Dr. Vandana Shiva: "Seed is Sacred"

We Destroy so much of the world daily that now people who never seemed to care about the world around them are starting to take notice,but not enough! The lotus has always been one of my favorite flowers, after seeing this I think I like it even more!

I watched the documentary 'Flow', which profiles the worldwide water crisis looming in our near future, which uses quite a bit of Dr Shiva's caring wisdom. I highly recommend viewing it.
BTW, how amazing is the lotus?! I recently learned that it has a self-cleaning petal surface that bioengineers are trying to recreate in paint so we won't have to wash our cars/houses/etc.. Which proves to me that Mother Nature is and always has been our greatest teacher.

Hey everybody: Monsanto now has a propaganda blog! I already sent them a welcome message, not that it will be seen.They already monitor comments everywhere they are on the Internet. They are even infiltrating blogs, no doubt they may have one or two coming here to monitor what is posted as well.. :: BIG WAVE:: ;-)

Go there to get a laugh. It is truly entertaining to see their desperation now as they try to do damage control because the truth is coming out about their GMO scam. And take notice of the title, 'Monsanto According To Monsanto'... a play on words to the documentary that exposed them , The World According To Monsanto. Good to know the truth is getting to them so much they had to come out of their cave!

GMOS are not the answer to the food crisis. It is merely a PR scheme by Monsanto and other biotech companies to boost their profits. Show me one crop that is actually "better" that has independent testing showing it is safe. Matter of fact, show me one place in the world GMOs have saved from starvation. Why are there so many people in our world dying from malnutrition still? Where are they? Why are they deforesting the Amazon then to grow corn ethanol? Why do they then not allow the replanting of seed and go after seed savers? Again, it is just a scam and GMOS are producing monocrops that may actually cause famine one day should they fail. Biodiversity is the key to a sustainable planet.

There is plenty of food in our world to feed the hungry. It is a matter of equal access and not diverting markets for the gain of the World Bank, WTO, and IMF in collusion with biotechs and corrupt governments that enslave their people to export most of their food out for profit while starving themselves. Niger as an example actually can grow enough food to feed their people, but with so much of it having to be exported in order to pay back World Bank debt, the food goes up exhorbitantly in price which leaves many who actually planted the food hungry. it is the SYSTEM that needs changing with local farmers having more autonomy in decisions regarding growing food, not the way food is grown.

Report after report have actually shown that sustainable agriculture increases yields more than GMOs while maintaing the soil better. Why mess with something that has worked for centuries and is a natural part of our planet and who we are? I don't need a juicier tomato, especially if it has the genes of a pig or a fish in it that were put there by invading the cells of the tomato with a virus or bacteria. That is not progress to me.

The lotus is so interesting that it grows in mercky muddy water.and such beautiful things emerge from the seemingly darkest waters.

everyday it seems that we the world is waking up to the new feminine age in the worlds natural cycle. I was a bit skeptical at first but more and more evidence is coming to light. This of course is a reference to an idea discussed in the book, Nothing In This Book Is True But Its Exactly How Things Are. A bit strange, but if read with an open mind, will change your perspective one way or another. Great speech btw.

I don't support Monsanto because of their business practices, but I LOVE the idea of genetically modifying our food!

We can make it bigger, juicier, better . . . we have the technology! It's about time we took control of evolution, I say.

They are lotus seeds, which are considered sacred, therefore representative of the topic, which I notice you didn't care to discuss.

From the article:

Vandana Shiva is a renowned physicist, environmental activist, and author. She is founder of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, a participatory, public interest research organization. She travels worldwide speaking passionately about the dangers of genetic engineering, biopiracy and seed patenting, and the importance of sustainable agriculture and preserving seed varieties. She spoke on these topics at the Organicology conference held in February in Portland, OR.

In Hindi, seed is bija or "containment of life." "Seed is created to renew, to multiply, to be shared, and to spread. Seed is life itself," Ms. Shiva said.

Corporations such as Monsanto have reduced seed to private property. "They say that seed shouldn't renew without their permission," she said.

Ms. Shiva said the timehonored practice of seed saving is "a problem to Monsanto and other major seed companies who want to turn seed into a non-renewable resource." The United Nations' Trade-related Agreement on Intellectual Property would stop seed saving. "This is a description of dictatorship," she said. "Where is democracy?"

Ms. Shiva described attempts by US companies and organizations to patent Indian plants such as neem, basmati rice, and an ancient wheat variety. "This is piracy from nature and cultures that preserve knowledge. Seed is not an invention."

The Green Revolution, which introduced high-yielding seeds and agricultural chemicals to India in the 1960s, has resulted in lower yields and depleted soils, says Ms. Shiva, echoing similar comments made by Great Britain's Prince Charles last year. She said the Green Revolution redesigned seeds and plants to make them more adaptive to agricultural chemicals.

Seed varieties should be bred for nutrition and taste, she said.

Ms. Shiva's organization, Navdanya, is preserving seed varieties in 46 seed banks across India and on an organic farm in Uttranchal, north India. Navdanya aims to support local farmers, rescue and conserve crops and plants that are being pushed to extinction and make them available through direct marketing.

"GM is cruelty to seed"

The new Green Revolution is genetically engineered crops, and these are causing even greater damage, Ms. Shiva said. "The areas where (genetically engineered) Bt cotton is the most concentrated is where there are the highest rates of farmer suicides."

From 1997 to 2007, more than 182,000 Indian farmers have committed suicide due to crop failures and excessive debt from purchasing expensive pesticides and GM cotton seed.

Biotechnology companies such as Monsanto deny the link between GE cotton and farmer suicides but Ms. Shiva is convinced of it.

She said Bt cotton is also destroying soils, citing a statistic showing that it has destroyed 26% of microorganisms in soil.

"I would call GM a cruelty to seed," she said.
snip

Finally, Ms. Shiva again emphasized the importance of seed. "Seed is the biggest issue around democracy in food. Seed is a common resource, and we have to protect it for future generations."