From Farm to Fork: Eating in the Wake of the Green Revolution

Project Proposal

Great debates rage regarding the safest, most effective means to produce food for our ever-increasing population. I would like to study the effects of the Green Revolution, observing how communities have adapted to the altered diets provided by the technological advances of the twentieth century, to learn about resistance to and acceptance of technological innovation, to understand politics of farming communities, and to be trained in the traditional ways of cooking and farming which are still practiced today. Specifically, I would like to work with farmers and cooks in Mexico, France, and India to see how wheat, wheat agronomy, and wheat usage has changed food production and preparation in the past sixty years.

The twentieth century ushered in the largest surges in population the world has yet known - thanks in large part to the success of wheat crops. Despite periodic and tragic episodes of famine, and even with numerous predictions to the contrary, lack of food has not yet curbed global population growth. To keep feeding increasing populations, production will need to continue to become more efficient with improved agricultural practices and technology. Ultimately, there is no final solution; how cooks and farmers adapt to the work of modern science will be a process rather than a final product.

The introduction of man-made nitrate fertilizers, the development of hybridized strains of crops, and the increased use of farm machinery have been some of the major innovations which have driven modern agriculture in developing nations. These changes have come to be known collectively as ‘the Green Revolution.’ These changes in farming practices have not only increased agricultural production and supported increased population in many nations, but have also had a deep cultural impact worldwide. For many people, new crops have become new ingredients. These changes in farming have also caused world health to improve substantially.

Some regions have embraced new technologies as saviors while others have rejected them for reasons of tradition, environmental protectionism, or fear. As new crops drive out local staples, old recipes and traditions are being lost. An increasing market for organic agricultural goods in the first world has given rise to a new appreciation for traditional agriculture. However, the third world continues to shift in the other direction - towards an increased reliance on technological means to produce adequate supplies of foodstuffs and away from traditional crops and methods.

The fate of wheat is the fate of the world. Still planted today on more acres than any other crop on Earth, it will most likely continue to be among the most vital ingredient in feeding future populations. Mexico and India’s rate of yield for wheat is over three times as high now as it was in 1961. Wheat is a grass whose seed is ground to make flour. Every culture which has known wheat has developed a different means to use it. The hearty breads of northern Europe rely on tough winter wheats that thrive in their cold region. The light flat breads of the Middle East come from low-gluten breeds of locally successful soft, spring wheats. The range of breads available world wide is enormous, and their varied developments are representative of the dynamic traits of wheat.

As the Green Revolution began to dispense hybridized wheat, crop production, and in turn, diets, began to change. New traditions have begun to emerge and old recipes have started to be adapted. Traditional Mexican tortillas that were made from indigenous corn have begun to be replaced with greater frequency by wheat-based tortillas. As Indian farmers have churned out larger quantities of wheat, wheat has increased the prominence and diversity of Indian Naan breads . French breads have benefited from the larger variety of flours, giving new legs to ancient recipes.

The Rockefeller Foundation initiated the Green Revolution in Mexico. Our Southern neighbor currently houses the International Maize and WheatImprovementCenter (CIMMYT in Spanish). I have contacted John E. Woolston at CIMMYT. He has agreed to help put me in contact with researchers at the center so that I can learn more about the current changes which are going on in plant genetics and to put me in touch with farmers who are implementing those changes. After spending some time with the CIMMYT, I would like to make my way through the rich agricultural lands surrounding the center. The adoption of NAFTA has widened the gap between large and small farmers, resulting in a great disparity in the agricultural technologies utilized by these groups. I would like to learn from political groups in Mexico who have risen up in opposition to corporate control of farming, and I would like to meet with the people who are directly being affected by these changes in policy. Through these contacts, I can find a better understanding of some of the politics of farming in Mexico today. Using both informal contacts made through the CIMMYT and through Food and Water Watch, I would like to live and work with farmers to learn about the way that these changes have touched individuals and communities and spurred political action.

France, long known for its artisan breads, has benefited from the Green Revolution indirectly. French farmers have been able to adopt new hybridized strains of wheat to provide relief to land with tired soil. France is the only Western European country which is still a major wheat producer. France has used a protectionist agricultural policy to prevent foreign-grown wheat from saturating the market, and in turn has had the luxury of retaining its traditional agricultural communities. I would like to travel in these rich farming populations and see how the Common Agricultural Policy has been able to preserve this way of life. I want to spend time studying and experiencing the complex politics of reform to the European Union’s agricultural policy today. I hope to learn from French bakers, speaking with them about the sourcing of their wheat and how the growing markets of wheat world-wide has changed this centuries-old business. I have made contact with farmers in France who will help me to learn both about the farming and use of wheat in France today.

India has been the poster child of the Green Revolution. The country was on the brink of famine in the early 1960s, but the introduction of dwarf hybrid wheat allowed the population to continue to grow. I would like to explore both northern and southern cuisine and national differences in farming techniques. Looking at ancient practices of swidden agriculture, adopted organic methods of farming, and modern industrial growing techniques will help me understand the varied methods of cultivation. Working with the Rice-Wheat Consortium in New Delhi, I would make my way into the Punjab region, which produces over 60% of India’s wheat and has been strongly affected by the Green Revolution. Northern India has been one of the great beneficiaries of the Green Revolution and has strong political supports for maintaining scientific advancement in agricultural technology. I would like to learn about the groups who are advocating for these shifts in farming and spend time studying their work. Conversely, farmers in central and southern India have largely been neglected by the Green Revolution for political as well as ecological reasons. I would like to spend time with farmers in Southern India to see how communities there are surviving.

The contacts I have made with organizations thus far as well as the experience I have had working on farms in the past gives me faith that I would be able to make further links in these regions once I get my feet on the ground. Small farmers are often eager to share their experience, knowledge of crops, and work as part of an organic pride for the land. I hope that through the natural networks which arise in agricultural communities, I will be able to find the contacts I need. The non-governmental organizations that I have been in touch with have been supportive of my projects and will likely through professional networks be able to point me in the direction that my interest leads me once I have worked with them.

The Watson would provide me a chance to explore my interests in a manner that no other opportunity could. Doing independent research on wheat growth and usage would span disciplines – from the culinary arts to agricultural sciences – and will hopefully serve as a first step for further growth. Some of the most rewarding work I have done in my life has been self-initiated. My two years at DeepSpringsCollege taught me the value of isolation and the strength that can be gained from finding and pursuing one’s own goals. My time working on farms has allowed me to learn about the process and practicalities of agricultural communities. The research I conducted for Food & Water Watch allowed me to explore the complex politics of global agriculture. The time I have spent learning from other bakers, teaching peers my art, and cooking for others has taught me how to think about and enjoy a meal. Now is a time I would like to bring all of these parts of my life together – synthesizing my passion for cooking, eating, and growing while still fulfilling my personal desire to produce positive change. The lessons which I would learn on a Watson Fellowship would not be just in the content of the project, but in the process of making connections to individuals and cultures, exploring my interests as I find them in the field, and building relationships which will last into my professional life and beyond.

The three countries I would like to study have played important roles in the history of wheat and will be major contributors in the future. As the world population rises, agricultural technology will need to keep pace. Undoubtedly, as farming practices keep on changing, so will our cuisine. The Green Revolution continues to affect millions of lives, and I would like to be there to taste the results.

From Farm to Fork: Eating in the wake of the Green Revolution

Personal Essay

My back ached as I slid my hand into the rich, dark dirt. The sun had just begun to rise above the snow-capped Sierras, and I had already picked my weight in potatoes. Each smooth, cold, swollen root that I pulled from the ground brought me a small bit of satisfaction. These weren’t just potatoes, these were my potatoes. I had spent months weeding their rows, watering them, caring for them like a doting father, and tonight they would be my meal. As I have grown, a connection to my food, physically, psychologically, and academically, has become more important to me. I am a person driven by a desire to contribute to our world; through learning, laughter, understanding, and exploration.

I remember how shocked I was to discover in middle school that the potato, a tuber so rooted in Irish history, originated in the Americas. Later, I learned further about how the species has changed, evolved, and in some ways, devolved from its once diverse range of cultivars. I found out how the Incas had developed different types of potatoes to fit a variety of needs and how the Europeans had simply blanketed their countryside with a single variety of this potentially diverse crop. I began to see the fascinating and important story of this staple crop. Learning how plants such as the potato continue to evolve with humans' changing needs and habits still grips my curiosity today.

I’m a mixed blessing at the dinner table. When I begin a sentence with, “Hey, did you know…” I am often countered with, “Do I want to know?” Photographs of animal slaughters I participated in or the intimate details of wheat processing might not garner me many dinner invitations, but to me they are fascinating and miraculous testaments to our very existence. The politics of organics vs. local foods, the need for increased yields and the destructive force of nitrate fertilizers are topics which have always fascinated me. “You are what you eat” isn’t simply a tired euphemism to me but a fascinating formula for what seems to be true life alchemy.

I was born a chubby baby, a hefty nine plus pounds at birth, but I grew into a lanky young man with an insatiable appetite. I have always been eager to try a little bit of everything: foods which are new to me or variations of foods that are familiar. Just as I am eager to eat something, I am also curious to find out how it is made, why it was made just that way, and where it came from. As I grew up, I asked my mom, an enthusiastic cook, to teach me how to make all of my favorite dishes, and I slowly began to know my ingredients, techniques and tools for food preparation.

Some of my earliest memories go back to walks through my grandfather’s vegetable garden. He proudly presented his prized plants to me and my sister. One day I finally made the connection – the fresh picked tomatoes at lunch were juicy and sweet because of the work of my grandfather’s hands and the earth. As I grew older, my palate widened – and my curiosity along with it. As I began to work the earth myself, the human aspect of agriculture touched me. Food forms community in its production and its consumption, and both were of deep importance.

I spent my first two years of college at Deep Springs College, a small, experimental institution in Eastern California. The school, with a student body of 26 young men, uses an intensive three-pillared curriculum of labor, academics, and self-governance to educate what the college’s founder had termed, “servants to humanity.” As a part of my Deep Springs experience, I learned many of the issues involved in running an organic cattle ranch. The high desert basin which Deep Springs cultivated is directly north of Death Valley; a challenge to turn into fertile farmland especially using organic methods. I observed how farmers in neighboring valleys fought hard against the limitations of the land with extensive watering systems and large amounts of fertilizers. At Deep Springs we worked with rusted equipment and manure to keep our 152 acres from slipping back into scrub; usually, we succeeded. During my time running the ranch's dairy operation and laboring in the farming operation, I was responsible not only to my peers, but I was also accountable for the lives of hundreds of animals. At Deep Springs, I developed a deeper relationship with the natural world.

In addition to working outdoors on the ranch, I spent a considerable amount of time in the kitchen, a requirement for all students at the college and a special pleasure for me. As I took satisfaction in raising more and more of my own sustenance, my passion for cooking shifted from a simple desire to find pleasure in the food itself to a larger desire to complete a cycle. I learned something about myself through each meal I had worked for. Being able to see how my food was grown taught me something about who I was. My ingredients had been watered by my sweat. I could feel confident in saying that a meal was truly mine. I learned to cook seasonally, to work hard, and to eat with thanks for the fresh gifts of the earth. I learned from great cooks as I perfected a range of artisan sourdough breads and rich pastries. I learned to love flour, to tame wild yeast, and to find beauty in great simplicity.

After leaving Deep Springs, my food no longer came from my own back yard. At Oberlin, the food I eat is produced by others. I have learned to see food in new ways. Elected to the board of directors of the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association, I could see how a student-run non-profit could feed six-hundred students and also help the local agricultural workers and food purveyors of the community.

After a semester in London, I spent a month working on an organic farm in Wales. This was a very different agricultural community from the one I had known at Deep Springs. Although the scale, crops, and climate had changed, I still felt the same sense of belonging and passion for that which we were growing. Aside from the English owners, I worked with a German woman and an Italian man who staffed the garden. Depending on the composition of the team in the fields, we would communicate in stilted English, broken French, or simple hand gestures. We taught each other farming practices through parroted action and simple explanation. Often, we simply enjoyed the shared silence as we worked on the common project to put food on the table. That summer taught me about the relationship that Europeans have with their food and provided me a taste of the varied traditions of cooks from another part of the world.

Upon returning to Oberlin, I wanted to create a residential community centered around food. I began speaking with Oberlin administration about how to establish a new option for dining on campus. After five months of negotiations, I founded the Culinary Program House, which finally came to fruition in September 2006. The Culinary House has put the six student residents fully in charge of managing their own food supply and food preparation. It also seeks to provide a setting for education on food related matters on campus – ranging from food sources to agricultural methodologies to gourmet techniques. This very small and focused community of like-minded people allows us the pursuit of epicurean studies. The House is also working with the student cooperatives, campus dining services, and several departments to provide a forum to involve other students with an appreciation of the food they are eating.

Last summer, I had the opportunity to work with Food & Water Watch, a non-profit public interest group in WashingtonDC. The organization supported many of the beliefs I already held, but forced me, for the first time, to quantify and defend my positions. Many agricultural communities have disappeared in favor of more efficient means to produce calories. America’s recent interest in organic farming has given new life to small farms utilizing traditional methods. However, in many parts of the world the push to provide enough food to sustain growing populations is displacing traditional farming and culinary arts.

I hope to spend my life supporting sustainable agriculture and traditional cuisines in the work I do and the way that I live. I hope I can do my part to encourage government accountability in food production. As a passionate cook and enthusiastic food consumer, I will continue to be part of a culinary community throughout my life, working with growers, cooks, and fellow food-lovers to not just maintain, but to increase, the diversity of foods and to maintain the productivity of the earth.

Food quality and sustainability will be some of the defining issues of my generation. A Watson Fellowship would allow me to continue my studies of how we feed ourselves. I would like to explore the complex and changing politics of agriculture to help maintain the traditional means of growing and preparing food. I hope to be able to share and to learn with those who work our lands and supply our food. I would like to again coat my hands in soil and flour and feel the connection that people feel between their crops and food worldwide.

written by  nleamy on April 24, 2007 from Beaverton, United States
from the travel blog: Watson Adventures
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