Dr. Vandana Shiva, left, talks with students and visitors during her tour of the Westchester campus.
Dr. Vandana Shiva, a leading voice in the worldwide movement to promote biodiversity in agriculture and preserve the integrity of food resources, received the Doshi Bridgebuilder Award during a daylong visit to Loyola Marymount University on Nov. 1.
Hilton 100 was packed with more than 350 people for the ceremony and her lecture “The Future of the Planet.” Shiva spoke of the challenges facing the world and, as she does in her many books, discussed the international effort to write a new narrative for the world, the need to pass along generational knowledge, the importance of saving of seeds and biodiversity, and how change must come through empowerment of people and the awareness that all living things in the world are linked.
In addition to the Doshi award ceremony at night, Shiva attended events sponsored by LMU’s Office of Sustainability and green groups, including the LIONS Garden Club and the ECO Students (Environmentally Conscious and Organized) club.
“I hope that the campus community will embrace her ideas, and put them into practice in all of our endeavors,” said Joe Rasmussen, sustainability manager, who helped organize the daytime events.
In 1989, Shiva founded Navdanya, which means “nine seeds” — symbolizing protection of biological and cultural diversity. “This gift or ‘dana’ of Navadhanyas is the ultimate gift – it is a gift of life, of heritage and continuity,” the organization says on its website, noting that “conserving seed is conserving biodiversity, conserving knowledge of the seed and its utilization, conserving culture, conserving sustainability.” Navdanya is a network of seed keepers and organic producers spread across 16 states in India.
During her visit, she dedicated a Peace Pole at the student garden (pronouncing it “a beautiful space”), gave a classroom talk, ate lunch with student ecology leaders and met with community members at the Holy Nativity Garden in Westchester. Shiva, who has recently suffered from severe joint pain, used a wheelchair during most of the day to navigate campus. It did not diminish her passion for justice.
At the classroom talk with students in Pereira Hall, she demonstrated the resolve that has given her work impetus and her movement power. Though parched and with no pitcher of water at hand, she refused a bottle of Dasani water, saying, “I don’t drink that,” while noting the packaging added to pollution and the bottling company is a longtime foe in her native India. An audience member responded quickly, sharing with Shiva the contents of her stainless water bottle.
During the day, she made several positive mentions of the Occupy Movement, tying it to what she called similar street protests in Greece and Spain, where people are seeking justice. Shiva also invoked Gandhi, suggesting that we need to “live simply, so that others simply may live.” She spoke of the need for sustainability in all areas of human life to ensure Earth’s future. (An audio file of the lecture will be posted here next week.)
“Vandana exposed students to understanding complex issues about the environment and how political powers have to be challenged to move sustainability forward,” said Bryce Davis, a doctoral student in the School of Education, who works part-time in the Office of Sustainability and is a member of ECO Students.
Shiva has been honored for her work as an eco-feminist and for her advocacy of bioethics, organic farming and sustainable agriculture, as well as efforts to protect native seeds and promote fair trade policies. She has received the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’, for placing women and ecology at the heart of modern development discourse. She has also received the Global 500 Award of the United Nations Environment Programme and the Earth Day International Award of the United Nations for her dedicated commitment to the preservation of the planet as well as over 20 additional such awards.
The Doshi Family Bridgebuilder Award is named for its benefactors, Navin and Pratima Doshi and comes with a $10,000 stipend. The award honors an individual or organization dedicated to fostering understanding between cultures, peoples and disciplines. The award is sponsored by the Navin and Pratima Doshi Professorship of Indic and Comparative Theology, which is held by Professor Christopher Key Chapple. The endowed professorship and award were established in 2005. Previous recipients include: Deepak Chopra (physician, philosopher, author), Zubin Mehta (world-renowned conductor), Thich Nhat Hanh (Zen master, peace advocate), Greg Mortenson (author, educator) and Huston Smith (religious scholar, author).
