Vandana Shiva is a global advocate for the rights of smallholders, family farmers and agrarian communities. She trained as a quantum physicist but has dedicated her life to both practical and paradigmatic change in food systems and land stewardship. She is an author, policy expert, and food sovereignty activist. She has been named one of Forbes Magazine’s World’s Seven Most Powerful Feminists and is a recipient of the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize.”

Dr. Shiva’s focus on poison-free communities began with Union Carbide’s Bhopal disaster in 1984 and is rooted in her subsequent work in India, promoting organic, climate-friendly agriculture that supports the livelihoods and independence of farmers. When the Indian state of Sikkim achieved its goal of 100% organic farming in 2016, Dr. Shiva observed that other communities throughout the world were working on similar initiatives and would benefit from unified efforts and the sharing of strategies.

In her current Northeast Earth Journey, Dr. Shiva will share her pledge and the story of her initiative to bring together communities around the world toward poison-free, climate-change mitigating, food and farming systems. She will be collaborating and sharing her story and aspirations with individuals and organizations interested in working collectively to advance a common international agenda, rooted in local communities. NOFA/Mass is proud to be Dr. Shiva’s Massachusetts host. Dr. Shiva will be introduced by Bill Braun, NOFA/Mass Board member, organic farmer, and founder of the Freed Seed Federation, an organization dedicated to involving farmers in the restoration and development of regionally adapted and farmer-controlled seed stocks.