CON: THE GREEN REVOLUTION IS NOT THE ANSWER TO THE WORLD’S FOOD SUPPLY PROBLEMS

The material below can be used to prepare your side of the debate. You do nor have to use it all.  Select and organize appropriate facts and arguments to present a coherent position.

• The Green Revolution was developed by scientists and can only increase crop yields as promised if the farmer is knowledgeable. Many poor uneducated farmers do not have the skills to succeed.

• High-yield crops variety crops are more prone to disease and pests. This means that the seed varieties need to be changed every few years to keep ahead of diseases.

• Many of the Green Revolution projects have been a “flash in the pan:’ They have not been able to maintain their initial success.

• High-yield seeds are high-yielding only with the use of fertilizer, irrigation, and pesticides. Farmers need to have money to make the initial investment.

• The increasing use of chemicals and pesticides has contaminated our soil and water and is threatening our wildlife Increased pesticide use encourages the development of stronger pests, for which new and stronger forms of pesticides must be developed.

• Pesticides also kill beneficial insects, As these natural predators die off, harmful insect populations soar.

• Increased mechanization of agriculture stimulated by he Green Revolution has taken jobs away from poor agricultural laborers.

• The new varieties of seed do not grow as well in climates different from where they were developed. For example, the miracle seed developed in Mexico has not done well in Kenya.

• The Green Revolution helps the prosperous farmer more than the poor farmer. In India, the benefits of the Green Revolution have been much greater for the large landowners than for small farmers. Almost half of the peasants own less than an acre or have no land at all. For them, the Green Revolution has not taken place,

• When small farmers have tried to get loans to purchase irrigation equipment, fertilizer) and pesticides, they have been charged high rates of interest by the large landowners and businessmen. Some farmers have lost the land that they did own when they could not repay their loans.

• Scientists who developed the Green Revolution techniques often worked in very controlled environments. They did not understand the reality of village life in developing countries.

• Over fertilization and overuse of pesticides have caused serious environmental damage which is becoming more and more obvious as time goes by. Long-term effects on the environment are not known. The unskilled use of irrigation in some areas of the world, such as southern Iraq and Egypt, has resulted in salinization of the land, which then becomes useless unless the process is reversed.