To kick off our agriculture unit, we watched the documentary "Botany of Desire". The film is based off a book of the same name by Michael Pollan and discusses five pivotal crops and how they have shaped human civilizations. In class, we watched the segments on potatoes and apples, and skipped over the tulip and cannabis discussions.
We later learned about the Green Revolution and agricultural practices that were implemented at that time. These practices, such as selective breeding for high yield crops, new irrigation systems, fertilizers and pesticides, were both positive and negative but regardless have greatly impacted the way that food is grown worldwide. One one hand, the Green Revolution allowed for a more efficient production of food for the growing world population. However, many of these pieces of new technology have detrimental impacts on the environment. Fertilizers and pesticides pollute water supplies and damage ecosystems. To further explore certain aspects of the Green Revolution we created a presentation on specific new technologies. My group focused on high yield variety crops which are crops that are bred to produce more food per hectare.
High yield crops produced a monoculture in the agriculture industry and damaged soil quality creating an increased number of natural disasters. After the Green Revolution, we moved through farming history into the implementation of GMOs. Genetically modified organisms are organisms such as plants and other organisms that have had their genomes altered. Like the new technologies of the Green Revolution, GMOs have been largely debated. Opponents fear the potential health hazards of GMOs. Supporters, however, cite the scientific support of GMOs and the real benefits that more nutritious and plentiful food can provide the world. Overall, the food choices and products that an individual consumes should be made with the impact that that crop has on the world. If everyone could think and be conscious about the decisions they make, regardless of the stance they have, the industry would be much healthier and .
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