Norman Borlaug: The Greatest Man You Never Heard Of

Recently the greatest human being living received a special Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of his achievements. This man has previously been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He is very likely responsible for saving the lives of over a billion people in the Third World from starvation. Yet his name is unknown to the general public. His name is Norman Borlaug, an American agricultural scientist and father of what has become known as the Green Revolution.

To understand the affect that the life and career of Normal Borlaug has had on the world, one has to look back at what the world was like in the early to mid 1960s. Periodic famine was a fact of life in many countries in the Third World. In the mid 1960s, the Indian subcontinent was being ravaged by famine and starvation. One year, the United States was obliged to dispatch a fleet of six hundred grain ships containing one fifth of the annual wheat crop of the country to save India from a humanitarian disaster.

The opinion of many experts was that over population had basically doomed the Third World to famine and mass starvation. In 1968 Paul Ehrlich, in his best-selling book The Population Bomb predicted that no matter what was done hundreds of millions of third world people would starve to death in the 1970s and 1980s.

Ironically, Ehrlich confident prediction was already being disproven, thanks to the efforts of Norman Borlaug. Norman Borlaug had already spent a number of years in Mexico developing strains of wheat that were not only resistant to disease but higher yielding than anything hitherto grown on farms. And this feat was accomplished in an era before genetic engineering, using cross pollination methods that were slow and painstaking. Borlaug also championed the use of inorganic fertilizers to increase crop yields. In less than twenty years, from 1944 to 1963, Mexico's wheat crop had increased six times over. Today Mexico is a net wheat exporting country.

Next, Norman Borlaug turned his attention to Asia, in particular the Indian subcontinent which, as mentioned previously, was being ravaged by famine and hunger. At first Norman Borlaug's efforts were hampered by bureaucracy and cultural resistance. But by 1965 the problem of food shortage had become so severe that the local governments stepped in and threw their support behind Borlaug's efforts.

Despite the slight problem of a war breaking out between Pakistan and India, Norman Borlaug's methods began to take effect. By 1968, the year The Population Bomb was published, Pakistan was self sufficient in wheat production. Indian was self sufficient in the production of all cereal crops by 1974. Since the 1960s, food production in both Indian and Pakistan has exceeded the growth of those countries' population.

The adoption of Norman Borlaug's new strains of grain has had a beneficial effect not only in Asia, but in certain parts of Africa and Latin America. The unprecedented increase in food production has also prevented a great deal of deforestation and the conversion of virgin land to agricultural use.

For his efforts, Norman Borlaug received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. He is with a doubt one of the more deserving recipients of that honor.

Despite being officially retired, Norman Borlaug has continued his efforts to spread the use of his agricultural methods in the Third World, particularly Africa. His efforts have been hampered by a lack of agricultural infrastructure in Africa, including irrigation. He has also been opposed by environmental extremists who consider Borlaug's methods "unnatural."

Nevertheless, even in Africa, Borlaug has had some success. Starting in 1994, Ethiopia, using Borlaug's methods, has enjoyed a rapid increase in crop yields and production. Back in the 1980s, Ethiopia was the poster child of third world famine. It is now a power to be reckoned with in the Horn of Africa, recently being instrumental in preventing an Al Qaeda takeover of the neighboring country of Somalia.

In addition to the Nobel Prize and the Congressional Gold Medal, Normal Borlaug has been awarded the Medal of Freedom and more honors from all over the world that can be counted. He is the founder of the World Food Prize, which recognizes individuals who have improved the quality, quantity, or availability of food.