Activist Vandana Shiva at Sonoma Country Day School
Respected and Revered, Vandana Shiva's presentation at Sonoma Country Day School is reviewed not only for content, but also from the perspective of mutual respect from Sonoma County leaders on the environment.
VANDANA SHIVA
Review by Jim
On August 27, 2008 Dave Henson of Occidental Arts and Ecology Center introduced Dr Shiva, a world-renowned scientist, environmentalist and agricultural activist to an audience of about 700 people at Sonoma Country Day School, whose Jackson theater, I estimated had about 750 seats. He spoke glowingly of her for about 15 minutes. A Phd in quantum physics who started the tree-hugging movement in India. A cofounder of The International Forum on Globalization and author of a number of books such as "Water Wars", "Stolen Harvest" and "Biopiracy". Her new book, "Soil Not Oil" will be out in November. She is the founder of Navdanya International, a science and policy research center based in India. A powerful, articulate and vocal critic of the WTO, IMF, World Bank, Monsanto and the biotech industry (GMO's). She has founded or organized holistic living schools and huge seed saving exchanges in India and all around Asia. Of course most of us attending needed no introduction to this profoundly amazing and inspiring leader in the movement to protect and restore the Earth.
She refers to the global climate crisis as CLIMATE CHAOS which she calls the highest expression of global instability. We are brilliant at how to do nothing, she says. We are good a getting oil and gold out of the ground without regard for the destruction it causes. Producing what we want when we want it, is called democracy. Half of the people in the world are peasants.
Agriculture is the fundamental crisis and remember FTA's & GATT,(Free Trade Agreements/General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs)? They have led to Three instruments: GMO's, Packaging (?) Mergers and Intellectual Property Rights. Seeds embody biological evolution! Cargill and Monsanto have merged and now own 95% of all genetically engineered seeds. This agricultural dictatorship owns half of all seeds. Farmers in India gathered five million signatures protesting the 50 to 100 fold increase in seed prices. GMO's are vulnerable. The often heard claim that they increase yield has been proven false. NAFTA has destroyed food security in North America. Strangely, Anti-Trust Laws have never been applied to food. There are serious food shortages in India and China. George Bush claims it is because the Indian people are eating more; getting laughs from the crowd...which she did on numerous occasions.
Petroleum based fertilizers account for 51% of greenhouse gases(?). We need to ban chemical fertilizers. They constitute a war against food, life and ecosystems. She says oil represents a human death wish. She mentioned the creation of a University of Seeds. She asked the audience if they knew the root of the word millet. She said it means millions, a reference to the number of seeds one seed can produce. Monsanto's terminator technology represents the creation of scarcity. The real and true fertilizer is the soil. She repeated the phrase Seed, Soil, Sun. Earth Democracy is nonviolent farming.
Following her presentation was a Q & A session from 3x5 cards taken from the audience. When asked about water, she talked at length about the water crisis and mentioned the fact that the use of chemical fertilizers requires 10 times as much water. With more carbon in the soil, less water is needed and flood and drought damage is decreased. My question was about farmer suicides, and like the water question she answered in great depth, talking about the conditions leading to suicides. Turns out that about 200,000 farmers have committed suicide in the last decade in india and well over 3,000 (?) in the U.S. The solution is to distribute good seeds to the farmers. When someone suggests that its too late for whatever, her reply is " It is never too late to stop doing the wrong thing or to start doing the right thing." About bees she thinks it has something to do with the Bt gene engineered into crops. She used the phrase GE FREE STATES. She says don't take peoples' land away and use resources to produce more food. We need soil and seed keepers and not tractor keepers. Finally, when asked how we need to change, she said, start celebrating Earth. All food is a sacrament. Give us this day our daily bread should not be a prayer to Cargill/ Monsanto.
In trying to describe this incredible woman, I decided she had the knowledge, integrity and perseverance of Ralph Nader, the incisive, linguistic wit of Barbara Jordan, the powerful, commanding presence of Hugo Chavez and the compassion and sensitivity of Mother Theresa.
Debbie Barker spoke at the break between Vandana's presentation and the Q & A session. She is co-director of the International Forum on Globalization (IFG) and was instrumental in arranging Dr Shiva's appearance here. This event was a benefit for Navdanya International and a kickoff for Navdanya U.S. whose director is Debbie Barker.
The evening was capped off with delicious hors d'oeuvres and a number of superior wines donated by local wineries. My sympathies to those who missed this marvelous event. Check out the website navdanya.org.
VANDANA SHIVA
Review by Jim
On August 27, 2008 Dave Henson of Occidental Arts and Ecology Center introduced Dr Shiva, a world-renowned scientist, environmentalist and agricultural activist to an audience of about 700 people at Sonoma Country Day School, whose Jackson theater, I estimated had about 750 seats. He spoke glowingly of her for about 15 minutes. A Phd in quantum physics who started the tree-hugging movement in India. A cofounder of The International Forum on Globalization and author of a number of books such as "Water Wars", "Stolen Harvest" and "Biopiracy". Her new book, "Soil Not Oil" will be out in November. She is the founder of Navdanya International, a science and policy research center based in India. A powerful, articulate and vocal critic of the WTO, IMF, World Bank, Monsanto and the biotech industry (GMO's). She has founded or organized holistic living schools and huge seed saving exchanges in India and all around Asia. Of course most of us attending needed no introduction to this profoundly amazing and inspiring leader in the movement to protect and restore the Earth.
She refers to the global climate crisis as CLIMATE CHAOS which she calls the highest expression of global instability. We are brilliant at how to do nothing, she says. We are good a getting oil and gold out of the ground without regard for the destruction it causes. Producing what we want when we want it, is called democracy. Half of the people in the world are peasants.
Agriculture is the fundamental crisis and remember FTA's & GATT,(Free Trade Agreements/General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs)? They have led to Three instruments: GMO's, Packaging (?) Mergers and Intellectual Property Rights. Seeds embody biological evolution! Cargill and Monsanto have merged and now own 95% of all genetically engineered seeds. This agricultural dictatorship owns half of all seeds. Farmers in India gathered five million signatures protesting the 50 to 100 fold increase in seed prices. GMO's are vulnerable. The often heard claim that they increase yield has been proven false. NAFTA has destroyed food security in North America. Strangely, Anti-Trust Laws have never been applied to food. There are serious food shortages in India and China. George Bush claims it is because the Indian people are eating more; getting laughs from the crowd...which she did on numerous occasions.
Petroleum based fertilizers account for 51% of greenhouse gases(?). We need to ban chemical fertilizers. They constitute a war against food, life and ecosystems. She says oil represents a human death wish. She mentioned the creation of a University of Seeds. She asked the audience if they knew the root of the word millet. She said it means millions, a reference to the number of seeds one seed can produce. Monsanto's terminator technology represents the creation of scarcity. The real and true fertilizer is the soil. She repeated the phrase Seed, Soil, Sun. Earth Democracy is nonviolent farming.
Following her presentation was a Q & A session from 3x5 cards taken from the audience. When asked about water, she talked at length about the water crisis and mentioned the fact that the use of chemical fertilizers requires 10 times as much water. With more carbon in the soil, less water is needed and flood and drought damage is decreased. My question was about farmer suicides, and like the water question she answered in great depth, talking about the conditions leading to suicides. Turns out that about 200,000 farmers have committed suicide in the last decade in india and well over 3,000 (?) in the U.S. The solution is to distribute good seeds to the farmers. When someone suggests that its too late for whatever, her reply is " It is never too late to stop doing the wrong thing or to start doing the right thing." About bees she thinks it has something to do with the Bt gene engineered into crops. She used the phrase GE FREE STATES. She says don't take peoples' land away and use resources to produce more food. We need soil and seed keepers and not tractor keepers. Finally, when asked how we need to change, she said, start celebrating Earth. All food is a sacrament. Give us this day our daily bread should not be a prayer to Cargill/ Monsanto.
In trying to describe this incredible woman, I decided she had the knowledge, integrity and perseverance of Ralph Nader, the incisive, linguistic wit of Barbara Jordan, the powerful, commanding presence of Hugo Chavez and the compassion and sensitivity of Mother Theresa.
Debbie Barker spoke at the break between Vandana's presentation and the Q & A session. She is co-director of the International Forum on Globalization (IFG) and was instrumental in arranging Dr Shiva's appearance here. This event was a benefit for Navdanya International and a kickoff for Navdanya U.S. whose director is Debbie Barker.
The evening was capped off with delicious hors d'oeuvres and a number of superior wines donated by local wineries. My sympathies to those who missed this marvelous event. Check out the website navdanya.org.
Labels: ENVIRONMENT, HEROES, PERSPECTIVES
