Agribusiness has for decades been touting chemical pesticides, fertilizers and genetic engineering as the solutions to feeding an ever-increasing global population, but farmers in India are beginning to take a stronger stance against those claims and choosing to return to traditional, organic farming practices. I’m excited to see the growing shift away from the inappropriately dubbed Green Revolution, towards a healthier, more sustainable way of growing food.  Many farmers are discovering that chemical dependency, genetic modification and monoculture planting pose enormous threats to food security, human safety and environmental health; dangers that people like Vanadana Shiva have long warned about.

Considering that India has roughly three times the population of the U.S., but 30 times more organic farmers than the U.S., hopefully farmers here and across the globe will follow India’s lead.  Despite what companies like Monsanto claim, genetic modification and intense chemical treatments have not improved crop yields, but instead destroy the soil, pollute the water, and leave crops more susceptible to stronger pests and blight.  One farmer in India explained to NPR, that he:

realized the vicious circle in which we were stuck.

While shifting back to organic practices will take time and initially present new challenges to farmers accustomed to conventional farming, ultimately the new revolution will benefit our health and the health of the planet immensely.  The secrets to feeding the world will be found in healthy soil, not the marketing department of a chemical company.

Photo: antkriz’s flickr photostream (creative commons)