"Father of the Green Revolution" passes away at 95

Norman Borlaug, credited as the “Father of the Green Revolution,” passed away at age 95 on Saturday.  Borlaug, a plant pathologist, developed the use of high-yield wheat seeds  in the 1960’s, instantly impacting supply of food globally, but particularly in drought-stricken areas such as Mexico and India.

Borlaug’s contributions were cited by his many colleagues from humanitarian organizations dedicated to combating hunger.

‘No single person has contributed more to relieving world hunger than our friend, the late Norman Borlaug,’ said Rev. David Beckmann, president, Bread for the World. ‘Norman was truly the man who fed the world, saving up to a billion people from hunger and starvation.’

Reuters reported that, in recognition for his accomplishments he was “one of only five people to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal.”

The Washington Post summarized his career as “… defined on the one hand by the ability of science to increase food production at an exponential rate and on the other by the Malthusian nightmare of an exploding population outstripping its ability to feed itself.”  This sometimes led him to express the “politically incorrect view that environmentalists were hampering world food production by indiscriminately attacking the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.”

Mark Henderson reflects in the Times Online on Borlaug’s legacy and how the continuing problem of hunger might be confronted.  Read more about the World Food Prize, started by Borlaug’s foundation to advance “…human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.”