5.3 The Green Revolution

Solving Starvation

With population increases hitting a peak, resourceful and efficient methods of food production became more and more necessary for our society. Producing more food for less money can solve some of the world's hunger problems as well as alleviate expensive product prices.

The Green Revolution started in the late 1960’s, and focused on increasing agriculture production. One of the leaders was Norman Borlaug, often called the “Father of the Green Revolution. He is credited for saving over a billion people from starvation.  He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for using new technologies to create high-yielding varieties of wheat and other grain plants inexpensively.

Impacts of Growth

This shift in agricultural practices has had positive impacts, but the strategies and practices have raised new concerns. The use of GMO (genetically modified organisms) plants, new fertilizers, pesticides, and advances in irrigation are some of the new strategies being implemented today that created new challenges. These challenges include pesticides killing good insects for agriculture and harming other wildlife.

GMOs are variants of plants in which their DNA has been altered. In short, their genetic codes are changed in order to preserve freshness, longevity, and premium consumption quality. While this does provide us with better food on paper, concerns regarding the alteration arise due to fears of inorganic material or foreign reactions.

Increased farming modernization includes more reliance on petroleum-based fuels, but it has led to increased profits and efficiency. Also, the modernization of farming is a concern because the traditional “family farms” are vanishing. Agriculture now prefers industry and efficiency which unfortunately depletes more customary farming practices.

Image Courtesy of Wikimedia

🎥 Watch: AP Environmental Science - Agricultural Practices