Food and farming justice advocate Dr. Vandana Shiva visits the Islands this week to discuss food justice and sustainable agriculture, including tonight at 7 at Salvation Army Ray Kroc Center in Kapolei.<\/p>\n
Her theme is “Seed Freedom is Food Freedom,” and she will cover the importance of preserving biodiversity and bioethics in agricultural policy.<\/p>\n
Shiva is an environmental activist and one of the leaders of the International Forum on Globalization. She studies intellectual property rights, biotechnology, genetic engineering and has worked with grassroots organizations throughout the world.<\/p>\n
“Dr. Shiva is like the Dalai Lama of agriculture,” stated Hawaiian cultural and environmental activist Walter Ritte. “The fact that she is coming to Hawaii says a lot about the state of affairs here. We need to start asking ourselves why we’re using our limited agricultural resources to produce a seed crop that’s not even fit for human consumption, when people are clearly asking for more locally grown food to replace our dependence on imports.”<\/p>\n
Also joining Shiva will be Andrew Kimbrell, the executive director of the International Center for Technology Assessment and the executive director of the Center for Food Safety.<\/p>\n
The event is organized by Hawaii SEED, a local nonprofit that raises awareness about the dangers of genetically engineered organisms and promotes local food and farming.<\/p>\n