The Seeds of Vandana Shiva
Join us for a unique opportunity to view The Seeds of Vandana Shiva in Minneapolis with leaders in the local seed and food sovereignty movement. Together, we can ensure that everyone has access to healthy foods grown with seed diversity by farmers who know and care for their land. Doors open at 6 p.m. on Weds., June 8, at The Parkway Theater, and the 86-minute film begins at 7 p.m. All are welcome! Get tickets online or at the door. MSHS members save $5-not a member yet? Join now.
Kicking off the evening is the remarkable Jessika Greendeer, seed keeper and farm director at Dream of Wild Health. Jessika will talk about the work she is doing to protect seed diversity and regenerate the soils of the earth. She’s excited to train and inspire future seed keepers and will share how each of us can support local food sovereignty.
The Seeds of Vandana Shiva (see trailer) is about the life and work of Dr. Vandana Shiva, a world-renowned environmental thinker and activist. To those engaged in sustainability, organic farming, global warming, the intersection of land rights and human rights, seed banks, and the privatization of nature, Shiva is an icon of a global movement.
As both a scientist and activist, Dr. Shiva’s interdisciplinary approach to her work has drawn strength through creating connections among different forms of knowledge and experience. Having published more than twenty books throughout her career, her work is hard to ignore. In 2010, she was named an environmental hero by Time magazine. She also won the Right Livelihood Award in 1993, sometimes referred to as the “Alternative Nobel Prize”, for her contributions to sustainable development.
Shiva has traveled around the world many times over, lecturing about environmental issues and spreading awareness of their importance. She is fluent in five different languages and makes it a point to incorporate local knowledge into her research.
Shiva is a fierce critic of genetically modified crops that are widespread throughout North America and parts of Europe and the control the use of proprietary seed technologies gives to companies. She points out the hidden consequences of relying on patented seed and monocropping, instead urging us to support diversity in farming methods. She advocates for local farming instead of relying on large multinational corporations for food.
A Note from the Film’s Directors
“We were first introduced to Vandana Shiva at a series of environmental conferences almost twenty years ago. And, like most people on their first meeting with her, we realised immediately that we were in the presence of an eco-activist rock star. The more time we spent with her, and learned about her life experiences, the more we were inspired to tell her story. Her life has embodied the notion that “one person can make a difference”, and so we asked if we could capture her journey on film. She agreed. The Seeds of Vandana Shiva is the result.
“Through Vandana’s evolution as an activist against the global Goliaths of food and farming, the film also aims to shine a light on where we are today-industrial food accounts for up to 40% of carbon emissions, while pesticides destroy soils, water systems and biodiversity, and harm human health. Contrary to the spin that industrial food is essential to feeding the world, today more than two billion people face food insecurity across the globe. Vandana speaks for an ecological vision for food and farming in which we can regenerate the environment and human democracies. Our hope is that Vandana’s extraordinary story will act as a catalyst for more awareness around the issues, and to inspire audiences to be part of the change.”
To learn more about seed diversity, collection and more, explore our Resource Hub and MN SEED Project.