Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite. - John Kenneth Galbraith
Maradon! fucked around with this message on 09-14-2009 at 06:27 PM.
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A sleep deprived Karnaj stammered:
Why there aren't monuments the size of Mount Rushmore for this man, I'll never know.
I was thinking that just his hand should be added to the top of Rushmore, as though he were leaning on Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln.
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Maradon! got all f'ed up on Angel Dust and wrote:
The guy had some serious detractors among various environmentalist groups, Earth First and Greenpeace and so forth. Saving a billion lives is not everybody's idea of a good deed, even less so if you empower those lives to rise out of a "charming" state of subsistence farming.
Norman Borlaug was a good man working with the best of motives. He deserves far more respect than he'll ever get for what he did for humanity.
That said, there are legitimate issues with the Green Revolution that Borlaug did not, and really should not, have expected. Its hard to gauge the impact of this as well; decrying the Green Revolution to any extent crosses into unpopular territory, even when the complaints are valid. I'd say that corporations, such as Monsanto, are far more to blame for this than Borlaug though.
Borlaug was presented with a specific problem and the Green Revolution quite effectively. We now have a new problem that comes as a result of the speed, scale, and complacency of the Green Revolution as one solution to the issue. This has resulted in the long term effects that haven't been studied as much as they should have because... hey it did a lot to solve hunger right?
It all just sounds like veiled disgust at modernity itself; misanthropic zealots aghast that Borlaug would DARE manipulate the sacrosanct earth for mere human benefit. Monoculture? Like all farming, everywhere? Is it better for people to die due to a lack of speciation or due to regular starvation?
Isn't worrying about biodiversity something you do a few steps further up Maslow's pyramid?
edit: my proof is that the answer is not immediately obvious to an untrained person. Blindy. fucked around with this message on 09-15-2009 at 07:33 AM.
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Aw, geez, I have Maradon! all over myself!
Which concerns are those? I've only ever heard things rooted in hybridization paranoia or general anthopophobia, neither of which I consider to be real problems.
Borlaug himself stated a few years ago that the main problem facing the world as food supply goes is lack of unused farmland. There are only few regions in the world remaining which can be exploited for farmland. After that, the only choice we will have is increase yields of existing farmland, cut down vast swaths of forest for new farmland, or reclaim old farmland by destroying existing suburbs and exurbs.
Or, of course, decrease our population, but people electing not to reproduce is just silly.
Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite. - John Kenneth Galbraith
Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite. - John Kenneth Galbraith
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Karnaj probably says this to all the girls:
reclaim old farmland by destroying existing suburbs and exurbs.
I fully support this.
