Dr. Vandana Shiva: Very cool.

So, on Sunday and Monday, I had the privilege of hanging out with Dr. Shiva. And she was an absolute joy to host, and I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see students come away both enthused and provoked by the interaction.

In case, you're not in the know, Dr. Shiva is:

"is a physicist, ecologist, activist, editor, and author of many books. In India she has established Navdanya, a movement for biodiversity conservation and farmers' rights. She directs the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy.

She is one of the leaders of the International Forum on Globalization, (along with Jerry Mander, Edward Goldsmith, Ralph Nader, Jeremy Rifkin, and others), and a figure of the global solidarity movement known as anti-globalization movement.

In 1993, Shiva received the Right Livelihood Award (also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize) "...For placing women and ecology at the heart of modern development discourse." Other awards she has received include the Global 500 Award of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1993, and the Earth Day International Award of the United Nations for her dedicated commitment to the preservation of he planet as demonstrated by her actions, leadership and by setting an example for the rest of the world.

Her most recent books are Earth Democracy; Justice, Sustainability, and Peace and Breakfast of Biodiversity: the Political Ecology of Rain Forest Destruction."

We had a lot of opportunity to talk. I was most interested in her views on genetic engineering from a purely scientific tool point of view - whether she objected in principle to the science itself, away from the context of her strong criticisms of the economic parameters in which many GE technologies operate.

Basically, she said that ideally no, she didn't have a problem with the science itself. She is not criticizing science, itself. That as a tool, of course, it can have merit (she was trained as a quantum physicist). But by the same token, at this point in time, the technology especially in the realm of food, doesn't really have the luxury of being viewed without that societal (and in this case, strongly economical) context. This was heartening to hear, and I think a well recieved point (which speaking with Ben earlier, he can concur). It points to the danger of bundling criticisms and firing at individual targets, when often it's the big picture that needs looking at.

Dr. Shiva also had some pointed words on biofuels: a hot topic in this day and age of climate change and alternate sources of energy. She brought up an very interesting facet to this story, that to be honest, I didn't even think of. That is, in the current global system, humanity already seems to have a serious problem with food equity and food security: it therefore stands to reason that this system will only be further strained if what might be viable agricultural land is instead slated for use for biofuel production. I haven't done the homework myself on this point (perhaps others can comment), but that does sound like a pretty rational concern.

Lastly, she was kind enough to brainstorm with some colleagues and I, on a new interdisciplinary course that we've been working on for UBC (and the Terry project in general). Here, she brought up a great theme that could be used as a focus. One that has both a pragmatic and idealistic element so that a variety of perspectives can be entertained. She essentially wondered whether getting students to simply think about the "future of work" would be a great way to tie a lot of things together.

Anyway, if you ever get a chance to catch her talk, I do highly recommend it. This is even speaking as a geneticist who is essentially enthralled with the possiblities that the technology brings. At the end of the day, even as an optimist with the possiblities, it would be unwise if her message is not paid attention to.

(Note: her UBC talk will be online in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned)