Raj Patel

Raj Patel is a writer and academic who has become known through his multiple activism movements and his stance on the Global Economy reforms. He is the author of the New York Times Bestseller, ‘The Value of Nothing.’ Patel was born to parents of mixed Kenyan and Fiji descent. He grew up in London and graduated with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Oxford. He received his Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and finished his doctorate course in Sociology from Cornell University. During his days in college, he worked at the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation under the United Nations. His close association with these institutions set him out on a heated mission to change the power imbalance and scarcity in the world. He organized and participated in several protests against the UN, getting tear-gassed on four different continents during the rallies.

He is a visiting professor at some of America’s best Universities, Yale, University of California and the University of Texas. He has authored multiple books highlighting the flaws and outdated ideals behind the current food and economic crisis and its intended reforms. Some of his best works are ‘Stuffed and Starved’ and ‘The History of the World in Seven Cheap Things.’ In addition to that, his articles have regularly been published in The Guardian, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Times of India, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Mail on Sunday, and The Observer. Patel also co-hosts a political podcast called ‘The Secret Ingredient.’ He did a majority of his activism in South Africa, aligning himself with the pro-democracy movement by joined hands with the Via Campesina movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo, and the Landless Peoples Movement. Patel co-authored a web magazine called ‘The Voice of the Turtle,’ which expounded his beliefs and discussed global issues. He became a US citizen in 2010. His activism has also won him the prestigious James Beard Award. He featured in a documentary called ‘ Payback Click to look into! >> Read More... ’ from the National Film Board of Canada, which was showcased at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival as well as the film, ‘ A Place at the Table Click to look into! >> Read More... .’ His continuing fight against world hunger and stabilizing the markets has made him one of the leading authorities on the subject in recent years.