The Borlaug Legacy

Just six weeks before his death this past weekend at age 95, the Wall Street Journal published an editorial by Dr. Norman E. Borlaug that in many ways sums up what his life was all about – farmers feeding the world.

In it, Dr. Borlaug expressed concern about the mentality epitomized by the movie “Food Inc.” and TIME Magazine’s recent cover article. “Some elements of popular culture romanticize older, inefficient production methods and shun fertilizers and pesticides, arguing that the U.S. should revert to producing only local organic food,” Borlaug wrote. “People should be able to purchase organic food if they have the will and financial means to do so, but not at the expense of the world’s hungry—25,000 of whom die each day from malnutrition.”

Dr. Borlaug received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for a lifetime of work to feed a hungry world, the only agricultural scientist ever to receive the award. Borlaug believed he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize because there was no Nobel Prize for agriculture or efforts to counter poverty and hunger – so he decided to change that by creating the World Food Prize in 1986 to recognize contributions in any field involved in the world food supply – food and agriculture science and technology, manufacturing, marketing, nutrition, economics, poverty alleviation, political leadership and the social sciences. Since that time, the Prize has been awarded to scientists, politicians, and humanitarians from all over the globe.

The World Food Prize is symbolic of Borlaug’s lasting legacy – millions of lives that might have otherwise been lost to starvation. His last published words in the Wall Street Journal echo his belief that farmers can and will continue to feed the world.

“Civilization as we know it could not have evolved, nor can it survive, without an adequate food supply. Likewise, the civilization that our children, grandchildren and future generations come to know will not evolve without accelerating the pace of investment and innovation in agriculture production.”

Thank you, Dr. Borlaug.