Controversial food activist Vandana Shiva dishes on GMOs for Indian Summer Festival

A celebrated yet controversialsocial activist and author who campaigns for the security, sovereignty, and sustainability of the food system is turning her gaze on the next generation of environmental leaders.

Vandana Shiva will speak about her views on genetically modified organisms, orGMOs,July 14in her Vancouver talk, Seeding the Future,as part of the Indian Summer Festival atSt. Andrew's Wesley United Church.

Shiva's criticism of GMOs

"The story has been, for chemical agriculture and green revolution then and GMOs today, we feed the world," said Shiva, who entered the world of ecology after the Bhopal disaster in India that killed over 3,000 people in a pesticide plant leak.

"The idea of 'we feed the world' is what I learned to be a manipulation through the green revolution. GMOs are basically the old model of chemical farming and industrial agriculture now with new genes added to a crop."

However, a number of scientists agree that currently available food derived from genetically modified crops do not pose any greater greater risk to human health than conventional food

In May of this yeartheNational Academy of Sciences a sciencegroup founded by the U.S. Congress issued itslatest reporton genetically engineered crops whichconcludedthey are safe to eat.

Shiva told host RickCluffonThe Early Editionthat shebegan her journey to raise awareness of the issues chemical farming andglobalizationpresent anddiscover why people were dying due to the widely accepted forms of agriculture practices.

Pesticides that increased in strength and use over time lead to the super resilient pests and weeds on todays farms, she explained, which have given way to new technology that continues to harm the environment.

"I say if the tools have failed, change the tools.The technology so far has been to add a new toxic gene to the plant," said Shiva.

She has spent her life promoting non-violent agriculture, free of poisons and chemicals that kill, andnow wants to pass along her wisdomto the next generation of activists to help them change the way the world is run.

"Big challenge is there are systems that work outside the corporate control.Those systems demand creativity. They demand cooperation and community.They demand courage. Those are the systems through which the young people will be able to serve the planet," she said.

"They're seeking a way to reconnect to the earth, a way to provide for your own needs, grow your own food, and most importantly, a way for justice for future generations."

GMO crops are sustainable,profsays

Shiva's views onGMOshave been met with criticism by other scientists, including StuartSmyth, an assistantprofessor in the department of agricultural and resourceeconomics at the University of Saskatchewan.

"They're probablymore sustainable than any other form offoodproductiongoingright now," saidSmyth, who also holds the university'sindustryresearch chair inagri-foodinnovation.

He said he led a study a few yearsago in which he surveyed farmers all across Western Canada that were growing genetically modified canola.

"We found that it's 53 per cent more sustainable than even the production of conventional canola," Smythsaid, adding that the plant was genetically modified so that it was tolerant to have herbicides sprayed on it.

"So we're able to use the best herbicides to control weeds, whereas previously ...they had to soil-incorporate many of the chemicals because it was so sensitive to chemicals when they were applied on the leaves when the plant was growing."

The World Health Organization states on its website that individual genetically modified (GM)foods and their safety should be "assessed on a case-by-case basis" and that "it is notpossible to make general statements on the safety of all GM foods."

With files from the CBC'sThe Early Edition

To hear the full interview with VandanaShivalisten to theaudio labelled:Vandana Shiva to talk on GMOs for Indian Summer Festival

To hear the full interview withStuart Smythlisten to the audio labelled: Agriculture professor criticizes food activist Vandana Shiva's views on GMOs