Green Revolution Essay

Interaction between existence and the environs has always had a great importance in the development of humankind according to Marx, what differentiates humans from other animals is the fact that humans can transform their surroundings to suit their shoots, through labor. The greens transition is not the exception to that. In times of need the human being manipulated its environment to be suitable for its development, however, the question lingers, how efficient was it, how positive?The atomic number 19 Revolution, from 1945 to the portray, was motivated by the need to increase the production of f atomic number 18 to supply for the increasing demand as population grew, to promote national self-sustainability in terms of food for thought. However, during that period the effect of the Revolution have been detrimental to the environment and edict they have damaged agricultural diversity and heritage, damaged the lands, and put at risk food security also, they have widened the g ap between the unfeignedly inscrutable and the very poor, monopolizing the food industry.The Green Revolution originated after an urgent need to promote food security with a growing trend in global population, as a way to promote self-sustainability and independence. As it is clear in the report given by the Food and Agriculture Organization (DOC 2), in the period ranging from around 1929 (great depression) and 1945 (end of World War II) the global food supply index was below the world population. What this means is that there was literally not plenteous food being produced world wide to feed the world population.This struggle of human kind to stay afloat in supplying the minimum of necessity for survival meant that a change needed to occur. The answer, as Dr. Norman Borlaug stated in his Nobel Lecture (DOC 4) was not simply plant more in the ontogenesis nations, since the lands in those atomic number 18as were tired, worn out, depleted of plant nutrientsClearly, what the docu ment summonss is that a new, more effective way of growing food had to be developed. In fact, Dr.Borlaug states that the priority of the developments of the common transmutation concentrated in the millions that were lurked by hunger, a large problematic that clearly was under the spotlight. As a proof that the world was prioritizing the deficient food supply is the statement given by President Harry Truman (DOC 3). President Truman was the leader of the most powerful nation in the world at the time, the unrivaled with the largest technological developments, and his word was the one that would set the course of the world.This particular speech is vital, since it is the inaugural speech, where he was to set the priorities of the goernment and address the world with what the United States had as a course for the future. In this speech, he clearly refers to the shocking figure that more than half the people of the world are living in conditions near misery and says that the United States bequeath help provide technical knowledge to produce more food In the speech President Truman refers often to liberty, thus meaning that self-sustainability will provide freedom.This speech is the perfect example, the jewel of the trend that the world was seeing with regard to prioritizing food. The mention of technical knowledge is vital in the construction of the green revolution as a response to the lack of food, with technological developments in the agricultural field. Some have said that the Green Revolution has been a success in improving the food industry, and improving living conditions for everyone neverthe slight the numbers today reflect a mediocre success.Indian rector for food and agriculture (1964-1967) states in an interview (DOC 5) that the farmers of the state of Punjab competed to use the technology that was introduced by the green revolution the best. It is stated with a positive connotation, as to refer to the great feats of Punjab. This seems very po sitive, however, the most likely reason for this to have occurred is the fact that multinational corporations were kicking them out of the market and they were forced into utilizing the technology that those same corporations were alarming on them.If this were true, which it most likely is, as it has happened in many places around the world, it would discredit the great success that the Green Revolution supposedly is. Furthermore, the claim is that the Green Revolution has brought prosperity, however, to whom, to the ones that were rich already? A perfect example of this negative impact of the Green Revolution is the communion between Mrs. Dula and the UnitedNations official (DOC 6), which gives a not very realistic perspective of the impact of the green Revolution and is concentrated exclusively in the sector of the very rich. This document is indeed preferably revealing, as the speaker is an aristocratic woman of Mexico, probably a housewife who sees the world through the optic of his husband, a man who earns a salary if the revolution which he works for is successful in fact, she is most likely part of one of the clubs she talks about herself.The occasion of this statement is a simple conversation with a UN official, probably at some sort of a social event, where the high class is all joined to bilkher, with perfectly slanted people who are not really analyzing the global impact of the Green Revolution. This document gives a crystal clear proof of how much the Green Revolution has made the rich Mexican farmers richer probably at the expense of making the poor laborers, poorer, however, this document presents only one, very bright demonstrate of view to snitch the revolution.With regards to India once again, socially, they sell the idea of improvement, like in the report of the State of Punjab (DOC 9) where it says that the Green Revolution has seen with it the emergence of middle and rich peasants a very undesirable euphemism to conceal the actual situ ation. This document seems to give a perspective of social growth and development, of a population going for education, yet once again, it seems very idealistic in its tone, when in reality India has totally different conditions.With regards to that, India has one of the largest Gini indexs in the world, meaning a huge social inequality, and has one of the smallest middle classes in the world, which has hurt even more throughout the years, meaning that in reality, India may have had a somewhat positive year, but the general trend is of a very pronounced downturn in social progress, all related to the Green Revolution which is destroying the small farmers. The Green Revolution, in truth has brought more ill than it has brought good, in the environmental and social aspects.Regarding environmental harm, the FAO Wheat Yield report (DOC 1) is very good in demonstrating the introduction of massive scale crops that the Green Revolution brings ahead with it. The introduction of these crop s damages the lands since they are not prone to such production. The graphs show that in both Mexico and India the crop yields were extremely irregular, and as time passed they have stupefy even more, this is due to the fact that they are not proper to those areas and its planting is something totally synthetic and with complete disrespect towards the natural balance.The article by Dr. Vandana shiva (DOC 8) reveals how much damage the crops, especially Genetically Modified Organisms do to the land they are planted in. The reduced genetic diversity, increased vulnerability to pests, soil erosion, irrigate shortages are effect that will leave marked the land for a long time, as Dr. Shiva states, and are a threat to future generations, which will have totally barren land where it will be impossible to plant food. Dr. Shiva also refers to the social problematic that the Green Revolution is planting alongside its seeds.For instance the fight for water to provide irrigation, previously not needed in India, has lead to conflict and violence and as it has become a worldwide trend, the career for water dominance is leading to both local and interstate water conflicts. This clearly shows how disadvantageous the spread of the Green Revolution has been, since it has brought unbounded changes that have not been made responsibly, but rather abruptly, causing enormous damage. Dr.Shiva is an Indian Physicist, and being from India she probably has had a very direct connexion with the Green Revolution, considering that one of its birthplaces was in fact the State of Punjab. In this occasion she is writing for the Ecologist magazine, a publication read by people with primary enkindle in the environmental issues, including organization leaders and maybe politicians who will probably get concerned, especially due to the tone of annoyance and hatred that she employs in the article.Expanding on social implications, the Guatemalan National Coordinating Committee of Indigenous peasants (DOC 10) gives a different perspective. Although it may sound somewhat as mysticism from indigenous people, express that they have contaminated the seeds is not a joke, considering the hormones that can be found in GMO plantations. This also acknowledges a vital issue, the loss of diversity and heritage that society is killing with the systematic Green Revolution trends, like the Mayan traditions, which have been present for five thousand years.Furthermore, the social disaster does not stop there, but stumbles over women, which according to the FAO Newsletter (DOC 7) have been forced to change their job. In this case the implications have made woman, traditionally in other roles, have even less opportunities to succeed, as the increased need for cash income made the woman be forced to work. This implies a social catastrophe since it denies the right of woman to equal opportunities, which are stripped off with the Green Revolution, which makes them simply one more laborer f orced to work.Additional to the information presented in the documents it would be vital to contain the point of view of a small scale male farmer that has to compete with the multinational corporations, which have been installed after the start of the Green Revolution circa 1945. This would be grand since it would show the first hand effects of the monopolies that the Green Revolution has brought, with regards to the social impact it has made, and whether that impact is positive or negative.As discussed throughout the essay, the Green Revolution, which has lasted from 1945 until the present day, was originated with a need to secure food production in a starving world. However its effects were not so positive, since today many starve, and the Green Revolution has damaged the environment and widened the gap between the social classes. The setup of crops that have give no benefit to the places in which they are grown, with complete ignore to the ecological balance that was being des troyed have caused issues ranging from soil erosion to water shortages and crops with pest vulnerability.The Green Revolution has also made the rich farmers richer at the cost of the poor being poorer, since the costs of the new technologies are not easily accessible, but the yields that they provide take the small farmers out of business. In general, although legitimate governments sponsor the Green Revolution and make it seem positive, it has brought about large changes in the way humans interact with the environment, with a generalized destruction of it to get short-term solutions to the problem of food shortages.