Green Revolution and GMOs
By: Jada Njie
What were the causes and results of the Bengal Famine in 1942?
The resulted in the estimated four million deaths in eastern India.
There were three basic elements in the methods of the Green Revolution:
2.) Double-cropping existing farmland was a primary feature in the Green Revolution. The annual monsoon, crop season, was not producing enough to sustain the population. In turn came the idea of two monsoons: The Natural Monsoon and the Artificial Monsoon.
3.) Using seeds with superior genetics was the scientific aspect of the Green Revolution. This developed new strains of high yield value seeds. The credit of developing this strain goes to Dr. M. P. Singh.
Expansion of Farming Areas
Genetically Superior Seeds
Monsoon
Results of the Green Revolution
2.) The Green Revolution created many jobs not only for agricultural workers but industrial workers by the creation of factories.
3.) Countries, like Canada, which faced shortages in agricultural labor, asked the Indian government to supply them with farmers experienced in the methods of the Green Revolution. This improved India's foreign exchange earnings.
Limitations
1.) India's agriculture output still occasionally falls short of demand. The Green Revolution has not made India permanently self-sufficient.
2.) In terms of crops, India remains largely dependent of food grains only, rather than all kinds of agriculture produce.
GMOs
What are GMOs?
Positives of GMOs
- GMO foods have been modified to make them more resistant to insect pests.
- Oklahoma State University reports that the increase of GMO crops and animals often requires less chemicals, time and tools, and may help to reduce environmental pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and soil erosion.
- The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations reports that some GMO foods have been engineered to be more nutritious in terms of mineral or vitamin content.
- Growing food with GMOs can result in better-tasting fruits and vegetables that stay fresh longer and are naturally resistant to insects.
- By developing special traits in plants, GMOs allow for more food to be grown in more places using fewer chemicals and fewer natural resources.
Negatives of GMOs
- By mixing genes from totally unrelated species, genetic engineering unleashes a host of unpredictable side effects.
- GM crops and their associated herbicides can harm birds, insects, amphibians, marine ecosystems, and soil organisms. They reduce bio-diversity, pollute water resources, and are unsustainable.
- Allergic reactions can be a result of GMOs. The genetic modtfication often mixes of adds proteins that were't derived from the original plant, causing new allegric reactions to the human body.
- There have been isolated cases of animals dying after eating GMOs.
- GMO crop production is lowering US Yields and Increasing pesticide use.
- http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/07/30/the-intensifying-debate-over-genetically-modified-foods/