The Toxic Consequences of the Green Revolution

In India, farmers find that benefits of pesticides and herbicides may come at a tragically high cost

JAJJAL VILLAGE, INDIA


As driving their actions, the new organic farmers cite the rising costs of seed, fertilizer, and pesticides, and concerns that decades of chemical use is ruining the soil. But many are also revolting against what they see as the environmental degradation that has come with the new farming techniques, particularly the serious pollution of drinking water that village residents blame for causing cancer and other diseases.

“People are fed up with chemical farming,” says Amarjit Sharma, a farmer for 30 years who began organic farming four years ago. “The earth is now addicted to the use of these chemicals.”

US News & World Report