The Seeds of Vandana Shiva

The Seeds of Vandana Shiva

Wednesday, April 12, 2023 - 6:30pm to 8:00pm
  • Library Hall
Learn about the remarkable life story of Gandhian eco-activist Dr. Vandana Shiva as we honor April's Earth Day celebrations and the planet's precious resources.

How did the willful daughter of a Himalayan forest conservator become Monsanto’s worst nightmare? This documentary film tells the remarkable life story of Gandhian eco-activist Dr. Vandana Shiva, how she stood up to the corporate Goliaths of industrial agriculture, rose to prominence in the seed saving and organic food movements, and is inspiring an international crusade for change.

Her philosophy: Earth Democracy that honors ecology, biodiversity, sustainability and community.

In her colorful sari and large scarlet bindi, Dr. Vandana Shiva is an arresting presence: She galvanizes crowds, advises government leaders, fields constant calls from the media—then then retreats from big-city buzz to work alongside small farmers across the developing world.

Who is she? What is her mission? How did this woman from an obscure town in India become Monsanto’s worst nightmare, a rebellious rock star in the global debate about who feeds the world? Among those engaged with organic food and farming, climate change, biodiversity, seed sovereignty, globalization, and social justice, Vandana Shiva is an icon of a global movement. But even among those who pride themselves on being well-informed, she’s relatively unknown. Few are aware of how this daughter of a Himalayan forest conservator rose from obscurity to become a world leader of Gandhian stature.

Hers is the remarkable and unlikely story of a girl who trekked from highland cabin to cabin alongside her father, tended a garden alongside her mother, and passionately pursued an education that freed her from the caste and gender constraints of traditional Indian society that culminated in a degree in Nuclear Physics, and then a Ph.D. in the Philosophy of Quantum Theory. But those achievements were merely a prelude to her awakening as a fully-committed activist. Vandana Shiva brought her scientific expertise and Gandhian principles of nonviolent resistance to the struggles of Indian villagers whose livelihoods were being crushed by corporate capitalism. She has become a formidable opponent to those corporations whose drive for privatization and profit are destroying the environment and changing the climate.

Run Time: 

85 min.