Food

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Food
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• Wright 2008

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Ernst 2000
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Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology 2004
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Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology 2004
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G. Conway, From the Green Revolution to the
Biotechnology Revolution Food for Poor People in
the 21st Century

• The Green Revolution had real failings. The new
  rice and wheat varieties were
• designed for irrigated land. They had short stems
  and required only shallow root
• systems. They were bred to put all of their
  growth energy into seed production
• that is, wheat and rice grain. To thrive, they
  needed more water and fertilizer
• than traditional varieties, a lot more. Increased
  use of pesticides created pesticide
• resistance, while killing off some beneficial
  insects. Fertilizers allowed
• farmers to avoid costly and labor-intensive work
  on agricultural preparation
• and maintenance, such as soil aeration, crop
  rotation, and working organic
• matter into the soil. But these steps, we
  understand today, are key to long-term
• sustainability. The results of omitting them were
  soil erosion, nutrient depletion,
• falling water tables and salinization, even in
  some of the worlds most fertile
• regions like Indias vast Punjab. US and European
  intensive agricultural systems
• have similar drawbacks.