"Every 30 minutes a farmer in India kills himself ..." This frightening fact is pointed out in "Bitter Seeds," the third documentary in "The Globalization Trilogy" directed by Micha Peled. The 12-year project aims to generate debate about public policy and consumer choices in some complex issues relevant to all of us. Peled is the founder of the nonprofit Teddy Bear Films, which he created to make issue-oriented films such as "Will My Mother Go Back to Berlin?" and "Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes to Town."
"Bitter Seeds" follows a season in a village in India from planting to harvest. There are three important stories in this film, each revolving around the multinational corporate takeover of India's seed market and the effect it has on farmers and farming all over India and the world.
Like most of his neighbors, the protagonist in the film, Ram Krishna, must engage a money-lender to pay for the mounting costs of modern farming; he puts his land up as collateral.
The only seeds available in India now are GMOs (genetically modified organisms), which require farmers to pay an annual royalty each time they are replanted. The GMOs need additional fertilizers, and as the seasons move forward, more insecticides and pesticides. The soil in which these seeds are planted requires more water. All of which means more and more money for the farmer to lay out.
As Krishna's story moves forward, his cotton is attacked by mealy worms, which threaten to destroy his entire crop. His daughter has reached marrying age and Krishna must find money for her dowry.
In the film we also meet a seed salesman who argues that GMO seeds are better than the seeds the farmers previously used, and Vandana Shiva, an activist who speaks strongly about the damage the GMO seeds have done to the agricultural system throughout India and the world.
"Bitter Seeds," like "Food, Inc.," shows how much we don't know about genetically modified seeds, their hidden costs and health effects. The GMO industry vigorously fights in the United States as well as in other countries to prevent mandatory listing of GMO foods on product ingredient labels. This should at the very least raise our concern.
The recent announcement by BASF (the world's leading chemical company) that it is abandoning its production of GMO crops in Europe because of a lack of acceptance "from the majority of consumers, farmers and politicians" was an acknowledgement of a reality many biotechnology companies have been hesitant to countenance: Europe does not like genetically modified crops.
Earth Open Source is a nonprofit organization dedicated to assuring the sustainability, security and safety of the global system. In June 2012, it published "GMO Myths and Truths: An Evidence-Based Examination of the Claims Made for the Safety and Efficacy of Genetically Modified Crops" by Michael Antoniou of Kings College London School of Medicine in the United Kingdom; Claire Robinson, research director of Earth Open Source; and John Fagan, an early voice in the scientific debate on genetic engineering. In the report, the authors explain how genetic engineering poses special risks, claiming that GMO foods can be toxic or allergenic; how GMO feed affects the health of animals; how GMO seeds do not increase crop yield potential; how studies claiming the safety of GMO crops are generally industry-linked and therefore biased. Anyone interested in the "other side of the story" from that fed to citizens by the industry should read this report.
The number of farmers markets in this country has more than doubled in the last three years. Locavorism has become more than a buzzword, it's an accepted way of eating. People want to know who their farmers are and how they are growing the food. Is it sustainable, organic and/or biodynamic? What seeds were used? People throughout the world are demanding that anything grown with GMO seeds at the very least be labeled. And until there is word that crops grown from GMO seeds are as good for us as their unmodified counterparts, it is perhaps best to avoid them.
Photo: Wheat seeds. Credit: mishooo / iStockphoto.com
Also on Zester Daily:
India's organic farmers bring back rare red rice
What's behind the exponential growth of India's wine trade?
Cooking rice and the magic of starch on saris
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Before you attack the article, please see the documentary "Bitter Seeds!!! The article ACCURATELY describes the documentary. In the documentary we see that conventional seeds for cotton are indeed unavailable. And, here is an article from India entitled: "Lack of conventional seeds enlarges Bt cotton area".
http://www.theindianawaaz.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5314&catid=20
The list of seed suppliers you posted, does not assure me that farmers can buy conventional cotton seeds from them.
Thus, I am unconvinced by your rebuttals to the article. If you have more real facts rather than fear mongering ("India will soon surpass us in Biotech") and ad hominem attacks ("the writer is preparing for the NYT) I will gladly listen.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A54914-2002Feb22?language=printer
Do you really think the only seed available in India is genetically engineered seed from Monsanto? You seem to think Indians are enslaved by the sophisticated techniques of multi-billion dollar American corporations and too ignorant to free themselves from the clutches of industrialized nations.
Most of the seed used in India is hybridized seed, not transgenic, developed by scientists in their renowned agricultural universities and distributed to farmers throughout the country's crop growing regions through the National Seed Corporation (controlled by the Ministry of Agriculture).
Here's a list of India's seed producers, provided by the national government of India (note: none of them are Monsanto or subsidiaries)
http://www.india.gov.in/outerwin.php?id=http://agriharyana.nic.in/qc_seed_units.htm
The whole Monsanto vs. Poor Indian Farmers story is an example of how false stories get spread. The worst part is how insulting these lies are to the people of India. They are surpassing us in biotech, engineering and medicine, and before long we will be left in their dust. But if writing about this documentary makes you feel all good inside, have at it.
As frenchkissed stated, it is simply abhorrent that this ridiculousness is allowed to be publishhed anywhere.
Just the way he words the article is strange, like he's using the wrong words or they're strung together the wrong way. When you throw in all the factually incorrect claims and blatantly wrong Greenpeace propaganda, it almost seems like it's a joke. I bet the writer sees the Huffington Post as his stepping stone to the New York Times or the Nation, but if this is any indication, I don't think it will turn out for him..
I better get to sleep. Will I be seeing you at lunch again tomorrow in the GMO free cafeteria? If not I'm sure we'll bump into each other in the hallway of the Evil Headquarters. Try not to work too hard on the plot to take over the worlds seed supply. (I probably shouldn't even joke like that)
We have a fat problem in the U.S. What is a common indulgence for everybody? Food. Whatever is causing the fat epidemic can be blamed on lifestyle, lack of discipline, bad eating habits, bad parenting, and multitudes of fingers pointing at and blaming the victims - but why has nobody come to a somewhat different conclusion: it's in the food. Conclusion: The U.S. population is being used involuntarily as a nation of lab rats for big pharma and Monsanto. More: Sweeden is collecting natural seeds from world-wide sources and storing them in vaults and caves for the just-in-case scenario - Monsanto makes the power move to control all the seeds for food on the planet. Congtrol the seeds, control the food supply. Impossible?
You really believe that Monsanto is trying to control all the seeds on the planet? Indian farmers get their seeds from the (Indian) National and State seed corporations (run by the Ministry of Agriculture). They have advanced agricultural programs at their universities and develop their own hybrid and transgenic seeds. They're not only a major exporter of agricultural products, they're also a major exporter of seed.
India (perhaps even more so than China) is an industrial force to be reckoned with. While Americans sit on our butts worrying about Monsanto taking over the world's seed supply, they're getting advanced degrees and making major technological advancements. Our time as the technological innovators of the world is nearing an end, and the UK and Germany are falling even faster than we are. It will be interesting to see where these new leaders of industry take us. I hope they'll treat us better than we treated them.
No. Hormone-laced beef, chicken, and fish.. Not seeds.GE seeds are wrecking the natural seeding cycles.
2. " ... they're also a major exporter of seed.".
Do these seeds require Roundup to germinate??
3. "Americans sit on our butts worrying about Monsanto taking over the world's seed supply, they're getting advanced degrees and making major technological advancements."
Not relavant to this discussion. Perhaps a discussion about education?
4. " It will be interesting to see where these new leaders of industry take us. I hope they'll treat us better than we treated them. "
Monsanto IS a chemical industry leader. Remember the Bophal disaster? Do I detect a memory of convenience here? I really don't trust Monsanto to lead us to a better world. They treat the globe like their private toilet.
Whatever suicides you think you may be referring to might well be otherwise motivated.
The figures cited herein can be sourced directly from the Indian Government statistics bureaus.
But the new analysis suggests that if anything, suicides among farmers have been decreasing since the introduction of GM cotton by Monsanto in 2002. "It is not only inaccurate, but simply wrong to blame the use of Bt cotton as the primary cause of farmer suicides in India," said the report from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington DC. "Despite the recent media hype around farmer suicides," it added, "fuelled by civil society organisations and reaching the highest political spheres in India and elsewhere, there is no evidence in available data of a 'resurgence' of farmer suicide in India in the last five years."
It also found that the adoption of pest-resistant Bt cotton varieties had led to massive increases in yield and a 40% decrease in pesticide use.
http://www.agprofessional.com/news/India-does-not-blame-Bt-cotton-for-farmer-suicides-150665905.html
The environmental activist groups sensationalized the suicides in the name of vilifying genetically modified crops. However, the deaths were more likely due to indebtedness and a result of failed agricultural policies, not GM crops.
The Economic Times reported that Minister of State for Agriculture, Harish Rawat, said, “India has harvested an average of 5.1 million tonnes of cotton per year, which is well above the highest production of 3 million tonnes before the introduction of Bt cotton.”
Never let facts get in the way of a good story though, huh?
Except that they're not. They're mostly hybrid seed. Of course, if you're using the British definition of GMO, then not even Greenpeace is against that. BTW, even if they use selective marker breeding, that's not genetically engineered.
A documentary that truly would be about "complex issues relevant to all of us" would question why an American veteran commits suicide every 80 minutes, or 18 per day. Neither Shinseki nor Obama have taken ownership, and no filmmaker so far has taken up the subject.
A shamefully ignored national crisis in our front yard.
It is, however, an issue that deserves attention regardless.
It is a national disgrace, and someone needs to take ownership.
In Australia, it was the dairy farmers who committed suicide in large numbers after the expensive deregulation of the dairy industry pulled the rugs from under their feet. Maybe the Australian MP Bob Katter has figures on his web page, because he's the one who brought it in the public eye. ... and we are still deregulating ......