The Green Revolution
Introduced| English |
|---|
| Green Revolution/ɡriːn ˌrevəˈluːʃn/ |
| high-yield/haɪ jiːld/ |
Feeding the billions
- In the mid-1900s, a growing world faced the threat of famine.
- Then farming changed dramatically, and food production soared.
- New crops and methods let one field grow far more grain.
- This transformation is called the Green Revolution.
What changed
- The Green Revolution 绿色革命 was a huge rise in food production.
- Scientists bred new high-yield 高产 crop varieties.
- Farmers added fertilisers, pesticides, and irrigation.
- Together these packed far more food onto every hectare.
The Green Revolution was a big rise in food production driven by…
The Green Revolution used new high-yield crop varieties plus fertilisers, pesticides, and irrigation to grow far more food.
The great benefit
- Yields of wheat, rice, and maize multiplied.
- This extra food helped feed a fast-growing population.
- Millions were saved from hunger and famine.
- It is one of the most important achievements in modern history.
What was a major benefit of the Green Revolution?
Higher yields helped feed billions and reduced famine — its greatest benefit.
Growing vast fields of a single crop is called ____.
Monoculture raises yields but reduces variety, so one pest or disease can wipe out the whole crop.
The hidden costs
- All those chemicals came at an environmental price.
- Fertiliser and pesticide runoff polluted rivers and soil.
- Growing single crops in vast fields — monoculture — reduced variety.
- A monoculture is fragile: one pest or disease can destroy the whole crop.
Benefit or cost of the Green Revolution?
Sort each result of the Green Revolution into a benefit or a cost.
Heavy fertiliser and pesticide use is an environmental cost of the Green Revolution.
The chemicals pollute water and soil, a major downside of these high-input methods.
Select all true statements about the Green Revolution.
It brought real environmental costs as well as benefits. The other three are correct.
The Green Revolution is a classic trade-off, not a simple success or failure. It fed billions — a huge benefit — but through heavy chemical use and monoculture that harmed the environment. Judge such advances by weighing both the benefits and the costs.
More rice, but muddier rivers:
- New high-yield rice let a farmer harvest twice as much grain.
- To do it, the farmer used far more fertiliser and pesticide.
- Rains washed those chemicals into the river, causing pollution downstream — more food, but a real environmental cost.
The Green Revolution was a huge rise in food production using high-yield crops, fertilisers, pesticides, and irrigation. Its great benefit was feeding a growing population and reducing famine. Its costs were chemical pollution and fragile monoculture farming — a trade-off with both benefits and harms.