''Bitter Seeds'' is a 2011

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

by American filmmaker and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and

political commentator A pundit is a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. The term pundit describes both women and men, altho ...

Micha Peled Micha Peled () or Micha X. Peled is a San Francisco based Israeli film maker. He is known for his ''Globalization Trilogy'', a series of three films including '' Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes to Town,'China Blue'' and '' Bitter Seeds'.'' Biog ...

. The film is the third part of Peled's globalization trilogy after '' Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes to Town'' (2001) and ''

China Blue ''China Blue'' is a 2005 documentary film directed by Micha Peled. It follows the life of Jasmine Li, a seventeen-year-old worker from Sichuan, in a Chinese jeans factory, ''Lifeng Clothes Factory'' (丽锋服饰制衣有限公司) in Shaxi, ...

'' (2005).

Synopsis

Micha Peled's documentary on biotech (Bt) farming in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

observes the impact of genetically modified cotton on India's farmers, with a suicide rate of over a quarter million

Bt cotton Bt cotton is a genetically modified pest resistant plant cotton variety that produces an insecticide to combat bollworm. Description Strains of the bacterium ''Bacillus thuringiensis'' produce over 200 different Bt toxins, each harmful to diffe ...

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 Mealybugs are insects in the family Pseudococcidae, unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm habitats. Of the more than 2,000 described species, many are considered pests as they feed on plant juices of greenhouse plants, house plants and ...

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 A multinational corporation (MNC; also called a multinational enterprise (MNE), transnational enterprise (TNE), transnational corporation (TNC), international corporation, or stateless corporation, is a corporate organization that owns and cont ...

Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best-known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed ...

Reception

Leslie Hassler in the ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

'' called ''Bitter Seeds'' riveting and poignant, though in places incredibly painful to watch.

Awards

The documentary has won 18 international film awards, including the Green Screen Award (2011) and the Oxfam Global Justice Award (2011).

References

External links

* * 2011 films 2011 documentary films American independent films American documentary films Documentary films about agriculture Films shot in India Documentary films about India Documentary films about globalization Works about Monsanto 2011 independent films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language documentary films English-language independent films {{environment-documentary-film-stub