Seed: The Untold Story Page #6

white gold seeds

of Monsanto.

So when Hanuman comes as

a salesman of Monsanto,

they believe in them.

So that was the first trap

through which they took over.

Then they also told the farmer

"Why are you using these

old seeds? Sell them to us."

A farmer has always had seed,

and a farmer would say

"Oh, they're giving me

some money for the seed.

"I'll just get it from

my neighbor tomorrow."

Not realizing the neighbor

has also been approached

in the same way,

and the next village,

and the next village.

In one season,

this thing they called

seed replacement

has destroyed the entire

native seed supply.

You have a seed

dictatorship established,

then the farmer can't get out.

Farmers will be forced to come

back to buy seed every year.

We could have very,

very large scale famine.

But unlike all famines of

the past, no resurrection,

because every famine of the

past, seed was always there.

This time's famine will

be based on a seed famine.

What this free-trade

system has given us is

instead of seed being "Of

the farmers, by the farmers,

"for the farmers

and all citizens,"

it is now seed "For

the corporations,

"of the corporations".

NAFTA will create the

world's largest trade zone,

and create 200,00

jobs in this country.

When NAFTA was introduced

between United

States and Mexico,

all of the sudden

the US was selling

subsidized corn into Mexico

that was below the cost

of production in Mexico,

forcing a couple million

farmers off their land.

(soft, somber strings music)

We planted the seeds

of that migration.

A lot of that corn is

contaminated with transgenics.

We are destroying the basis

of the world's agriculture.

(moves into simple

and peaceful music)

Oaxaca is the region of Mexico

where subsistence

agriculture holds on.

The subsistence agriculture

is slowly being phased out.

But if that agriculture is gone,

we have lost that

resources for our future.

Our diet has been our plants,

our seeds,

our fruits.

Our challenge is to

preserve native seeds

Otherwise it will

be very difficult

for our communities to survive.

(women sings in Spanish)

(church bells chime)

(moves into soft,

festive guitar music)

Itanoni is a

doorway to the world

of corn that exists in

the grandpa's villages.

(waiter speaks in Spanish)

In Mexico the

traditional tortillerias

are disappearing.

I work with farmers to

create the market they need.

When we have extra corn

we sell to the

restaurant Itanoni.

We're getting famous

because of the corn.

[Amado] This treasure

can only be preserved

by reproducing it.

(calm and relaxing sitar music)

My name is Suman Khulko.

I live in a small village

of Ranchi in Eastern India.

I am the only daughter.

My father is handicapped.

When I was young

my grandparents had passed away.

I would visit a wise

woman who was blind.

She taught me about

traditional seeds,

so I started collecting seeds.

My mother had no

interest in saving seeds,

so I would hide the

seeds from my mother.

We were told if

we used chemicals

our farming would be better.

My brother saw farmers

using chemicals

and making more money.

He said to me, "We will

do chemical farming."

I said, "Don't use chemicals."

But he didn't listen.

Our family will drown in debt.

It hurt to the core of my heart.

My uncle took a

loan from the bank,

bought seeds,

and planted them.

The rains did not come.

His mind stopped working.

He went completely mad.

He committed suicide

by drinking the

chemical pesticide.

When I heard what my uncle did,

I started thinking

of my brother.

[Brother] We are

short on money.

How will we arrange

for this money?

Our hybrid seeds got

a fungus disease.

These hybrid seeds are

not useful for next year.

[Vandana] We have lost

270,000 farmers to suicide.

(somber orchestra music)

Pioneer Dupont

and DOW chemical,

they have all the acreage leased

all the way up

from the mountains,

all the way down to the ocean,

and this is where all the

experimentation goes on.

This is the dust

that's blowing in the fields.

It blows over the cliffs

and into our homes

and we breathe this stuff.

The neighborhood is filled with

people who have passed away

of some form of cancer.

So many people back

here have died.

My wife, she got breast

cancer. She almost died.

We just could not gamble with

her life. She had to leave.

Then I started getting

worse and worse.

I would gasp for air.

If I stay here much

longer, I might die.

I have to move.

I'm getting weaker and

weaker and I can feel it,

that's the warning sign for me.

These chemical

corporations occupy lands

that are considered very

sacred to native Hawaiians.

Our land, our aina, and

everything that comes from it,

that is our ancestor.

As a native

Hawaiian, it's, well,

it's a disgrace to our culture.

There really will be nothing

left for our children

if no one is

willing to speak up.

The future of Hawaii

is all at stake.

Everything I love

is being threatened.

(protesters speak in Hawaiian)

I'm fighting for

the whole island.

Say something, or die.

(festive music)

Six thousand people, there out

of the love in their heart.

For our children, for

our land, for our ocean.

I met with the

chemical companies.

They would say

"No, we are not experimenting

with pesticides."

And they would tell

me, "This is safe,

"there's nothing wrong

with this stuff."

Could you tell me

what you are spraying?

And they refused to tell me.

The more these companies

would lie to me,

I had to do something.

And that's when we started

piecing Bill 2491 together.

To get disclosure.

Could any of you disclose to me

the amount of general used

pesticide that you use

on an annual basis?

With all due respect, I

asked you an hour ago,

if you would tell me today

how much general use

pesticide you are using

and you said no

with your silence.

I would say that I don't

think I would want to comply

with the bill as is.

My second son

here, Pa' akatanao,

was born with an extremely

rare heart defect.

Because our son was dying,

his heart unable to pump his

own blood through his body

and endured nine surgeries

during those months.

All I know is that

while pregnant,

I took every precaution to grow

a healthy baby inside of me.

By not passing this bill,

you are telling me that I

don't have the right to know.

If I had known,

I would have chosen to

not expose my unborn child

as I innocently worked day

in and day out in Kai'kaha.

If I seem a little emotional,

it's because it

really hits home to me

speaking on behalf

of unborn son.

My son has a condition

called gastroschisis,

basically the stomach

is on the outside.

I don't blame anybody but I

just want to stop the poisoning!

I have a baby in the world

that has to get cut

open right away.

Consider this,

that something might be

wrong on this island, 'kay?

Something might be wrong 'cause

children don't deserve this.

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