Thank you Judy for such an extended...introduction.
Sometimes I forget.
LAUGHING
And thank you...for that very powerful poem.
I paid a tribute in the morning to the young
people. And I know - they are not going to
be stopped in creating the world that allows
a future.
CLAPPING
I am very often introduced as an anti-globalization activist.
And I always remind people no. It's not globalization
that is at the heart of our
consciousness uh and our concerns.
The earth is at our heart and our being members
of the earth community, I am also very
often introduced as an anti GMO activist and
I always remind them no - I work for bio
diversity. You are obsessed with GMOs.
LAUGHING
And of course there is another word that I
don't like to fall in the trap of. You know
many people say what do you do and I tell
them we save seeds. I help farmers try and
make sure everyone has a right to good food or you're an NGO. NGO means
non-government organization. And I said we are nobody's non.
LAUGHING
We are aligned with the earth and life in
abundance and life in all her generosity.
CLAPPING
In India, even when I was growing up it was
easy to think of a community because that
is
how our civilization defined humanity as a
member of...is one of the names of the earth
goddess.
India is a civilization that recognized diversity
in the deeper sense. And in fact, one
could say it's a civilization organization
around diversity.
So the earth has a thousand names. The...
has a thousand names. Uh - everything that
has meaning and has a foundation has many names.
The divinity itself has a thousand names.
So... is one of the names of the earth goddess.
And... means the family of the earth.
I grew up with this idea. But I started to
articulate it in contemporary terms only after
- the project of globalization...was imposed
on the world. And then we had movements
like the one in Seattle where WTO was shut down.
And then they started to say anti-globalization
and activist, but also remember 9/11 was
then used to identify those who worked for
earth democracy as equal to terrorists.
I wrote my book, Earth Democracy, to say if
they were terrorists it was those who were
devastating this planet. Violating every ethical norm of justice and peace and
sustainability. It's a very powerful ancient
oppnition. Its called the... And it says this
universe is for all beings.
And their happiness.
Enjoy the gifts without greed. I love the
phrase...of all greed. Shun greed. And remember
at every point of enjoying the gifts of the
earth that others have a share.
Do not take their share. Do not steal from
others. Other species. Other humans and
generations to come. When we talk of other
species it is about the ecological web of life.
Normally when we talk about not taking from
other humans - its being phrased only in
the language of social justice. But the foundation
of social justice is ecological justice.
And when you think of other generations - both
the Native Americans and it's fascinating
that they are called Indians because Columbus
thought he was coming to India.
For our spices and our textiles and he landed
here and he thought he had arrived in India
and called the Native Americans Indians. And
out of us comes our unity.
But the Native Americans as well as in India
we think in terms of the 7th generation to
come. That whatever you do...ask what will
happen to the 7th generation. If it's going
to harm them then don't take that action.
And if it's going to leave a benefit then
go ahead. Now most of what is called
progress...would fail the test of the 7th
generation.
And one reason, we have managed to continue
on a very false idea - of humanity
progressing...is because we've allowed delusions
to shape our thinking about ourselves
and our world.
I will just touch on the five grand illusions
that I have to deal with on an everyday basis
and in fact are reasons for why I do what
I do.
The first grand illusion is that we are not
part of nature. We are separate. But not only
are we separate, humans are outside and above nature.
To be masters and conquerors of the earth.
So of course, I trained in science and later
when I writing Staying Alive I studied a lot
of history of science. And could not believe
that those who account considering the
founding fathers of modern science actually
saw the enterprise as establishing man's -
empire over the earth.
And interestingly what they did in science
then affected faith because a lot of people
talk about the - you know go out and in the bible
how its misinterpreted to mean dominate
other species. When it was meant to be - be stewards.
So Bacon wrote a book called "The Birth of
Masculine Time" saying if we participate in
the processes of life we are effeminate. Which is good. I think we should all be
effeminate. LAUGHING.
In fact, Gandhi used to say a daily prayer.
You know he cultivated compassion.
In very serious way and his daily prayer was...make me more womanly. He was a man. He
wasn't asking for a sex change. LAUGHING.
He was calling on deeper compassion.
Not because it's intrinsic to women. But women
having being left out of the conquest project.
Have managed to continue the practice of humanity
in its compassionate form.
And the affection now needs to spread everywhere.
The will to control and the will to profit...was
embodied in what was defined as progress.
And this morning when Johanna was...talking
about civilization and barbarians, I was
thinking we got there the wrong way. When
Gandhi was asked what do you think of
western civilization he said it might be a
good idea. You know basically if the west
got civilized to not have to colonize others - it
would be a good idea.
And what was called barbarians were basically
the people who were civilized but on
other modes - the modes of compassion. And
when I got off at the airport in Denver and
it was a long, long, long walk. LAUGHING
There were - photographs of Native Americans.
Proud and beautiful.
And look what has been done.
To civilized tribes. They were civilized.
They were called barbarians.
For me barbarianism is to grab other people's
resources. To not live within your own
limits. To create wars just to sell more arms.
I think that's what is going on in the Middle
East. You see after a collapse of the economy
there is one economy left to carry on and
that's the economy of war.
But that too must end. Because not sustainable.
In ecological or social terms.
The will to control - has sadly been defined
into being human.
So we have had a shrinkage of our compassionate
capacity and of humanity.
First we were separated from being part of
the earth family with anthropocentrism. It's
only about humans at the center.
But humans at the center could only be some
humans at the center. Yes. So women were
wiped out of being fully human and how many
hundreds of years men had to fight for
getting equal rights - the contemporary order
of things. Indigenous people were surely
wiped out of being fully human. They won.
Till recently the Encyclopedia Britannica
said that aboriginal people of Australia are
more part of the fauna and flora.
And the land was defined as empty because
if you send in our people than you are not
taking over the land from people. And it - entirely
legal construction of...the empty earth
was created. Same happened here. The indigenous
people weren't fully human. In
Australia it's interesting when you read the
records why weren't they human because they
didn't plant apple trees. LAUGHING
And why weren't the Native Americans human?
Because they did not...put their bison
into fences.
Its very big issue to define progress.
Imprisoning other species. And of course then
you get into the habit you keep
imprisoning and now the national activity
of this country is creating jails.
There are more people in jails than are on
the land.
And uh what we are seeing in St. Louis - part
of what is the structures that have been
created of violence.
That will dominate must necessarily come with
the cultivation of an arrogance. And
arrogance that based on ignorance of the diversity
of humanity, respect for the diversity,
or the diversity of the earth.
I have done this so often in my life. I will
- discuss with people who are saying they
have the next step of progress.
And Gordon Rice that you mentioned Judy is
one example. That uh - because some
people - because some children are blind in
the third world or have too man deficiencies
they are going to now put a vitamin A producing
gene into rice.
It's called golden because it looks yellowish.
It was introduced - the idea was introduced
in the year 2000. I then wrote an essay to
saying it's a Blind Approach to Blindness
Prevention because there is so much diversity
that is so much richer than golden rice will
ever be.
The reason its not available to people is
we are calling those sources of vitamin A
and iron - weeds. And then we spray Round Up and
herbicides to get rid of them. When I
was a child my grandmother used to cook the
more amazing dishes with uh a
spontaneous crop called.... its a gentle...today
you don't find it in the chemical farmed
fields because its being filled with herbicides.
There is abundant on our farm because we
don't herbicides. There are smarter ways to
deal with weeds.
...just the other day...was in a debate and
a scientist was saying cutting edge technology.
I said cutting edge technology to do what?
Got the BT toxin and we got the herbicide -
and these are smart ways to grow food. I said
no they are very dumb ways to grow food.
LAUGHING
Because the BT toxin is supposed to control the bests - it's a substitute for chemicals.
It's not controlling that pest. The pest has become
resistant. The bull worm - its created new
pests in fact just the other day a paper was
released by Monsanto officials in Brazil
saying new pests are taking over - something
we've observed in India....army bugs, mealy
bugs - names I have never heard before. They
didn't exist in cotton fields.
Farmers didn't have to use more pesticides.
A tool is assessed for how effective it is.
A tool that doesn't do the job should be put
aside for better tools.
Herbicide resistance is an even more...uh
failed technology. I don't know how many of
you are aware that 17 million hectors of this
country are overtaken with weeds resistance
to Round Up and now they've just approved
the USDA has approved - crops that are
genetically more defined to deal with 24D
which was an ingredient of agent orange.
Of course, for me it's not a surprise that
these war chemicals are being used because
the origins of industrialized agriculture is in
the war - fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides
- all
began in the war industry. They were then
introduced after war into agriculture.
And now, they are being introduced through
genetic engineering in the seed sector.
There is another very serious aspect of the
will to control which is this new idea that
because we've impacted the planet so much
- things like the act into government panel
on climate changes sees 99% certainty that human
actions have caused climate disturbance.
There's a group of scientists who can't give
up...would say oh now we are in anthro....age.
Now we must control the planet.
And what other brilliant ideas?
Create artificial volcanoes?
Put pollutants in the atmosphere?
To create a block for the sunlight.
President Bush had a favorite project, which didn't go through, which was put reflectors
in the sky.
LAUGHING
And I said, but the sun was never the problem.
You know? The sun was never the
problem. The problem was the pollution. More pollution won't solve the problem.
I am standing at a wonderful court. A clear
sign of insanity is to keep doing the same
thing again and again expecting a different
outcome and if human pollution has
destabilized our climate -- polluting the
oceans - polluting the air - artificial volcanoes
won't solve it. It will just make it worse.
I have been in some debates with those who
propose geo-engineering as it's called. And
when I say ok if the sun doesn't shine what
is going to happen? Because the talk about global
warmings will give you global cooling.
Yes.
Uh it's ok when the sun doesn't shine when
you happen with photosynthesis. How will
we get our food? You know I don't look at
that - it's not in my project. LAUGHING.
And that's part of the problem. The project
is limited. And you are taking the power - to
tamper with Gaia on a planetary scale.
The GMO project is limited to a petri dish.
That is all they know. Shoot - genes from
an unrelated organisms - with cells in them - petri
dish. How can that vision of a petri dish
substitute the magnificence of the living world?
If you aren't participating in that living
world and all you are doing is sharpening
your tools to fool yourself - that you are going
to do better than nature. Or 10 thousand years of farming. Uh - we will get violence. Earth
democracy gives us opportunities. When I
wrote - I wrote it because in the climate
debates agriculture was a missing piece.
And 40% of the greenhouse gases from the way
we produce our food and the way we
distribute it in a globalized system.
There isn't a heading called agriculture.
There is headings called transportation.
There are headings called Land Use. So I pulled it all together. And its 40%.
If you do organic farming - you can remove
more than 40% emissions from the
atmosphere. While you increase the fertility
of the soil. While you increase it's water
holding capacity.
Our participation in the earth's process does
not have to be - based on violence. It can
be based on the core rising. On the core creation.
On the core production. But for that we
have to be deeply aware... of the processes
at work. And you can only be aware - through participation.
When I realize how much of our thinking is
shaped by a mechanistic world view which
has then lead to industrialization of living
systems and living processes - I realize how
much of the beautiful ways in which we can
control pests without spraying poisons,
weeds without spraying herbicides creates
all fertility through organic composting
without putting chemical fertilizers.
And that brings me to the second grand illusion.
That - we produce more through
commodification, industrialism, fossil fuel
use and this more is better.
Why is the delusion? Because something like
GDP which every - all governments must
have higher GDP - what does GDP measure? If
you chop a forest - and you get timber
you have growth. You protect the forest you have no growth.
You use pesticides you have growth - then
people fall ill and have cancer then you have
growth and you have perpetual growth.
Where is real growth?
In terms of life processes.
Works - on a different logic.
As I have said the currency of life is not
money - so if what if the ecological crisis
is about our imperiling life on this planet then
we have got to increase that currency of life.
We have got to increase our connections with
the earth. We have got to increase the
biological processes - by working with them.
In terms of agriculture we are fooling ourselves.
Because after all the destruction 75% of
the ecological destruction of the planet has
its roots in an industrial agriculture model.
In '95 the UN did a meeting on erosion of
biodiversity and agriculture - 75% erosion
because of industrial farming and its monocultures.
75% of the water - is destroyed for agriculture.
75% of the soils are degraded because of the
way we have stopped - respecting the soil
in the earth.
And as I said 40% of the climate problem is
coming from that same system of agriculture.
And this system only gives 30% of the food
human beings eat.
70% comes from what are called inefficient
small farms. Which aren't inefficient except
because of the delusions.
I won't go into the details of the calculus.
We have just done this book that was released
called, Wealth Per Acre, where we work out
the externalities of industrial agriculture.
If the real costs were counted, we couldn't
afford that model.
But the costs are being born by the earth
and they are being born by us in terms of
damage to health and they have been born by
us. In terms of the subsidies that are
provided to keep an unviable system going.
400 million...is the subsidies of rich
countries. Half of Europe's budget is for
agribusiness. Half!
And in this country - I think it's about - at
leapt 6 billion but its impossible in the
US to find out because they are constantly shifting
categories around.
I do remember though in a debate uh your secretary
of agriculture was asked - we have
this economic crisis in many families that
had food don't have food anymore.
So are you going to increase the budget - for
food stamps? By cutting the budget for
chemicals in agriculture?
And he said, agriculture subsidies can't be
touched. And most people, asking for food
stamps - are lying.
[Can you say that again?]
What Mr. Versach said that he would not increase
the support - subsidies for food to the
hungry because - people who claim to be hungry
are lying.
So we have this huge domination....of particular
model of doing farming. Which is not
working with the earth. And its not even producing
food.
Most of 90% of the corn and soil - is going
for biofuel and animal feed.
Its not food. And that is why when the industry
said we got to do GMOs to feed the world
- there is a double delusion. The first delusion
is its anyway not going for food. The
second delusion is genetic engineering doesn't increase yields.
Again, I won't bore you with the science of
it, but uh - its - it's a gene transfer technology
using a gene gun. That's all it does. The
rest - the plants do. The plants bred by farmers
are bred by public breeders aware of what
the breeding has been done - genetic
engineering is not a breeding technology and
every claim that is more accurate its faster
- is just a claim.
What we found in 30 years of our work by working
with nature just with one objective -
serve and protect biodiversity. And the more
we protect biodiversity the more food we
have. We did an assessment about 3 years ago,
we measured the nutrition per acre - and
we can feed two planets by protecting the
diversity nature has given us.
Because after that the diversity does the
work for us. In replenishing soil and protecting
uh in uh - best control there is nothing more
brilliant than diversity in controlling pests.
In the UK, the have a crazy project.
Their genetically engineering wheat with a
cow like gene and when you ask what the cow
like gene is - its a secret, but we say so
you have got an intellectual property right
on it?
No, no we don't have an intellectual property
right on it.
But they don't tell us what's this cow like
gene? And what are they doing this for? To
prevent aphids. In wheat, if you allow organic
farming you will always find those
beautiful lady bug beetles that eat the aphids.
In the wheat season, I just love walking through
our fields. Watching the ladybugs at work.
But we've defined nature as inactive - as
dead.
And that's why it's a surprise to us when
pests become super pests. Because they have ntelligence.
When they are being bombarded
with poisons they mutate and protect
themselves. Or a weed becomes a super weed.
And the intelligence of nature - is what we've to be alive to.
And from that intelligence comes actions that
are compassionate.
Knowing that all those beings have their right
to exist but more than they are doing so
much for us.
They have now calculated that pollinators
contribute to 169 billion dollars annually
- in food production.
169 billion dollars.
We worked out its 1.6 trillion dollars of
damage for India...going the poison way.
Third big delusion - that big is better.
It's a delusion because there is only one
- example of where bigness doesn't stop. Only
the cancer cell - does not know when to stop
growing - every healthy cell knows when to
stop growing.
Big...errors cause big damage. What I talked
about in terms of geo-engineering. What
harm it can do working on that planetary scale.
The beauty is that in any interconnected
world every big grows from any smalls.
In that sense, small is big.
The 500 trillion cells in our body - are many
smalls working in harmony.
Species in ecosystems in balance are working
in harmony.
And when you come to agriculture and food
- small farms - produce most of the food.
In India its 100%. In Russia its 56% of the food
comes from family farms in spite of all the
destruction...during the Soviet era.
In Brazil, 87% and when we look at Brazil
we only think of soil being in animals - the
real food people eat is coming from farms.
In Cuba, 98%.
Ukraine, 55%.
There of course a sad story that part of the
whole Ukraine crisis began with Monsanto
and Cargill wanting to take over the agriculture market there.
Uh - so small is not just beautiful. It is
also powerful.
In 1987, I was at a meeting where the industry was laying out its plans - the chemical
industry was talking about how they needed
to do genetic engineering in order to own
patents. And they must get an international
law, which then became the World Trade
Organization Rules of Intellectual Property.
Uh - and I - heard - basically a vision of
total control of life on earth. An ultimate
bio imperialism.
I must say - I was scared.
What do you do with this kind - of concentration of power over life? And the meeting
was in Geneva - I was flying back and I kept
thinking - and I thought of Gandhi. And
Gandhi fought with his shoe - not by bringing
out canons. Not by using the violence that
they system was using against us. He pulled out a spinning wheel. He didn't know how to spin.
No one was spinning because our textile industry
had been devastated. He found and 80-
year-old woman who used to spin and said teach me.
And then he asked the whole nation to spin. And when people laughed at him and said
how do you think a small spinning wheel will bring you freedom? He said it's the only
thing that can. Because this small spinning
wheel can be made in every home. And the
smallest of hearts - and the poorest of women can join the struggle for freedom.
Its powerful he said because its so small.
And because its so small it can be millions
of fans and millions participating is more powerful
than 5 of us.
And that's the inspiration I took. I said
the seed will be the spinning wheel because
if we were being colonized through the mechanization
of the textile industry - today it is the
industrialization of life. And seed is the
embodiment of life. Seed is the first link.
And
its not an accident - that there is an attempt to control the seed.
And take over the seed freedom both from the seed to reproduce itself as well as from
farmers and gardeners to have seed as well as you know in your country for citizens to
know what are they eating through labeling?
This is connected - to the next grand delusion.
Which is the replacement of real beings -
real beings - and I remember uh I was invited to speak at his holiness' 60th birthday - it
seems so long ago. And uh because it was his holiness I really wanted him to know
about what is happening with owning life and...and
genetic engineering and at the end of
my speech he passed me a note and I still
preserve his writing - he said all beings
have a right to happiness. No being has a right to
take the happiness away.
So there are beings - there are you and me.
There is the earthworms and the butterflies.
There are the bees.
And they are non-beings. Non-beings that are constructions that we make.
Just like on a piece of paper we can write
an equation.
The construction that has become more powerful
- than governments and more powerful
than citizens is the human construction of
corporations as people. Now they weren't
people. The first corporation was the east
India company - 1600. Why were corporations created?
To basically externalize risks. And
privatize profits.
Because those were they days of colonialism
where every European government was
hustling every other government. And they
were stealing each other's ships and bullion
and the gold and uh - sometimes they wouldn't
get the ship lord of gold back.
If - the British had invested the Spanish
would benefit. If the Portuguese had invested,
French would benefit - so they created the
limited liability corporation to say if the
- wealth comes back its ours.
If it doesn't come back society bares those
risks. So the limited liability corporation
got born then. But it's still a business. It's
still a corporation. What has happened in
the
United States in the last few years - is something that should concern everybody.
The world's first very serious case uh in
2010 and the Supreme Court ruled - that
corporations having the freedom to buy elections
literally was their freedom of free speech.
That is the first time free speech started
to enter the discussion of this fiction now
becoming a person - a corporate person who is different from a legal construct. For a
legal construct society gives permission saying yes this entity is fine - we will deal in
these sets of laws.
But once it's a person - it appropriates the
rights that human beings have to then trample
on human rights. And the earth. So this was a comment on the ruling its called citizen
united - even though they are artificial entities with greater access to capital in financial
longevity and no interest or interconnection
to humanity we now guarantee them the right
to free speech. Freedom of speech was intended
as a way for human beings to guarantee
their ability to speak out against largely
systemic and structure oppression.
A corporation now has that guarantee.
Uh its - and on this tour when I am extending
my trip to visit Vermont - because
California tried labeling 40 million was poured
to prevent it. Washington tried - I know
there is a Colorado ballot on GMO labeling.
Vermont actually passed the law. And now,
the corporations are saying we are going to
sue you because by letting the citizens know
what is in their food you are robbing us of
free speech. Just think.
LAUGHING
Just think that your freedom to know and make
choices in an informed way is robbing
corporations of their free speech.
Interestingly the economist, which usually
you know, doesn't tell you too
much...LAUGHING...
Has a very interesting article this time.
And it's on this same issue of non-beings.
Claiming rights. I don't know how many of
you are aware that there are new free trade
treaties being negotiated. One is a trans-
Pacific partnership, one is a trans-Atlantic
investment in trade partnership.
Now all of them has this thing called investor state dispute.
Which basically is a clause that allows an
investor with corporation to sue a government
if the government does not hand over - a water system, a health system or takes a
decision. That - in the right - in the minds
of - those around corporations it is - taking
of possibilities. So this is what the economist
says. If you wanted to convince the public
that international trade agreements are a
way to let multinational companies get rich of
the expense of ordinary people this is what
you would do. Give foreign firms a special
right to apply to a secretive tribunal of
highly paid corporate lawyers for compensation
whenever government passes a law to say discourage
smoking, protect the environment
or prevent a new catastrophe. Yet that is
precisely what thousands of trade and
investment treaties over the past half-century
have done through a process as investor
state disputes.
So after Fukashima, the people of Germany
rose and made sure that government would
pass a law to never have nuclear power again.
A company in Sweden sued.
Vattenfall is the company. They sued Germany
for 4.7 billion dollars.
Uh there is a very famous case and - I helped
the government if I could in spreading
awareness about this - Chevron Occidental
absolutely destroyed part of the Amazon. And
the indigenous people filed a case and they
won.
They won the case - so what does Occidental
do? Sues the government of Ecuador for
2.3 billion dollars.
For a case, in which a decision has been made
against the company for pollution and
pollution that was deadly.
There is a famous case of a California company
wanting Canada's water. And Canada
said well we don't want to sell our water.
For in our law, water is not a commodity.
This company called Sunbelt in California sued
Canada - 8 million - billion dollars.
If you think of non-beings parading as beings
then claiming the right to destroy all beings
is where we are at. Which is why radical compassion
becomes so vital.
Brings me to the final grand illusion, which
I would call the creation myth of our times.
In India we have the creation of the churning
of the oceans - the bible has its own
creation story. The creation myth of today
is - t these fictions we have created called
corporations, which are then claiming personhood,
are then claiming to have minds.
And, claiming property rights on products
of the mind - can you imagine where we have reached?
Here is a non-person with a non-mind
- claiming property rights on life on
earth. Intellectual property it's called.
The definition of intellectual property is
property in products of the mind.
Show me Monsanto's mind.
There are scientists who work there. But it's the company that has the intellectual property.
Judy talked about a few cases where - corporations
basically stole...biodiversity and
knowledge and said we invented - we've invented
the use of neem to control pests my
grandmother used to use neem for green as well as clothes. We've always started to have
other things like...our saris and woolens
used to be kept safe of pests with neem.
Before that case, 11 years - and eventually
had the patent stuck down.
The patent was jointly held by a W.R. Grace
and the US Department of Agriculture.
Grace is the company that did all the pollution
outside of Boston. And there is a film
called uh a Civic Action. And the film is
being made on this issue of pollution. I am
from there - we have the most beautiful basmati.
Basmati means the queen of aroma. A
company in Texas claimed to have - invented
the plant, its height, the grain, the aroma
in the grain and methods of cooking rice. LAUGHING.
We had to deal with that...for about - 5 years.
And one - part of it was in the courts, but
part of it was - a wonderful movement and
this was pre all of these quick digital social
media. But cards were made - postcards telling
the US Patent and Trademark Office - if you
don't strike down this piracy we will have
to
rename you the US Piracy and Theft Office
and that embarrassed them enough and then
there is ancient wheat in India that Monsanto
patented because it - doesn't express gluten
and everyone has got gluten allergies these
days.
Uh a more recent bio piracy is -- related
to another vitamin named Miracle. This is
a GMO banana that is going to produce vitamin
A. It already started human trails in the
United States. 12 girls are being paid 900
dollars each.
And they will be fed three bananas and I said
what kind of a scientific trial is this?
There is no animal trials?
There is no safety trials. It's basically
a marketing trial - tests were done on the
American population so you Africans better
eat it.
Now, I was traveling in Indonesia to work
with farmers uh who had been arrested for
saving seeds. And uh...they were released
with the constitution called decision and
they wanted me to be there to celebrate their victory.
So I traveled and in this village they
served me bananas of every color including
yellow banana. I said you've got yellow
banana already - can you do a little more
research on the super banana?
That is being offered as a miracle solution
for Africa's vitamin A deficiency. On 2nd
of October - Gandhi's birthday - we launched
a campaign because the GMO banana is
pirated. The vitamin A comes from a micro
nation banana.
It's in all the paintings and all the literature
of that region.
And we've been able to show how Dr. Dale received
this from a gene bank.
With all the research that was done.
If we do - realize that we live in a web of
life - that other life forms are of family
members in the earth family. The outrage of
some constructions claiming to be the
creators of that life.
Is the ultimate violation... of every ethical
principle. That is why you know and people
don't understand intellectual property uh
that it's a claim to ownership. It's a claim
to invention. Its a claim to creation - I said
ok just remember GMO means god move over.
LAUGHING
We are - as I said - in an evolutionary moment
in which we have never been before.
With every prediction on climate change from
species...the fact that a billion people don't
have food. Two billion are suffering from
diseases because of bad food. Uh - as...you
say we are in a mess.
We are in an absolute mess.
But we don't have to be trapped in it. Radical
compassion - is both becoming aware and
alive. To these threats. But becoming aware
and alive to their illusions - that lie behind
the trends and getting rid of those delusions.
To me that is the ultimate spiritual
awakening. To differentiate between delusions
and reality.
But there is more to spirituality. In my view,
growing good food is a spiritual action.
We have a beautiful oppnition - the....oppnition,
which says the highest dharma is the
growing and giving of good food and the worst
sin is cultivating badly - they didn't have
poisons in that time. It's cultivating badly
and serving bad food.
It goes on to say everything is food. I mean
it says I am - I am the creator because
everything is food. Everything is something
else's food. The web of life is a food web.
And wherever we enter the food web with love
and compassion -- we become part of
spiritual engagement in that food web.
Saving seeds for me is a spiritual act. And
I am so glad we have been able to uh produce
collectively with the global initiative of
- peace of - the sacred seed book and I am
going  work with them for next year on a sacred
book because next year is the year of soil.
We of course work a lot on on the signs of
it - but we also always need the sacred
dimension articulated.
And sometime in the next few months, we are
going to fix a date - for us - for the earth
- for our truth of the earth by just taking
soil wherever we are making a commitment to
the
earth that we are there to protect you.
With all - of our love. With all of our life.
And that's -- again to come back to what - that
is - makes truth a verb.
We have wonderful course every November on
Gandhi and it is basically to awaken us to
our human possibilities. To be non violent
and deeply compassionate in a hugely violent world.
Because we can turn our backs to that violence.
But it will just grow.
As Gandhi said you have got to love the sinner.
But not the saint.
And so he always said the British are my friends
and brothers and sisters but British rule
and British imperialism we must end.
In a similar way those who work in corporations
are our friends.
And we can love them and we can hug them.
I hug the Monsanto chief of India the other
day but I can't hug Monsanto because it doesn't exist.
LAUGHING
The rule that comes out of that fiction does
exist and transform our world not in a
positive way.
And being able to differentiate between the
delusions and the reality - the compassion
for the real people in these corporation but the
clarity that corporate rule must end because
spiritual rule needs to get back compassionate.
Radical compassion needs to sow the
seeds of another world even while everywhere
around us we see destruction.
And I know we as human beings have that potential.
The young people are showing the
way. They are my teachers in our times - thank you.
CLAPPING
CHEERING
Thank you. Thank you.
I think there is some time for questions.
Is someone going to moderate? Oh.
Just yes - go...
Q: Market based solutions and market based approaches - I wonder what you think of -
cap and trade? What is good about cap and
trade and what is bad about cap and trade
in your view?
A: The first - the market base solutions you
know there is a capital in market and the
small in markets. Small in markets are humans
- meeting each other, exchanging things,
farmers markets are an example of that. And this capitaling market with this mysterious
stuff happens in Wallstreet. Even the Wallstreet
doesn't really know what happens as the
2008 collapse let us - nobody knew what was going on with derivatives and securitization.
Uh so the first thing that is wrong with trade
and emissions is it's putting the trust into
that casino. Uh and trade emerged - and would
work in the US around very specific
gases. Particularly in local air pollution.
But to apply it on a global scale - cap goes wrong.
And the trade goes wrong.
During the Kyoto protocol period, which is
ending 2015 - the end was that there should
be a 5% reduction in greenhouse gases.
What did we see?
We saw the polluters walk away with more money
uh billions by this trade where they
would identify - a clean development mechanism
somewhere else. And then buy the
rights. The interesting thing was very often
the clean development mechanisms weren't clean.
The worse of polluting industry was brought
to India. And they became the clean
industry between which these trade happen.
It's all about paper calculation.
Emissions have actually increased 17% rather
than going down 5%. So if you just look at
its delivery it has failed. At Rio Plus 20
which was in 2012 - the big issue - on the
streets of Rio was the fact that corporations were
now saying we must take this trade next step -
the market base solution next step.
We must commoditize nature's functions and services - ecological services and functions.
What does that mean?
It means we now do know something that my
sisters in...40 years taught the world that
trees are not...of timber. They are the providers
of soil and water and pure air. Scientists
are waking up now that yes they give us pure
air. And that is why actually you know the
breathing meditation - its basically so harm
is - mentioned - you are therefore I am.
Because the trees are there we are - if they
didn't give us oxygen we'd drown in our own carbon dioxide.
What they want to trade - in Wallstreet now
is the functions of the green leaf to absorb
carbon dioxide and give out oxygen.
And all the movements - converged to say we
don't want this kind of a green economy
because the green economy can be the color
of the dollar note or the green economy can
be - the leaf of nature.
And it depends on whose rules and which laws
we want to funnel. So it hasn't worked
quite simply.
Q: Dr. Shiva your uh joyfulness and your intelligent - intelligence is uh - incredibly
spontaneous and uh - catching. So this is
a more personal question - you have been at
the center of the storm of so much for decades
and decades - how do you maintain your
balance and your joyfulness?
A: Because by not making an effort to maintain
it - LAUGHING.
Uh you know everything I do comes from a very
deep love. For life, for this earth that
gives us life. For those around me. Who sustain me? Uh and uh - yes they are - these
are souls that come along, but my father always
said you must stay balanced. And so
when I get the awards and many come and I am going to get the Mother Teresa award
and the Mother Teresa award is because of
all the attacks on me.
LAUGHING
Isn't it interesting?
So I deal with the attacks and the way I deal with the awards as uh different people
having a different view of the work I do.
Those who want to work for the earth and
humanity feel happy. And those who would want
to shut down are concerns for the earth
and human rights. Think I am terrible. But
uh - my conscious tells me that this is the
work I must do. This is my dharma. And uh
- once you chose your dharma and the
dharma guides you after that. Its - then it
flows.
CLAPPING
Q: Yes, what would you say about the terrifying
contention by the claim in a recent
article in Atlantic Monthly that the Amazon
Rain Forrest was created by
natives...practices - could such terror forming
be done today?
A: Well when we go back four thousand years
you know we are projecting into the
practices of the Amazonian tribes what they
did. Uh sadly my first conversation on terra
preta uh was with a person who had invested
in bio fuels. And because we built up this
awareness that bio fuels are actually a negative
energy production - you need more fossil
fuel to convert corn and soil into oil.
Uh when you substitute the subsidy debate
start to get trouble and it wasn't as profitable.
So this person said to me we are going to
bring back biofuel in the mainstream by selling
the - you know in every industrial process
- there is a pollution and there's a solid
waste uh because its produced without oxygen they
started to call it terra preta.
And I have seen in India these arguments being
used to have fertilizer companies put out
their solid waste uh sugar factories put out
the solid waste as if it is carbon enrichment
of the soil.
So I really feel - believe that we must know
the soil better, respect the soil uh - what
we need to do is rejuvenate the living organisms
of the soil. And not bring one more
reductionism, which is carbon reductionism
because the soil needs magnesium and
calcium and it needs it phosphors and its
potassium. And all of that can only be provided
by the life forms - the billions and billions
of life forms.
So a lot of people are very happy with - uh
- with charcoal - basically charcoal in today's
world. You know what I mean - you make charcoal
by firing - by burning without
oxygen. And the second reason why I am not very happy about the solution is a lot of
people say you are fixing the carbon dioxide
at the time of burning that is not true. The
plant fixed it when it did photosynthesis.
Its not at the time of burning so I think
somewhere a long the way we've lost uh - our
awareness of the life process but any reductism
is worrisome. It might work for a while,
but I think the holistic solution is what
we should be going for - cultivate humans.
CLAPPING
Q: Dr. Sheva I am very concerned about the
rural to urban migration that is happening
throughout the planet. I work in poverty reduction
in many less industrialized countries
and the rural population is just migrating
to urban centers because they want a better
life for their children. They want social services
- whatever. You know that's true. And I uh -
the prediction is now, I forget in how many
years, but 80% of the world's population will
be living in urban centers. And this to me
is very worrisome. Do you have any thoughts on this?
A: You know when I went to Rio in 1992, Brazil
had removed most of its rural populations.
And India still had 80% on the land. Why did
Indian farmers still own the land? Because
every policy made sure they had dignity and
faneous and security.
Every policy.
What's happened with globalization is that
- agriculture is being made deliberately
unviable. Its independent and if its on the
small scale and when I started to work on
the WTO Treaties I remember reading one of your
earlier USDA - US Secretaries of
Agriculture who said we've got to squeeze
out the farmer like you squeeze out toothpaste from a tube.
Why this policy to get rid of farmers?
Its actually Lutzenberger who used to be the minister of Brazil who had come as a guest
in the year 1993 and organized very, very
big rally - 500 thousand - half a million
farmers to say agriculture should not be in WTO.
And we have these 500 thousand farmers and Joseph is sitting next to me and he is saying
now I understand why they want to get rid
of
the peasant. Because the peasant is the last remaining - human community who works
with the earthen freedom. That in - small
scale agriculture you really are co-creators
and co-producers.
So it is one if you get rid of them then you
have a market - bigger market for bigger
machines for I didn't carry this newspaper,
but the brave new world is these 50 combined
harvesters moving together in one field.
But besides the market it is part of that
logic of control. The same logic that makes
you think that every insect must be killed because
it's a potential enemy. Every plant that is
not a commodity must be wiped out with this
spray. It's a weed and that same logic says
the - at that time it was 70% people on the land.
About 50% now and you are projecting to - 80%. You should see the World Bank papers
- you should read the World Bank papers. Deliberately
creating a policy and then
converting that policy as a natural phenomena.
There is nothing natural about the rural to
urban migration. It's artificial in making
agriculture unviable. And it artificial in
pushing people off including the land rab. You know
by the time land rab in Africa is done where
will those people go?
They will go to the slums of the cities - not
a very natural phenomena and again coming
back to the young people I know so many young people - in India my entire is young
people who left the city to work in villages.
Young farmers and here there is a whole new movement called the new agrarians. And
they are smart. And they are going to change
the laws and they are going to change the
structures to re-populate the American countryside.
Richard Heinberg and I have done a calculation
and we need at least 50% people on the
land. Not just to produce food, but to take
care of the soil to harvest the water.
To ensure that the ecosystems are managed
because the countryside is not just a supply
of  it is the very basis of life.
Thanks.
CLAPPING
Q: Nervous just standing here. I am so impressed
by the energy - held all of us in today
so - thank you its great to see you not through
pixels on my computer screen so - for
several years I have been involved in the
transition movement and now I have been
involved in a actually creating a book on
sacred hunting and mindful hunting.
I am a little nervous saying that in front
of a Naropa crowd.
LAUGHING
Uh - and it - ok - closer - oh god.
So...one of the tensions I have sat with is
I have thought about how to bring this cycle
of reverence and gratitude and connection to
the - to the cycle of food and redefining
what
life is to plants and animals that we have
7 billion people on the planet and a lot of
those
people do live urbanely - so how can we help
educate them or connect them into that
cycle so they can feel empowered to make a
choice so they can't have access?
A: Most people - in urban areas are also participating
in the transition I mean just look at
Boulder. The Hotel where I am put up it says
all our food is locally sourced.
And that is happening.
Now just like with consciousness we create
watershed. We decide that this city's water
comes from this river and so we will protect it.
We need to do the same with food. We need to think of food chains. Just because cities
need food doesn't mean you get it from 12
thousand miles away.
And then do all kinds of stuff to make it
travel that long.
You know fruit today because it travels so
far is no more fruit.
I once left fruit in my suitcase for three
months and it had not rotted. Not fruit from
India, fruit someone had given me while I was traveling.
And I - you know they give me fruit on the
plane and been with - you shouldn't have to
use a fork and knife to eat a fruit, but you
can bite into it - you use a fork and knife
and its going all over the place. LAUGHING
They are literally breeding rocks because
only rocks can survive that kind of trap.
LAUGHING
So we have to become local but local can change
you know village local is - just a few
hundred - few miles out - a big city local
can be 100 kilometers. But that's the kind
of redesign that is becoming imperative for three reasons.
First because that globalized long
distance transport with the food miles is
causing so much damage to the atmosphere - the
whole greenhouse issue. Second because what
is being produced from it is damaging our
body. Its no more food and third because it
is killing work.
We will need more people in the food system.
And that will only happen when these more
intimate chains that are called zero kilometer
in Italy they have a whole policy framework
for zero kilometer. Get it as close from
home as you can. Get your schools to get local.
Get farmers markets to grow. And once
we start planning in the food shed then the
local can be a bigger local for a bigger city
in addition of course we need to turn cities
into produces of food and humanity is just
waking up to the fact that a terrace, a garden
a rooftop, a balcony can produce so much so we must all become seed savers and gardeners
and doesn't matter the scale doesn't matter
- the principle matters. It could be one seed
in one part. That one seed will give you 10
tomatoes. And then you will save those seeds
and you get thousand tomatoes. And you
share them with your friends and that is how
we will spread this movement.
CLAPPING
Q: Dr. Sheva first I'd like to express my
profound gratitude for your lifetime of work.
You are an inspiration to so many of us.
CLAPPING
Last month at the behest of the UN there was
a large march where people were told to
come to quote change everything. The goal
of the special summit on climate change was
to catalyze action towards a binding UN climatary
next year in Paris. Many critics
especially from the left has criticized this
approach and called for pushing of resources
away from large NGOs in grand parades for
doing something about climate change
towards frontline communities as a true strategy
for the achievement of climate justice.
I was hoping that you might share some of
your ideas on where the climate justice
movement should move now that we have had
this great big parade?
LAUGHING
A: I am a deep believer in diversity including
diversity of movements.
While, seeing clearly where delusions substitute
real solutions.
I played a very big role in the UN Treaties
- both the convention and biological diversity
as well as the framing at that time in Rio
at the Climate Treaty. There was a binding
treaty - there is a binding treaty it needs
the porscue to negotiations and I feel very
sad that president Obama received a Nobel Peace
Prize flew into Copenhagen to destroy the
treaty. He got hold of India, China, Brazil,
South Africa - and US and said let's forget
the
treaty - lets a have a warrantry political
agreement amongst ourselves while the rest
of the people - the countries when they are negotiating
inside and that is when Eva Morales, the
President of - uh Bolivia stood up and gave
a speech - he said I thought we were here
to
defend the rights of mother earth?
This is being introduced to defending the
rights of the polluters. I am going to go
back - to Bolivia and call a meeting of citizens
from across the world - to draft a declaration on
the rights of mother earth and climate change.
And he did that. And out of that has
grown this movement on the rights of mother
earth. Uh definitely the frontline
communities come first. But we can't say let there be no treaty - we need that too.
If some big NGOs can call people and instead of a hundred thousand, 450 thousand
gather those 450 thousand have got in part.
And ultimately because I trained in quantum
theory - quantum theory says that there is
neither - that there is no either or.
We need all of the civic energy. Some will
organize in one - some will organize in other
ways. Its time to start putting our energies
in dividing further.
Its time to put our energies to build this
collective human -- uh resistance rooted in
compassion.
That generates the power - to force governments
and the UN to perform their duties,
which they are so for, sure.
CLAPPING
Q: Many of the changes that I see you kind
of calling to the people to make uh align
with parma culture principles as well and I was
wondering if you could speak to - uh what
you
see the role of perma culture being and kind
of a shift from uh agriculture and mono
cultures and uh annuals in particular and
shifting into perennial agriculture and shifting
the way that we view food as a you know a
yearly thing that we grow and then it - dies
and then we don't have to do the same thing
year after year, but creating this perennial
system that will continue to flourish for
many years?
A: You know there are so many streams uh of
ecological agriculture. Perma culture, bio,
organic, natural it's huge. The pluralism
is huge. And one of - the issues that has
emerged and its been accepted by the United
Nations - the food and agriculture
organization in fact just two weeks ago organized
a whole conference on this and for
those who are interested should read the report
which I call the IPC of Agriculture. It's
the international Agriculture - Assessment
of Agriculture Science Technology for
Development - IASTD. And all agencies, all
movements as basically talking about agri-
coligical principles that are the umbrella
that connect all of these different initiatives.
Now all agriculture before industrial agriculture
was based on part perenniality.
Livestock, trees, animals in an amazing symbiosis.
Trees had to be chopped for the
machines and when I fly over India - I know
the ground. I know where green revolution
came. And I know where it didn't come. And
when you fly you can really see the
difference. Green revolution areas have no
trees.
And where they didn't reach - its full of
trees to the extent when you fly over Canada
- you can't see the ground. Because their systems
are based on perenniality. You can't have
perenniality - only perenniality in something
like rice but trees again are an important -
sacred tree as I must tell you the story.
So more than 300 years ago - the kings men
came to chop down a tree called the Cagery. A few
centuries before that a saint had taught the
people that they must protect nature. And
a religion got born called Bisnkowy - 29 rules.
These 29 rules are - of compassion.
Protect this - the black - protect the cagery
- build water harvesting systems - it has
such amazing harvesting systems in the dessert
and there was this woman called...when the
soldiers to cut the tree in front of her she
said you can't cut it. You will have to chop
my
head before you take the tree. They chopped their head.
And then her two daughters came - 290 something
people gave their lives for the sacred
cagery. It was the first - and then the other
chip of course came in my time 40 years ago.
So - trees have been very important to farming
because in the way of the tractors. Now
we got to say bye bye to fossil fuels and
that the trees flourish again.
CLAPPING
Q: Hi, my question comes from being a recent
graduate of my undergrad and coming
from a place where it was really easy to uh
- I had a really good space to create awareness
for causes that were really important to me
and I had time uh and energy to do - to
support more than one cause and uh being in
a place now where I have chosen my path
and my priorities to be that of good cause
but not necessarily of uh - of the earth and
doing that but still feeling really strongly
about that - my question is what can I do
and other young people that may have another path
that they are following but feel really
strongly about this issue do to help the - to
help further the cause? Aside from necessarily
you know obviously buying only organic and
local and trying our best to have our own
little gardens and things like that - what
can we do uh in small ways to influence our
governmental systems and our policies and
stuff like that?
A: As I said - the food system is so rich
and so inviting that every kind of service
we can bring to it - it welcomes - the earth will
wait for any service. Some of it could be
actually
taking care of the soil or actually taking
care of seed. Some of it could be working
with the local town council to create the kind
of bylaws that allow local farmers to get
markets.
I know there are towns where one little change makes the entire town a garden.
Most importantly in this period - all positive
change will come through communities -
earth communities, creating human communities
to work with local government and local
institutions. That is where change is coming
and it's so fertile. I think JoAnna mentioned
it this morning about the towns and city councils
making so much change.
In Europe, in Italy uh where I work with a
number of regions because - the you know the
European union at the top is very much part
of these structures, but at the local level
a number of councils have declared they will
not allow poisons in their region.
They will allow no GMOs. If GMOs were stopped
in Europe it is because communities,
councils and regions said we will be GMO free.
Left to Europe in commission, which is
influenced by 800 lobbyists of Monsanto - they have had GMOs by now. So it's from the
bottom up and there are all kinds of levels.
So you know depending on what - what you
are doing where you feel passionate just find
the place. And it's really like - its like
beads in a garden. No one bead - is a bigger
player in making that garden. And I think
that was the song we heard this morning actually
but its the thread that connects us and
the thread that connects us is A the reality
of being - us being part of the web of life
and earth community and be the consciousness of it.
Thank you.
CLAPPING
Q: Good evening. I have for a long time not
understood the concept of land banks where
the United States government pays farmers
to not grow food. I don't know if this is
pervasive around the world, but can you address
that issue of literally putting a bank so
it just grows non food and they get paid for it?
A: You know the food system is no more a food
system. I in fact go further and say it's
not even a known food system. Its an anti
food system. Because its disrupting those
ecological processes that are food in the
web of life.
Part of is that food was never the concern
except in advertising. In advertising its
over present. Feeding the world is the constant
refrain. But the whole subsidy structure is
linked to growing commodities not food. So
we have more and more food and more and
more commodities and less and less food and
this model is being exported uh you know
India was a land of small farms, diversity
- if you travel Europe, you travel Africa, you
travel India - you see hybrid corn because
we don't allow GMO corn.
Hybrid corn. Where does that corn grow chicken
feed? All grown in the name of feeding people.
If you are growing anything we are growing
subsidies.
Yes. But basically whatever is being done
to land is to collect subsidies and some
subsidies are for set aside don't grow anything.
Some are to grow a commodity and I was
shocked - I just finished a new book, which
will be out this November called, Who
Really Feeds the World?
And I was looking at land grab and how much
fertile land is going out of agriculture - in
the United States 50% of the land that farmers are using they are having to lease from the banks.
They are not the owners anymore.
And about 50% of the cost of cultivation is
the rental for the land. So here were peasants
and farmers and families whose land it was
- who have lost it because of debt for
chemicals, machines - and now they continue
to have to work - but having to pay the
banks. And this is a very serious situation.
I mean I think with deeper consciousness not
with that kind of violent - reversal - I do
think we need a radical compassion agenda for
A) seed to reclaim the seed as the basis of
life and put an end to this - force creation
method of Monsanto having created the seed
and therefore owning the patent.
The second is we do need to relate to the
earth as our mother.
And not the commodity that it has become,
which is leaving lesser and lesser people
as having access to land and land getting more
and more concentrated in the hands of
financial institutions.
So these are two very big agendas for transformation
of the future.
Thank you.
CLAPPING
I think you and you and that should be the
end.
Q: Hopefully mine will be quick. First of
all you are awesome! Thank you for being here.
We didn't have that word when I was young.
LAUGHING
My question is something that I am noticing
from having gone to JoAnna Macy's talk
earlier and hearing yours is that I tend to
not really pay attention to the news so much
and what is happening in the world and part of
that is because I really don't want to know
and
I am just really curious where you get your
news and how you keep yourself up to date
with what is going on in the world.
A: I don't get my news from news because there
is no news anymore.
CLAPPING
I was just told that if you Google me you
get the attacks on me. And because Google
takes money - to put items high up.
Uh so you would imagine that Mr. Miller who
was used to destroy California's laboring
law - who uh what he thinks about me is the
most important thing in the world!
How do I get my news? My first news - comes
from participation. So when we lose
more than 291 thousand farmers to suicide
with the system of monopoly on seed and
control of seed its because I actually go
to those areas.
And work with the farmers.
Yes, which is why when they attack me to say
I am lying about the suicides I just
continue to go back with compassion, with
love to create alternatives - I should have
brought this wonderful story we make with
organic seeds, organic production and then
handspun, hand woven cloth.
None violence at every level. Uh the second
place where you get news is when - when
you work with the deep concern and care there
are people who send you information. I
will tell you a Monsanto person leaked to
me information about just before I wrote my
Water Wars that they wanted to privatize water.
Came from there.
And when you become a community then just
like life flows then real information flows.
Not the manipulated propaganda. So we have
two kinds of flows just now.
And - the interesting thing is that the propaganda
machine has never been bigger.
But the real information flow people to people
has also never been bigger.
And that is what we must increase.
CLAPPING
Q: I also want to appreciate you in a very
deep heart felt way for who you are at this time.
Very important for you to be here now. Thank you.
I live here now. I am part of the edible foodscapes
grass roots working group and we are
collaborating with many entities within the
city to create edible foodscapes here on both
private and public lands and the organization
recently completed a tremendous fruit
rescue uh so we went around and picked fruit
from trees all over the city. So on the one
hand I am very optimistic and I see the uprising.
One the other hand, my homeland is
California and right now California is dying
literally bit by bit.
Because of climate change and effects in the
ocean and the atmosphere. Realistically, I
would like to ask you what you think of our
window of opportunity is if you have
anything that you can offer?
A: Well you know when you look on the very
big picture its usually difficult to find
a window. What I have learned in my 40 years
of work - is look for the things you can do
in your context.
What is the instruction from the earth? What
is your service to community?
And it might not look like the whole big thing
will be addressed by it. But when you take
authentic action with authentic compassion,
which means both the awareness of the
interconnection as well as a commitment to protect the web of life in your influence.
Uh - things grow. When I started to save seeds
- all I knew is I had to protect the seed
from
this patenting and genetic modification. It
is - that is the commitment I made. I didn't
know we would build the biggest organic network
of farmers in India.
I didn't know through it we would build another
economy. That an agriculture minister
starts to take seriously. And see this is
the way - to get out of desertification. This
is the way to get out of the subsidy trap. So while
we need an awareness of what's going wrong
at the big level, we must see the spaces where
we act in concrete on the basis of right
action and right livelihood and the rest will
grow. We've got to let trust guide us. The
days of blue prints are over.
Where you know what should be created as a
blue print before you start acting, which
is to start walking. And as often said you know
the path is made by walking. We have got
to start walking the path of being part of
an earth community. Shaping an earth
democracy. And bit by bit it will grow because
it as I always say the illusion of Atlas
caring the earth on his shoulder - what will
I do? How will we save the world? We don't
have to save the world. We don't have to save
the earth. She will save herself. We've -
what we've to do is serve her. To prevent harm.
Thank you so much.
CLAPPING
