--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are scarcities in drinking water…" description: "\"There are scarcities in drinking water when you pollute the groundwater with nitrates. There is a scarcity in diversity when you create huge cornfields..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/vandana-shiva-2756_agriculture_there-are-scarcities-in-drinking-water-w_2389524.jpg" --- # There are scarcities in drinking water when you pollute… ![“There are scarcities in drinking water when you pollute the groundwater with nitrates. There is a scarcity in diversity when you create huge cornfields with the same strain of corn so that when one disease strikes - which happened in the United States in the 70s - all the cornfields in the country…” quote by Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/vandana-shiva-2756_agriculture_there-are-scarcities-in-drinking-water-w_2389524.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/vandana-shiva-2756_agriculture_there-are-scarcities-in-drinking-water-w_2389524.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/vandana-shiva-2756_agriculture_there-are-scarcities-in-drinking-water-w_2389524.jpg) > “There are scarcities in drinking water when you pollute the groundwater with nitrates. There is a scarcity in diversity when you create huge cornfields with the same strain of corn so that when one disease strikes - which happened in the United States in the 70s - all the cornfields in the country are wiped out. That was the first time the U.S. realized the value of diversity in agriculture and began to discuss genetic resources and their conservation.” [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Monocultures create vulnerability; diversity in crops safeguards against disease and ensures ecological stability. **In simple terms:** Crop diversity prevents disaster Key Takeaway Promote varied farming practices Themes environment agriculture diversity Mood concerned urgent Type advocacy educational When to use this quote - farming policy - seed saving - crop rotation - risk management Key Concepts Genetic resources ecosystem resilience food security Questions to Reflect On - How can farmers adopt diverse crops profitably? - What policies support genetic conservation? A Different Perspective Economic pressures favor monoculture; transition can be costly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agriculture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agriculture/) [Conservation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservation/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Diversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diversity/) [Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking/) [Drinking water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking-water/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Groundwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groundwater/) [Scarcity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scarcity/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [I have always been a big advocate of tap water-not because I think it harmless but because the idea of purchasing water extracted from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/i-have-always-been-a-big-advocate-of-tap-water-not-because-i-think-it/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [Bring diversity back to agriculture. That's what made it work in the first place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/bring-diversity-back-to-agriculture-that-s-what-made-it-work-in-the/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [Loss of genetic diversity in agriculture is leading us to a rendezvous with extinction--to the doorstep of hunger on a scale we refuse to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-fowler/loss-of-genetic-diversity-in-agriculture-is-leading-us-to-a/) [Cary Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-fowler/) > [Being vegan or vegetarian isn't just about compassion for animals. Most of the destruction of the planet is the result of all the clear-cutting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcnamara/being-vegan-or-vegetarian-isn-t-just-about-compassion-for-animals/) [William McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcnamara/) > [The farmer and the farm, like "the environment," are looked upon, for example, as means to offset trade deficits. 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Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-orr/) > [A great thing about these trees is that they are excellent for cleaning, both groundwater, and of course, air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-lowry/a-great-thing-about-these-trees-is-that-they-are-excellent-for/) [Mike Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-lowry/) > [When it comes to acid rain or oil spills or depleted fisheries or tainted groundwater or fluorocarbon propellants or radiation leaks or sexually transmitted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-barber/when-it-comes-to-acid-rain-or-oil-spills-or-depleted-fisheries-or/) [Benjamin Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-barber/) > [California became the last state in the west to regulate groundwater usage. The state's first-ever mandatory water restrictions soon followed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/california-became-the-last-state-in-the-west-to-regulate-groundwater/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [This junkyard is an environmental nightmare, strewn with tree stumps, old tires, derelict vehicles, scrap metal and other waste. This owner may be failing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blumenthal/this-junkyard-is-an-environmental-nightmare-strewn-with-tree-stumps/) [Richard Blumenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blumenthal/) > [If surface water can be compared with interest income, and non-renewable groundwater with capital, then much of the West was living mainly on interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-reisner/if-surface-water-can-be-compared-with-interest-income-and-non/) [Marc Reisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-reisner/) > [Today you have a situation where now the prescription is: People who don’t have enough money to buy food should end up paying for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/today-you-have-a-situation-where-now-the-prescription-is-people-who/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [It’s not that Monsanto is making money out of the blue. It’s making money by coercing and literally forcing people to pay for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/it-s-not-that-monsanto-is-making-money-out-of-the-blue-it-s-making/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Something is very, very wrong when people don’t have access to drinking water, and Coke creates its market out of that scarcity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/something-is-very-very-wrong-when-people-don-t-have-access-to/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) ## More by Vandana Shiva > [We share this planet, our home, with millions of species. Justice and sustainability both demand that we do not use more resources than we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/we-share-this-planet-our-home-with-millions-of-species-justice-and/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [The enclosure of the biological and intellectual commons in this way is a real threat to the future of people everywhere because it creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/the-enclosure-of-the-biological-and-intellectual-commons-in-this-way/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Ecofeminism is a good term for distinguishing a feminism that is ecological from the kind of feminisms that have become extremely technocratic. I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/ecofeminism-is-a-good-term-for-distinguishing-a-feminism-that-is/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [In the seed and the soil, we find the answers to every one of the crises we face. The crises of violence and war.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/in-the-seed-and-the-soil-we-find-the-answers-to-every-one-of-the/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [We could replace people with fossil fuels, have higher and higher levels of industrialization, of agriculture, of production, without thinking of the green-house gases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/we-could-replace-people-with-fossil-fuels-have-higher-and-higher/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Nobody defines it as something women shouldn't be doing. In a way, there are more mathematicians, more doctors, more scientists in India than there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/nobody-defines-it-as-something-women-shouldn-t-be-doing-in-a-way/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Because of these new car models there is suddenly on the streets of Delhi a new intolerance by the motorists for both the cows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/because-of-these-new-car-models-there-is-suddenly-on-the-streets-of/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Diversity creates harmony, and harmony creates beauty, balance, bounty and peace in nature and society, in agriculture and culture, in science and in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/diversity-creates-harmony-and-harmony-creates-beauty-balance-bounty/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [For us, not cooperating in the monopoly regimes of intellectual property rights and patents and biodiversity - saying "no" to patents on life, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/for-us-not-cooperating-in-the-monopoly-regimes-of-intellectual/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [I describe what is happening as 'food fascism' because this system can only survive through totalitarian control. With patents on seed, an illegitimate legal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/i-describe-what-is-happening-as-food-fascism-because-this-system-can/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [My mother was a tremendous woman. I was just cleaning up old trunks and I found a book with her notes written during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/my-mother-was-a-tremendous-woman-i-was-just-cleaning-up-old-trunks/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Patriarchy is based on appropriating rights and leaving responsibility to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/patriarchy-is-based-on-appropriating-rights-and-leaving/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [The poorest of families, the poorest of children, are subsidizing the growth of the largest agribusinesses in the world. I think it’s time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/the-poorest-of-families-the-poorest-of-children-are-subsidizing-the/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Water must be free for sustenance needs. Since nature gives water to us free of cost, buying and selling it for profit violates our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/water-must-be-free-for-sustenance-needs-since-nature-gives-water-to/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [The abuse of the Earth is the ecological crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/the-abuse-of-the-earth-is-the-ecological-crisis/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) [Explore all 151 Vandana Shiva quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) ## More Agriculture quotes > [Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. 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Swaminathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-s-swaminathan/) > [Nitrogen-based fertilizers, which came into wide use after World War II, helped prompt the agricultural revolution that has allowed the Earth to feed its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/nitrogen-based-fertilizers-which-came-into-wide-use-after-world-war/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [Agriculture is one economic activity that does not obey the laws of demand and supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/agriculture-is-one-economic-activity-that-does-not-obey-the-laws-of/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [More than a mere alternative strategy, regenerative agriculture represents a fundamental shift in our culture’s relationship to nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/more-than-a-mere-alternative-strategy-regenerative-agriculture/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) [Browse all 889 Agriculture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agriculture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are scarcities in drinking water when you pollute the groundwater with nitrates. 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