Sunday, December 15, 2019

The Man Who Fed the World

Most of you have heard of the Green Revolution. Perhaps fewer of you remember the man who was behind that revolutionary attempt to combat the world food crisis. That man was Norman Borlaug, who died ten years ago, in September 2009, at the age of 95. 
Norman, the Farm Boy
Norman Borlaug was born in 1914 and reared in rural Howard County in northeast Iowa. His first eight years of school were at a one-teacher, one-room school. He then went to high school in the county seat town of Cresco.
In addition to his schooling, from age seven to nineteen Norman worked on the 106-acre family farm and acquired the work ethic common to farm boys.
Partly because of his skills as a wrestler—and with the encouragement of his grandfather Nels Borlaug, who once told him, “you're wiser to fill your head now if you want to fill your belly later on"—Norman was able to attend the University of Minnesota, graduating in 1937 and then earning his Ph.D. degree there in 1942.    
Norman, the farm boy who became Dr. Borlaug, went on to do far more than fill his own belly. He became known as the man who fed the world.
Borlaug, the Life Saver
In 1944 Borlaug went to Mexico as a research scientist in charge of wheat improvement, working there for sixteen years. Beginning in the 1950s, he began to successfully innovate new, disease-resistant, high-yield crops using genetic modification.
Borlaug’s work transformed agriculture production, first in Mexico and later in Asia and Latin America. His successes produced the “Green Revolution,” which saved millions of people from hunger, starvation, and death.
In 1970 Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his outstanding work in averting world hunger and famine. His authorized biography, written by Leon Hesser, is titled The Man Who Fed the World: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug and His Battle to End World Hunger (2006).
According to David Grigg’s 1985 book The World Food Problem 1950~1980, the percentage of the world’s population suffering from acute hunger/malnutrition dropped from 34% in 1950 to 17% in 1980. That dramatic decrease was largely due to the meritorious work of Borlaug.
Some claim that Borlaug “saved more lives than any other person who has ever lived.” The fifth chapter of the 2009 book Scientists Greater than Einstein: The Biggest Lifesavers of the Twentieth Century is about Borlaug. There he is credited with saving 245,000,000 lives.
Some estimate that he saved even far more lives than that.
The Ongoing Challenge
Despite the dramatic decrease in world hunger since 1950, it was estimated that in 2014 eleven percent of the world’s population were still suffering from undernourishment.
And last year a feature article in The Washington Post was titled “For decades, global hunger was on the decline. Now it’s getting worse again—and climate change is to blame.”
While the innovations of scientists such as Norman Borlaug are still badly needed to continue working on the problem, there is also need for people of goodwill to provide the financial means for saving lives right now.
I was impressed by a December 5 article about the Princeton University bioethicist and committed atheist Peter Singer. The 10th-anniversary edition of his book The Life You Can Save was just published on Dec. 1.
In his book Singer (b. 1946) pleads with people of means to give generously in order to save the lives of those suffering from starvation and disease and suggests many charities to which money can be sent with confidence.
In the article mentioned, even though an atheist, Singer declared, “The gospel accounts of Jesus portray him as giving more emphasis to helping the poor than to any other ethical concern, so this should be a top priority for all Christians.”
In this Christmas season, how much will you give to save a life, or several lives?

9 comments:

  1. At 6:15 this morning I received this much appreciated comment from local Thinking Friend Bruce Morgan:

    "Inspiring, important, helpful post this morning, Leroy. Thanks for reminding us of Borlaug's significant work, and of the role each of us can play in continuing his legacy."

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  2. Fantastic article... and again, strongly related to climate change. When will we ever learn? Thank you so much!

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    1. And thank you, George, for reading and responding also. I probably will be writing more about global warming in my Jan. 5 blog article.

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  3. An inspiring story on GMOs and a man behind them. Vocal groups against GMOs and climate-change-deniers have similar impacts, working against solutions to world hunger. While every GMO is not automatically good, there is a place for their use.

    And I will join you in giving to save lives, although my giving has historically emphasized local charities. While I am not sure I will get to equal consideration, I can increase the world portion. Is the U.S. government lumped into the groups having "such high administrative and fundraising costs that little gets through to the people who need help"? I suspect there are other inefficiencies impacting the U.S. efforts.

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    1. Thanks for your significant comments, Dennis. It was good to hear from you again.

      I wondered if anyone would bring up the issue of GMOs. At this point I am planning to write about GMOs next month, perhaps on Jan. 15.

      I hadn't heard of the charities Peter Singer mentioned except for Oxfam, but I think the charities he recommended are probably trustworthy. And I have often used "Charity Navigator" to check out the ratings for charitable organizations.

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  4. Thinking Friend Truett Baker in Arizona sent the following comments:

    "I have not heard of Dr. Borlaug. Thanks for introducing him to me. What a wonderful legacy he left.

    "I know I have mentioned to you several times how proud I am of Arizona Baptist Children's Services and Family Ministries, since I retired as president. One of several new ministries they have started are food banks attached to the five regional center throughout the state. Volunteers prepare food boxes that are distributed to those who need them along with clothing and baby supplies. God has blessed this ministry beyond anything I could have imagined when I came here in 1984.

    "Thanks for the information and the challenge for ministering to the poor."

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  5. Yesterday, local Thinking Friend Marilyn Peot send these comments:

    "Thank you for this article. I had no idea..... If only we could get moved as a global world to reach out...

    "'When will we ever learn'...this tune is running through me after once again hearing Peter, Paul and Mary the other night. They too became ambassadors for justice and compassion."

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  6. Due to delayed reply: MERRY CHRISTMAS!
    ! appreciate this information and will share it with Harold Watson, IMB retired agriculturest missiongy to the Phillipines. He holds the Ramon Magsaysay Award for South Asia and the Pacfic. Its called the "Nobel Prize of Asia." He focused on helping upland farmars improve their methods with the little time to teach or materials to use. I'll forward this to him, though I imagine he knows about it. He has been invited to China by the Chinese government and many African nations to share his skills and visions.
    Les

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