MINI REVIEW

published: 22 February 2021

doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2021.644559

Lessons From the Aftermaths of

Green Revolution on Food System
and Health
Daisy A. John 1 and Giridhara R. Babu 2*
1
Public Health Foundation of India, Bangalore, India, 2 Head-Lifecourse Epidemiology, Public Health Foundation of India,
Bangalore, India

Food production has seen various advancements globally in developing countries, such
as India. One such advancement was the green revolution. Notably, the World Bank
applauds the introduction of the green revolution as it reduced the rural poverty in
India for a certain time. Despite the success of the green revolution, the World Bank
reported that health outcomes have not been improved. During the post-green revolution
period, several notable negative impacts arose. Exclusive studies were not conducted
on the benefits and harms before the introduction of the green revolution. Some of
such interventions deviate from the natural laws of balance and functioning and are
Edited by:
unsustainable practices. To avoid the adverse effects of some of these developments, a
Enoch Owusu-Sekyere, review of these interventions is necessary.
Swedish University of Agricultural
Sciences, Sweden Keywords: green revolution, sustainability, food system, agriculture, India

Reviewed by:
Yonas Bahta,
University of the Free State, INTRODUCTION
South Africa
Yong Sebastian Nyam, The production of food within India was insufficient in the years from 1947 to 1960 as there was
University of the Free State, a growing population, during which a famine was also anticipated (Nelson et al., 2019). Food
South Africa availability was only 417 g per day per person (Ghosh, 2002). Many farmers were in debt, and
*Correspondence: they had become landless laborers. Political situations that prevailed also had a negative impact
Giridhara R. Babu on the food system. There was a severe shortage of food crops as well as commercial crops. At
giridhar@iiphh.org the same time, Norman Borlaug, an agronomist, contributed to the green revolution significantly,
and this had set out its effects throughout the world. He provided new seeds for cultivation, which
Specialty section: were stocky, disease-resistant, fast-growing, and highly responsive to fertilizers. In India, the green
This article was submitted to revolution was launched under the guidance of geneticist Dr. M. S. Swaminathan (Somvanshi et al.,
Climate-Smart Food Systems,
2020). It started around 1960s and helped in increasing food production in the country. The green
a section of the journal
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
revolution’s primary aim was to introduce high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of cereals to alleviate
poverty and malnutrition (Nelson et al., 2019). Not to deny, the green revolution was capable of
Received: 21 December 2020
mitigating hunger and malnutrition in the short term as well (Davis et al., 2019).
Accepted: 13 January 2021
Published: 22 February 2021
What Is the Green Revolution?
Citation: The green revolution led to high productivity of crops through adapted measures, such as
John DA and Babu GR (2021)
(1) increased area under farming, (2) double-cropping, which includes planting two crops
Lessons From the Aftermaths of
Green Revolution on Food System
rather than one, annually, (3) adoption of HYV of seeds, (4) highly increased use of inorganic
and Health. fertilizers and pesticides, (5) improved irrigation facilities, and (6) improved farm implements and
Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 5:644559. crop protection measures (Singh, 2000; Brainerd and Menon, 2014) and modifications in farm
doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2021.644559 equipment. There was a high investment in crop research, infrastructure, market development, and

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems | www.frontiersin.org 1 February 2021 | Volume 5 | Article 644559
John and Babu Lessons From the Impacts of Green Revolution

appropriate policy support (Pingali, 2012). Efforts were made Impacts of the Green Revolution
to improve the genetic component of traditional crops. This Impacts on Agriculture and Environment
included selection for higher yield potential; wide adaptation Pests and Pesticide
to diverse environments; short growth duration; superior grain There has been a significant increase in the usage of pesticides,
quality; resistance to biotic stress, insects, and pests; and and India became one of the largest producers of pesticides in
resistance to abiotic stress, including drought and flooding the whole of Asia (Narayanan et al., 2016). Although this has
(Khush, 2001). After the green revolution, the production of contributed to a lot of economic gains (Gollin et al., 2018), it is
cereal crops tripled with only a 30% increase in the land found out that a significant amount of pesticides is unnecessary
area cultivated. This came true all over the world, with a few in both industrialized and developing countries. For instance,
exceptions. In addition, there were significant impacts on poverty it is reported that the presence of pesticides within freshwater
reduction and lower food prices. Studies also showed that without is a costly concern with detected levels exceeding the set limits
the green revolution, caloric availability would have declined of pesticide presence (Choudhary et al., 2018). Although the
by around 11–13%. These efforts benefitted all consumers in average amount of pesticide usage is far lower than in many other
the world, particularly the poor. There were further improved countries, there is high pesticide residue in India. This causes a
returns to the crop improvement research. It also prevented large amount of water pollution and damage to the soil. Another
the conversion of thousands of hectares of land for agriculture major issue is the pest attack, which arises due to an imbalance in
(Pingali, 2012). The green revolution helped India move from a the pests. Due to increased pesticide usage, the predator and prey
state of importing grains to a state of self-sufficiency (Brainerd pests are not in balance, and hence there is an overpopulation
and Menon, 2014). Earlier, it was the ship-to-mouth system, of one kind of pest that would attack certain crops. This leads
i.e., India depended on imported food items (Ramachandran to an imbalance in the production of those kinds of crops. These
and Kalaivani, 2018). There are undoubtedly positive effects crops would need stronger pesticides or pesticides of new kinds to
on the overall food security in India. Correspondingly, useful tackle the pests attacking those. This also has led to the disruption
and elaborate evidence in support of the positive impact of the in the food chain (Narayanan et al., 2016).
green revolution is available. However, after a certain period,
some unintended but adverse effects of the green revolution Water Consumption
were noticed. This paper introspects the negative impacts of India has the highest demand for freshwater usage globally, and
the green revolution on the food system in India. Studies 91% of water is used in the agricultural sector now (Kayatz et al.,
by the departments of conventional agriculture, social sector 2019). Currently, many parts of India are experiencing water
development, etc. bring out the positive impacts of the green stress due to irrigated agriculture (Davis et al., 2018). The crops
revolution, such as increased yield and reduced mortality and introduced during the green revolution were water-intensive
malnutrition (Somvanshi et al., 2020; von der Goltz et al., 2020). crops. Most of these crops are cereals, and almost 50% of dietary
On the other hand, studies conducted by the environmental and water footprint is constituted by cereals in India (Kayatz et al.,
public health departments suggest that to mitigate the negative 2019). Since the crop cycle is less, the net water consumed
impacts, a reduced usage of pesticides is sufficient (Gerage et al., by these crops is also really high. The production of rice
2017). There are many studies being conducted to find out the currently needs flooding of water for its growth1 (International
extent of the impacts of pesticides and insecticides and other Rice Research Institute). Canal systems were introduced, and
similar chemicals. there were irrigation pumps that sucked out water from the
Although there are many studies that focused on this topic, groundwater table to supply the water-intensive crops, such as
this paper makes an effort to inform policy by asserting that many sugarcane and rice (Taylor, 2019). Punjab is a major wheat- and
interventions, beneficial for the shorter term, such as the green rice-cultivating area, and hence it is one of the highest water
revolution, without the consideration of ecological principles, depleted regions in India2 (Alisjahbana, 2020). It is predicted
can be detrimental and irreversible in the long run (Clasen that Punjab will have water scarcity in a few years (Kumar et al.,
et al., 2019). Efforts to recover from environmental damage 2018). Diminishing water resources and soil toxicity increased
would require extensive efforts, time, and other resources as the pollution of underground water. The only aim of the green
compared with the destruction of the environment. Hence, any revolution was to increase food items’ production and make
new intervention needs to be checked for its eco-friendliness and it sufficient to feed everyone. The environmental impacts were
sustainability features. not taken into account (Taylor, 2019). Based on the previous
Carrying forward intensified usage of pesticides is not allocation of budget, irrigation was allotted 9,828 crore INR
advisable in an ever-deteriorating environment, and alternative as compared with 3,080 crore INR for agriculture, excluding
solutions that can promote economic growth, increased yield, irrigation. This pattern has been persistent in the past 3 years
and less harm to the environment can be implemented. The (NABARD, 2020). Overall, the GDP from agriculture is 380,239
vicious cycle of problem-solution-negative impacts has to be crore INR (16.5% of GDP) (Economics, 2020; India, 2020). This
broken at some point of time. For example, a second green
revolution is focused on in various countries (Ameen and Raza, 1 http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/step-by-step-production/growth/water-
2017; Armanda et al., 2019). Instead of this, techniques to management
promote sustainable agriculture can be considered. Hence, there 2 https://www.unescap.org/op-ed/asia-pacific-response-covid-19-and-climate-

has to be a wake-up call before the repetition of history. emergency-must-build-resilient-and-sustainable

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John and Babu Lessons From the Impacts of Green Revolution

indicates that there has been a higher investment on irrigation Extinction of Indigenous Varieties of Crops
of water due to its increased need in comparison with the other Due to the green revolution, India lost almost 1 lakh varieties of
inputs required for agriculture. indigenous rice (Prasad, 2016).
Since the time of the green revolution, there was reduced
cultivation of indigenous varieties of rice, millets, lentils, etc. In
Air Pollution
turn, there was increased harvest of hybrid crops, which would
Air pollution introduced due to the burning of agricultural waste
grow faster (Taylor, 2019). This is indicated in Figure 1. There
is a big issue these days. In the heartland of the green revolution,
is a large increase in the cultivation of wheat, soybeans, and
Punjab, farmers are burning their land for sowing the crops for
rice. In addition, there is a large decrease in the cultivation of
the next cycle instead of the traditionally practiced natural cycle.
sorghum, other millets, barley, and groundnuts. The increase
The next crop cycle arrives very soon because the crop cycle is
in certain crops was due to the availability of HYVs of seeds
of short duration for the hybrid crops introduced in the green
and an increase in the area of production of these crops (Singh,
revolution. This contributes to the high amount of pollution due
2019). The preference of farmers also changed in terms of the
to the burning of agricultural waste in parts of Punjab (Davis
cultivation of crops. The native pulses, such as moong, gram,
et al., 2018). This kind of cultivation can lead to the release
tur, etc., and some other oilseed crops, such as mustard, sesame,
of many greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane,
etc., were not cultivated further on a larger scale than it was
nitrogen oxides, etc. (de Miranda et al., 2015).
before. Traditionally grown and consumed crops, such as millets,
grow easily in arid and semi-arid conditions because they have
Impacts on Soil and Crop Production low water requirements. However, there was the unavailability of
There was a repetition of the crop cycle for increased crop high-yielding seeds of millets, and hence farmers moved to only
production and reduced crop failure, which depleted the soil’s rice and wheat (Srivastava et al., 2020).
nutrients (Srivastava et al., 2020). Similarly, as there is no
return of crop residues and organic matter to the soil, intensive Impacts on Human Health
cropping systems resulted in the loss of soil organic matter (Singh Food Consumption Pattern
and Benbi, 2016). To meet the needs of new kinds of seeds, Traditionally, Indians consumed a lot of millets, but this became
farmers used increasing fertilizers as and when the soil quality mostly fodder after the green revolution (Nelson et al., 2019). The
deteriorated (Chhabra, 2020). The application of pesticides and Cambridge world history of food mentions that the Asian diet
fertilizers led to an increase in the level of heavy metals, had food items, such as millets and barley (Kiple and Ornelas,
especially Cd (cadmium), Pb (lead), and As (arsenic), in the 2000). As already mentioned, after the period of the green
soil. Weedicides and herbicides also harm the environment. The revolution, there were significant changes in food production,
soil pH increased after the green revolution due to the usage of which in turn affected the consumption practices of Indians.
these alkaline chemicals (Sharma and Singhvi, 2017). The practice The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has recorded that
of monoculture (only wheat–rice cultivation) has a deleterious over the years 1961–2017, there are a decrease in the production
effect on many soil properties, which includes migration of silt of millets and an increase in the production of rice (Food
from the surface to subsurface layers and a decrease in organic and Agricultural Organisation, 2019; Smith et al., 2019); thus,
carbon content (Singh and Benbi, 2016). Toxic chemicals in rice became the staple diet of the country. Though the green
the soil destroyed beneficial pathogens, which are essential for revolution made food available to many, it failed to provide a
maintaining soil fertility. There is a decrease in the yield due to a diverse diet but provided increased calorie consumption.
decline in the fertility of the soil. In addition, the usage of tractors
and mechanization damaged the physicochemical properties of Health-Related Impacts on the General Population
the soil, which affected the biological activities in the soil. In Most of the pesticides used belong to the class organophosphate,
the traditional methods, soil recovers in the presence of any organochlorine, carbamate, and pyrethroid. Indiscriminate
kind of stressors (Srivastava et al., 2020). However, this does pesticide usage has led to several health effects in human
not happen with these modern methods. In a study conducted beings in the nervous, endocrine, reproductive, and immune
in Haryana, soil was found to have waterlogging, salinity, soil systems. Sometimes, the amount of pesticide in the human body
erosion, decline, and rise of groundwater table linked to brackish increases beyond the capacity of the detoxification system due
water and alkalinity, affecting production and food security in the to continuous exposure through various sources (Xavier et al.,
future (Singh, 2000). 2004). Of all, the intake of food items with pesticide content is
Although for around 30 years there was an increase in the found to have high exposure, i.e., 103 -105 times higher than that
production of crops, the rice yield became stagnant and further arising from contaminated drinking water or air (Sharma and
dropped to 1.13% in the period from 1995 to 1996 (Jain, 2018). Singhvi, 2017).
Similarly with wheat, production declined from the 1950s due to
the decrease in its genetic potential and monoculture cropping Impacts on Farmers
pattern (Handral et al., 2017). The productivity of potato, cotton, Most of the farmers who use pesticides do not use personal
and sugarcane also became stagnant (Singh, 2008). Globally, protective gear, such as safety masks, gloves, etc., as there is no
agriculture is on an unsustainable track and has a high ecological awareness about the deleterious effects of pesticides. Pesticides,
footprint now (Prasad, 2016). applied over the plants, can directly enter the human body,

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John and Babu Lessons From the Impacts of Green Revolution

FIGURE 1 | Changes in area harvested of the crops from the years 1961 to 2018 (data source: FAOSTAT; FAO, 2020).

and the concentration of nitrate in the blood can immobilize solution for malnutrition, but it led to environmental destruction
hemoglobin in the blood. Organophosphates can also develop in a few years. In the short term, food scarcity might rise again
cancer if exposed for a longer period. Since it is in small due to increased water depletion and soil damage. Any new
quantities, the content may not be seen or tasted; however, interventions should be carefully introduced not to disrupt other
continuous use for several years will cause deposition in the body. systems to prevent future adversities. A domino effect is expected
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was a very common to occur when there is any disruption in the ecosystem, such
pesticide used in India, now banned internationally as it is that if even one link in the food chain is affected, it affects
found to bioaccumulate and cause severe harmful effects on other parts of the chain also. Most of the ecological disruption
human beings (Sharma and Singhvi, 2017). However, there is is by human intervention (Vaz et al., 2005). Pesticides used for
still illegal use of DDT in India. In India, women are at the agricultural activities are released to the environment through
forefront of around 50% of the agricultural force. Hence, most air drift, leaching, and run-off and are found in soil, surface,
of these women are directly exposed to these toxins at a young and groundwater. This can contaminate soil, water, and other
age and are highly vulnerable to the negative impacts including vegetation. Pesticide residues are found to be present in almost all
effects on their children. It is proven that there is a significant habitats and are detected in both marine and terrestrial animals
correlation between agrochemical content in water and total (Choudhary et al., 2018). The mechanisms include absorption
birth defects. The damaging impact of agrochemicals in water is through the gills or teguments, which is bioconcentration,
more pronounced in poor countries, such as India (Brainerd and as well as through the consumption of contaminated food,
Menon, 2014). called biomagnification or bioamplification. In marine systems,
seagrass beds and coral reefs were found to have very high
DISCUSSION concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (Dromard et al.,
2018). It also affects the activities of insects and microbes. It
Efforts are underway to produce genetic variants of millets that kills insects and weeds, is toxic to other organisms, such as birds
can withstand biotic and abiotic stresses. Earlier, the introduction and fish, and contaminates meat products, such as chicken, goat,
of genetic variants of rice and wheat and pesticides was the and beef. This can lead to bioaccumulation in human beings

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John and Babu Lessons From the Impacts of Green Revolution

along with poor food safety, thus impairing nutrition and health. (Khadse et al., 2018). The government of Andhra Pradesh (AP),
Repeated application leads to loss of biodiversity (Choudhary a Southern state in India, has plans to convert 6 million farmers
et al., 2018). Consumption of pesticide-laden food can lead to loss and 8 million hectares of land under the state initiative of Climate
of appetite, vomiting, weakness, abdominal cramps, etc. (Gerage Resilient Zero Budget Natural Farming because of the positive
et al., 2017). There is a decline in the number of pollinators, outputs obtained in the ZBNF impact assessments in the states of
for instance, the destruction of bumblebee colonies that are an Karnataka and AP (Reddy et al., 2019; Koner and Laha, 2020)
important group of pollinators on a global scale (Baron et al., In AP, it was observed that yield of crops increased to 9% in
2017). There is an extinction of honeybee populations, and it the case of paddy and 40% in the case of ragi. Net income
poses a great threat to the survival of human beings (Hagopian, increased from 25% in the case of ragi ranging to 135% in the
2017). The residue level of these pesticides depends on the case of groundnut (Martin-Guay et al., 2018; Reddy et al., 2019).
organism’s habitat and position in the food chain. This is a serious There is a need for a systems approach in dealing with food
issue because the predicted usage of pesticides is that it will be insecurity and malnutrition and other similar issues. Like the
doubled in the coming years (Choudhary et al., 2018). already mentioned example, the green revolution was brought
In addition, it is not nearly possible to get back the lost in to reduce the problem of reduced yield. Now, there is a
varieties of indigenous rice. Likewise, further advancements green revolution 2 that is planned. Before such interventions
should not lead to the extinction of the other indigenous varieties are taken, environmental risk assessments and other evaluation
of grains, such as millets. studies should be conducted for a sustainable future.
In conclusion, the effects of the green revolution are
persisting. The green revolution, which was beneficial in ensuring AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
food security, has unintended but harmful consequences on
agriculture and human health. This requires new interventions DJ conceived the idea. DJ and GB contributed to the writing
to be tested and piloted before implementation, and continuous of the article. Both the authors contributed to the review,
evaluation of the harms and benefits should guide the proofreading, and finalizing the manuscript.
implementation. An already fragile food system is affected due
to the aftermaths of the green revolution. The potential negative FUNDING
impacts are not part of the discourse as it can affect the narratives
of development and prosperity. Developments introduced due This MAASTHI cohort was funded by an Intermediate
to necessity may not be sustainable in the future. Organic Fellowship by the Wellcome Trust DBT India Alliance (Clinical
ways of farming need to be adopted for sustainable agricultural and Public Health research fellowship) to GB (grant number
practices. Similarly, alternative agriculture techniques, such IA/CPHI/14/1/501499). The funding agency had no role in the
as intercropping, Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) with design and conduct of the article, review and interpretation of
essential principles involving the enhancement of nature’s the data, preparation or approval of the manuscript, or decision
processes, and elimination of external inputs, can be practiced to submit the manuscript for publication.

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Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems | www.frontiersin.org 6 February 2021 | Volume 5 | Article 644559