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of unit Poverty and Globalization Summary In the article, Poverty and Globalization, Vandana Shiva describes the difficulties that Indian farmers are facing due to globalization of agriculture. Shiva starts with a description of the situation in Punjab. According to her, Punjab was once the most prosperous agricultural areas in India. However, the situation changed completely due to globalization of agriculture in the region. Farmers in Punjab are now desperate and in debts. Vast tracks of land in the regions have turned into a waterlogged desert. Trees, which once produced fruits, do not produce fruits anymore due to the inexistence of pollinators like butterflies and bees killed by pesticides (Shiva, 2000).
The ecological and social disaster did not fix itself to Punjab. In Wrangal, Andhra Pradesh, farmers are committing suicide. Traditionally, farmers in the region grew paddy, millets, and pulses. However, seed companies lured farmers to adopt cotton farming by portraying them as more profitable. Seed merchants referred to the hybrid cottonseeds as white gold supposed to turn farmers into millionaires. Instead, farmers became paupers (Shiva, 2000).
The merchants are attempting to introduce genetically engineered seeds thought to be more productive than hybrid cottonseeds. However, genetically engineered cottonseeds increase ecological and costs risks. They need more water and thus have lead to deep tube wells drillings, which have consequently caused water famine in India. Unlike the previous crops, the new crops require a lot of water.
Due to the difficulties caused by the introduction of new crops, Shiva thinks that a sustainable development is not achievable under globalization. Development ought to be regional based and not based on global demands. For her, globalization has led to unforgivable and brutal impact on the poor forced to feed the world. The rich variety and sustainable systems of food production were destroyed in an attempt to increase food production. Various and rich sources of nutrition were eliminated. In the industrial fisheries and industrial agriculture, nutrition per acre is low. Instead, the form of fisheries and agriculture encourage production of a single crop or product per area. Therefore, they lead to high yield of a single product or crop and consequently a low output of diverse products or crops.
Evaluation of Vandana Shiva
In her article, Shiva targets policy and decision makers. In her eighth paragraph, she points out the need to reevaluate the development founded on globalization because it has negatively affected the poor. According to her, the needs for the world’s growing population can be met through biodiversity intensification instead of intensification of chemical or genetic engineering (Shiva, 2000).
Just like Shiva, Hardin’s article to some extent also tackles globalization, but from the perspective of the environment and resource-sharing. He, nevertheless, diverses the span of globalization to the world food bank and justifies it as a common property. He similarly targets policy makers and discourages them from formulating common laws, which according to him, bring more harm than good. His argument based on the ‘ tragedy of the commons’ completely makes sense. It is agreeable that a common property cannot receive the same care as property under some restriction. Indeed, people have the motivation to draw rather than contribute to commons(Hardin). I, therefore, agree with Hardin that each country should formulate its laws so as to increase the sense of responsibility towards the otherwise common property.
Conscious blindness to multiplicity blinds nature’s production by women and small farmers in the Third World. It projects appropriation and destruction as creation (Shiva). Shiva successfully discussed the real impacts of destruction of diversity in production. Her argument is useful and is arranged logically thus showing the real reason that has cause destruction of agriculture and fisheries in the most part of the world. I, therefore, like her article and if I were given a chance to be a decision maker, I would consider the impact of my decisions and actions especially on the poor and people in low classes. I thus recommend this articles to government departments and to any person having the ability to bring change to the society. Shiva’s article can help governments, and people see the need for evaluation of the real impacts of development. It would make them determine whether development is sustainable.
Works Cited
Hardin, Garrett. Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping The Poor By Garrett Hardin – The Garrett Hardin Society – Articles. Garretthardinsociety. org. N. p., 2003. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
Jones, Van. Working Together For A Green New Deal. Thenation. com. N. p., 2008. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
Shiva, Vandana. Reith 2000. News. bbc. co. uk. N. p., 2000. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.