The Green Revolution

Alternatives to the Green Revolution

So far it has been shown that the Green Revolution is leading to greater amounts of hunger and poverty, despite its claimers to the contrary. What other options are there for producing food? Is it in any way necessary that we continue down this course towards greater food scarcity while using the unsustainable practices introduced by the mechanization of agriculture? The answer is an unequivocal no, and there are many examples of how we can work the land in accordance to the natural environment as opposed to manipulating nature to try to suit our desires.

Agroecology

The term Agroecology may be unfamiliar to some, so it ought to have some explanation. According to the web site www.agroecology.org one can understand it as "the application of ecological science to the design and management of sustainable agroecosystems". This is done through a holistic approach to agriculture and agricultural development based on traditional, alternative, and local small-scale agriculture. This means working with the land to grow crops that are most suitable for that particular environment.

This method capitalizes on the local knowledge of the area and can lead to a greater sense of democracy since farmers are able to has a say in what crops that will and will not produce. This in turn means that they can listen to the needs of their local communities and not have to be under the influence of a temperamental global market system. Also there is the benefit of not needing to relay on nearly as much, if any, imported resources such as petroleum based fuels and fertilizers.

Example in Action

One of the more prominent examples that can be shown comes from the account of Michael Pollan in his book The Omnivore's Dilemma. In this he spends time looking into several methods for producing food with the goal of seeing which is the most viable from a sustainability stand point. Pollan travels to Polyface Farms in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley to speak with Joel Salatin about their farming practices (3). Pollan's writes of how Salatin is able to use his animals and the land together to reap the benefits of a synergistic relationship. This is a closed system which requires no external inputs as everything works towards the benefit of others.

To start looking at this relationship one can being with the cows. THere are a number of grassy pastures on Polyface, and Joel Salatin brings his cows into an area that has particularly tall grasses and clovers which the cattle enjoy. Using moveable electric fences he keeps the cows there for a period until they have eaten the gras down to a much shorter level, all the while depositing manure. Once the pasture has been adequately mown down by the cattle they are moved to a fresh pasture, and chickens are carted in via a mobile eggmobile. The Chickens in turn are able to maneuver much better in the short grass thanks to the cows. Once there the chickens will eat grubs that they find by scattering the cow manure, which in turn fertilizes the soil. This promotes better soil health and so the grasses quickly are replenished. Once that pasture has recovered enough the cows will be moved back in to continue the cycle.

This is just one of many such examples that can be given. On a much larger scale one can look at the success of Cuba's agricultural system. Once they also utilized much of the mechanized processes of the modern agriculture, but when the United States placed an embargo upon them, they were forced to adopt a different approach to how they grew their food. It certainly involved some degree of risk, since there are natural factors that must be considered, but they were been able to transform the whole process to a much greener approach. So as one can see, the Green Revolution does not really address questions of hunger, independence, and poverty. A real revolution is needed, one which will bring awareness to the way we view ourselves within the environment.

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