Reflection on Bitter Seeds and Blue Gold: Water Wars Documentaries

Coursework Instructions:

Part 1: (should be about 2 pages)
Based on your viewing of the Bitter Seeds documentary, and the supplementary readings answer these questions. At least a paragraph or two in response to each prompt!! Support your answer with a reference or two to strengthen your argument!!
a. First, based solely on your viewing of the documentary, answer this question - ’Who do you think bears most responsibility for this problem, and what do you think should be done to reduce the number of farmer suicides?’
Next, read the three articles linked to the Sakai course site. One is a Guardian article, One is a response from Monsanto, and one is an article in a magazine (Mother Jones). The three have different explanations for the farmer suicides. Refer in detail to the articles cited, using quotations if you are directly quoting material.
b. What does each of the articles identify as the main cause behind the rise in farmer suicides?
c. Which of these explanations do you find most convincing? Why?
d. Which of these explanations do you find least convincing? Why?
e. Having now read the readings, read the final one - India's solution to this problem. Do you think this is a major step in the right direction? Is it enough?
f. Finally, I would like you to think of a core concept in the class textbook. In trying to think about globalization and complex global issues coming together in one place, what we put at the center of our focus is critical. Do we value the sustainability of the planet, of people, or of the economy as the most important thing? In the case of cotton growing, especially genetically modified cotton grown in India, what do you feel is the most important thing to focus on, and the biggest challenge to overcome?
Part 2: (should be about 1 page)
Watch the documentary Blue Gold: Water Wars, and answer the following questions:
1. How many liters of water does it take to produce 1 apple in California? ____________
2. In South Africa, water meters run on __________. A house burned down because the owners and the neighbors couldn’t afford to run the water. As a consequence _____ _________ died.
3. Cochabamba is a city in which country? _________________

4. Which groups of people were protesting about water privatization? ____________ and ______________
5. Which country has the US established a military base in, allegedly to gain control over a major aquifer. ____________
6. Which former president owns thousands of acres of land in the same region. _______________
7. This region of the world has been described as the Middle _______ of ________.
8. The name of the company ‘kicked out’ of the region was ___________.
9. Name some ways in which water usage in the United States could be reduced:
10. How do you think we should approach the question of water availability on a global scale? Should it be a right? Is putting a price on it the fairest, or only way to distribute it? Give reasons for your answer.

Coursework Sample Content Preview:

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Coursework Assignment
Part 1
a. The Bitter Seeds documentary discusses the disaster affecting the small farmers leading to their massive deaths (Kloor 67). From the film's name, the seeds are inappropriate for essential crop production. This is highly likely to cause crop failures that, in turn, reduce hope in the farmers, encouraging their deaths due to not succeeding in their endeavors. The government should be determined to provide relevant seeds with fewer failure chances for farmers to use and harvest significant yields for sustenance amid the increasing poverty levels.
b. John Vidal's article in the Guardian reveals that nearly every suicide arose from farmers' debts after seed failure. Vasuki Berlavadi, an individual from a group with over 50,000 farmers, reported that most of the victims were farmers deceived by the seed- and pesticide dealers, who were as well the money-lenders who credited the small farmers. These farmers worked hard, but everything failed, traumatizing them, hence their deaths (Vidal 2). On the other hand, Mother Jones's article argues that some anti-GMO (genetically modified organism) activists, a scientist, and Vandana Shiva (an organic farmer) blamed the biotech seeds as the primary cause for the high-rate suicides witnessed. Most importantly, these seeds were cotton-tweaked to have the Bt pesticide commonly utilized by 90% of India's cotton land. Shiva went ahead to brand these seeds as "seeds of suicide" since many farmers killed themselves after they were presented (Philpott 2). Lastly, the Monsanto response claims that farming in the Indian rural zones brings about a range of social and systemic issues that likely result in hopelessness amongst the Indian farmers and then regular farmer suicides. Considerable studies have proven that the issue is critical and refuted the argument that GMO crops cause deaths. Monsanto defended himself, saying that he was only dedicated to improving farmers' lives worldwide and executed various projects that have been acknowledged for positively influencing farmers and society (Monsanto 1).
c. In my view, Mother Jones's article provided the most convincing explanation. Most importantly, the reading provides viewpoints from opposing and proposing sides of the argument about GMOs. The conclusion identifies what logically seems to be the main problem or concern. It is undoubtedly true that the biotech seeds would only be suitable for farmers utilizing irrigation and fail for farmers relying on rainwater.
d. From a personal perspective, Monsanto's response article provided the least convincing discussion. In my understanding, the innovator was only focused on self-interest and defended himself by saying that his efforts did not contribute to the su...

Updated on January 26, 2024

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Reflection on Bitter Seeds and Blue Gold: Water Wars Documentaries

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