Ten years ago, my thoughts on sustainability hovered around the question of overpopulation, resource crunch, peak oil, global warming and the military industrial complex.

Today, those worries are not gone – but more have been added. I am ten years older, and feel almost certain, that, in the west, this is the first generation in more than two centuries that will be worse off in average than the previous generation in terms of financial security, even as this generation spews unbelievably large quantity of junk on the planet.

A nagging feeling that science was being subverted by voodoo economics and snake oil selling politicians did not help. Then came the economic crunch in the making. Average Americans were supposed to be in debt of several thousand each on their credit cards and hundreds of thousands on their home lone. Without being an economist, I could understand that money was being created out of thin air and this was not only creating endless inflation, it was not too different from legalized counterfeiting and ultimately unsustainable. I became intrigued by Ron Paul and his views on money supply, and a warmongering economic philosophy. There were two American politicians that intrigued me – Ron Paul on the Republican side and Dennis Kucinich among the Democrats.  Both were maverick, on the fringes and sidelined.

I developed a healthy suspicion of the Chicago school of economics and Milton Friedman. By the time he passed away in 2006, I had glanced across a few of his books, read up more

on globalization, on WTO on world bank and IMF, and had developed a nagging suspicion of it all.

Early in the new millennia I moved from the US to Canada, one of the best moves I have done in my life that started in India and saw me through all the oceans of the world, and then to Hong Kong and Florida. I came to love the earthliness of Canadians, their sense of balance with nature and their dealings with the first nation people.

Soon, the Iraq war happened, Bush defeated Kerry and got re-elected in the US, and Canada made a serious turn to the right when Stephen Harper came to power at Ottawa.

I lost my parents one by one, and my uncles and aunts. Before long, I was among the most senior of my close relatives and had no one to look up to. My perception of the world started changing. Its terribly lonely, not to have anyone to look up to.

Kolmi, Paul and kids

Through a cousin, I came to know of Quail Spring Permaculture and through Kolmi, learned about AID (Association for India’s development), who were having their annual seminar in Seattle that year. Kolmi connected me up with them, and I ended up attending it in late May of 2011.

It was another eye opener for me. I came to know some inspirational persons in the process and could see how a handful of dedicated people could trigger grassroots level change for the better and from the bottom up. Names that stick with me till this date are Ravi Kuchimanchi, Aravinda, Kiran Vissa, Revathi, Somnath Mukherjee, Jonathan Fine and Kamayani Mahabal among others.

Subsequently came in touch with UBC Social Justice Center and good work done by socially aware student body. They have a Facebook page and I got invited there some years ago.

One thing let to another and friend Arun invited me to the White Rock Social Justice film society and their film shows. Met more Canadians concerned with social justice. From there, and from connection with AID-India I came to realize a new struggle on the horizon on the world food supply and an ongoing effort or Corporate takeover of agri-business away from the farmer. I also learned about Genetically modified crops and animals, and its patenting issue.

Vandana Shiva

I ended up speaking with Ms Vandana Shiva on phone, about corporate theft of community knowledge and about biopiracy. A long one hour talk a few years ago was converted into a podcast. The realization came on the need to preserve seed diversity in the face of rapid annihilation of seed varieties under a mono-culture onslaught of the GM pesticide peddling corporate interest.

I came to understand a fundamental shift in national Governments where corporate interest overshadowed long term interest of citizens, of nature and of the planet.

As my involvement grew on sustainability for the planet, there was a cementing of the belief that the planet was getting globalized on multiple fronts – through corporatocracy on one end, and through a mass movement mushrooming up to resist it on another end. It was a classic class struggle in the making.

I got to know of the farmers march in India through ASHA (Alliance of Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture) and my talks with Kiran Vissa and Kavitha Kuruganti. I also came to know of God’s little acre farm in Surrey, BC and Jas Singh, its farmer.

I came to know of movements to declare Surrey as GM free zone, same as Richmond and a dozen other communities in British Columbia.

I came to know Bobbie Blair, and her work towards GMO free Langley. She invited me to speak for a few minutes at the Langley Town Hall theatre after the show of a movie – One man, One Cow, One Planet, and I did so. It was more or less my first attempt at public speaking on the issue of GMO.

…. more to come here later …