Fall Bulletin 2006 Vol. 22, No.3

The Green Revolution

There are many sides to the "green revolution" story starting with the fact that, if you think of "green" as denoting "sustainable" the green revolution wasn't very green. It was big on genetically modified seed, seed specially created to germinate with the help of chemical fertilizers and be compatible with chemical pesticides. It increased the costs of farming by introducing expensive seed, fertilizers and pesticides only affordable by big landowners and wealthy farmers. It helped to concentrate agriculture more completely in the hands of the big farmers, forcing small farmers to give up farming and move to the cities. Then too, the green revolution's reliance on genetically modified seed and chemicals and increased irrigation has resulted in the depletion of soils so even the benefit of increased yields was short-lived. Statistically, it created a bigger food supply but didn't put a dent in hunger or poverty. It made food more expensive. In India today, considered a showcase of the green revolution, 5,000 children reportedly die every day from malnutrition. At the recent annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) it was noted that "despite great improvements in food availability in the 1960s and 1970s the world will have 100 million extra hungry people by 2015." That's on top of the estimated 800 million hungry today.

Plenty is focused on helping small farmers utilize sustainable methods to improve production and profits over the long haul. We're convinced that the key to a healthier food supply is a movement away from chemically-dependent agri-business toward a great number of more widely distributed small farmers, community supported agriculture, farmers markets and urban gardens. Think globally, eat locally!

For more on this subject, visit the following websites:
http://www.foodfirst.org/media/opeds/2000/4-greenrev.html
http://www.grinningplanet.com/2004/11-02/green-revolution-world-hunger-article.htm