Is Man Destroying His Own Food Supply? -Variety - Essential to Life

The Green Revolution

Through massive government and corporate campaigns, farmers, in famine-prone lands were persuaded to replace their diverse crops with uniform, high-yield grains, particularly rice and wheat.  These "miracle" grains were hailed as the solution to world hunger.  But they were not cheap-seeds cost up to three times the normal. Yields also depended on  chemicals, including fertilizers, not to mention  such costly equipment as tractors.   Still, with government subsidies, the green revolution took off.  "While it has saved millions from starvation," says Raeburn, "[it] is now threatening the world's food security." 

In effect, the green revolution may have provided short-term grains at the cost of long-term risks. Uniformity of crops soon became commonplace across entire continents-while the intensive use of fertilizers encouraged weed growth, and pesticides destroyed beneficial insects as well as pests. In rice paddies, toxic chemicals killed fish, shrimps, crabs, frogs, and edible herbs and wild plants-most being valuable supplementary foods. Chemical exposure also led to cases  of poisoning among farmers.

A teacher in the Biology Department of the Open University in the United Kingdom, Mr. Mae-Wan Ho, wrote:  "It is now indisputable that monoculture crops introduced since the 'Green Revolution' have adversely affected biodiversity present in cultivated plants a century ago is now lost, mainly because of industrial farming practices. 

A paper published by the Worldwatch Institute warns that "the ecological risks we take in adopting genetic uniformity are enormous."  How are these risks kept at bay?  Agriculture scientists and potent chemicals are required  as well as financing for farmers. Yet, there are no guarantees.  Genetic uniformity contributed to a devastating corn blight in the United States and the loss of half a million acres of rice in Indonesia. In recent years, however, a new farming revolution has begun, one that involves the manipulation of life at a more fundamental level-the gene. 

Next time: Is Man Destroying His Own Food Supply? - Variety-Essential to Life/The Gene Revolution

From the Awake! magazine