vandana Shiva bak

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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="views-field views-field-created" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="field-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">October 4, 2021</span> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">– </span><span class="views-field views-field-title" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="field-content" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"><a href="https://www.acsh.org/news/2021/10/04/university-pays-anti-gmo-activist-vandana-shiva-promote-earth-democracy-15849" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box;">University Pays Anti-GMO Activist Vandana Shiva To Promote 'Earth Democracy'</a></span></span></font></div><div><span class="views-field views-field-title" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></span></div><div><span class="views-field views-field-title" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><div class="submitted-head" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 30px; line-height: 40px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="by-date" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> <a href="https://www.acsh.org/profile/cameron-english" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Cameron English</a> — October 4, 2021</span></font></font></font></font></div><div class="content" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="lead m-bot-45" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 45px; line-height: 1.4;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"><b>The anti-GMO movement is gradually campaigning itself into irrelevance. Unfortunately, this positive trend has been slowed by public universities that pay activists exorbitant speaking fees to promote their questionable ideas. This is but one example of taxpayers subsidizing ideological advocacy with potentially serious consequences.</b></p></span></div></div></span></div><div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 11px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">once a cultural and political force to be reckoned with, the anti-GMO movement has <a href="https://www.acsh.org/news/2021/05/18/3-reasons-anti-gmo-movement-its-way-out-15523" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">lost control</a> of the crop biotechnology narrative</b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Countries around the world continue to abandon their opposition to genetically engineered (GE) crops, <a href="https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2021/10/01/england-breaks-with-the-eu-plans-relaxation-of-restrictions-on-gene-edited-crops-opening-door-to-biotechnology-based-climate-solutions/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">including the UK</a>, previously an activist stronghold as part of the EU. High-profile environmental groups like the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Sierra Club <a href="https://www.acsh.org/news/2021/05/18/3-reasons-anti-gmo-movement-its-way-out-15523" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">have endorsed</a> select GE applications, namely the plant-based Impossible Burger and a blight-resistant chestnut tree. In fact, much of the anti-GMO movement <a href="https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2021/04/13/top-5-activist-groups-spreading-anti-gmo-myths-in-latin-america/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">has migrated</a> to developing countries, hoping to achieve more success than they've had in the US.</span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 11px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While this is an encouraging trend, several influential public institutions are helping to keep this misguided activism on life support with your tax dollars. Any number of examples would suffice, but here I'm thinking of universities that pay activists lots of money to lecture students about the supposed dangers of biotechnology.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 11px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">No school should ever endorse demonstrably false ideas, but it's a particularly egregious offense during a pandemic when the federal government argues <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/biden-administration-s-admission-they-re-flagging-content-to-facebook-sparks-furor/ar-AAMcFjp" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">that misinformation is</a> "an imminent and insidious threat to our nation's health."</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 11px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The college speaking circuit</font></strong></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 11px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The latest example comes from a September 27 <a href="http://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/16562-opinion-saving-lives-through-real-social-justice" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">AgriPulse report</a>:</font></p><blockquote style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; padding: 11px 22px; margin: 0px 0px 22px; border-left: 5px solid rgb(238, 238, 238);"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">The University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC) has invited Vandana Shiva to speak on October 7th. According to a speaker booking website, her asking price for a lecture is a cool 100k. Let’s give UMKC the benefit of the doubt, and assume they got a deal. It is hard to imagine a price for this world famous charlatan that gives good value.</font></p></blockquote><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 11px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Shiva's speaking fees appear to range from <a href="https://risk-monger.com/2020/02/27/the-germination-of-outrage/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">$40,000</a> to <a href="https://www.speakerbookingagency.com/talent/vandana-shiva/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">$100,000</a> per lecture plus travel expenses</b>. If you're not familiar with her work, here's a brief rundown that suggests UMKC could make better use of its resources. [1]</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 11px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Sometimes <a href="https://geneticliteracyproject.org/glp-facts/vandana-shiva/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">called the</a> "rock star" of the anti-GMO movement, Shiva <a href="https://mylespower.co.uk/2020/03/31/capitalising-on-corona-vandana-shiva-1/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">has claimed that</a> feeding animals GE soy can create "super-viruses" that spread to humans. Of course, this was a scheme planned by “the GM-chemical industry, the GM industry, and the pharmaceutical industry.” Shiva has also consistently opposed the use of GE crops in her native India, <a href="https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2021/02/12/viewpoint-farewell-to-terminator-seeds-1995-2015-the-anti-gmo-movements-favorite-bogeyman/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">wrongly blaming</a> the country's past spike in farmer suicides on the technology. She <a href="https://geneticliteracyproject.org/glp-facts/vandana-shiva/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">has similarly objected to</a> the free distribution of vitamin-A fortified Golden Rice, which could help prevent many thousands of children in the developing world from going blind each year. </font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 11px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Shiva's stance against crop biotechnology is part of a broader philosophy she calls "<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/535592/earth-democracy-by-vandana-shiva/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Earth Democracy</a>," which is the subject of her <a href="https://library.umkc.edu/news-events/earth-democracy-discussion" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">UMKC lecture</a>:</font></p><blockquote style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; padding: 11px 22px; margin: 0px 0px 22px; border-left: 5px solid rgb(238, 238, 238);"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">An environmental activist of global importance and a prolific author, Shiva shares with us in [her book] Earth Democracy her ideals for the planet Earth: our connection to it, <b>the effects of corporate globalization on it, </b>and the importance of protecting it and being sustained by it. The focus of the book discussion will be helping attendees articulate their understanding of the<b> connections between human rights, global economies, and environmental equity.</b></font></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 11px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Each of these issues and their relationship to one another are worthy discussion topics at a public university. But someone who believes that industrial farming is the result of <a href="https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1238&context=belj" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">eco-apartheid</a>, “our pretending to be separate from nature and from the Earth,” isn't qualified to lead that discussion</b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">. For comparison, no public university would (or should) pay a young-earth creationist $40,000 to speak about Darwinian evolution</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. The same logic should apply to Shiva's ideas about modern agriculture, which are far outside the scientific mainstream.</span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 11px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Don't get me wrong. Shiva should be allowed to speak; America's growing acceptance of censorship <a href="https://www.acsh.org/news/2021/06/03/covid-19-origins-debate-undermines-case-social-media-censorship-15580" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">is disconcerting</a>. But that doesn't mean public universities should pay her to promote her ideology. A debate between Shiva and a qualified scientist, however, would be an excellent educational opportunity.<b> In 2020, for example, geneticist Alison Van Eenennaam <a href="https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2021/03/12/viewpoint-fact-checking-anti-gmo-activist-vandana-shivas-poison-free-fossil-free-food-lecture/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">attended and fact-checked</a> one of Shiva's lectures. What's stopping UMKC from inviting Van Eenennaam or a scholar with similar expertise to counter Shiva's ideas? </b> </font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 11px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A troublesome trend</font></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 11px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Public universities aren't the only taxpayer-funded institutions with a soft spot for science-free activism. Courts around the country <a href="https://www.acsh.org/news/2021/06/28/glyphosate-20-lawsuits-claiming-herbicide-paraquat-causes-parkinsons-move-forward-15633" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">continue to hear</a> product liability cases against pesticide manufacturers,</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> although there is no evidence that the chemicals in question cause the injuries the plaintiffs claim they cause. Intergovernmental organizations like the United Nations </span><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21645698.2018.1537687" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">still endorse</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> the precautionary principle, which has driven many countries to institute unnecessary crop biotechnology restrictions. <b>And, in by far the strangest example, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) have </b></span><b><a href="https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2019/09/03/podcast-do-it-for-the-kids-federal-childrens-health-research-grants-fund-anti-pesticide-organic-food-activism/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">funded campaigns</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> to encourage pregnant women to take up organic farming. </span></b></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 11px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The world is growing increasingly skeptical of Shiva's ideology as its harmful effects become more obvious. But her bad ideas have been preserved beyond their expiration date thanks in part to institutions that are supposed to provide public goods like education, consumer safety and resolution of legal disputes. If we're all so concerned about the dangerous spread of “misinformation,” let's stop paying for it.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 11px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> </font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[1] For comparison, an assistant professor makes an estimated $87,000 annually, according to Glassdoor. </font></p></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 30px; margin-bottom: 0px; width: 847.5px; display: inline-block; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><div class="field-label" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; float: left;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tags: </font></font></font></font></div><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin-left: 15px;"><a href="https://www.acsh.org/tags/gmo" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">GMO</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin-left: 15px;"><a href="https://www.acsh.org/tags/fda" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">FDA</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin-left: 15px;"><a href="https://www.acsh.org/tags/vandana-shiva" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Vandana Shiva</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin-left: 15px;"><a href="https://www.acsh.org/tags/organic" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">organic</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin-left: 15px;"><a href="https://www.acsh.org/tags/covid" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">COVID</a></div><div>
</div></div></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">gotta be terrifying to ag21 crowd:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/535592/earth-democracy-by-vandana-shiva/">https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/535592/earth-democracy-by-vandana-shiva/</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One of the world’s most prominent radical scientists.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">—The Guardian</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Shiva … has devoted her life to fighting for the rights of the ordinary people of India.… Her fierce intellect and her disarmingly friendly, accessible manner have made her a valuable advocate for people all over the developing world.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">—Ms. magazine</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Shiva is a burst of creative energy, an intellectual power.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">—The Progressive</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“A leading thinker who has eloquently blended her views on the environment, agriculture, spirituality, and women’s rights into a powerful philosophy.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">—Utne Reader</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">world-renowned environmental activist and physicist Vandana Shiva calls for a radical shift in the values that govern democracies, condemning the role that unrestricted capitalism has played in the destruction of environments and livelihoods. She explores the issues she helped bring to international attention—genetic food engineering, culture theft, and natural resource privatization—uncovering their links to the rising tide of fundamentalism, violence against women, and planetary death. Struggles on the streets of Seattle and Cancun and in homes and farms across the world have yielded a set of <b>principles based on inclusion, nonviolence, reclaiming the commons, and freely sharing the earth’s resources. These ideals, which Dr. Shiva calls “Earth Democracy</b>,” serve as an urgent call to peace and as the basis for a just and sustainable future.</font></span></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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