5.3: The Green Revolution

Question 1

What it is, what it led to

What was the Green Revolution?

Answer 1

The shift from small-scale family farms to large-scale industrial agribusiness. It led to increased use of pesticides and high-yield crops like GMOs, advances in irrigation, mechanization and artificial fertilizers

Question 2

What did the Green Revolution do?

Answer 2

It increased efficiency of land and the food supply which decreased world hunger and increased Earth’s carrying capacity for humans. However, it brought problems such as soil erosion, biodiversity loss, and ground and surface water contamination

Question 3

Mechanization

Answer 3

Increased use of machinery for plowing, harvesting, and tilling fields

Question 4

Benefits of mechanization

Answer 4

1. Increases yield and profits
2. Can be economically advantageous due to decrease in human labor and wages

Question 5

Consequences of mechanization

Answer 5

1. Increases reliance on fossil fuels and Emits greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change
2. The machinery compacts soil which can decrease its water holding capacity and leave the topsoil more prone to erosion

Question 6

Irrigation

Answer 6

Drawing water from the ground or nearby surface waters and distributing it on fields to increase plant growth

Question 7

Benefits of Irrigation

Answer 7

• Makes agriculture possible in parts of the world that are naturally too dry
• Can increase crop growth rates

Question 8

Consequences of irrigation

Answer 8

• Waterlogging and salinization
• Deplete ground water sources

Question 9

Synthetic Fertilizer

Answer 9

Man made fertilizers with ammonium, nitrate, phosphate

Question 10

Benefits of Synthetic Fertilizer

Answer 10

• Increased crop yield and profits
• You can tailor the fertilizers to the needs of the specific crops
• Plants can easily absorb the fertilizers in poor soils

Question 11

Costs of synthetic fertilizers

Answer 11

• Nutrient leaching, Eutrophication and Algal Blooms
• Does not add any organic matter (aids in water retention abilities) to the soil
• Requires fossil fuels for production, ghgs, climate change

Question 12

Monocropping

Answer 12

Growing a single species (corn, wheat, soy) of crop

Question 13

Benefits of monocropping

Answer 13

1. Efficient for harvest, pesticide, and fertilizer application which improves agricultural productivity

Question 14

Consequences of monocropping

Answer 14

• Decreases habitat and biodiversity
• Increases soil erosion as when all the crops are harvested, the soil is left bare and the wind is able to carry and deposit that soil else where

Question 15

Artificial Pesticides

Answer 15

Chemicals sprayed on crops that kill pests that may damage crops

Question 16

Benefits of pesticides

Answer 16

• Increased yield and profits
• Farmers can easily respond to infestation

Question 17

Consequences of pesticides

Answer 17

• Growth of pesticide resistance bugs
• Kill unintended targets (animals that provide biological pest control, pollinators, plants)
• Runoff and pollution of water sources

Question 18

Genetically Modified Organisms

Answer 18

Crops with genes spliced to produce a certain result like drought resistance

Question 19

Benefits of GMOs

Answer 19

• Increased yield and profits
• Increased resistance to environmental situations

Question 20

Costs of GMOs

Answer 20

Lack of biodiversity

Question 21

High Yield Variety Crops

Answer 21

• Hybrid crops (cross pollination) that produce higher yield. They can increase food stability in regions previously prone to famine (India, Pakistan, Mexico)