5.3 The Green Revolution

The Green Revolution is..

the shift away from small family operated farms to large industrial scale agribusiness (happened before labor was done by hand)

The Green Revolution gives increase use…

of mechanization, GMOs, irrigation, fertilizers, and pesticides

The Green Revolution greatly increases land..

efficiency, short term profitability, and food supply (globally)

The Green Revolution helped decrease…

world hunger and increased earth’s carrying capacity

The Green Revolution brings negative consequences such as…

soil erosion, biodiversity loss, and ground et surface water containmination

Mechanization is the..

use of machines to do agricultural labor such as tractors for plowing and tilling

Mechanization increases reliance on..

fossil fuels (gasoline/diesel/fuel)

Mechanization emits GHGs to atmosphere which can lead to..

climate change

Heavy machinery compacts soil..

decreasing water holding capacity

Drier soil is more prone to erosion due to how…

more easily it is to get blown or washed away

Topsoil is more…

prone to erosion

High yield is..

the amount of crops produced per area of land

Hybrid or GMO crops are…

crops that produce a higher yield

Hybrid crops are made by..

cross pollinating different species, or parent plants w/ ideal traits

Hybrid crops increases..

yield and food stability through offspring having a higher yield than normal and produce more of desired food portion

+ in regions previously prone to famine (India, Mexico, Pakistan)

GMOs are made by..

inserting/splicing a new gene in a plants geome

GMOs produce..

high yield

GMOs have genes for..

drought tolerance, pest resistance, faster growth, and larger fruit and grain (all advantages)

GMOs are genetically identical so..

genetic diversity is decreased while susceptibility to disease/pest is increased

Synthetic fertilizer began from shift of…

organic fertilizers (manure/compost) to synthetic (man made ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate) which are all good for growth plants need

Synthetic fertilizer increases yield and profits…

with more key nutrients needed for plant growth

Consequences to synthetic fertilizer

excess nitrates and phosphates are washed off fields into nearby waters where they can cause eutrophication (algae blooms)

Synthetic fertilizer causes climate change because…

fossil fuels are required for production (releases CO2)

Irrigation is drawing water from…

the ground or nearby surface waters to distribute on fields for plant growth

Agriculture is made possible through irrigation in..

many parts of the world which are naturally too dry (don’t receive enough rain)

Consequences of irrigation

depletes groundwater sources especially aquifers (underground water source) which increases likeliness for drought and famine

over washing drowns roots (no O2 access) and can cause soil salinization (increased salt lvl in soil)

Pesticides are chemicals…

which are sprayed on crops in order to kill weeds, insects, rodents, and other pests that can eat or damage crops

Pesticides increases yield and profits because…

there are fewer plants lost to pests

Consequences to pesticides

it can wash off crops in runoff and kill or harm non target species in local soils or waters (bees especially)