He saved more lives than any human who ever lived. Yet most do not know his name. Some say he was the "person of the 20th century." Dr. Norman Ernest Borlaug, who continued to work at 95 but died September 12, is an American agronomist, humanitarian, and Nobel laureate, and has been called the father of the Green Revolution
Borlaug was a plant scientist who led a research effort during the 1950s and '60s that started what became known as the "Green Revolution." His work in Mexico led to the development of a variety of hybrid grains that could be grown in many climates, was immune to many common diseases and produced larger yields. The result was larger harvests to feed the world's growing population.
The Wall Street Journal writes that from the time of the U.S. Civil War through the Great Depression of the 1930s, the average American farm produced 24 bushels of corn per acre. By 2006 output had multiplied to near 155 bushels per acre. The same results have occurred around the world and are the key reason the world's burgeoning population has been fed and kept alive.
The article goes on to say, "In 2006, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization declared that malnutrition stands 'at the lowest level in human history,' despite the global population having trebled in a single century" ("The Man Who Defused the 'Population Bomb,'" Sept. 16, 2006).
The Population Bomb was a book published in 1968 by Dr. Paul Ehrlich. Ehrlich predicted a dire scenario of famine and death for millions in the developing world because of a lack of food. No doubt many would have died had not a revolution in plant science, led by Borlaug, produced the means for increased food production. Thankfully, Ehrlich's predictions, and those of others, have not come [yet] to pass.
Borlaug's work has been heavily criticized because of its reliance on lots of fertilizer and pesticides. Fears of genetically modified food keep some grains out of world markets. But the poor who survived because they were fed do not have the luxury of such debates. Despite the debate, Borlaug's work allowed many millions to live instead of starve to death.
But, unfortunately, food shortages and resulting famines in developing nations have not been eliminated. Weather upsets, government policies and political corruption have created pockets of famine resulting in the deaths of many hundreds of thousands.
The world continues to face potential shortages of the basic resources of food and water and there is predicted a time when the problems will be too great and simply overwhelm humanity.
The Texan Norman Borlaug had turned his back on wealth and fame to continue working in the trenches for the good of all.
