Bitter Seeds

"Every 30 minutes a farmer in India kills himself. Is he next?"

Sep 1 2011 N/A 1h 28m
Documentary

A vibrant investigation of the predicament of central Indian cotton farmers, caught up in biotech broker Monsanto's genetically modified seed program. Refused loans by legitimate banks, the farmers borrow from illegal moneylenders at seven percent interest per month and inevitably fall into irredeemable debt, further aggravated by low yields and a need for more fertilizer and water. Out of shame, some commit suicide by drinking Monsanto’s pesticide – such deaths now number over 200,000. The tiny miracle in this seemingly hopeless globalization tragedy is the daughter of one such farmer, a council head who was the first in his village to kill himself. Eighteen-year-old Manjusha yearns to be a journalist to expose the reasons for the suicides, but she has no mentor and certainly no encouragement. Peled’s latest heroine fights on the frontline of this global human and environmental crisis, driven by a desire to voice the perspective and preserve the dignity of the powerless.

Plot

India has more farmers than any country in the world, and they are in a crisis that is unprecedented in human history. Every 30 minutes a farmer in India kills himself in despair. In a village at the center of the suicide epidemic, a farmer and his family struggle to keep his land and a teenage girl makes her first steps to become a journalist and tell the world about the crisis. Bitter Seeds raises questions about the human cost of genetically-modified agriculture and the future of how we grow things. This is the third film in Micha Peled's globalization trilogy, following the award-winning Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes to Town and China Blue.

Written by

N/A

Directed by

Micha X. Peled

Cast

Manjusha Ambarwar, Ram Krishna, Mahhav Shande

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Independent Television Service

Languages

English

Awards

4 wins

Scores
# of Votes
122
Average Rating
7.8 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA