Led to a drastic increase in food production for farmers.
Allowed countries to have a greater food surplus.
More food was accessible to the people.
Supply of food went up, countries also saw the food prices decrease.
More people were able to afford food.
Started by Doctor Norman Borlaug, known as the father of the Green Revolution.
Doctor Norman Borlaug
Developed a new semi dwarf, high yield disease resistant wheat variety.
Could prosper in the growing conditions in Mexico.
Transformed agricultural production in Mexico, Pakistan, and India.
His work allowed for increased food supplies for countries around the world.
Resulted in millions of lives being saved from starvation.
Won a Nobel Peace Prize.
Started the Green Revolution.
Credited for saving over a billion lives from starvation.
High Yield Seeds
Achieved through cross breeding.
Mixing different species of plants to produce a new variant with the best genetic characteristics of both.
Often results in hybrid seeds.
Shorter growing seasons.
More resistant to different climates.
Doctor Borlaug's semi dwarf wheat varieties:
Shorter growing seasons, allowing farmers to have multiple harvests in a year.
Hybrid Plants vs. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
Hybrid plants:
Involve mixing different species of plants.
Were a central part of the green revolution.
GMOs:
Involve altering an organism's DNA to achieve specific traits.
Did not come until later.
New Advancements in Chemical Usage
Chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides.
Led to increased yields of crops.
Chemical fertilizers (nitrogen and phosphate):
Allowed plants to grow faster compared to previous natural fertilizer.
Pesticides:
Stopped insects from destroying the crops, increasing farmers' yield.
Herbicides:
Targeted invasive plants to prevent weeds from growing in the fields.
Allowed more water and nutrients to go to the crops.
Mechanized Farming
New machinery replaced manual labor, making farming more efficient.
Tractors, irrigation pumps, and harvesters became more common.
Led to:
Increased food production.
A reduction in global hunger.
New economic growth.
Cheaper food.
Lower production costs.
Decreased the amount of jobs for women who traditionally worked in agriculture.
Resulted in more inequalities between individuals in certain societies.
Negative Consequences
Increased use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides:
More soil degradation and water contamination.
Monoculture farming:
Loss of biodiversity.
Biodiversity: variety of life forms in a given geographic area.
Monoculture: farmer cultivates one type of crop, livestock, or fish species at a period of time.
Economic Opportunities
New large scale farms became more profitable.
Decline of family farms as industrial farms gained momentum.
Did not single handedly create agro businesses, but it did lay the foundation for them to become possible and definitely helped accelerate the growth of them.
This shift in production also led to unequal economic development, with smaller family farms struggling to compete with large scale farms.
Many countries that are in the periphery or semi periphery became more dependent on core countries and multinational corporations.
Large agro businesses often controlled the high yield seeds and chemical fertilizers.
Conclusion
Increased the world's food security and transformed how we as a society produce food.
Created some new environmental and societal issues that still impact society today.