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Dr. Vandana Shiva Visits TCNJ on Thursday, April 12, 2018

Dr. Shiva, an internationally renowned environmentalist and advocate for food justice, biodiverse agriculture, and small farms, visited TCNJ on April 12th. In her morning talk on Biotechnology and Food Justice:  The Case of GMOs. Dr. Shiva responded to perspectives on ethics and innovation from Dr. Leann Thornton, faculty member in the Department of Biology, and Kevin Michels, Professor and Director of the School of Business Center for Innovation and Ethics.  Dr. Shiva also conducted a community discussion in the afternoon, and delivered her keynote address to the community in the evening. 

Trained in quantum physics, she became involved in environmental research and grassroots activism when she witnessed the environmental harm caused by monocropping and pesticide use in her home region at the base of the Himalayas.  She founded and directs Navdanya, an organization that protects biodiversity and promotes organic farming based on the traditional knowledge of rural Indian women.  

A leader in efforts to build international networks among groups marginalized by global economic forces, Shiva advises governments and organizations globally, including Women’s Environment and Development Organization and the Asia Pacific People’s Environment Movement. Among her awards are the Alternative Nobel Prize and the Sydney Peace Prize.  She has authored more than 20 books, including Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit (2002), Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace (2005), and Soil Not Oil (2008).

The visit was made possible by a variety of co-sponsors: Women’s Center; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Schools of Education, Engineering, Humanities and Social Science, Nursing/Health/Exercise Science, and Science; Center for Innovation and Ethics; Alan Dawley Center for the Study of Social Justice; Center for Community Engaged Learning and Research; Office of Diversity; Office of Leadership; Departments of Sociology/Anthropology, Philosophy, History, World Languages and Cultures, and Biology; Programs in International Studies, Environmental Studies, and Environmental Sustainability Educatiion; Phi Beta Kappa Delta of New Jersey; Ewing Green Team.