February 23, 2012 — In 2011 Forbes magazine named Vandana Shiva "one of the seven most influential women in the world."

An environmental activist, Shiva will speak at the University of Virginia on March 20 as part of the Brown College Visiting Environmental Writers and Scholars Series.

Shiva, of New Delhi, is one of the leading voices in the local food movement. She will give her talk, free and open to the public, at 5:30 pm in the auditorium of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture and Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library.

Shiva founded and directs Navdanya, an organization that promotes farmers' rights and the conservation of diverse seed pools threatened by the spread of genetically modified plants; and the Research Foundation on Science, Technology and Ecology.

She is a board member of the International Forum on Globalization, a research and educational institution composed of leading activists, economists, scholars and researchers providing analysis and critiques on the cultural, social, political and environmental impacts of economic globalization.

Her 20-plus books include "Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, and Development," "Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace," "Water Wars: Pollution, Profits, and Privatization" and "Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply."

She received the 1993 Right Livelihood Award, also known as the Alternative Nobel Peace Prize, established in 1980 to honor and support people offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing humankind today, and the 2010 Sydney Peace Prize for her commitment to social justice.

Before becoming an activist, Shiva was one of India's leading physicists. She holds a master's degree in the philosophy of science and a Ph.D. in particle physics.

— By Anne Bromley