Vandana Shiva
Vandana Shiva
1952 — ?
Inde
Vandana Shiva (born 1952) is an Indian physicist, philosopher, and environmental activist. Founder of the Navdanya movement, she champions biodiversity and farmers' rights while opposing GMOs and neoliberal globalization. A leading figure in ecofeminism, she received the Right Livelihood Award (the Alternative Nobel Prize) in 1993.
Famous Quotes
« The Earth is not a resource, it is a living community. »
« We are either the solution or the problem. »
Key Facts
- Born in 1952 in Dehradun, India, into a family of foresters
- Earned a PhD in quantum physics from the University of Western Ontario (Canada) in 1978
- Founded the Navdanya movement in 1987 to preserve traditional seeds and support Indian farmers
- Recipient of the Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel Prize) in 1993
- Author of Staying Alive (1988), a foundational work in ecofeminism
Works & Achievements
A founding text of ecofeminism, in which Vandana Shiva argues that the domination of nature and the domination of women by Western development share the same ideological roots.
A network for the conservation of traditional seeds and the promotion of organic farming, now counting over 900,000 farmer members and 150 seed banks across India.
An essay in which Vandana Shiva examines how Western economic and scientific monoculture is destroying biological and cultural diversity on a global scale.
A thoroughly documented critique of the appropriation by transnational corporations of knowledge and biological resources belonging to peoples of the Global South, particularly in India.
A critical analysis of how agribusiness multinationals have seized control of global food production at the expense of farmers and biodiversity.
Vandana Shiva demonstrates the links between industrial agriculture, oil dependency, and the climate crisis, and makes the case for agroecology as a systemic solution.
A work that challenges the myth that industrial agriculture is necessary to feed the planet, drawing on data about small-scale peasant farming.
Anecdotes
In 1987, Vandana Shiva attended a biotechnology conference in Geneva. There, she heard representatives of multinational corporations claim that genetically modified seeds would 'feed the world.' Outraged, she decided to return to India to found Navdanya, a network for the conservation of traditional farmers' seeds, in order to protect threatened agricultural biodiversity.
Vandana Shiva grew up in the forests of the Himalayas, in the state of Uttarakhand. Her mother was a farmer who passed on to her a deep respect for nature. It was by witnessing the Chipko movement — in which women wrapped their arms around trees to prevent loggers from cutting them down — that she formed her conviction that women and nature are intimately linked in their resistance to exploitation.
At the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, Vandana Shiva played a key role in drafting the Convention on Biological Diversity. She passionately denounced the concept of 'biopiracy': the practice of Western corporations patenting medicinal plants or seeds that Indian farmers had been using for centuries, such as turmeric and neem.
In 1993, Vandana Shiva received the Right Livelihood Award, known as the 'Alternative Nobel Prize,' for her commitment to biodiversity and farmers' rights. She used the prize money to strengthen the Navdanya network, which today preserves more than 5,000 varieties of traditional Indian seeds in its community seed banks.
Primary Sources
The recovery of the feminine principle is based on inclusivity. It is not exclusive to women but is the principle of conservation, nouturing and sustainability. The earth is our mother.
The fragmentation of the mind is at the root of the fragmentation of nature. Monocultures of the mind make diversity disappear from perception, and consequently from the world.
Neoliberal globalization treats nature as a commodity and farmers as obstacles to progress. We say no: the land is not a commodity, seeds are not intellectual property.
Industrial agriculture based on fossil fuels has given us an unsustainable food system that destroys soils, pollutes water, and contributes to climate change. Organic farming and biodiversity are our best tools for resilience.
Key Places
Vandana Shiva's hometown, nestled at the foot of the Himalayas. This is where she grew up surrounded by forests and traditional farming, and where Navdanya established its main farm-school.
An agricultural estate founded by Vandana Shiva that serves as a training center for agroecology, a living seed bank, and a site of resistance to industrial agriculture.
Home to the international trade negotiations that Vandana Shiva has been challenging since the 1980s, particularly the TRIPS agreements that allow the patenting of seeds and living organisms.
Site of the 1992 Earth Summit, where Vandana Shiva played an active role in shaping the Convention on Biological Diversity and fighting against biopiracy.
Host city of the World Social Forum, the flagship platform of the alter-globalization movement, where Vandana Shiva emerged as one of the most influential voices against neoliberal globalization.
Gallery
Behar Herald
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Inconnu
Behar Herald
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Inconnu
Vandana shiva
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Inconnu
Save The World Awards 2009 show03 - Vandana Shiva
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Manfred Werner - Tsui
Dr. Vandana Shiva DS
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Augustus Binu/ facebook
Vandana Shiva (7074204327)
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 — Fronteiras do Pensamento
Vandana Shiva - 49424671267
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 — boellstiftung
Alice Bows-Larkin at Elevate Festival 2015
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 — elevatefestival
The China-India-Pakistan water crisis prospects for interstate conflict
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Brennan, James F.
Entao existia essa coisa comum entre a mulher e a natureza serem objetos de exploracao de um sistema, História no Museu da Pessoa (168472)
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Museu da Pessoa