TLC and MCC to host free film screening of 'The Seeds of Vandana Shiva'

How did the willful daughter of a Himalayan forest conservator become Monsanto's worst nightmare?

"The Seeds of Vandana Shiva" tells the remarkable life story of Gandhian eco-activist Dr. Vandana Shiva, how she stood up to the corporate Goliaths of industrial agriculture, rose to prominence in the ecological food movement, and is inspiring an international crusade for change.

The Land Conservancy of McHenry County and the Center for Agrarian Learning at MCC will host a free film screening at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, in the Luecht Conference Center at McHenry County College, 8900 Route 14, Crystal Lake.

"The Seeds of Vandana Shiva" focuses on the people, circumstances and seminal events in Vandana's life - what shaped her thinking and defined her purpose. It also shows how the battle against multinational agribusiness has become an international struggle between two visions for feeding the world: The first is a multinational corporate model of chemically dependent monoculture that rewards a capitalist imperative of profit and growth. And the other, 'Earth Democracy', that honors ecology, biodiversity, sustainability and community - what Dr. Shiva demonstrates is the only way forward for the future of food.

Through Vandana's evolution as an activist against the global giants of food and farming, the film also aims to shine a light on where we are today - industrial food accounts for up to 40 percent of carbon emissions, while pesticides destroy soils, water systems and biodiversity and harm human health. Contrary to the spin that industrial food is essential to feeding the world, today more than two billion people face food insecurity across the globe.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the film begins at 7 p.m., running time 1 hour 25 minutes.

The first 25 people in the door will receive a free copy of the latest Seed Savers Exchange catalogue.

Learn about the The Land Conservancy of McHenry County at conservemc.org.