The Green Revolution
Ms. Scribner
Ecology
3 Agricultural Worlds—The Haves
• Europe, N. America,
Australia, and New
Zealand
• have sufficient cropland
to meet their food
needs
• Have efficient farm
production systems
enabling the production
of more food from the
same amount of land.
3 Agricultural Worlds—The Rich
Have-Nots
• land-poor Japan and
Singapore as well as
rapidly developing
countries such as
Indonesia, China, Chile
and Peru
• These countries are
unable to grow enough
food for their populations
but can afford to purchase
imports to make up for it
3 Agricultural Worlds—The Poor
Have Nots
• The majority of the
developing world
(3 billion people total)
• These countries are
unable to produce
enough food for their
populations and
cannot afford the
imports to make up for
it.
The Context of the Green Revolution
• During the 1960s and early 70s, Malthus’
ideas came back into fashion (Club of Rome)
as there were dire predictions of the world’s
population outstripping resources—
particularly in India.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
Lg9-HTtgFOk
What is the Green Revolution?
• “The application of science and technology to
creating High-Yielding Varieties of major food
staples (mainly grains)
• In other words, to get more food out of the
same area of land—increasing the productivity
of land.
Where did all this come from?
• During the 1940s, pioneering work was done
by Prof. Norman Borlaug in the hybridization
of plants.
• Essentially, he produced dwarf varieties so
that more of the energy went into food
production, than into growing tall.
GREEN REVOLUTION
• Greatest effect felt in LEDCs--The LEDC (Less
Economically Developed Country) sector includes
countries with a lower GDP and a lower standard of
living than MEDC (More Economically Developed
Country) countries
• Adoption of new, improved varieties of
grains
• Application of better agricultural techniques
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Irrigation
Mechanization
Use of fertilizer
Use of pesticides
The Green Revolution in India
• 1966-67: India was one of the first countries to
benefit from a high-yielding seed program
• Turning Point for Indian Agriculture
• 5 cereals: wheat, rice, maize, sorghum and
millet
– Drought-resistant
– Shorter growing season
– Very responsive to fertilizer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq8biCgvLM
Advantages
•
•
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•
•
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Yields are 2-4 times greater
The shorter growing season
Farming incomes have increased
Diet of rural communities is now varied
Local infrastructure has been upgraded
Employment has been created for industries
that supply farms with supplies and machinery
What did it do?
• It produced spectacular increases in yields and
production, and we must not lose sight of
that.
• There is no doubt that it made more food
available than would have existed without it.
Principal Beneficiaries of the Green Revolution
Mythology of Green Revolution
• https://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=gIdMMwT
Tklc
“Green Revolution”
Pesticides
Disadvantages
• Overuse pollutes water
systems
• Use decreases natural
populations of insects
that feed other
organisms causing a
trophic cascade
Criticisms of the Green Revolution
• Food Insecurity of poor not
addressed
• Cash Crops: food flows from
the poor and hungry nations
to the rich and well-fed
nations
• Green Revolution not
sustainable
– destroys resource base on
which agriculture
depends
Criticisms of the Green Revolution
• Early, poor had little access
to credit
• Could not buy seeds,
fertilizer, irrigation to make
Green Revolution work
• Wealthy invested, got
richer, drove out poor
• Now, more emphasis on
loans for poor
U.S. Farm Squeeze
• Since WWII
– number of farms decreased
2/3
– average farm size up ½
– rural communities gutted
– production costs up from 50%
of gross to 80%
Increased Dependency
• Poor countries must
import:
–
–
–
–
Seeds
Fertilizer
Pesticides
Herbicides
• Cost to India increased
600% 1960-1980
• Biotechnology leads to
more dependency
Disadvantages of the Green Revolution
• High amounts of fertilizers and pesticides are needed
to optimize production. This is both economically and
environmentally costly
• New varieties require more weed control and are more
susceptible to pests and disease
• Middle and higher-income farmers have benefited
more than low-income farmers- thus widening the
income gap in rural communities and increasing rural
to urban migration
• Mechanization of farming has increased rural
unemployment
• Some new varieties have inferior taste
Unsustainable Agriculture
• Industrial agriculture =
– mining land to extract
maximum output
• “War” between humans and
weeds, insects and disease
• Market dictates weapons:
– pesticides and chemical
fertilizers
• We are destroying our foodproducing resources
Destruction of Ag Resources
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Desertification
Soil erosion
Pesticide contamination
Groundwater depletion
Salinization
Urban sprawl
Genetic resources
shrinking
• Fossil fuels depleting
The Green Revolution:
The Latest Concern
• A 1992 UN report found that even in countries
where food intake had risen, diseases associated
with vitamin and mineral deficiencies had
increased.
• These deficiencies were linked to consumption of
Green Revolution crops, which are low in
vitamins and minerals
• Because these crops have replaced common
produce, many people in the developing world
have extremely low levels of zinc, iron, and
vitamin A
The Green Revolution: The Latest
Concern
• In some countries, the majority of people
suffer from this hidden starvation
• People who are starved, never fulfill their
physical or intellectual potential
• The World Bank estimates that these vitamin
deficiencies are responsible for reducing the
GDP of the developing world by as much as
5%
Genetic Engineering:
The Next Green Revolution ?
http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_15/b3624011.htm
Next Green Revolution?
• Biotechnology will help
developing countries
accomplish things that they
could never do with
conventional plant
breeding”
• “I believe genetically
modified food crops will
stop world hunger.”
Norman Borlaug
Nobel Peace Prize
Biotechnology Critic
• Biotechnology development
– Same vision as chemical industry:
• Short term goals
– Enhanced yields, profit margins
• Nature should be dominated and
exploited
– forced to yield more
• Prefer quick solutions
– to complex ecological problems
• Reductionist thinking about farming
– Instead of integrated systems
• Agricultural success means
– Short term profits
– Not long term sustainability
-- Jane Rissler, Union of Concerned Scientists
“Golden Rice”
THE GREAT YELLOW HOPE
• In 1982, the Rockefeller
Foundation funded research into
rice varieties to promote global
health
• Nutritionally enhanced rice
– Used a daffodil gene
– Rice now produces beta-carotene
– The body converts beta-carotene to
vitamin A
– Blindness in LDCs is caused by
vitamin A deficiencies
• Time Magazine declares: “This
rice could save a million kids a
year.”
“Golden Rice”
THE GREAT YELLOW HYPE
• An 11 year-old child would need to eat
15 pounds of golden rice a day to
satisfy the minimum daily requirement
of vitamin A
• Conversion of beta-carotene to vitamin
A requires fat and protein in the diet
(these are lacking in LEDCs)
• Asians may not want to eat golden rice
– they prefer white rice over the more
nutrient rich brown rice which has
always existed
How to Feed 9 Billion People
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raSHAqV
8K9c (12 min)
The Hidden Costs of Hamburgers
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut3URdE
zlKQ (7:51 min)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yocja_N5
s1I Crash Course Agricultural Revolution