Dr. Vandana Shiva from India visited Philadelphia on
July 14 to speak at a program hosted by the Academy of
Natural Sciences. Dr. Shiva spoke of the significant
changes in agriculture brought on by genetically modified
seeds. She encouraged Gardens of Hope and Seed
Saving Sanctuaries. Her center in India, called Nav-
danya, is a program of the Research Foundation for sci-
ence, technology and ecology, a participatory research
initiative she founded. In 1984 the violence of the Punjab
and the Bhopal tragedy demanded a paradigm shift in
the practice of agriculture. Navdanya was born of the
search for non-violent farming, which protects biodiver-
sity, Earth, and small farmers. Navdanya fights against
patents on seeds and plants and stands for seed sover-
eignty, people's right to food and water security. 