Film Reaction of Movie the Cooperation

Film Reaction -The Cooperation

Film Reaction -- the Corporation

Unsettling Accounts

The chapter that dealt with the investigative reporters who worked for Fox News on a show about the prevalence of bovine growth hormone in our milk supplies particularly resonated with me. I was struck by what a microcosm this vignette is with regard to the production and disclosure of knowledge in contemporary society. Multiple and competing demands are nothing new for science, but the business of science has become increasingly complex. Scientific research and development, and the application of science in praxis, is impacted by available funding, governmental initiatives, extant research, the marketplace, and political will. It is not surprising, then, when competing demands collide.

An entire spectrum of reasons exists for why information that is important to consumers might not be made available to them, even when there is potential for or known evidence of harm to the public. That spectrum of reasons surely includes issues with the purposeful omission of pertinent scientific information in briefs provided to decision-makers; the uncertainty of relevant information causing dissemination to be limited, and perhaps -- sometimes -- the information is simply not yet known. The many iterations of the investigative report commissioned by Fox News on the presence of bovine growth hormone in cows' milk falls primarily under one category: Monsanto wished to limit its exposure for culpability with regard the potential harm their milk production processes posed to consumers.

For Monsanto, the decision was an easy one. Milk production increased when milk cows were administered growth hormone -- the practice is profitable. In order to avoid bad publicity that would impact sales revenue -- until the company could adjust its practices to be more consumer-friendly -- Monsanto threatened Fox News with legal action if the story about bovine growth hormone was released. This is a clear case of teleopathy, as Monsanto continued to drive toward increased short-term profits even in the face of news that would eventually link the company's practices with customer harm. The question posed in the film, "Who will defend the public's right to know?" This question is particularly salient since corporations own the news broadcasting enterprises, and the use of bovine growth hormones is still occurring in dairy practices in the United States, even though the practice has been banned in Canada and parts of Europe.

Expansion Plan

The role of The World Bank in the privatization of water in Bolivia was astonishing. The World Bank and the International Development Bank made water privatization a requirement of the Bolivian government in order to renew their state loans. Water prices increased as a result of the privatization, driving the poverty rate up by approximately two percent. The fact that marginalized people were forced into situations where they could not even collect and use rainwater is unconscionable. People were forced into paying for water, which they basically owned, before a foreign multinational company (Bechtel) obtained the funding that would enable them to own all of the water available to the people of Bolivia.