Seeds, a dying river, and an experiment station: re-examining 1960s global solutions to hunger from Sonora, Mexico

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• Gabriela Soto Laveaga (Harvard University)
• Thursday 20 January 2022, 16:00-17:30
• Zoom.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Helen Curry.

High-yielding wheat seeds developed in research stations in Mexico helped launch the so-called Green Revolution in the 1960s. These seeds, often credited with averting a South Asian famine, transformed farming with the help of inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation. The environmental degradation and social impact of this type of farming became clear only years later. While research has focused on the environmental impact of these seeds in South Asia and other parts of the world, little attention has been given to the impact in the region where these seeds initially emerged, the research station were these seeds were first tested. This talk examines the history of the region, the Yaqui Valley, and how a scientific discovery billed as the key to ending world hunger, transformed the lives of thousands of erstwhile farmers.

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This talk is part of the Wellcome Lecture in the History of Medicine series.

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