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How did the Green Revolution help solve the world hunger crisis? What was the main idea or big picture?

How did the Green Revolution help solve the world hunger crisis? What was the main idea or big picture?

Social Psychology (10th Edition)
Social Psychology (10th Edition)
10th Edition
ISBN:9780134641287
Author:Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers
Publisher:Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers
Chapter1: Introducing Social Psychology
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How did the Green Revolution help solve the world hunger crisis? What was the main idea or big picture?
Global Challenges The global community also had to grapple with hunger, environmental damage, and global epidemics. Many of these problems continue today. Hunger There had long been relief organizations, such as CARE and the UN's World Food Program, which distributed food to starving people in times of emergency. However, many people looked for more long-term solutions to the problem through economic development and better farming practices. The Green Revolution In the mid-twentieth century, the Green Revolution emerged as a possible long-term response to hunger. Scientists developed new varieties of wheat, rice, and other grains that had higher yields and greater resistance to pests, diseases, and drought. The new varieties were first developed by crossbreeding-breeding two varieties of a plant to create a hybrid. More recently, scientists have used genetic engineering-manipulating a cell or organism to change its basic characteristics. Farmers also used more irrigation, fertilizers, and pesticides. In Brazil and elsewhere, forests were burned down and the land was plowed for agriculture. Acreage devoted to crops increased dramatically worldwide. Grain production increased sharply. The Green Revolution solutions were not free of problems. Many small farmers could not afford the new fertilizers or pesticides, reducing their a o compete with large landowners. Many small farmers were forced to sell their land, increasing the holdings of large landowners even more. Also, since some of the techniques developed in the Green Revolution involved the use of mechanized equipment, fewer jobs were available for farm laborers. Finally, the heavy applications of chemicals damaged the soil and the environment. jenetic engineering created its own set of concerns as well. Some argued that a genetic modification designed to give a plant resistance to insccts might to cause a decline in the population of pollinating insects, such as bees. Another problem was the loss of old seed varieties as new génetically engineered plants were adopted. 'Copyright: Achievement First. Unless otherwise noted, all of the content in this resource is licensed under a C 2 This text is an excerpt from "AMSCO Advanced Placement Edition: World History" by Perfection Learning. Ac Encounters and claims no copyright in this material. The material is being used exclusively for non-profit educal The user should make the judgment about whether this material may be used under fair use / fair dealing permis TOTAL GRAIN PRODUCTION IN CHINA 1945-2010 550 500 450 400 350 Veliens of tons 300 250 200 150 100 50 1945 1950 1955 1900 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Year
Transcribed Image Text:Global Challenges The global community also had to grapple with hunger, environmental damage, and global epidemics. Many of these problems continue today. Hunger There had long been relief organizations, such as CARE and the UN's World Food Program, which distributed food to starving people in times of emergency. However, many people looked for more long-term solutions to the problem through economic development and better farming practices. The Green Revolution In the mid-twentieth century, the Green Revolution emerged as a possible long-term response to hunger. Scientists developed new varieties of wheat, rice, and other grains that had higher yields and greater resistance to pests, diseases, and drought. The new varieties were first developed by crossbreeding-breeding two varieties of a plant to create a hybrid. More recently, scientists have used genetic engineering-manipulating a cell or organism to change its basic characteristics. Farmers also used more irrigation, fertilizers, and pesticides. In Brazil and elsewhere, forests were burned down and the land was plowed for agriculture. Acreage devoted to crops increased dramatically worldwide. Grain production increased sharply. The Green Revolution solutions were not free of problems. Many small farmers could not afford the new fertilizers or pesticides, reducing their a o compete with large landowners. Many small farmers were forced to sell their land, increasing the holdings of large landowners even more. Also, since some of the techniques developed in the Green Revolution involved the use of mechanized equipment, fewer jobs were available for farm laborers. Finally, the heavy applications of chemicals damaged the soil and the environment. jenetic engineering created its own set of concerns as well. Some argued that a genetic modification designed to give a plant resistance to insccts might to cause a decline in the population of pollinating insects, such as bees. Another problem was the loss of old seed varieties as new génetically engineered plants were adopted. 'Copyright: Achievement First. Unless otherwise noted, all of the content in this resource is licensed under a C 2 This text is an excerpt from "AMSCO Advanced Placement Edition: World History" by Perfection Learning. Ac Encounters and claims no copyright in this material. The material is being used exclusively for non-profit educal The user should make the judgment about whether this material may be used under fair use / fair dealing permis TOTAL GRAIN PRODUCTION IN CHINA 1945-2010 550 500 450 400 350 Veliens of tons 300 250 200 150 100 50 1945 1950 1955 1900 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Year
Medical Challenges and Breakthroughs Advancements in science and medicine, combined with govermment-run public health measures, drastically reduced illnesses and death from many diseases. But other diseases persisted and new ones emerged. Some diseases were related to poverty, including malaria, tuberculosis, and cholera. Others emerged as new global epidemics, such as HIV/AIDS and Ebola. Yet others were known as lifestyle diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease. Some conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease, afflicted mainly the elderly. Antibiotics In 1928. Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming was working in his lab in London when he accidentally discovered that a particular fungus produced a substance that killed bacteria. He had discovered penicillin. Penicillin became the first antibiotic, a useful agent in curing bacterial infections. During World War II, antibiotics saved the lives of soldiers who would have died in any previous war from a minor wound that became infected. After the war, antibiotics spread to civilian use, where they fought a range of illnesses. However, the extensive use of antibiotics carried a risk. By killing off certain strains of a disease, antibiotics allowed the evolution of strains of the disease unaffected by them. These antibiotic-resistant strains could be untreatable, raising fears of renewed epidemics of diseases once under control. Malaria A parasitic disease spread by mosquitoes in tropical areas, malaria killed more than 600,000 people per year, the majority of whom were young African children, in the early twenty-first century. The international NGO Doctors Without Borders treated about 1.7 million people annually with drugs. Preventative approaches were also developed, such as distributing mosquito nets treated with insecticide. Tuberculosis Abacteria that affects the lungs causes tuberculosis. Before 1946, there was no effective drug treatment available, and many people died from the discase. A cure was developed involving antibiotics and a long period of rest. In the early twenty-first century, a strain of tuberculosis resistant to the usual antibiotics appeared. The number of patients increased, especially in prisons, where people live in close quarters. The World Health Organization (WHO) began a worldwide campaign against tuberculosis in the 2010s. Cholera A bacterial disease that spreads through contaminated water, cholera caused more than 100,000 deaths per year, mostly in developing countries. Methods to counter cholera include boiling or chlorinating drinking water or pouring water through cloth filters, a less effective form of prevention. Like tuberculosis and malaria, cholera affects,mainly poor people. Smallpox The disease smallpox had plagued thẻ ancient Egyptians and devastated the native population of the Americas and Australia. As recently as the 1960s, it killed millions of people a year, However, the WHO conducted a global vaccination campaign to eradicate the disease. In 1979, scientists declared success. In one of the greatest accomplishments in modemi medicine, smallpox had been eliminated from the entire world. Polio Caused by water contaminated by a virus transmitted in fecal matter, polio once infected 100,000 new people per year. It could result in paralysis and sometimes led to death. So the world cheered when an American researcher, Dr. Jonas Salk, announced on April 12, 1955, that an injectable vaccine against polio had proven effective. Six years later, an oral vaccine, developed by Dr. Albert Sabin, became available. Vaccines became the centerpiece of a global public health campaign to eliminate polio. A joint effort by governments, private organizations, and United Nations agencies began in 1988. In less than thirty years, polio was eliminated in al but a few countries. In places where it still existed, such as Pakistan and Afghanistan, war made administering the vaccine difficult and religious fundamentalism made people fearful of programs advocated by outsiders. Still, the success of the campaign demonstrated that coordinated global efforts could address global problems. HIVIAIDS Between 1981 and 2014, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), killed more than 25 million people around the world. HIV weakens the immune system, so people more easily succumb to other illnesses. The virus is contracted through the exchange of bodily fluids, usually through unprotected sex, blood transfusions, or sharing intravenous needles. By the mid-1990s medical researchers had developed ways to treat the disease, but not to cure it. Antiretroviral drugs could stop HIV from weakening the immune system, thus allowing a patient to live with the virus for many years. However, the drugs were very expensive, so access to treatment was difficult, particularly for patients in poor countries. After 2000, the WHO, the United States government, and private groups increased funding for AIDS prevention and treatment in Africa, but the disease remains a serious problem today. Diabetes In 2015, almost 350 million people around the world had diabetes, a disease that affects how the body uses blood sugar. Considered a lifestyle discase, diabetes can damage a person's heart, kidneys, eyes, and extremities. The treatments included an improved diet, regular exercise, weight control, pills, and insulin injections. Heart Disease Like diabetes, heart disease is associated with lifestyle changes, genetics, and increased longevity. One of the major discoveries in fighting heart disease was the heart transplant, first performed by the South African Christiaan Barnard in 1967. Robert Jarvik led a team that designed an artificial heart, which was used as a temporary device while the patient waited for a compatible human heart. Other researchers developed less invasive procedures, such as replacing valves, installing stents in arteries, and replacing the vessels leading to the heart, and medications to reduce blood conditions that led to heart disease. In the 2000s, people with heart disease lived longer than similarly affected people did in the 1970s. Alzheimer's Disease As people lived longer, a form of dementia known as Alzheimer's disease that affected elderly and some middle-aged people became an increasing concern. Alzheimer's patients progressively lose their memory, eventually leading to a stage in which they do not recognize their loved ones. Since the disease undermines bodily functions, it leads to death. As of 2015, researchers continued to search for a cure.
Transcribed Image Text:Medical Challenges and Breakthroughs Advancements in science and medicine, combined with govermment-run public health measures, drastically reduced illnesses and death from many diseases. But other diseases persisted and new ones emerged. Some diseases were related to poverty, including malaria, tuberculosis, and cholera. Others emerged as new global epidemics, such as HIV/AIDS and Ebola. Yet others were known as lifestyle diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease. Some conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease, afflicted mainly the elderly. Antibiotics In 1928. Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming was working in his lab in London when he accidentally discovered that a particular fungus produced a substance that killed bacteria. He had discovered penicillin. Penicillin became the first antibiotic, a useful agent in curing bacterial infections. During World War II, antibiotics saved the lives of soldiers who would have died in any previous war from a minor wound that became infected. After the war, antibiotics spread to civilian use, where they fought a range of illnesses. However, the extensive use of antibiotics carried a risk. By killing off certain strains of a disease, antibiotics allowed the evolution of strains of the disease unaffected by them. These antibiotic-resistant strains could be untreatable, raising fears of renewed epidemics of diseases once under control. Malaria A parasitic disease spread by mosquitoes in tropical areas, malaria killed more than 600,000 people per year, the majority of whom were young African children, in the early twenty-first century. The international NGO Doctors Without Borders treated about 1.7 million people annually with drugs. Preventative approaches were also developed, such as distributing mosquito nets treated with insecticide. Tuberculosis Abacteria that affects the lungs causes tuberculosis. Before 1946, there was no effective drug treatment available, and many people died from the discase. A cure was developed involving antibiotics and a long period of rest. In the early twenty-first century, a strain of tuberculosis resistant to the usual antibiotics appeared. The number of patients increased, especially in prisons, where people live in close quarters. The World Health Organization (WHO) began a worldwide campaign against tuberculosis in the 2010s. Cholera A bacterial disease that spreads through contaminated water, cholera caused more than 100,000 deaths per year, mostly in developing countries. Methods to counter cholera include boiling or chlorinating drinking water or pouring water through cloth filters, a less effective form of prevention. Like tuberculosis and malaria, cholera affects,mainly poor people. Smallpox The disease smallpox had plagued thẻ ancient Egyptians and devastated the native population of the Americas and Australia. As recently as the 1960s, it killed millions of people a year, However, the WHO conducted a global vaccination campaign to eradicate the disease. In 1979, scientists declared success. In one of the greatest accomplishments in modemi medicine, smallpox had been eliminated from the entire world. Polio Caused by water contaminated by a virus transmitted in fecal matter, polio once infected 100,000 new people per year. It could result in paralysis and sometimes led to death. So the world cheered when an American researcher, Dr. Jonas Salk, announced on April 12, 1955, that an injectable vaccine against polio had proven effective. Six years later, an oral vaccine, developed by Dr. Albert Sabin, became available. Vaccines became the centerpiece of a global public health campaign to eliminate polio. A joint effort by governments, private organizations, and United Nations agencies began in 1988. In less than thirty years, polio was eliminated in al but a few countries. In places where it still existed, such as Pakistan and Afghanistan, war made administering the vaccine difficult and religious fundamentalism made people fearful of programs advocated by outsiders. Still, the success of the campaign demonstrated that coordinated global efforts could address global problems. HIVIAIDS Between 1981 and 2014, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), killed more than 25 million people around the world. HIV weakens the immune system, so people more easily succumb to other illnesses. The virus is contracted through the exchange of bodily fluids, usually through unprotected sex, blood transfusions, or sharing intravenous needles. By the mid-1990s medical researchers had developed ways to treat the disease, but not to cure it. Antiretroviral drugs could stop HIV from weakening the immune system, thus allowing a patient to live with the virus for many years. However, the drugs were very expensive, so access to treatment was difficult, particularly for patients in poor countries. After 2000, the WHO, the United States government, and private groups increased funding for AIDS prevention and treatment in Africa, but the disease remains a serious problem today. Diabetes In 2015, almost 350 million people around the world had diabetes, a disease that affects how the body uses blood sugar. Considered a lifestyle discase, diabetes can damage a person's heart, kidneys, eyes, and extremities. The treatments included an improved diet, regular exercise, weight control, pills, and insulin injections. Heart Disease Like diabetes, heart disease is associated with lifestyle changes, genetics, and increased longevity. One of the major discoveries in fighting heart disease was the heart transplant, first performed by the South African Christiaan Barnard in 1967. Robert Jarvik led a team that designed an artificial heart, which was used as a temporary device while the patient waited for a compatible human heart. Other researchers developed less invasive procedures, such as replacing valves, installing stents in arteries, and replacing the vessels leading to the heart, and medications to reduce blood conditions that led to heart disease. In the 2000s, people with heart disease lived longer than similarly affected people did in the 1970s. Alzheimer's Disease As people lived longer, a form of dementia known as Alzheimer's disease that affected elderly and some middle-aged people became an increasing concern. Alzheimer's patients progressively lose their memory, eventually leading to a stage in which they do not recognize their loved ones. Since the disease undermines bodily functions, it leads to death. As of 2015, researchers continued to search for a cure.
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