"The father of the Green Revolution","agriculture's greatest spokesperson" and "The Man Who Saved A Billion Lives". Norman Ernest Borlaug (1914 – 2009) has been called all of these as a tribute to his work in the field of environmental science. Borlaug was an american biologist, humanitarian and Nobel laureate whose work with bio-engineered crops helped increase world food production at a time that food scarcity was becoming a big issue around the world as the population boomed. As such, Borlaug was a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honor.In 1937, Borlaug received his B.Sc. Biology from University of Minnesota, and his Ph.D. in plant pathology and genetics in 1942. This career path was inspired by a plant pathology talk he attended on a whim which inspired him to pursue what he felt had the potential to save millions of lives, instead of his planned career in forestry. He then took up an agricultural research position in Mexico, and gained the support of farmers there to test semi-dwarf, high-yield, disease-resistant wheat varieties he developed using strains from different species of wheat. After a few failed trials, Borlaug created the perfect plant, and as a result, Mexico became a net exporter of wheat by 1963. This led to the introduction of these high-yielding varieties combined with modern agricultural production techniques to Mexico, Pakistan, India and eventually the continents of Africa and Asia in the mid-twentieth century. This resulted in nearly doubled wheat yields in Pakistan and India, greatly improving the food security in those nations starting in 1965 and 1970.With these collective increases in yield, Borlaug was deemed the leader of what is known as the Green Revolution. Borlaug is often credited with saving over a billion people worldwide from starvation and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 in recognition of "his contributions to world peace through increasing food supply."Borlaug argued that we must rely on science and research to answer the questions about whether GMO foods pose any environmental risks and never backed down when it came to discussing them, no matter how controversial. He also emphasized that education was important because there was a declining trend in support for public agricultural research, such as at CIMMYT, where the crucial discoveries that led to the first Green Revolution took place. Borlaug talked about how the fast the world's population was getting and that there were only two options to be made. Either yields are significantly increased on land already in production, or we destroy the remaining rainforests and other habitats for wild plants and animals in order to have more farmland. To help preserve the ecosystem while also reducing hunger and malnutrition,Borlaug said biotechnology was the answer. As an influential figure, Borlaug gave speeches in which he advocated biotechnology and the crucial role he saw for it in feeding and enhancing the nutrition of those in shaky food security situations. Borlaug worked alongside Jimmy Carter and The Carter Center and The Sasakawa Global 2000 Program to promote Quality Protein Maize in sub-Saharan Africa to counter malnutrition and center diseases prevalent in the region. He also founded the World Food Prize to inspire and be like a Nobel prize for those doing work in food and agriculture. Borlaug's efforts transformed the agriculture field in China, Egypt, and other countries forever and his legacy leaves efforts to educate students and next generation leaders on world hunger and food security.
Links:
http://www.worldfoodprize.org/index.cfm?nodeID=25305&audienceID=1
This was a really interesting biography to read! Many people wrote about influential scientists from 100 years ago. It was good to read about someone as current as Norman E. Borlaug! His scientific advancements in food production and efforts in preventing world hunger are substantial. I love reading about scientists who saw a real need in the world and then set out to find a solution for it. This is a wonderful success story. I also appreciate that he is so insistent that the conversation on GMO’s continue. I think it is important that we never stop questioning our methods and our discoveries.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of this man, but I feel like everyone should if he helped to save a billion lives. Upon his death, his life’s work and accomplishments should’ve been all over the news. I’m not sure if bio-engineered food is the same as GMOs (I assume it is and think that is what you say later in your post), but if it is, it’s funny that you always hear about people criticizing it but not the good it can produce. I feel like there is little research that says GMOs are bad for you and the environment. I’m sure there is, but it is still debatable. However, it is a fact that creating high yield crops saves lives and prevents starvation.
ReplyDeleteGMOs have always been a controversial topic. I feel that there is so much ignorance about this topic among people, and that is why they are afraid of it. Most of the crops in United States are GMO based, but people are not aware of it. They need to be educated more on GMOs and people like Borlaug who made such a big difference in the world. In developing countries, food production was a huge problem. Back in India, I remember studying about how India was struggling to produce crops and people were dying of starvation. It is great to know about the person who saved all those people and made the future of upcoming generations more prosperous.
ReplyDeleteAs an environmental health major I hear so much about GMOs both good and bad, but I agree with you all that Norman Borlaug was ultimately a very positive force in the agricultural industry. GMOs may not be as popular among the public, but their utilization is key right now in my opinion to address food scarcity in many developing countries. When they are manipulated for corporate purposes and lead to lack of biodiversity and concerns among farmers are when I start to worry. It is a complicated debate indeed.
ReplyDeleteThis man is amazing! To know that you not only have influenced a large population, but to have contributed to saving their lives is beyond words. I regret not knowing of this gentleman before reading this blog post. People need to know of scientists such as him! The idea of engineering food is a bit intimidating to me, for lack of a better word. However, the benefit is clear. With the ever fast growing population using up resources its hard to argue against creating new plants.
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