Vandana Shiva

Vandana Shiva is an Indian author, activist, professor, lecturer and scientific advisor. She was born on 5th November 1952 in Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand. She is known for campaigning against biopiracy, corporate seed patents, genetically modified seed and use of chemicals in agriculture. Vandana was born to a forest conservator and a farmer.

\She attended school at St. Mary’s, Nainital and the Covenant of Jesus and Mary, Dehra Dun. She did an integrated course in Particle Physics at the Punjab University, Chandigarh and earned an M.Sc. degree with Honours on 1973. She worked at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center and then took admission at the University of Guelph, Ontario, where she earned an M.A. in Philosophy of Science and wrote the thesis Changes In The Concept Of Periodicity Of Light in 1977. In 1978, she gained a Ph.D. in Philosophy for her dissertation Hidden Variables And Locality In Quantum Mechanics from the University of Western Ontario.

She did research in environmental policy, science and technology at the IIS and the IIM, Bangalore. In 1982, Vandana established the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology in Dehradun. The foundation conducts independent research on environmental and social issues in association with local communities and activists. In 1991, she initiated the Navdanya movement to protect the biodiversity and integrity of indigenous seeds, and to encourage organic agriculture and fair trade. Navdanya has contributed in the conservation of more than 3000 Indian rice varieties. It established about 122 seed banks in eighteen Indian states. Vandana campaigns against patents on plants and seed, to protect indigenous life forms from corporate interests.

Her organization, the RFTSE played a pivotal role in winning a ten-year long biopiracy case at the European Patent Office against the patents on Neem by the American Dept. of Agriculture and the WR Grace corporation. In 1998, Navdanya challenged the RiceTec Inc.’s patents on the Basmati rice and succeeded in getting rid of most of the American corp.’s patents in 2001. Vandana also campaigns against GMO seeds, emphasizing that GMO seeds require the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, are often patented and thus can’t be stored by poor farmers, force farmers to borrow loans, affect the fertility of the soil and have failed in reducing world hunger.

She is a strong proponent of eco-feminism. Vandana has written several non-fiction books like Biopiracy, Patents – Myths And Reality, Stolen Harvest, Violence Of The Green and Staying Alive. She featured in documentaries like The Corporation 2003, The World According To Monsanto 2008, Dirt! The Movie, and several others.

Vandana received several awards like the Right Livelihood Award 1993, the Order of the Golden Ark 1993, Golden 500 Roll of Honour – UNEP 1993, the Calgary Peace Prize 2011, the Fukuoka Award 2012 and the Prism of Reason Award 2012.