Interesting history, but I don't see how a story on sustainable agriculture can completely avoid the topic of population. Seems like an odd collection of sources too.

This is a fascinating report about an incredible country and its growing significance in the global economy. It traces the history of the "Green Revolution" in India, which resulted in India's period of adequate food for its people and surplus for export, to the current situation of inadequate supply and rising costs to Indian consumers and to the global market. The title is misleading, in that it appears "growth" is not the culprit, per se. The problems have arisen because attention has not been paid to keeping the "Green" policies relevant to changing conditions. The article notes the technological revolution in India, and that farmers are selling out to increased industrial and tech production, but doesn't evaluate the ... More »

This article spotlights an important problem, as manifested in one country. However, it fails to illuminate the "big picture" by glossing over the factors contributing to the adoption of the first "green revolution" in India, and its not-so-beneficial consequences that have helped fuel the current prevailing hunger. There is a current call for a second "green revolution" (this time relying on genetically modified plants), and that would be a mistake without studying the problems with the first. For more info, read Stuffed and Starved, by Raj Patal (sixth chapter).

It's good journalism because it shows what happens when development and food get out of balance. It also deals with the downside of the 'green revolution', which is already becoming evident in a lot of ways (like the pollution that arises from fertilizers leaching into water supplies), and the downside of prosperity (why should I eat rice and beans when I can afford steak?) People know how to grow food without these downsides - but it just doesn't happen. One issue not mentioned is the uneconomical size of many farms in India and elsewhere in the 'developing world'. They don't need thousand acre farms, but many of the holdings are often only a few acres and that doesn't work well. But then you have all those displaced people....

All this talk about economic development and not a word about the balance between that and population.

Amazing how this story how this comes after a segment on PBS' "Now" bout India's amazing growth and emerging middle class to boot; a possible dark side?