首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Feeding the Masses a Load of Manure The Green Revolution Myth, Norman Borlaug, and World Hunger [A]Most people don’t kno
Feeding the Masses a Load of Manure The Green Revolution Myth, Norman Borlaug, and World Hunger [A]Most people don’t kno
admin
2019-06-23
24
问题
Feeding the Masses a Load of Manure
The Green Revolution Myth, Norman Borlaug, and World Hunger
[A]Most people don’t know Norman Borlaug. He’s the guy who is widely recognized as the father of the "Green Revolution"—the system of farming that combined hybrid seeds with chemical pesticides and fertilizers to grant the world significantly increased crop yields, especially yields of "cereal crops" like wheat, corn, and soybeans.
[B]Mr. Borlaug has been heard recently reproaching "extreme greenies" for promoting organic, sustainable agriculture, saying that such a move either would require the conversion of millions more acres of meadow and forest land into farm land or would mean mass starvation due to what he claims are lower yields from organic farms. With all due respect, we think Stormin’ Norman B. is out in left field playing scarecrow, spouting off about nothing more than the Green Revolution Myth.
Food, World Hunger, and Population Growth
[C]First, there is an obvious question about the logic of Borlaug’s assertion that the increased yield from Green Revolution farming arrived just in time to save hundreds of millions, maybe billions, of earth’s swelling human masses from starvation in the 20th century. One could just as easily frame the issue the other way around: Might it have been the suddenly increased availability of cheap food that itself allowed the global population to rise so quickly? Remember the old saying about "tasks expand to fill the amount of time allowed them"? A version of that may apply here.
[D]Another way to look at the question is whether the Green Revolution has been successful at eliminating hunger. It hasn’t. Since the Green Revolution kicked into high gear in the 1960s, there has been only a modest reduction in the number of people starving or chronically hungry. In 1970, there were an estimated 942 hundred million people in that category; in 2002, the United Nations reported that the number was 842 million. This modest reduction has been almost entirely due to lower levels of hunger among the Chinese population, with the number of hungry people increasing in most other areas of the world.
[E]It is true, of course, that a few billion more people are being fed today compared to half a century ago. But it’s far too simplistic to give the Green Revolution the credit. Two of the main factors that do deserve credit are improvements in seeds via hybridization and major increases in the use of irrigation, including the unsustainable over-pumping of groundwater. These factors plus the chemicals of the Green Revolution combined to put plant growth into overdrive.
The Downside of the Green Revolution
[F]So, if the Green Revolution did help increase total food output, what’s not to like? Plenty. The technologies of the Green Revolution should be looked at as the plant equivalent of steroid use in human athletes. A jock that uses steroids will gain muscle and strength faster and have a competitive advantage. But the big boost is not sustainable over a long period of time, and the negative side effects are well known and often catastrophic to the athlete.
[G]In the case of Green Revolution farming, the chemicals used pollute our land, air, and water; the switch from heavily rotated multiple crops to mono-cropping or dual-cropping reduces total soil fertility and the nutritional value of our food; and the lower number of seed varieties used reduces the genetic diversity found in crops, thus endangering the stability of farm output in the future. The side effects related to soil fertility and genetic diversity will ultimately take their toll. Indeed, yield increases in today’s farm fields have generally leveled off and, in cases such as rice and wheat, yields are beginning to decline in some areas.
[H]Let’s be a little more specific about the problems associated with Green Revolution farming:(1)Farmers, farm workers, and all of us are continually exposed to chemical pesticides due to their widespread use, with each of us carrying a body burden of the toxins.(2)Countless numbers of streams, rivers, and drinking water sources are degraded due to pesticide and fertilizer runoff.(3)Major portions of bays and gulfs are oxygen-starved coastal dead zones due to algal blooms that are fed by fertilizer runoff.(4)Wildlife suffer from genetic mutations due to the farming chemicals that contaminate their ponds and swamps. Notable examples: Genetic mutations in frogs and abnormal genitalia in alligators.(5)State advisories for locally caught fish are chock-full of warnings about fish species contaminated with pesticides.
Would Food Production Drop Without the Green Revolution?
[I]Now to the real point—would we starve if we transitioned back to sustainable agriculture and a-bandoned the chemicals we’ve come to accept as a normal part of farming? No, not at all. Multiple studies, including work by the US National Research Council and a 23-year study by the Rodale Institute, found total food output from "alternative" farms to be equivalent to Green Revolution farms—and sometimes higher.
[J]Cuba provides a real-life, working model to test the conclusions of such research. When the US trade embargo was imposed on Cuba in the late 1980s, the country’s access to Green Revolution "inputs" was suddenly severely restricted. Cuba began to reorient its agriculture back to sustainable approaches based on traditional farming practices and smaller farming operations. Within a decade, the country had solved its food problem, with the added benefit of freeing itself from the cost and toxic pollution associated with imported farming chemicals.
Wrap up... and GMOs
[K]As Lt. Columbo was fond of saying, just one last thing... The big agribusiness companies that brought you the hollow promises of the chemical-based Green Revolution I are now busy cooking up the genetically engineered(GE)Green Revolution II. Again they promise to save the world from hunger, but as before, their real goal is to reap bountiful profits. Not only do some GE technologies, such as "herbicide tolerance", not increase yield and farmer profits, they have been documented to have the opposite effect. In such cases, the only people benefiting are the GE seed and pesticide companies and their shareholders.
[L]There is a place for research and technology in farming, but we should stop trying to conquer nature’s complex, inexorable forces and instead should focus on approaches that work with the power of nature. A lot of research dollars went into developing Green Revolution and GE technologies. If instead we had invested in better sustainable-agriculture methods, we would have increased yields, retained healthier fanning practices, and greatly lessened the huge loss of small and medium-sized farms. In fact, demonstration projects have shown that increases in total food output of up to 100% are possible by using advanced sustainable agriculture techniques. Such approaches also reduce costs and avoid the chemical pollutants and potentially dangerous GE strains that are now upon us.
[M]We won’t be able to simply flip a switch and suddenly convert all the farming acreage on the planet back to smaller, more sustainable farms overnight. But it can be done gradually, without causing mass starvation. Indeed, better health for more people would be the overall result. We in the developed countries of the world should ask our elected representatives to begin a major shift in farm policy to foster such change. We can also directly support the effort by eating organic and/or locally grown food.
[N]The solution to global hunger is to solve problems related to democracy and distribution of income and food in the Third World. We should also ensure that the right to be self-sufficient when it comes to producing one’s food is not trumped by free-trade agreements. The solution to world hunger is not to develop expensive, unneeded technologies that endanger the entire food system. Just say "no"... to G-M-O... and the Green Revolution.
In spite of the rapid development of the Green Revolution, the number of people starving slightly decreased.
选项
答案
D
解析
根据the number of people starving定位到D段。第3句提到,自从20世纪60年代绿色革命进入高速发展时期以来,处在挨饿或长期饥饿状态的人数只是略微有所减少。本题句子的the rapid development与原文的kicked into high gear对应,slightly decreased对应原文的modest reduction。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/OAKFFFFM
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
A、TakingexcessiveVitaminDisharmfultohealth.B、Manypeopledon’tknowtheimportanceofVitaminD.C、Olderpeoplearemore
Innovation,theeffectiverecipeofprogress,hasalwayscostpeopletheirjobs.Overthepast30yearsthedigitalrevolutionh
A、Gettinghelpfromelectroniccigarettes.B、Usingmedicineornicotinepatches.C、Keepingawayfrompressureandanxiety.D、Usi
A、Becausetheselanguagesareusedonlyinremoteareas.B、Becausetheofficiallanguageofacountryrarelychanges.C、Because
ThebesttimetoviewtheMonaLisa,accordingtoanewbookonthebesttimestodothings,isaroundnineo’clockonaSunday
ThebesttimetoviewtheMonaLisa,accordingtoanewbookonthebesttimestodothings,isaroundnineo’clockonaSunday
A、TheytaughttheMesopotamiansaboutsquarenumbers.B、TheywerelessadvancedinmathematicsthantheMesopotamians.C、Theydi
Nearlytwo-thirdsofbusinessesintheUKwantto【C1】______staffwithforeignlanguageskills.Frenchisstillthemosthighlyp
Allthroughtheagesthebathasbeenacreatureofgreatmystery.BatshaveinfluencedtheimaginationoftheWesternWorldsin
Allthroughtheagesthebathasbeenacreatureofgreatmystery.BatshaveinfluencedtheimaginationoftheWesternWorldsin
随机试题
量块的研合性:
钡剂灌肠时结肠完全梗阻,梗阻部呈杯口状充盈缺损及弹簧状黏膜纹理,应考虑()。
()是指投资者购置房地产后,供出租经营的一种投资形式。投资的主要目的是出租经营,同时投资者也期望所购置的房地产在未来能够增值。
贯彻落实科学发展观,提高咨询服务质量,应采取的措施有()。
仪表管路安装前或安装完毕,须按照规定进行脱脂处理,能够用工业用三氯乙烯进行脱脂的管材有()。
2009年已建成年产10万吨的某钢厂,其投资额为4000万元,2013年拟建生产50万吨的钢厂项目,建设期2年。自2009年2013年每年平均造价指数递增4%,预计建设期2年平均造价指数递增5%,估算拟建钢厂的静态投资额为()万元(生产能力指数取0
代表国家履行出资人职责的机构依照法律、行政法规以及企业章程的规定,有权任免的人员有()。
企业运行机制包括市场导向机制、供求机制、价格机制、竞争机制和风险机制。下列选项中属于供求机制特征的是()。
Justwhenyouhadfiguredouthowtomanagefatinyourdiet,researchersarenowwarningagainstanothercommonmealtimepitfal
IttookPeterquiteawhiletofindaplaceforhiscarandintheendhehadto41itinasmallstreet,somewayfromthedent
最新回复
(
0
)