Working With and Learning From Nature
The Forgotten Richness of Pulses – Dr. Vandana Shiva
Episode 139: Dr. Vandana Shiva, author, activist, and scholar, talks about the forgotten richness of pulses and how growing these plants can help us practice a more biodiverse and permanent agriculture.
In this short interview, we talk about Pulses, the edible seeds of plants in the legume family. Common pulses include chickpeas, lentils, beans, and dry peas. Vandana says that growing pulses is an excellent way to begin farming nonviolently. Pulses fix Nitrogen, increase soil fertility, are drought tolerant, and are an excellent source of protein.
Vandana talks about the “violence” of fossil fuel-based agriculture, the Green Revolution in India, Bt Cotton, and how she became an activist.
Vandana believes that our role is to protect natural systems and to be co-creators with the earth. In one of my favorite quotes from the interview, Vandana says that, “Making peace with the earth means recognizing our creative abilities and not being proud of our destructive capacity.”
To learn more about Vandana Shiva, visit her website: VandanaShiva.com and Navdanya.org. To read Vandana Shiva’s book Pulse of Life: The Rich Biodiversity of Edible Legumes, click here.
Special thanks to Camilla Becket of Becket Films for setting up this interview. To see a preview of their new film about Vandana Shiva, The Seeds of Vandana Shiva, click here.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:01 — 12.4MB) | Embed
4 Comments on “The Forgotten Richness of Pulses – Dr. Vandana Shiva”
Hi, I left a comment on your facebook post but here might be more appropriate. Thank you very much for this episode which has taught me many things. I did not know Vandana Shiva and I am looking forward to discovering her work and the many books she has written. I just saw the following book is about to be released: Soils and Pulses: Symbiosis for Life and actually just find the pdf on the FAO website: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i6437e.pdf. Looking forward to the next episodes :)
Thank you so much, Philippe.
Thanks for this great show. I couldn’t use your embed code with our SSL so I had to download and re-upload the show. I hope I have included suitable attribution to your website! Please let me know if there is anything to change.
Wishing you the very best!
http://meirska.com/vandana-shiva-on-food-sovereignty-seed-saving-and-biodiversity/
I’m so glad you like the show. Vandana is incredible. Thanks for sharing!