Raj Patel quotes
Raj Patel is a British-Indian academic, writer, and activist known for his work on global food systems and social justice. His influential books explore the politics of food, inequality, and sustainability. He continues to advocate for equitable and sustainable solutions to world hunger and environmental challenges. Here are 9 of his quotes:
Generosity makes us happiest. We'll be happier people when we share, not when we impose, but when we learn from one another. Because when I'm connected to everyone I disappear ... in being excellent you lose yourself. And when you're connected to everyone, that's the best thing that can happen.
Raj Patel
When you introduce markets in food, then you introduce two very simple rules. The first rule is this: if you have money you can get the food from wherever around the world. The other rule markets impose is this: if you do not have money, you will starve. This is an important point ... The reason why people starve is because of poverty ... not because of a shortage of food ... but because the only way to access the food is through the market.
Raj Patel
We are all familiar with the idea: Give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish and you'll feed him for a lifetime. That sounds reasonable enough. ... But think of the model that rests on. It constructs people in developing countries that sort of people sitting by the rivers and eating fish and then they look at the river and said: "- So what's that? - It looks like a fish. - Well, how do we get it out? - Well I have no idea, we would have to wait for white man to come and tell us." It's important to remember that actually there are systems of governance that already exist. There are models of development that already exist in developing countries that actually are much more sustainable than the model of free markets that we have been trying to export.
Raj Patel