Trailer toxic tears | Hilbert Kamphuisen

In the little village of Chotian, Punjab, India, the farmers' cooperative society registered 25 farmer suicides related to debts in the last 7 years. Indian physicist, Dr. Vandana Shiva, blames the introduction of the Green Revolution in the 1960s. The Green Revolution was brought about the Nobel Prize winner Dr. Norman Borlaug and its aim was to end starvation in the Third World. The scientist Dr. Norman Borlaug developed high yielding varieties of rice and wheat seeds. These high yielding variety seeds require chemical fertilizers, pesticides and lots of water to enable them to grow. The Green Revolution led to increased food production but the environmental, social and cultural price that had to be paid was very high. The Green Revolution led to disharmony, indebtedness and as consequence suicides amongst farmers in Punjab, other parts of India and the world. A green revolution with no blessing. Toxic Tears tells the personal stories of those farmers who have been negatively affected by this Green Revolution project in the Punjab. It shows how global decisions are adversely affecting the very local.