Activist Dr. Vandana Shiva Discusses Vermont’s GMO Labeling Law

Vermont has passed the only law mandating the labeling of genetically modified — or GMO — foods. This week the state attorney general held a public hearing at the Statehouse on his proposed rule that would lead to the regulations to implement the law. It’s a law that is being challenged by some major food processing companies and supported by right-to-know advocates.
Dr. Vandana Shiva is an internationally renowned environmental activist, scientist and the author of more than a dozen books. During a visit to Vermont, she talked with WAMC’s North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley about her support for the state’s GMO labeling law.
    
An August New Yorker article by Michael Specter echoed critics of Dr. Shiva. His concluding paragraph states “Much of what she says resonates with the many people who feel that profit-seeking corporations hold too much power over the food they eat..... But her statements are rarely supported by data, and her positions often seem more like those of an end-of-days mystic than like those of a scientist.” It’s a critique that Shiva and her supporters vigorously refute.