Dr. Vandana Shiva is a physicist, ecologist, activist, editor, and author of many books. In India she has established Navdanya, a movement for biodiversity conservation and farmers' rights. She directs the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy. Her most recent books are Biopiracy: The Plunder of Nature and Knowledge and Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply.
Multinational corporations are transforming global agriculture. Using the WTO as a wedge, they seek to patent seeds and life forms. Citizens from all over the world are questioning the impact of industrial agriculture and bio-technology on small farmers, the environment, and the quality and safety of food. Perhaps nowhere is resistance to the practices of giant agribusiness as strong as in India, where hundreds of thousands protest and demonstrate.
Vandana Shiva
Water is essential to all life forms on this planet. It is a very finite and precious substance. As the human population explodes and ecosystems are destroyed, water sources are being contaminated and used beyond their capacities to be replenished. At current rates, the demand for fresh water will exceed supplies by over 50% in 2025. Traders are already transporting water from ares of abundance to areas of depletion. With the market as a guide, will this basic necessity be available only to those able to pay the price? This program features a panel discussion between Maude Barlow, a leading spokesperson in Canada on trade and biotechnology, Vandana Shiva, an internationally renowed environmental activist and scientist, and Tony Clarke, one of Canada's leading anti-globalization activists.
