Their prescribed cure is neither logically consistent nor sincerely proposed. Their so-called “free trade” abrogates a great many freedoms, including among others the freedom of farmers to save seeds from their own plants in order to sow them the following season. Nor are their neoliberal policies a sincere effort by the Government of India to serve the interests of the people of India. They are a surrender to the power of the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the United States Government, all of whom act in the interest of multinational corporations. 

But I will not focus initially on Shiva’s account of the logical contradictions of so-called free trade. Nor will I focus on her account of the amalgam of technocratic ideology, political and military power, and global movement of investment capital that cements into place the present disastrous course of world history. Instead, I will focus on what the study of Gandhi’s experiences can contribute to guiding the alternative course that Shiva proposes.. Although her writings follow a consistent pattern across a wide range of issues, I will outline here specifically her proposal for an alternative approach to food security: 

--women-centered household food security: 

-- high nutrition per acre (as contrasted with the profit per acre criterion of agribusiness) 

-- internal input agricultural practice to reduce debt and the cost of purchased inputs 

-- increased use of drought resistant varieties to reduce ecological vulnerability 

--organic methods to improve soil moisture and reduce water demand 

-- diversity of crops to ensure balanced nutrition throughout the year 

-- use of farmer-saved open pollinated seeds 

-- local community food security: 

-- establish community grain banks 

-- procure locally so that local producers’ livelihoods are protected 

-- cut storage and transport costs 

-- focus on culturally appropriate foods for the area 

-- use locally procured grain for food-related programs of state and central governments, such as food for work schemes, school meals, primary healthcare centers…. 

-- in case surplus exists after meeting local needs, the village grain banks should sell to the states and central government 

--in case of local scarcity, the village grain banks should receive from states and center 

--the community food banks should have the right to tax to support their activities (7)