Lets play a game; it’s pretty simple in concept and forces
you to make a single decision.
Here we go! Would you
rather make quick cash in a short amount of time or earn cash slower and help
the environment? Next question,
would you rather have water to drink or a cotton shirt on your back? Last, would you rather ingest harmful
chemicals in your lungs to maintain your crops easier or pour your blood,
sweat, and tears into working harder?
Got your answers? If so,
then you’re a cut above the rest.
These issues plague about 20 million cotton farmers across the world and
the answers aren’t always easy.
We can now look at some information that could help us
navigate answers for these issues because the cultivation of cotton is far from
being sustainable. According to The Sustainability of Cotton article the
biodiversity is negatively affected by the use of pesticides and
chemicals. However, due to their
ease of use and effectiveness they are widely practiced. It is estimated that in the 12 leading
cotton-producing counties, 12-36% of the area under cotton cultivation is
affected by soil salinization (nutrient deficiency). Over time this can also lead to the farmland being abandoned
due to its lack of soil nutrients.
This soil salinization is associated with causing soil erosion. Adversely, Cotton, Inc. says that
cotton growers are making great strides to reduce soil erosion by encouraging
soil creation through conservation tillage. They also say it is common practice
to rotate cotton with other crops to help production. We know this is true in some instances, but for some farmers
continued use of their land yields a higher profit.
According to Cotton, Inc.’s video, “The Flexible Water Needs
of Cotton” cotton requires little water and is a draught friendly crop. At face value it would be easy for the
general public to believe. However,
most methods of irrigation are inefficient in delivering water to the
plants. It has been estimated that
cotton cultivation accounts for 1-6% of the world’s total freshwater withdrawal,
which we know is decreasing due to population growth. On a global scale
inefficient irrigation systems are only 40% efficient, leaving a whopping 60%
of all water used never reaches the plant!
According to Sustainability
of Cotton article cotton is produced in more than 100 countries with China
as the main producer. Why
China? As cotton production is
blooming, there is a constant need for cost reduction and cheaper
cultivation. It’s a no brainer,
cheap labor equals cheap cotton, but at what real cost? China has little to no
regulation of its pesticide usage or application leading workers to be exposed
to harmful chemicals. This
exposure leads to a minimum consequence of sickness, but can also result in
death. An estimated (global)
40,000 deaths occur each year.
This leaves us wondering if the organic farmers might be on the right
track of not using these chemicals at all.
Now empowered by knowledge let me ask you again, would you
rather…???
Hi, Kimberly! I had to chuckle at your thesis paragraph! Well played. You've done a nice job of tossing around the multiple perspectives on the sustainability of cotton. Great job!
ReplyDeleteDr. Armstrong,
DeleteThank you, I am glad you enjoyed it. I appreciate your feedback!
Kimberly,
ReplyDeleteGreat job this week! Your thesis was very entertaining and thought-provoking. To answer your primary question, I would rather earn my cash more slowly, while drinking water, AND working harder! (Kind of rhymes!) But while those are obvious answers to those questions, I can see how it would be much more difficult to decide when it comes to the cases brought up in the readings this week. Based on points that you made in your blog, it seems as though the REAL issues with cotton production are somewhat "sugar coated" when it comes to relaying the information onto consumers. By this I mean that we as consumers are not 100% informed of the damage that is inflicted onto the environment, and sort of receive only the outskirt of information. Would you agree? I feel as though I would never have known any of this information had I not taken a class like this one! Do you think that workers in China are fully aware of these effects before they agree to work in the garment production industry, or do they also receive "sugar coated" information?
Mallory,
DeleteFunny you should ask me this because I just posted a similar question to your blog. :) Yes, I agree that everything is sugar coated. From a Public Relations perspective it is better to "spin" the news (good and bad) as something positive happening. As the public we take everything at face value, unless we do some digging and educate ourselves or have an opportunity like this class. I never even thought to question the information I was being fed. As far as your question about China, I feel as though they arent informed of negative aspects of their jobs. However, they also have children working in sweatshops. I realize that under the radar this is something that could happen anywhere in the world, but we need to question how involved their government really is in regulating aspects of production. Its difficult to believe workers would continue to subject themselves to harsh chemicals and awful working conditions. However, I suppose unless I was in their shoes I wouldnt know the drivers that led me to taking the job in the first place. Perhaps with their dense population that is the only work they can find.
Thanks for posting and for the positive feedback!
I think that you are right-perhaps this type of work is all that people in China can find in order to support themselves and their families. It's very sad! But unfortunately this industry is worth billions, so I don't think it's going in a different direction any time soon. We will have to see!
Delete