Bitter Seeds
Bitter Seeds | |
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Directed by | Micha Peled |
Produced by | Micha Peled |
Written by | Micha Peled |
Distributed by | ITVS |
Release dates
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Running time
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88 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Bitter Seeds is a 2011 documentary film by American filmmaker and director and political commentator Micha Peled. The film is the third part of Peled's globalization trilogy after Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes to Town (2001)[1] and China Blue (2005).
Synopsis
Micha Peled's documentary on biotech (Bt) farming in India observes the impact of genetically modified cotton on India's farmers, with a suicide rate of over a quarter million Bt cotton farmers each year due to financial stress resulting from massive crop failure and the price of Monsanto's Bt seeds. The film also disputes claims by the biotech industry that Bt cotton requires less pesticide and promises of higher yields, as farmers discover that Bt cotton requires more pesticide than organic cotton, and often suffer higher levels of infestation by Mealybug resulting in devastating crop losses, and financial and psychological stress on cotton farmers. Due to the biotech seed monopoly in India, where Bt cotton seed has become the standard, and organic seed has become unobtainable, thus pressuring cotton farmers into signing Bt cotton seed purchase agreements with biotech multinational corporation Monsanto.[2]
Reception
Awards
The documentary film won the Green Screen Award (2011)[citation needed], the Oxfam Global Justice Award (2011)[citation needed], the Humanitas Prize (2012), and the International Green Film Award (2013)[citation needed].
Criticism
An analysis by the influential journal Nature showed that the suicide rate increased before Bt cotton was introduced to India and has not increased since. Furthermore, farmers' profits (on average) increased 50% due to yield increases from transgenic cotton.[3]
References
External links
- Official website
- http://www.navdanya.org/news/202-bitter-seeds-exposes-monsantos-farmers-genocide-in-india/
- http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/bitter.html
- http://filmmakermagazine.com/40204-bitter-seeds-an-interview-with-director-micha-x-peled/
- Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). Bitter Seeds at IMDb
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- 2011 films
- English-language films
- Articles with unsourced statements from January 2016
- Official website not in Wikidata
- 2010s documentary films
- American independent films
- American documentary films
- American films
- Documentary films about agriculture
- Films shot in India
- Documentary films about India
- Documentary films about globalization
- Monsanto
- Environmental documentary film stubs