During the Green Revolution countries all over Asia, Africa, and South America dramatically increased their yields of wheat and rice. In India this increase meant that fifty percent more rice and wheat was being produced in the 1980s when compared to the 1960s. This is a massive increase in the two staple crops that provide nutrition for the majority of the Indian population, and a large portion of the world’s population.

Norman Borlaug is considered to be the "Father of the Green Revolution". He led several initiatives that got this Revolution up and running as well as received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. He is credited with saving billions from starvation as well as modernizing agriculture techniques and technology.

Some of the issues with the industrialization of agriculture include a high investment of fossil fuel energy to produce food, as well as the resulting pollution from fertilizer runoff and the widespread development of monocultures; however, increased use of pesticides and improvements in global food security have largely abated the threat of crop failures.

While the process of synthesizing nitrogen fertilizers on an industrial scale had been around since the early twentieth century (e.g. the Haber-Bosch nitrogen fixation process, which was developed in 1909), this technology and infrastructure did not expand and become established in the developed world until the 1960s. This resulted in an increase of cheap and abundant cereal grains in famine-stricken countries.

GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are any organisms whose genetic makeup has been altered using genetic engineering techniques.

During the Green Revolution, cereal grain production (and total caloric production for that matter) doubled, resulting in a 100% increase, one of the largest increases in food production in human history.

The majority of the initiatives were carried out between 1930-1960 and actual changes in the agricultural process occurred during the late 1960's. During this time period, research, development and technology related to agriculture was reformed leading to the Green Revolution. In fact, the first time the Green Revolution was referred to by this name was in 1968.

Historically, Mexico, India and Brazil were part of the growth of the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution in addition with the Mexican Revolution are credited for transforming Mexico. India was very close to a mass famine when Norman Borlaug came to the country and assisted them with their Green Revolution. Brazil's soil was transformed by Borlaug and now is a leading exporter of beef, poultry and soybeans.

The Green Revolution took place in the mid-twentieth century. It is estimated that it led to a population increase of between one to two billion people. The majority of this population growth took place in Asia, particularly in countries like India, China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.

Food, health and environmental safety are all leading concerns of critics of the Green revolution. In regards to food safety, critics were concerned about starvation as well as the actual quality of one's diet. In regards to health safety, critics were concerned about the ingesting of pesticides that may lead to cancer. The final concern was surrounding environmental safety where criticisms centered using non-renewable resources and greenhouse gas emissions.