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We've been solving hunger wrong for decades.
That’s the provocative claim at the heart of award-winning journalist Roger Thurow’s latest book, “Against the Grain: How Farmers Around the Globe Are Transforming Agriculture to Nourish the World and Heal the Planet,” which challenges the very foundations of modern agriculture.
After witnessing Ethiopia's devastating 2003 famine firsthand as a Wall Street Journal correspondent, Thurow embarked on a global journey that revealed an uncomfortable reality: The agricultural practices meant to feed the world are now destroying it.
“Agriculture and the process of nourishing us puts a tremendous strain and takes a toll on our environment,” Thurow tells Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar in this latest Book Club episode. “Our own actions are contributing to this strange prospect that we need to change.”
The collision is stark. Farmers worldwide are seeing their lands degraded, soils depleted, waters dwindling, forests disappearing, pollinators fleeing, and biodiversity shrinking — all consequences of agricultural practices that Thurow said prioritized maximum production above all else.
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Thurow’s narrative cuts through decades of development dogma. Remember Norman Borlaug? The Nobel Peace Prize winner whose Green Revolution was supposed to solve world hunger? That approach, Thurow argues, is now imploding, with farmers themselves leading the rebellion against industrial methods that promised prosperity but delivered environmental degradation.
One such example is in Ethiopia, where farmers were pushed to grow more and more, but when their fields finally yielded bounty around 2000-2002, no one had built the markets to handle it. Prices crashed, farming incentives vanished, and when drought arrived, the result was devastating hunger in a country full of farmers.
Perhaps most eye-opening is Thurow’s revelation that the majority of people receiving food aid globally are themselves farmers — a “cruel oxymoron” exposing fundamental flaws in our food systems.
The conversation challenges conventional wisdom about feeding the growing global population. While some experts insist only industrial agriculture with chemical fertilizers can produce enough food, Thurow argues we’ve ignored Indigenous knowledge and regenerative practices that could nourish both people and the planet.
About the author
Hayley Mundeva
Hayley Mundeva is the Communications Lead at Devex, where she handles executive communications, podcast production, and other signature content. Born in Nepal and based in Rwanda, she brings communications consulting experience spanning private businesses, nonprofits, and international organizations in East Africa, Southeast Asia, and North America. She holds a master's degree in global health.
