Green Revolution Dbq

The Green Revolution refers to development in technology and initiatives used in agriculture in the 1930s to the 1960s. It increased agricultural production worldwide, particularly in developing nations. The leader of this revolution is Norman Borlaug, otherwise known as “Father of the Green Revolution.” The Green Revolution had many causes and consequences from 1945 to the present. Some causes were the inadequate amount of food available and land degradation. However, there were also consequences both negative and positive such as the new conflicts emerging and increase food supply.

One of the many causes of the Green Revolution is the inadequate amount of food during the early 20th century. As a result of the hysteria from WWII, food supplies were low as resources were being depleted in war and in colonies, food was not a priority for the imperial powers which led to famines in many. President Truman states that more than half of the people in the world are living in misery because of the

shortages of food (Doc. 2). This was because many of the new nations emerging from WWII weren’t industrialized enough for development on their own and depended on the imperial powers. When the powers such as Britain left India, the Indians didn’t have enough resources to feed its growing population. Dr. Norman Borlaug, the leading scientist of the Green Revolution says that “If fully implemented, the revolution can provide sufficient food for sustenance..” (Doc. 3). His goal for the Green Revolution was to bring food to the impoverished people in the world because the supply of food they have now is not enough to feed the growing human population.

A negative consequence of the Green Revolution is the emergence of chemical products and the competition of farmers.

Chidambaram, India’s minister for food and agriculture supports the use of technology in agriculture but it leads to many farmers competing for who is best at using the technology (Doc. 4). This is a negative consequence because the competition would lead to conflicts between farmers on resources in their contest to be the better farmer. Dr. Vandana Shiva, an Indian physicist points out that a result of the Green Revolution was that more chemicals were being inputted into the soil which would ultimately hurts the land (Doc. 6). As a physicist, her words have great credibility because as a scientist, she truly understands the damage chemical products can do to the environment. These chemicals include pesticides, hybrid seeds and synthetic fertilizers that could potentially harm the soil. The negative consequences of the Green Revolution can be seen in

Punjab.

There are multiple positive consequences of the Green Revolution. An major impact was the increased production of food over human population (Doc. 1). This was an improvement because the revolution led to a surplus of food which allowed for more specialized development in the nations other than making food. Another positive outcome was the increased quality of lifestyles. The Human Development Report issued by the State of Punjab shows how the Green Revolution brought on social changes and increasing aspirations (Doc.7). A reason for this due to the increased supply of food which leads to the time for people to focus on other priorities. In Mexico, the topography of the land changed as farmers grew wealthier (Doc. 5). The surge in sustenance resulting from the Green Revolution was a beneficial consequence.

In conclusion, the Green Revolution had many causes and provided both positive and negative consequences from 1945 to the present. One similar revolution would be the Neolithic Revolution. Both revolution had agricultural beginnings and resulted in the surplus of food. The surplus of food from both revolutions led to the uprising of the human population. Economically, the revolutions were beneficial for the welfare of human society as a whole but harmed the land environmentally since farming deteriorates the quality of the soil. However, both revolutions were necessary considering that both fix the issue of food shortages. Thus, the Green Revolution had many causes and consequences in the period from 1945 to the present.