Webster University invites you to two free March events that are part of the Year of International Human Rights 2009-10: The Right to Food & Water.
The first event, a panel discussion titled “Human Rights: Using New Tools to Grow Food and Protect Resources,” will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 16, in Sunnen Lounge. Sunnen Lounge is on the main floor of the University Center, 175 Edgar Road, Webster Groves, Mo.
The panel features regional experts who will discuss their work, research and experience in areas that address the use of technology for food and water issues. Participants and their topics include:
Dr. Peter Raven, President, Missouri Botanical Garden, who will speak on “Biodiversity: How India and Underdeveloped Countries Need Technology to Protect Natural Resources.” Raven also will be the panel’s moderator.
Maureen Mazurek, Monsanto Human Rights Lead, “Monsanto’s Human Rights Program”
Dr. Mark Manary, Helene B. Roberson Professor of Pediatrics, Saint Louis University, “Importance of Childhood Nutrition.” Manary’s research interests focus on different aspects of nutrition in populations of developing countries, especially Malawi, Africa.
Dr. Paul Anderson, Executive Director of International Programs, Danforth Plant Science Center, “Biofortified Cassava for Africa.” Dr. Anderson served for four years as principal investigator of a program funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop biofortified sorghum for arid and semi-arid areas of Africa.
A fifth panelist may be announced later. Check the Web site (www.webster.edu/yih2) for current information.
The second event is a talk by Vandana Shiva, world-renowned scientist, environmentalist and agricultural activist. Shiva will speak at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 29, in the Community Music School Concert Hall, 535 Garden Ave., Webster Groves, Mo. Her talk is being co-sponsored by Campus Activities and the Multicultural Center/ International Student Activities.
Shiva received a Ph.D. in physics in 1978 from the University of Western Ontario, Canada. She is the author of several books, the most current of which is Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis (South End Press: 2008). She also has authored more than 300 papers in scientific and technical journals.
Shiva has contributed intellectually and through activism in several fields, including changes in agriculture and food, intellectual property rights, biodiversity, biotechnology, bioethics and genetic engineering. She is the founder of Navdanya, a network of seed keepers and organic producers that operates in 16 states in India.
Learn more at the Year of International Human Rights Web site: www.webster.edu/yihr2.