain of salt.
A recommendation from someone I like but who isn't any more educated on the subject than I am, so I'm taking this one with a grain of salt.
September 7, 2008
Just finished it. As usual, loved the information, but she's got a way of saying the same things over and over again.
Recommended
Recommended
October 27, 2013
It changed my perspective on technological intervention and development. Green Vs Red is amazing insight.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews