THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:Green revolution robbed the Indian farmer of his freedom of choice, environmental activist Vanda Shiva has said. It led to a loss of farming sovereignty. It created a system of farming heavily dependent on petroleum-based fertilizers and allied substances. She was addressing a gathering at Kanakakkunnu Palace as part of the ‘Pavizhamalli - Malayalathinte Sugandham’ programme organised to mark the 81st birthday of poet Sugathakumari.
Food fascism and food imperialism are imposing the so-called lifestyle diseases on us. How could it be ‘lifestyle’ when what we eat is not our choice? The concept of food smart cities should not mean that the city people eat junk and poison. It is not smart to wipe out the farmer from the scene. The farm land around cities should be protected and the smart city should source healthy food from there, she said.
The activist talked about the seed banks initiated by her organisation Navdanya. She presented the poet a birthday gift - a cotton sari woven from organic cotton and hand printed by the women of Navdanya at Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram in Vidarbha.
K S Chitra sang the song ‘Katte nee veesaruthippol’, originally a poem by Thirunellur Karunakaran and set to music by M G Radhakrishnan. The poet was also treated to birthday surprise when a college student from the city, Gayathri, rendered her poem ‘Kaliyamardhanam’.
The session was followed by a discussion of the poet’s oeuvre. Authors P Valsala and Ezhcherri Ramachandran shared their thoughts. The event was organised by Sthreekootayma.