In order for the human population to reach what it has today, 7 billion people, agriculture has had to make advancements in order to keep up. Food is essential for the living. Inventions like the tractor, irrigation, and the combine harvester has allowed for everyone to have food on the table. It allows for the mass production of cheaper products to feed the country. But perhaps one of the greatest advancements in the agricultural world is the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution was based on making more food for the larger population to promote industrialized agriculture in the third world. It was sparked to address the issue of malnutrition the developing world (Sebby, 2010). In 1963, a scientist by the name of Borlaug went to India and Pakistan which were both on the brink of famine and introduced a new hybrid of wheat grain. This is genetically altered wheat grain helped save the areas from famine (‘Green Revolution’, 2003). The Green Revolution used genetically modified foods, GMOs, to help produce higher yields of food to provide and support large populations. The Green Revolution also involved the development of chemical fertilizer and heavy irrigation. Many argued that the chemical fertilizer was unhealthy for the environment, but others said that it was better because with the fertilizer came higher yields thus less land was needed for more crops (‘Green Revolution’, 2003).
However, this management of ecosystems for the benefit of everybody, has led to some trouble. For example, when GMOs are created, biotech companies would patent the seeds and leave out the small farmer. Biotech companies even patented seeds that weren't GMOs. In 2004, Iraq had five million acres of wheat showcasing an abundance of biodiversity. Yet when the U.S. enacted Order 81, farmers suddenly couldn't use the seeds that they have been developing or saving. The biotech companies that had patented non-GMO seeds were using them to create GMO seeds. Biotech companies stole their rights to grow traditional crops. Although I think GMOs are good for food, they should not be owned by a singular organization. If the GMO seeds have not been patented, it could have introduced a whole new spectrum of biodiversity to those Iraqi farmers. But still the corrupt biotech companies terrorized the land. And to make matters worse they began handing out their GMO seeds. Only their GMO seeds. They made it so that Iraqi Farmers could not grow anything else (Ray, 2012). As more and more farmers grew these GMO varieties the culture and diversity of wheat grain grew smaller and smaller. Indefinitely extinct.
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In the same manner, during the 1980s and 90s, corporations would buy up seed companies to gain profits from genetic engineering. They would stop selling the products of seed companies, and replace the previous seeds with the genetically modified ones they made. Corporate giants dominate genetic engineering with patents and kill off the biodiversity the small farms produce (Ray, 2012).
The idea of the Green Revolution is wholesome and pure. It's supposed to bring food to the tables of families who need it, but with biotech companies running the show the Green Revolution has strayed from its original intent. I think GMOs are good thing but they should not be kept behind closed curtains. Nor should previous crops be eliminated from the game of natural selection. Consumers need variety and everyone should have the option of what they should grow or eat. Instead of keeping GMO seeds to themselves, biotechnology should be open for everyone to experiment with. It could lead to some amazing discoveries, smaller farmers could still be supported, and it would maintain biodiversity as nature intended.
The Green Revolution was a significant agricultural advancement that has allowed the world to progress to what it is today. Without it, so much more land would be used for farming therefore destroying more of the environment, more third world countries would be without food, and we wouldn't be able to mass produce the amount of food needed to support the growing global population. As our population shows no signs of plateauing, we should continue to develop new varieties of seeds and new methods to better the quality and amount of food production. Everyone should be able to eat in this world.
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