Vandana Shiva
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Vandana Shiva

Scholar and Environmental Activist, India

Vandana Shiva

Vandana Shiva is an Indian scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, and anti-globalization author. She has written more than 20 books and is a leader and board member of the International Forum on Globalization.

About Vandana Shiva

Vandana Shiva is an Indian scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, ecofeminist, and anti-globalisation author. Born on November 5, 1952, in Dehradun, India, she has been a prominent figure in environmental activism and has written more than 20 books. Shiva is often referred to as the “Gandhi of grain” due to her activism associated with the anti-GMO movement.

She is one of the leaders and board members of the International Forum on Globalization, and a significant figure in the anti-globalisation movement. Shiva has argued in favor of many traditional practices and is a member of the scientific committee of the Fundacion IDEAS, Spain’s Socialist Party’s think tank.

Shiva has written and spoken extensively about advances in the fields of agriculture and food. She has assisted grassroots organizations of the Green movement in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Ireland, Switzerland, and Austria with opposition to advances in agricultural development via genetic engineering.

In 1982, she founded the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, which led to the creation of Navdanya in 1991, a national movement to protect the diversity and integrity of living resources, especially native seed, the promotion of organic farming and fair trade.

Shiva has also served as an advisor to governments in India and abroad as well as non-governmental organizations. She chairs the Commission on the Future of Food set up by the Region of Tuscany in Italy and is a member of the Scientific Committee that advised former prime minister Zapatero of Spain. Shiva is a member of the Steering Committee of the Indian People’s Campaign Against WTO. She is a councilor of the World Future Council. Shiva serves on Government of India Committees on Organic Farming.

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