Okay people… I just finished reading Soil Not Oil by Vandana Shiva. And  the prognosis is grim for future generations. I can’t even say, “unless we do such and such.” Nothing short of a revolution will get people to stop driving, stop keeping their indoor temperatures within a narrow range of comfort, stop buying plastic, stop buying food shipped from all parts of the globe, and worst of all, stop supporting companies whose pollution output exceeds that of the entire population combined.

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Furthermore, other countries with much larger populations think it’s possible to consume as much as we do (why shouldn’t they?) when we already take a large majority of the world’s resources. Vandana Shiva was one of India’s top physicists when she realized that the world and her country were more in need of an agricultural activist. She saw her country’s farmland being paved over for roads and polluted by factories. She saw companies like Monsanto exploiting farmers with their “terminator seeds”, getting them to sign agreements to use only company products — seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. And ultimately, she saw farmers committing suicide over their lost livelihoods and heritage. Nearly 200,000, she claims.

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Shiva, however, believes a revolution of global values might be able to save us. This would require a restructuring of society literally from the ground up, with new respect and appreciation granted to farmers over corporations. Farmers perform the  invaluable work of providing their people with the sustenance needed to survive. We can live without our i-Pods (yes, it’s true!), but we need food. Farmers are overpaid and overworked all over the planet, conditions worsened by the installment of global trade policies. In a just society, it would be farmers who would have 401(k) plans and yearly bonuses! If anyone should work “under” anyone else, it’s the corporations who should be working under the farmers.

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But we’ve all heard enough railing on the poor corporations! We can support the “revolution” by doing a couple of very simple things:

1) Support the future conversion of corporate mono-cropping megafarms into small local operations. You can do this by buying meat, eggs,  produce, and whatever else you need and can find at your local farmers’ market. Patronize local companies.

and

2) Grow your own Victory Garden! By growing your own food you reconnect with the giving and receiving of Nature.  An organic garden will actually bring restoration to the planet, rather than laying pillage (as mega-farming does).  The whole process of gardening reminds us of what we’ve subconsciously forgotten about our food — that it comes from the earth! A healthy planet produces healthy food and healthy inhabitants.

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It’s time for a Victory Garden Revival, if you will.