Question

the green revolution
... norman borlaug is an eighty-two-year-old plant breeder who for most of the past five
decades has lived in developing nations, teaching the techniques of high-yield agriculture. he
received the nobel peace prize in 1970, primarily for his work in reversing the food shortages
that haunted india and pakistan in the 1960s. perhaps more than anyone else, borlaug is
responsible for the fact that throughout the postwar era, except in sub-saharan africa, global
food production has expanded faster than the human population, averting the mass starvations
that were widely predicted—for example, in the 1967 best seller famine—1975! the form of
agriculture that borlaug preaches may have prevented a billion deaths. . . .
the ford and rockefeller foundations and the world bank, once sponsors of his work, have
recently given borlaug the cold shoulder. funding institutions have also cut support for the
international maize and wheat center—located in mexico and known by its spanish acronym,
cimmyt—where borlaug helped to develop the high-yield, low pesticide dwarf wheat upon
which a substantial portion of the world’s population now depends for sustenance food. andalthough borlaug’s achievements are arguably the greatest that ford or rockefeller has ever
funded, both foundations have retreated from the last effort of borlaug’s long life: the attempt
to bring high-yield agriculture to africa. . . .
to borlaug, the argument for high-yield cereal crops, inorganic fertilizers, and irrigation became
irrefutable when the global population began to take off after the second world war. but many
governments of developing nations were suspicious, partly for reasons of tradition (wheat was
then a foreign substance in india) and partly because contact between western technical experts
and peasant farmers might shake up feudal cultures to the discomfort of the elite classes.
meanwhile, some commentators were suggesting that it would be wrong to increase the food
supply in the developing world: better to let nature do the dirty work of restraining the human
population. . . .
source: greg easterbrook, “forgotten benefactor of humanity,” atlantic monthly, january 1997

1. based on this document, state one development since world war ii that led to the green revolution. 1

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1. based on this document and the reading, identify two effects of the green revolution on food production.2

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1. based on these readings ,who was norman borlaug? explain two impacts he had on the world. 3

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Explanation:

Question 3

We look for a post - WWII development related to the Green Revolution in the document. The text says "To Borlaug, the argument for high - yield cereal crops, inorganic fertilizers, and irrigation became irrefutable when the global population began to take off after the Second World War". Also, institutions like the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations and the World Bank sponsored work related to high - yield agriculture. One development is the rapid growth of the global population after World War II, which made the need for high - yield agriculture (a key part of the Green Revolution) more urgent as Borlaug's techniques were needed to meet food demands.

We search the document for effects of the Green Revolution on food production. From the text: "throughout the postwar era, except in Sub - Saharan Africa, global food production has expanded faster than the human population" and "the form of agriculture that Borlaug preaches may have prevented a billion deaths" (by increasing food supply). Also, "a substantial portion of the world’s population now depends for sustenance [food] on the high - yield, low pesticide dwarf wheat" developed through the Green Revolution. So two effects are: 1. Global food production expanded faster than the human population (except in Sub - Saharan Africa) during the postwar era. 2. A large part of the world's population now depends on the high - yield dwarf wheat (developed during the Green Revolution) for their food.

First, we find who Norman Borlaug was from the document: "Norman Borlaug is an eighty - two - year - old plant breeder who for most of the past five decades has lived in developing nations, teaching the techniques of high - yield agriculture". For his impacts: 1. "He received the Nobel [Peace Prize] in 1970, primarily for his work in reversing the food shortages that haunted India and Pakistan in the 1960s" and "the form of agriculture that Borlaug preaches may have prevented a billion deaths" by increasing food production. 2. He helped develop "the high - yield, low pesticide dwarf wheat upon which a substantial portion of the world’s population now depends for sustenance [food]".

Answer:

One development since World War II that led to the Green Revolution was the rapid growth of the global population after World War II. This made the need for increased food production (through high - yield agriculture techniques promoted in the Green Revolution) more pressing, as Borlaug's work in developing high - yield crops was seen as a way to meet the growing food demands.

Question 4