Vandana Shiva

During these times when we are having to fight for food freedom and our right not to have cancer causing GMO’s in our kitchen, women like Vandana Shiva keep me going and marching ahead. My friend Judith Scott opened my eyes to the wonderful work of Vandana Shiva who is an inspiration and true heroine. She is a remarkable scholar, philosopher, author, feminist  and eco-warrior. She has started the Navdanya organization. Navdanya means “nine seeds” and its purpose is to save and share seeds which in today’s context of biological and ecological destruction is key for our survival. Conserving seeds is conserving biodiversity, conserving knowledge of the seeds and its utilization, conserving culture, conserving sustainability. She is a brave soul who is confronting Monsanto and other corporations and fighting the good fight for the vulnerable farmers. Her petition to honor Mother Earth is eloquent and states all that needs to be said.

The following is a call to arms by Shiva that made me a complete devotee!

We women, in all our vibrant and fabulous diversity, have witnessed the increasing aggression against the human spirit, human mind and human body and the continued invasion of and assault upon the Earth and all her diverse species. And we are enraged.

We demand of governments, international organisations, transnational corporations and individual men who share our rage, that they address the crisis that has been caused by the creation of mono cultures and the reduction, enclosure, and extinction of biological and cultural diversity.

We insist that those who would address the crisis listen to and take leadership from women, indigenous peoples, farmers, and all who have raised these concerns at the local level. We ask them to heed those whose wisdom, stewardship, knowledge and commitment has already been demonstrated by the preservation of the diversity we celebrate today.

— Vandana Shiva