The Toxic Consequences of the Green Revolution
In India, farmers find that benefits of pesticides and herbicides may come at a tragically high cost
The government's top civil servant for health and family welfare in Punjab, Health Secretary T. R. Sarangal, says more time is needed to study the problem. "Certainly, we are in a danger zone as far as the toxicity and danger of fertilizers are concerned," says Sarangal. But the last time cancer rates were measured officially in southern Punjab—about seven years ago—the rates were actually below the national average. The state government is now commissioning two new cancer survey studies in an effort to document the extent of the problem, and it is also financing two new public-private partnerships for the construction of cancer hospitals in Punjab.
"It is a perception by the hospitals and by the households that cancer rates are much higher than in previous decades," says G. P. I. Singh, a public health expert who has worked in southern Punjab for over 25 years. "The entire area of Punjab today is overloaded with pesticides. What is troublesome are the chronic effects. They take generations or decades to manifest themselves."
Some doctors, like Singh, and activists are pressing farmers to go back to earlier agricultural techniques, even at the expense of reducing India's farm production. "What are you achieving by feeding people at the cost of their health?" says Singh.
Umendra Dutt, a towering, energetic environmental activist with chest-length locks and a thick beard, goes a step further, arguing that "the Green Revolution has devastated the entire ecosystem of our society—the ecology and economy—we have lost almost all of our biodiversity. [It] is input intensive, techno-centric, resource-guzzling. It is not a cultural transformation leading to self-sufficiency." Not in the way that organic farming is, he argues. "Our [organic] farmers are living a life that is much more sustainable," says Dutt.
The organic movement, if it qualifies as a movement, is running up against the strong incentives the government provides farmers to support Green Revolution techniques: from the minimum price support the government offers farmers for wheat and rice made with the aid of fertilizer and pesticides to the social pressure to prevent farmers from changing decades-long practices.
Can the economics pay off? That's unclear. Sharma, who is now the custodian of his village's organic seed bank, says his wheat yield is half that of his neighbors, who used pesticides and fertilizer. But he is able to sell his organically grown crop for something more than twice the going price. In addition, he doesn't have to buy costly supplies such as hybrid seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, purchases which put many farmers into debt at the start of each growing season.
Sharma uses traditional homemade pesticides such as cow manure mixed with urine, soured milk, garlic, chilies, and the leaves of a native plant to ward off parasitic insects. He is making a bet that over time, organic farming will narrow the productivity gap if his methods are able to improve the quality of soil damaged by chemically intensive farming. The major difference between chemical farming and organic farming is that with chemical farming, the yield either decreases or stays stagnant over time while with organic farming, the quality of the soil increases, he says. "After two or three years, the yield will be equal."
But while some farmers talk of going organic, India faces what could become a new controversy over expanding the use of genetically modified seeds in what supporters envision as a second Green Revolution. This may promise salvation for a hungry world but, in rural India, the pluses and minuses of the first Green Revolution are still being tallied.
Reader Comments
Punjab is already amidst a serious environmental health crisis. There are multiple evidences to prove that. Though there is not much of research but whatever is there it is enough to show that in Punjab, water, soil and all living beings are having high concentrations of environmental toxins. These toxins include the ones being used for chemical agriculture-pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers; those being added by the dirty industry including highly polluting power generating units-heavy metals and large number of other highly toxic chemicals, through their wastes being thrown untreated into the natural water bodies like rivers, seasonal drains, canals and ground water; some toxic chemicals are being brought up through the deep ground water suction being done on a large scale-fluorides and arsenic etc.
All the known toxic effects are easily visible in Punjab-on animal as well as human health-Birds are dying en masse(this does not need any research-this is so obvious that every body has noted that)-Vultures, eagles, falcons, owls, crows, sparrows and many others are on the verge of extinction. The honey bees, earth worms and many other small animals of indispensable ecological significance are on the verge of extinction. The cattle (particularly sheep and goat) are much more vulnerable now to premature deaths because of large no. of diseases which were not so common earlier. They don’t get pregnant easily and when they get it they abort very easily.
The scenario of human health is fast deteriorating-sperm count in young males has fallen to half in two generations i.e. as compared to their grand fathers-the no. of child less couples has tremendously gone up-spontaneous abortions have increased many fold-under weight and premature births have increased markedly-the no. of congenital malformations have increased many fold-early onset of puberty in females is very common now-herd immunity is grossly compromised leading to people falling sick because of infections. All viral diseases have become more prevalent and more virulent including HIV, Hepatitis-B, hepatitis-C, Warts, Dengue, Chickungunya, Bird Flue, SARS, Chicken Pox, Herpes, Common Viral Fevers and Flu-like syndromes etc. Bacterial and Fungal Diseases are becoming drug resistant and more dangerous. Cancers are becoming more prevalent. Clear cut evidences of Genetic Mutations are there.
It is very evident that all living beings are becoming physiologically weak-more prone to communicable as well as non-communicable diseases and are more likely to die pre maturely now than earlier. Animal as well as plant bio-diversity is being destroyed, which is big danger signal because every species play an important ecological role in the web of life. Obviously we are heading towards a slow end of not only civilization but this beautiful planet itself. Should we call it slow suicide, slow genocide or slow ecocide???
green revolution
i think green revolution is heplful and is really going some good things but i do not and totally disagree with it on the oth hand
The Green Revolution
Im an A level student taking geography at the moment and my current task is an extremely long report on the debate as to wether the economic benefits of the revolution outweight the environmental costs. Before i began to research the topic for this report i had never even heard of it, and to me it seems a surprise that there is even an argument about the success of the G.R.
After spending the past 4 hours researching this topic, i now have 7 pages of notes on the environmental costs, yet only two thirds of a page on the economic benefits, and it would appear these benefits may not last for long...
e-mail me before the tenth of september 2008 if you would disagree. I would find it a great help, but i shouldn't think anyone will agree
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