Our readings this week take a look at the industrialization of agriculture both in the the mid-20th Century and today. Raj Patel's chapters investigates the rationale for and effects of both the Green Revolution in India and those of today's "biotechnology revolution". In particular, he takes apart the conventional argument that we must advance agricultural technologies in order to alleviate hunger and poverty. As in past weeks, his argument proceeds by breaking down a series of myths around the relationship between hunger and agribusiness. As you read and write your commentaries for this week, begin by focusing on what those myths are, how Patel breaks them down, and what alternative ways of seeing the problem of hunger he replaces them with. What examples does he use to back up his argument? For example, what is the myth that supports the production of "Golden Rice"? Why can we consider it a myth and what is the reality of Golden Rice? And how does the state of Kerala in India present a different story of the relationship between poverty and hunger than those traditionally told?
Another issue that Patel's text raises is that of knowledge production and the circulation of information. What does the "privatization of knowledge" mean for Patel and how has it happened? Similarly, why does he argue that GMO crops "deskill" farmers? And why is that a problem for him? Drawing on both Patel and McKibben's article, how does the agricultural "knowledge economy" in Cuba work differently from that of the US and most of the globalized world? Why did Cuba's agricultural base develop differently? How is Cuba different in this respect from Jamaica (as we saw in Life and Debt)? How do universities in the US and Cuba differ in their relationship to agricultural production?
What do you think about McKibben's depiction of Cuban agriculture? Does it disrupt common conceptions of the "good" of globalization and free markets? Building from your knowledge about Jamaica in the world economy, what do you think will happen to Cuba's agricultural system when it "goes global"?
In Raj Patel's chapter "Better living through chemistry" argues about how industrialization of agriculture have changed a country in veriety of ways especially in the mid-20th Century and today.The use of chemicals to hybrid varieties of seed to yielded more crops to feed the hungry have taken over many nations, changing the natural ways of living. These so called chemicalized seeds make crops grow more faster and larger then the more traditional crops. In order for these chemicalized seeds to work properly it requires laboratory- prefect growing conditions which demands irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides which some poor country farmers can't afford. This chapter also investigates the use of the Green Revolution system in India and The biotechnology revolution have shaped India's agriculture systems in many ways both effected India in more of negivite ways then there was only very few positive outcomes of industrialization of agriculture in India. The purpose of Green Revolution in India was to feed more people at low cost. The purpose also was to decrease hunger and poverty in India and also other countries, which it never worked instead it seems as if the poor people became poorer and the rich became richer because the poor farmers in the country can't afford to buy the those technology and those special chemicalized seed which also provided an unnatural abundance, which means not totally healthy. The idea of the "Golden rice" brought up in India to provide a nutritional diet for the poor people in India who can't afford a balanced meal that has all kinds of nutrition a person needs to live a healthy life. The golden rice was genetically engineered to add vitamin A into the rice grains to provide healthy balanced meals for the poor and hungry. The truth behind the "golden rice" is that a person have to eat about fifty bowls of the Golden rice per day to get their daily allowance of vitamin A and again we come back to the same argument that poor people are still hungry and unhealty because they can't afford these kinds of food which was created for their purpose. The GMO (genetically modified organism) farmers were discribed as "deskill" because they really don't have to do anything special to run their farms because everything is done by the computer and machines because the pesticide companies now controling the entire market that have brought down the entire farming system.
ReplyDeleteMcKibben's depiction of Cuban agriculture is like a beginning of new time period (1990) in Cuban history. In Cuba an island so differently from other countries in the world was isolated from trading with another country especially USA the country that feared communism. The way the cubans were isolated from trading with other countries in the world which effected them in verity of ways. In the beginning they had many hardships of how to manage food, money ,techonoloy, and good goverment for the people of the country. They bulid a community farming system that involved the people of the community to come work in a farm that suppports the whole community all together and also the people earns money for that. It is very inspireing of how Cuba brought up their self without the help of another country, tradeing with another country or using technology of another country in terms of building their agriculture and meeting the needs of people.Cuba did a very good job at running their country and they are seen as very ideal country because just about any country in the world could have been in place of Cuba and go though the similar things and I also believe their life style is very healthy compared to others countries because they don't need to use special chemicalized food to live their life, I think They are fine just the way they are with their natural agriculture.
- Saliha Lipi
In the chapter, "Better Living through Chemistry" Raj Patel explains the process that takes place in what is called the "Green Revolution" from the factories that manufacture pesticides in seeds to the politics involved when regulation and concerns are involved in the over all process of GM implications. GM (meaning genetically modified) is the way our food is made on a global scale with the exception and limitations of a few countries like Cuba, Europe and the North globe. Raj explains the efforts and concerns that have been voiced by the people within the countries where the farmers and consumers have to accept the terms that create more debt and increases the problem of "hunger" which is the issue at hand. WTO and IMF appear to not want to address the main issue of world hunger knowing that is its not always the issue of food becoming available but more of the prices rising and people being able to purchase it. Displaying a sugar coat attitude to the main problem giving a temporary solution that benefits corporations such as the Makathini Cotton Group and Monsanto (who specialize in gm crops) by backing their regulations that they impose and not giving a permanent solution. For instance, when accusations of the famine-taking place in Africa, the government blamed IMF and IMF blamed them as they choose to hold on to the food that was being stock piled in area thinking that the demand would in increase the price. Leaving many to die, and for what? In order to obtain more financial gain and in the pockets of whom? Needing to find a better solution but none was giving at the time other than to go with the green revolution. In other words producing more gm crops, more factorization, and less independent ownership of the crops and system of regulations. The attitude is one of control and a do it their way or no way, because they know that certain countries like India for example are in need of a solution to their food aid problem. Thinking that progress it has to come and sometimes knowing that it might not.
ReplyDeleteWithin the organizations, some have a "beggars can’t be choosers" attitude towards the health and economic issues at hand not allowing the countries any other opportunities to prosper. Not at the price of generated income to be placed in the pockets of the providers themselves. One example is when the Makathini cotton group gave an ultimatum to its farmers stressing that they would not be able to plant seeds unless they were gm seeds and needed to oversee the production and if indeed farmers were using the incentive of free bags dispersed among them for production. Obviously, it is very controlled and can leave someone in that position to feel helpless with no other alternatives. Especially when production of cotton and no other crop is accessible on their soil. As for Cuba, they have a more honest approach towards their national interest in the people. They maintain a big outlook on education and health. Gm foods are only implicated as a last resort if necessary. The attitude is not to manipulate the land to adapt to the production of crops but to adapt and accept what the land can produce without chemical influence. Knowledge is a public outsource for the country. It is not as private and shared amongst the private sector and the elite and scientist like in the U.S. Studies within the countries scientist that hold many find ways in which the agriculture will sustain a livelyhood for the good of the people verses entrepreneurs trying to get a financial gain. I never thought of it in those terms but the way it has presented it actually seems like a more desirable approach. At some point it seems like the U.S will have used out most of our sources and the issues that have developed from that can be long term and very detrimental to the people not only economically but as a society as well.
Once again, Raj Patel placed us in front of myths and in front of facts about global agriculture industry; he placed us in front of the results of the fast growing, quick spreading worldwide use and necessity of chemistry and pesticides improvements at crops fields; whose are made and produced under the label of these mighty, powerful, influential corporations ; such as for example - Monsanto, a transnational agribusiness company, unbeatable leader in biotechnological productions of crops and plants. Such corporations promote themselves by telling that they will to nourish the world, and especially overpopulated country as is the India of today. He who says large population mentions large amounts of food to prevent hunger. The ones who were concerned about the matter of population starvation in India during the past century - were the United States. They have promised to nourish these people, and provided Indian farmers, during the Green Revolution, large amounts of agro tools such as: fertilizers, pesticides and genetically modified seeds. A biotechnological revolution begun to an India that were often dealing with famine, since surplus of commodities and food were rarely reached. These technologies were seen as solution, and met with a lot of optimism by farmers, as well as of the rest of the Indians. However, the expectations weren't fulfilled. Bigger amounts of crops growing in the field, required constant and abundant irrigation, that the water stocks of India couldn't provide, which simply led to ground leveled water stocks. These damages raised the price considerably - people couldn't afford themselves rice. Since farmers couldn't realize it, they became hostile to Western methods and slowly turn their back to biotechnologies.
ReplyDeleteAnother myth that have been introduced to Indians was the "golden rice" - a sort of rice that could have done miracles against children blindness, by replenishing their lack of vitamin A in their rations. It was called so for it's color, a gene from carrots have been injected into that culture, filling it with vitamin A and beta-carotene which gives that bold color to oranges and carrots. Here again, the same factor was neglected - poverty. The high cost of that culture made this product inaccessible to the majority of Indians, and especially to those whom would have really need it. As a result, the product remained useless in the Indian agriculture market despite the good intentions of the investors and growers.
This situation is common not only in Asia, but also in Latin America. However, there's still a country that didn't went that bad during these biotechnological upraises. The country in question is - Cuba, whom have shown to the world that a country can succeed in meeting with it's population food demands response. From the beginning, and after making a solid political and economical Alliance with the Soviet Union, Cuba was receiving in exchange of it's sugar, all commodities and goods across the Ocean and several thousands of miles from the Soviets. However, when the Soviet Union collapsed, Cuba lost its main food provider, encountered economical crisis and famine but have shortly redeemed its situation. It was done by a brilliant co working between the Cuban government and Cuban farmers. Cuba decided to not let corporations, especially American ones, its own subsistence and begun producing and providing food to itself. Successfully. In that way, contrary to Jamaica and India, Cuba didn't get involved into debts, ignored the possibility an assistance coming from the U.S. and imposed itself to the world as a self-efficient and self-subsistent country, by brilliantly developing its own agriculture and biotechnological manufacturing. "The Cuban government has made choices, in the national interest, about what suits the country, and the needs of the people the best.” And that's the reason why Cuba can be imposed as an example to follow by many.
Tashibay Aigerim.
In the chapter “Better living through chemistry” Raj Patel discusses that technology and modernizations has affected the countries in terms of health and economics. He also describes that the development in food productions and agriculture was introduced to fulfill the rising demand of food for the world in very affordable prices, but in reality it has set the change in environment as well as in prices. The situation is worst then before. In this era with the rise in population and lack of resources the world is facing hunger and poverty. The food is being engineered in the labs such as: various companies have developed the seeds and agriculture methods to produce food in no time in abundant, but these techniques require big finance and education which the poor farmers cannot afford it and most likely they are not aware of this.
ReplyDeleteEspecially in the chapter, Patel talks about the “Green Revolution” system in India that this was introduce to decrease the poverty to meet the food demands at very low cast by using the “biotechnology revolution”, but this process had its pro and cons too because it increased the unequal distribution of wealth in the society. The big investor enjoyed the benefit from this whereas; the poor became more weak and hungry as it was before. The production of “Golden rice” is one the example of this because this rice was bio-technologically revolutionized to decrease the food expenditure of the Indian lower class, So that they can become healthy by spending less. Instead, the “Golden rice” cost more and this led to the failure. As the text describes the farmers as “deskill” because they are totally relaying on the modern technology and machinery which not only decreased the skills of the farmers but also lowered their revenue by raising the profit of the big companies.
Also, on Patel and McKibben's article, it is mentioned that Cuba has been exempted from the trade with the world especially with USA because they have not been accepting the rules and regulations. They have been struggling to survive alone by standing against the players of the world. Moreover, Cuba is totally different from Jamaica because they are independent and they have their own agriculture and food production system but Jamaica has been affected by the dept and large import, their agriculture system is totally destroyed and mismanaged. Cuba is not globalized this is what they have been struggling and trying to sustain a position on the globe and I guess becoming the part of free market system would affect their agriculture as the newly independent but economically dependent country Jamaica is.
In patel's chapter his describing how food systems such as Green Revolution was made to help surplur food and help poor countries such as India and africa obtain the adequate amount of food that their people needed.This food system depended on biothecnological procedures that were suppose to be beneficial for the people. This procedure was design to make crops grow more rapidly and having the opportunity of producing more food and benefiting poor countries as africa and india consume the food they needed without causing starvation.
ReplyDeleteBut this idea could be consider as a myth in the way that it didn't benefit poor countries as the Green Revolution was suppose to. In the contrary it had a negative impact on the countries because it cause more starvation since the biothechnological procedure require expensive equipments that were not available for poor farmers and consumers to buy due to its high cost. As patel's mentions in the reading the problem wasn't that people dind't have enough food but they couldn't buy it because it was to expensive.
In my opinion this event only benefited the people that were working in the Green Revolution company because they were making good money out of it. The people that were suppose to be benefited from this procedure resulted hurt because they couldn't afford the food.
Cuba is a country that since the beggining as describe in Mc Kibben's article wanted to be a independent country. Meaning that the goverment of the country dinn't want to trade food with foreign countries but instead make their own food that will make the country dependable on their own. Cuba was a country that was able to accomplish its goal of producing their own food by farming the food they needed to consume. In the contrary the people of India and Africa were not able to make their own food since they thought the USA was going to benefit them with the Green Revolution system.
The golden rice was another myth that didn't benefit India since it was to expensive for the consumers to buy it. The golden rice was suppose to provide vitamin A that was lacking in rice and other foods and was making children louse their vision at a young age due to the efficiency of this vitamin. But it only provided more starvation and no solution to the problem since people couldn't afford to buy it.
Raj Patel explains the differences in agriculture in the U.S, Cuba and India. India started the green revolution with genetically modified foods. The government in India thought they could help their starvation situation with the Golden rice. They tried to add vitamin E to the rice but what they didn’t take into consideration is that for a daily amount of rice they would have to eat 50,000 grams of rice. Of course that didn’t make any sense for the people to do. The golden rice seemed like a good idea but it wouldn’t work out. Patel is trying to express how they think they can help but they are still harming people. The agriculture in the U.S is not any better. The GMO crops makes farming so simple it is “deskilling” farmers. This means that farming doesn’t take a skill anymore. Not even an understanding of farming is needed. GMO crops are when the industry give you the seeds to plant, they make all the rules and regulations in farming. Therefore there is no need for any understanding of farming. In Cuba was a different path. The U.S had place embargo blocks on Cuba. Their most important trading spots were cut away from them. Cuba was forced to work and farm all the goods they needed. Everyone had farms and they did their best to grow what they could. Cuba’s situation was different from Jamaica in the film Life and debt. Jamaica had many farmers but because they still had to trade with other major parts of the world the imported goods were cheaper then the goods from there. In Cuba they had no other competition for goods. Also because agriculture was becoming Cuba’s main focus and source of economic growth. They put their money into the education system so that the kids can get the best knowledge about agriculture. The wanted the kids to grow up knowing everything possible so that they can help the nation more. On the other side the U.S just left their education in many fields because they didn’t have one main source of economic growth. McKibben's article on the Cuba’s agriculture does disrupt ideologies about globalization and free market trade. Globalization is supposed to help the world economy and Cuba seems to be doing fine on their own. Also with the ideologies of free market trade. The government of seem to have found a good and productive solution to the situation they were in. For example the situation with Jamaica and their trading with the world. Jamaica was already in debt and having to live up to the standards of the world economy they kept going more into debt. The nation could not help them self. I think if Cuba has to become global, they wont be able to do as well as they are now. The standards of the global trading aren’t what they are used to. Also the industries change the way they are used to farming. All of their education would be put to waste because GMO crops deskill farmers.
ReplyDeleteThis is a long one, so don't say I didn't warn you;) In Patel’s chapter I found it somewhat both comical and telling that he started out the chapter with a quote from Jack and the Bean Stalk, one where the Jack (in a seemingly foolish economic move) trades his families last source of survival for a couple of beans. In this chapter Patel makes a variety of arguments, all leading to one argument on what the central problem in the world food system and its effects in terms of hunger and how it’s handled.
ReplyDeleteThe first myth that Patel breaks down is the myth that exists(ed) and was perpetuated between the United States and India in 2005 with the US promising $100 million in investments and $30 million in science and technology (to fund biotechnology- but more on that later). The belief that was perpetuated was that the first green revolution was successful in aiding India, that it was created for wholly unselfish reasons, that the US and India were joining hands to promote mans history toward freedom. Patel tosses this argument out the window with great finesse. First he points out that US motivation for the first green revolution was rooted in anti-communism as well as the promotion of capitalism. By forcing Indian farmers to halt food production under the mounting pressure of attempting to compete with US subsidized producers, the US created an environment where India was increasingly dependent on food aid and owning 1/3 of the Indian rupee supply. Eventually the US would strong arm India into accepting terms under which India would receive predictable food aid and agricultural technologies.
Another myth that he breaks down during the tenure of his argument is the idea that efficient markets and new technology will solve hunger for both rural and urban poor. This, Patel feels, would be an act of ignoring history. He points out different events in history for example where there was a 3 million death famine in Bengal while there was enough food within Bengal to feed them all.
Another argument that Patel makes is the argument on ‘trade related intellectual property rights’. He says “Within India, the demands of intellectual property rights have pitted agriculture, the occupation of India’s poorest, against information technology, the occupation of India’s richest” (132). He argues the destructive nature of intellectual property rights. While farmers (the poor) have made a living doing something for generations, those who have access to “the knowledge-intensive process” (the rich) can put a name on it and sue over its use based on their so-called “rights”.
I’d like to point out that what I found really profound that Patel pointed out was that while in the US we hear of all these organizations fighting to relieve the hunger of poor kids. These poor kids who are starving face a very real and incredibly saddening problem everyday of their lives and these private organizations who work to alleviate their pain are genuine in their endeavors. The irony however is that many of the countries where hunger is rampant are also the countries where food surpluses exist. So when reading the chapter labeled “Corporations Address the Needs of the Poor” I began to realize the sort of selfish behavior of these countries and how any attempt made by them to “address the needs of the poor” seem purely hypocritical, I kind of figured how Patel could be motivated to write a whole book.
In this chapter, the author has argued that the use of chemical deeply affect the development of agriculture in the 20 century.This is a very important change. Chemicals can change the genes of the seed, so it can produce more crops. Because it was not a natural way, we could hear different voice from people. We called it as Green Revolution which can make those crops grow bigger and quicker. This revolution only benefit the boss of the company because they can earn more money from it when the crops grow faster. Also, Cuba was suffering in the trade especially the other richer countries were used Green Revolution to plant. As a small independent country, Cuban didn't have much power to improve their agricultural skills, and technology.
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