Teacher Resources for Agricultural Process

Answers to class discussion questions

Better: They have access to seeds that have higher crop yields. They have technology at their disposal to deal with drought and pests. Worse: The soil quality has decreased. The current generation of farmers is aging out, and as people flock to urban areas, there aren’t going to be enough farmers to replace them. The commercial seeds they have been using since the 1960s are not drought or pest resistant. The government is not coming to their aid.
Farmers in the “Back to the Farm” video say they are better off settling on farms because the lifestyle is healthier, the income is more secure, they get to be their own bosses, etc. Farmers in the “Back to the Future” video are being devastated by drought and are unable to pay off their debts. They despair for the future and can’t face the shame of insolvency. Seeing few alternatives, many commit suicide.
Land’s ability to heal itself: When Rao’s organization invested in reforestation and revitalization of depleted soil, the ecosystems bounced back. Erosion was halted, the land was able to retain water, and people came back to farm the land. In “Back to the Future,” organizations collected older varieties of seeds (i.e. more natural varieties) which were better suited to the actual needs of the land. People’s ability to collaborate: By working with local farming communities, Rao’s organization was able to bring people together to find solutions for the problems they understood best, in a way that benefitted everyone.

Sample Utilitarian argument: If governments give incentives for urban dwellers to return to farms, the country will be less likely to face a shortage of farmers in subsequent generations. According to Utilitarianism, we have obligations to future generations to prevent suffering. One good way to prevent suffering to future generations to ensure that there are enough farmers to prevent food shortages. Thus, governments should give incentives for urban dwellers to return to farms.

Sample Deontological Argument: Farmers should be able to work their land in ways that are self-sustaining, so they do not have to depend on large corporations and go into insurmountable debt to buy the fertilizers and pesticides required for growing commercial seeds. Deontology tells us that we should organize society so that everyone can equitably enjoy autonomy. If we invest more money in making traditional seed varieties available to farmers, then we give those farmers more freedom.

Big Picture Question for Students to Ponder

You could collect low stakes writing assignments at the next class with this as a prompt or use the question to guide a summative discussion at the end of the model. Answers should reflect the students’ own opinions and values.

Further Study for Instructors

For more information about the Green Revolution in India, read Baranski (2015) and Khush (2001)

References

Baranski, M. R. (2015). Wide adaptation of Green Revolution wheat: International roots and the Indian context of a new plant breeding ideal, 1960–1970. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 50, 41–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2015.01.004

Barry, M., Barry, W. & Jackson, W. (2017) "Response to the Recent Ney York Times Op- Ed on the Green Revolution" https://berrycenter.org/2017/03/26/response-recent- new-york-times-op-ed-green-revolution/

Khush, G. S. (2001). Green revolution: The way forward. Nature Reviews Genetics, 2(10), 815–822. https://doi.org/10.1038/35093585

Sharp, P. A., & Leshner, A. (2016, January 4). Opinion | We Need a New Green Revolution. The New York Times.