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17 February, 2001
A REAL Green Revolution

New Study Shows Sustainable Agriculture--Not GE-- Best for "Feeding the World"

The largest study ever performed on sustainable agriculture shows dramatically increased crop yields--by 70% or more-- on poor farms worldwide.

The study, published this month in the New Scientist magazine, "will make sobering reading for people convinced that only genetically modified crops can feed the world in the 21st century," said John Hagelin, who has led the political fight against genetically engineered foods in the U.S. since 1994.

"The high-tech 'green revolution' that doubled global food production in the past generation was designed for big mechanized farms on the best land, using capital to buy pesticides and fertilizers that high-yielding plant varieties need," the article states. "It was never a blueprint for working marginal land, or helping poor farmers with plenty of labor but little capital.

"Yet, over the past 30 years, poor farmers have been pushed half-heartedly into the green revolution. While some have gained, this high input technology has not served them well."

John Hagelin says that the survey shows there is a better way.

"A new agricultural revolution is gaining strength, built on real research into what works best on small farms, where a billion or more of the world's hungry live and work. For some, talk of 'sustainable agriculture' sounds like a luxury the poor can ill afford. But in fact, it is good science, addressing real needs and delivering real results. It is time for the major agricultural research centers and their funding agencies to join the revolution."

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