give each of these answer a short reply
1. Much of what I read in this article does not fit with what I have known about third world poverty, particularly the idea that scarcity is a “mismatch between a culture and nature’s giving.” I had thought that scarcity was due to a lack of infrastructure and other necessary resources to sustain a higher standard of living in a particular area, not that the expectations for the land outweighed the ability of the land and community to provide for its people. In addition, I thought the primary causes of such poverty were those based in misfortune, such as poor climate or natural disasters. I also did not realize that large corporations could cause much of this damage by controlling resources necessary for proper development such as seeds and water. The problems of states and large corporations stealing resources from small farming communities in ways such as “giving Coca-Cola the groundwater of a valley in Kerala” is an unfortunate cause of poverty I had not imagined. The violence in the Punjab in the 1980s is an instance of a type of conflict that I did not associate with third world poverty and its causes. The centralization of control in Delhi seems like an unfair institution of managing the economy of smaller surrounding communities. Vandana’s solution to this problem is therefore an interesting idea for solving this source of poverty. Allowing small communities that live near the resources they use for their livelihood to control these resources completely without any interference from large corporations was not something I thought of when considering solutions for third world poverty. I did not know that small communities like this were abused in such ways by centralized economic practices and that both violent and nonviolent protests are being used to regulate the economies of these small communities.
2. The article has opened my eyes as to why third world poverty has so much economical strife, in war torn places the majority of fighting is over resources. Because natural resources are being exploited faster than Mother Nature can renew them. Or someone has built a dam to redirect water or other resources from there intended destination and where they are ultimately supposed to be. When water grows scarce families and neighbors turn against each other. The same issues that are happening in America are happening in third world countries for instance we have large companies monopolizing our local farms and water. Making it Impossible not to give into their demands if we still want to continue to survive as is in third world countries. But they have made great strides to continue to live out of the grasps of large companies by making entire cities underground and harnessing what very little water that they receive, and also planting crops that do not need very much water to survive and learn how to use those crops to survive themselves. Scarcity is having a mismatch between a culture and nature’s giving. Cultures have evolved cultural diversity to mimic the biological diversity of climates and ecosystems. It’s when that relationship is disrupted that you get unsustainable population growth. I knew third world countries have very little and I knew also that third world countries are very resourceful. But what I did not know is that the same issues that third world countries are having we are having the same here in the United States.
3. Patenting life infuriates me, I do not believe that biochemical companies should have any right to “own” seeds that have been around for generations and generations. I was reading an article from the Los Angeles times that Monsanto is suing a farmer for reusing seeds form a prior crop of soy beans he had purchased from a side company that is affiliated with Monsanto, to help save money on a later season more risky crop. These large companies like Monsanto are attempting to monopolize the food market. In a few different ways number one is by limiting the number of times a farmer can used the seeds he has purchased causing the farmers to constantly have to buy seeds. Which brings me to number two, the amount of demand goes up and so dose supply. And when supply and demand keep growing so do the prices of seeds, and food. Our smaller farms are being monopolized by these big companies and will eventually have no but to sell their farms to the larger companies. This vaguely reminds me of share croppers. They work for a “bigger richer person” just to make ends meat. They don’t own the land they work on the just exist there. Also these companies say their food is organic because it is not treated with pesticides that it can withstand by the way, however they fail to mention that the genetically modified food can hurt the people who are consuming the food. Such as cows in Germany became seriously ill after consuming genetically modified corn maze. But the buck didn’t stop there the sick cows were slaughtered and attempted to hide the illness by getting rid of the evidence by selling it on the market for human consumption. The cause of the illness was discovered but what the illness is remains unknown. Secondly doctors are warning people to stay away from genetically modified food. Because the GMO food that you are eating and you food is eating can alter your DNA as well as the DNA of your unborn baby or even yet thought of baby. Causing genetic defects and birth defects that are not hereditary. Roundup ready soy beans were given to mother rats during a study and it was discovered that 53% of babies born died within a few weeks. In numerous laboratory tests animals avoided GMO foods and went for the non GMO foods. Should we listen to animal instinct? I think so if my dog will not even eat it or trust it I don’t think I do either.
