In the modern world, new types of technology are being developed to speed up agricultural processes so that an attempt toward solving world hunger is made and overall so that the agricultural world is improved for farmers and consumers. Today there are innovations such as robots that dig holes, plant seeds, and mark spots where the seeds are planted and meters that track the amount of water crops are receiving.
The Green Revolution occurred between the 1930s and the 1960s. It was a time of agricultural innovation and was beneficial to many countries around the world. For example, India was nearing a famine in the 1960s because of its increasing population. A new type of rice was developed, IR8, and now India is one of the world's leading rice producers. However this was a positive, some issues occurred due to the Green Revolution. Mechanization due to the revolution caused unemployment for laborers in rural areas and heavily impacted the poor and homeless. GMOs have been up for debate ever since they were introduced to the agricultural world. A main argument for GMOs is that they will be able to solve issues with world hunger. To counter this, some evidence shows that a lot of GMO corn and soy go directly towards fueling cars and being made into corn syrup rather than assisting third world countries that are starving. The main argument against is that GMOs may cause allergies or illness for humans or animals. This is because crops are modified with the DNA of bacteria and viruses. Certain animals that have consumed GMs in the wild have contacted illnesses and faced death. Another argument against is that GMOs heavily impact biodiversity. Something called "outcrossing" can occur which is when GM crops pass new traits to relatives in the wild and alter their ecological role. An issue with competition also occur and the natural resources will be sucked up by the GM crops. The specific topic covered for my presentation was mechanization of farming which discusses technological improvements in the agricultural world. Technology can contribute to farming in many positive ways that includes speeding up the efficiency of farming as a whole. New innovations are definitely a positive for farmers that can afford it, but new technology is not always accessible to those that are not financially advantaged. Issues also arise with pollution. While farming is being made more efficient, the environment is being negatively impacted which can be seen as a setback for technological advances in agriculture. The Green Revolution has already heavily impacted many parts of the world so trying to force it back would possibly have some negative consequences. It is not at all simple and maybe not even possible to reverse some of the results and innovations of the Green Revolution. It did solve issues with famine and brought in economical benefits so reversal may not be the ideal in the case. If there were a way to improve the methods and make them more reasonable rather than discard them entirely then maybe that could be the best solution to the issue posed. Everyone should have a basic knowledge of agriculture because it is our primary food source. People should know exactly what they are consuming and where it came from. Farmers have these hardships and livelihoods and we as consumers fuel their entire functions. I try to mainly purchase organic foods and avoid GMOs because I am personally against them and believe that organic foods are the healthier, more beneficial option. Organic food however can get to be pretty expensive so it is unfortunately not an affordable option for everyone. For those that can afford it, I do suggest considering organic over GMOs.
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