Ecomodernism And Deep Ecology Analysis

By using Ecomodernism and Deep Ecology perspectives I will analyze John Vidal's article "Are food and water driving a 21st-century African land grab", which discusses current agricultural practices in Ethiopia. Development scholars are divided about the potential benefits or drawbacks of large-scale, intensive agriculture (Vidal). Both sides agree that there is a need for reform to protect food supply, the approaches of ecomodernist and deep ecologists do not align with each other. Ecomodernism states that in the developing world, agriculture needs to become more intensive, efficient and technologically advanced (lecture1). Oppositionally, deep ecologists believe that we need to intensify human connection to the earth and develop a more spiritual and …show more content…
First, deep ecologists see the world as a unitary, complex living system yet the article does not pose any argument regarding the world as a unitary system (lecture2). Another important aspect of deep ecology is the importance of animal health and how the importance of animal life is equal to the importance of a human life (lecture2). This is not mentioned in the article and should have been addressed because it is a key aspect of a deep ecology perspective on agriculture. According to Tompkins journal article entitled "Turning Around From the Wrong Road Taken", human society needs to rethink the notion of progress and figure out a different development model that puts nature above technology and human society (2016). Another aspect that was overlooked in the article is the idea that current social organizations are brutally destructive to itself and other life forms and overall it does not make people happy (lecture2). This idea is important because deep ecologists believe that quality of life is more important than standard of living (ibid). Therefore economic and technological advances are not necessarily beneficial to all