Why We Face both Food & Water Crises - Essay Example

Why We Face Both Food and Water Crises 6/23/08 Part One: Summary I. Despite the fact that the world has long since fallen into crisis when it comes to food and water, Vandana Shiva is the one to remind us that we are the ones to have gotten ourselves into this mess. We, as a global unit, have failed to keep up with the demands of the economy, the government, and the “basic physics of the planet,” and now we are paying for it by having poverty in our world. As we seem not to be improving, we can only make matters worse for ourselves and for everyone else. II. Vandana Shiva claims that our economy is incapable of keeping up with the Earth’s ecology, which is where the food and water crises are coming in. The more unconcerned we are becoming with agriculture is only leading to having less food, which, in turn, is upping the prices of food and making it more difficult for people to get the food that they need. Shiva blames the majority of the food and water problems on the World Bank and the World Trade Organization, saying they are the reasons that the food prices are rising the way that they are. The steps taken to avoid poverty and to improve human welfare have actually had an opposite effect and have worsened the conditions. There had been a time when countries in the South, such as India, were able to survive on their own food, just as we were. When globalization was introduced, things not only improved in some aspects, but they went downhill in other aspects. Because of the “growth” of the economy and of globalization, the amount of food being distributed has dropped significantly. Shiva states the claim that people are blaming the Indians for what is happening to the world. Shiva counters the argument by saying that the Indians might be getting richer, but they are eating no more than they have been, yet there are billionaires who are wasting their money on frivolous material items. III. Two of the other factors playing into the food and water crises are changes in diets, as well as changes in the climate. The more meat that is being demanded of by people, the less grain they are able to have, since the grain must be fed to the animals that are to be used as food. The factories involved in globalization have taken over how the animals are fed, thus taking over how food is distributed, and how much of it is. More than one-fourth of climate instability is being caused by the globalization methods of preparing and distributing food. The chemicals and pesticides that are being used to rid crops of harmful insects are filling the air with greenhouse gases, as well as the gas from the vehicles that transport foods for the distant trades. According to Shiva, if we went back to agriculture the way the “Earth had planned it,” not only would we have less food and water issues, but we would also have less air pollution. The chemicals that are harming the environment are causing droughts, which are only making matters more difficult. IV. Shiva introduces the term “biopiracy,” which is “the strange phenomenon whereby the richest and biggest of corporations steal genetic resources and traditional knowledge from poor little women and peasants who have shared it for free for over a millennium.” Of the things that were taken, many were natural resources that could be helping the environment and improving the human welfare, but now we must rely on the dangerous chemicals that they sell, so that they are the only ways monetarily benefitting from it. Other natural food items are stolen from these companies, who then claim them as their own. V. Shiva feels that if people were allowed to live their lives and get their food the way they were meant to, there would be fewer problems with food and water. She blames the crises of the world on greed, saying that the less resources people have, the more money the big corporations are making. Growth is only showing itself in how much corporations are making, though the resources themselves are shrinking. The food and water crises fall back on the inner workings of globalization. All of these issues mixed with the democratic government are causing the food and water shortages. The promises that are being made, and the plans that are being put into action are having negative effects on human welfare, not positive. As the government is being run by corporations as opposed to people, the needed changes are not being seen unless someone big can be benefitted by them. VI. Shiva holds a vision that could improve the way things are on this planet. She believes that if people were to step out of themselves and see how they should be as human beings, then things could improve. She claims that we need to start living the way we were meant to, in the days prior to globalization. We need to understand all that we can do with the natural elements of the Earth, and how they can make them work in the ways that we need them to without causing more damage to what could be a beautiful planet. Part Two: Analysis I. Reviewing the article as a whole, I fully agree about what is being said and about the arguments that are being brought up. One of the biggest problems we have in regards to the human welfare and the current conditions of this planet is that we are not living the way that we should be. The Earth provides us with all the resources we could possibly need, yet we not only disregard those resources, but we damage them with our machines and hazardous gases. There is plenty that we could be getting for free, or for a very low cost, but we are letting the government and large corporations take all of that away from us, leaving us with the only options of whatever they happen to give us. II. If we spent more time properly applying ourselves to our needs and the needs of the Earth, then we would be better off. There would be no food or water crises, less poverty, and no need to depend on machines and money-hungry corporations. Less would be at risk if we used the world for what it is there for: our survival. If we were meant to use harmful gases, machines, and factories, then the world would have been well equipped with them. Furthermore, by not doing anything with the knowledge that we have, we are allowing things to get worse. The more we complain and attempt to do something, the better chance that we have at being heard. People have the ability to maybe not rid this world of its machines and large corporations, but to make them safer for the world, and us so that we can allow the Earth to do what it should be: providing for us, as it always has been. By not doing anything about it, we are just killing this planet further. III. The term “biopiracy” and its definition could not better describe some of the things that are taking place. When biopiracy takes place, the places or people who were originally the discoverers are not credited, nor is the specific country that the object was found in paid. Even when there is already a name attached to the object or process in question, the larger corporation that uses it most usually takes on the name as founder. They take on the patents, or the legal rights of the knowledge (Shiva). This is, naturally, done out of greed, as is almost everything else in the systems of globalization. Unfortunately, in many cases it is difficult to pinpoint the exact founder of a specific object, process, or bit of knowledge. Many names and countries can be traced back to a single thing, confusing researchers as to who really deserves the credit. Biopiracy is something that is also very common, presenting too many cases to even begin considering how many people and countries are not getting the credit that they deserve. IV. Given the information presented in the article, I believe that the ecology, economy, globalization, and human welfare are all interlinked. When something does not go well with one thing, it damages something else, and then goes the full circle until all of the aspects have been further ruined. Each role plays an even bigger role in each of the given aspects, and since each aspect is part of the bigger picture, even the slightest bit of damage can be dangerous to this world. The ecology and globalization should not be put into the shaky hands of politics. “Almost universally the agenda of ecological change has been displaced by the agenda of globalization (Globalternative).” Both the ecology and globalization need to be considered when trying to decide what is best for everyone and everything. Unfortunately, the actual concerns are not as important as the money that can be made by industrializing everything. The more we rely on the greedy party to get what we need for this planet and ourselves, the worse off we are. V. Human welfare is being shunted aside as big, money-hungry corporations busy themselves with whatever can make them the most money. If greed were not such an issue, things might be easier to deal with. I agree entirely with what Shiva said throughout her interview. If we focused more on what should be done and the natural ways that we can achieve those things, as opposed to who can make the most money, then people would be better off, and there would be less poverty. It is sad to say that this world runs off greed and superiority, and not the needs and concerns of those who inhabit it. References Armoudian, Maria. “Why We Face Both Food and Water Crises.” AlterNet. 2008. Heinrich Böll Foundation. “Globalternative.” 2005. Online. Available http://www.globalternative.org/en/web/41.htm. Shiva, Vandana. Biopiracy. 1997. South End Press. Read More