Dr. Vandana Shiva is an internationally renowned environmental and social activist and a leading pioneer behind India’s — and for that matter the globe’s ecological and sustainable agricultural movement. In recent years she has become known as “the Gandhi of Grain.” Dr. Shiva is the founder of Navdanya [all “a”s are softly pronounced  NAV-DAN-YA] – an India-based organization dedicated to food and seed sovereignty, the restoration of organic farming, economic justice, and the preservation of indigenous knowledge and culture. Navdanya also has an international branch in Italy and the Earth University learning center for agro-ecology. For several decades, Vandana has traveled the world speaking on behalf of women’s rights and against biopiracy, globalization and patenting of indigenous knowledge by large agricultural and pharmaceutical corporations. Her activist efforts have created grassroots organizations throughout the developing world to counter GMOs and empower small farmers and their communities. She has received numerous international awards, including the Alternative Nobel Prize (the Right Livelihood Award), the UNEP’s Global 500 Award and the UN’s Earth Day International Award.  The award winning documentary “The Seeds of Vandana Shiva” was released last year and among her many important books — now about 20 in number — her recent book is “Terra Viva: My Life in a Biodiversity of Movements,” which recounts her personal journey, her philosophy and various activist movements in a life devoted to preserving human dignity and the biodiversity of the earth.  Dr Shiva’s organization’s websites are Navdanya.org and NavdanyaInternational.org