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A review by genius_koala
Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis by Vandana Shiva
I'm not going to give this one a starred rating, because my struggles were more with the style of the book, rather than the substance.
The book might succeed in pushing those already on board with looking for solutions to think further outside the box, beyond some of the mainstream strategies on climate change from the earlier part of the 21st century. I don't think it would succeed in converting anyone who wasn't already looking for a new strategy.
Unfortunately, it doesn't successfully deliver on that proposed new strategy. Too much of the material on balance is focused on the problems with the current system and some of the early strategies for climate change. The perfectly justifiable frustration with the status quo and the limited progress that has been made left the book with an oddly ANTI-science feel, which is odd since science is firmly on the side of biodiversity and the need to re-imagine our farming/consumption practices.
Not enough attention is given to what the author is proposing. Ideas of democratizing agriculture and biodiversity are repeated over and over, without enough to tell us the HOW we get there. I understand this book is short, but 3/4 were devoted to repeating well-known dangers of large scale agribusiness, including arguments that had already been made within the text itself. It left very little opportunity to learn about new approaches. I think greater focus on the possibilities and the science behind the alternative solutions the author supports would have been more helpful.
The conclusion read more like an introduction and some of the hopping between philosophies towards the end didn't really advance what the author was hoping to accomplish.
The book might succeed in pushing those already on board with looking for solutions to think further outside the box, beyond some of the mainstream strategies on climate change from the earlier part of the 21st century. I don't think it would succeed in converting anyone who wasn't already looking for a new strategy.
Unfortunately, it doesn't successfully deliver on that proposed new strategy. Too much of the material on balance is focused on the problems with the current system and some of the early strategies for climate change. The perfectly justifiable frustration with the status quo and the limited progress that has been made left the book with an oddly ANTI-science feel, which is odd since science is firmly on the side of biodiversity and the need to re-imagine our farming/consumption practices.
Not enough attention is given to what the author is proposing. Ideas of democratizing agriculture and biodiversity are repeated over and over, without enough to tell us the HOW we get there. I understand this book is short, but 3/4 were devoted to repeating well-known dangers of large scale agribusiness, including arguments that had already been made within the text itself. It left very little opportunity to learn about new approaches. I think greater focus on the possibilities and the science behind the alternative solutions the author supports would have been more helpful.
The conclusion read more like an introduction and some of the hopping between philosophies towards the end didn't really advance what the author was hoping to accomplish.