The Green Revolution

The Green Revolution began during the 1970s and 1980s in an attempt to increase the nutrition in food crops and to make species of food crops more uniform and robust. Scientists developed strains of hybrid plants, such as wheat, rice, and maize that quantitatively produced more food that was of better quality. This research was led by Dr Norman Borlaug in Mexico and others under the sponsorship of the Rockefeller Foundation during the 1960s.

The reason that the Green Revolution began was that the population of humans was increasing exponentially (in a J curve), while the amount of food produced per year was only increasing geometrically (in a straight line). The carrying capacity of the Earth was being strained. The Green Revolution seemed to solve everyone’s problems.

There were several techniques that scientists used to help increase yield and appearance of crops. First, genetic engineering was used, such as cross breeding plants for desirable qualities. Other methods were also used, such as expensive fertilizers, irrigation, heavy machinery, and pesticides and herbicides. These techniques were all used together to dramatically increase the yield of crops in many different third world countries, whose population was increasing at the fastest rate.

There were many remarkable achievements of the Green Revolution. Generally, it increased the crop yield in India, Pakistan, Philippines, Mexico, Sri Lanka and other underdeveloped countries. Specifically, it turned Mexico from a country that imported half of its wheat consumed (1949) to a crop exporter by 1964. The Green Revolution is credited with saving 1 billion people from starvation in India and Pakistan alone. It is an undisputed fact that without methods stemming from the Green Revolution, the Earth would not be able to meet the basic food requirements of today’s population.

However, there are many criticisms that have risen against the Green Revolution, especially from environmentalists today and people who believe in organic farming.

The first types of critics focus on the actual quality of the food produced. Because of the uniformity of crops and the herbicides used, there is less biodiversity of plant species. This is potentially bad because if a certain type of fungus or bacteria infected the plants, then an entire crop of plants could be destroyed (similar to the Irish Famine) and there would be nothing to eat. Also, there are many bad side effects caused by using so many herbicides and pesticides. These products are essentially poison, and it is important for people to wear protection when using them. However, in the third world countries that do use Green Revolution techniques the most, the farmers cannot afford protective suits. As a result, many people are being slowly poisoned through gradual absorption of these pesticides. Pesticides and their runoff also kill plants and animals unintentionally. For example, there is a certain species of fish that lives in rice paddies that many people ate, but because of the pesticides, they are rare and usually unhealthy.

Many people also criticize the social effects of the Green Revolution. Farmers are becoming increasingly dependent on foreign corporations for their livelihood. In the past, farmers were totally self-sufficient, but today, it seems they depend on corporations for everything. Farmers must buy new seed every year because the companies have genetically engineered the plants to be sterile. They must also buy fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides to ensure that their crops will be successful. This maximizes companies’ profit at the expense of farmers’ around the world. Also, because the new crops require so much less labor, there is a whole sector of the population that is displaced because there is no need for them to work. The increase in slums in the city and the urban poor has been partially attributed to this.

There is also a major question of how sustainable the practices used actually are. For example, the heavy irrigation used can result in erosion and greater soil salinity over time. Also, Green Revolution techniques actually drain the soil of nutrients. The farmers then move on to different plots of land, or try to saturate the soil with more chemicals to compensate, the long term effects of which are unknown.

Today, many environmentalists promote organic, sustainable farming instead of massive, corporate Green Revolution farming. Organic farming focuses on local needs and requirements. It also emphasizes more holistic methods of farming that maintain biodiversity, natural biological cycles, and natural soil biological activity. The general yield of organic farming compared to Green Revolution farming has not been conclusively studied, but it is probable that organic farming does not yield the same quantity of food as consistently. However, there is about a 50% lower expenditure on fertilizer and energy, and 97% less pesticides with organic farming, when compared to conventional farming.