Norman Borlaug Dies At 95
If you happened to ask anyone (in the States, anyway) what the defining quality of this year would be, you could get a variety of answers. Some would invariably say that the first year of Obama's presidency will always stick with them; others could answer with the economic progress, movement out of the recession or health care reform. Someone, however, would eventually answer "celebrity deaths", which will be the topic of this article.
I don't want to discuss any of the people with fame you may have heard of so far; there have been other (and probably better) articles that do a perfectly fine job of doing so here already. What I would like to do, however, is discuss the passing of a man you may not have heard of: Norman Borlaug, sometimes called the Father of the Green Revolution.
Norman Borlaug was born in a small town in Iowa on March 25, 1914. He was raised on his grandparent's farm, where he worked throughout his education; he also participated on his high school's baseball and wrestling team. Living in the depression, he received funds from the National Youth Administration and applied to the University of Minnesota, where he failed his entrance examination. He did, however, receive admission into the university's newly created General College curriculum. After two quarters of education, he transferred into the university's College of Agriculture's forestry program, where he eventually obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in forestry.
Before graduating, he attended a lecture given by Elvin Charles Stakman, a professor, where he was intrigued by the professor's research into plant pathology. He re-enrolled into the University of Minnesota and achieved a Masters Degree of Science in 1940 and a Ph.D in plant pathology and genetics in 1942.
He was employed by The Cooperative Wheat Research Production Program in 1944 and, during his 16 years with the program, developed a high-yield, disease-resistant, semi-dwarf wheat. In 1963, his variants of wheat, dubbed Pitic 62 and Penjamo 62, drastically increased Mexico's formerly deficient wheat production, making the country self-sufficient in wheat production.
India and Pakistan, both of which were experiencing famine and war during the 1960's, also benefited from Borlaug's research; using his seed variants, Pakistan became self-sufficient in wheat production in 1968, and India became self-sufficient in 1974. Through his work with the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA), between the years of 1984 and 2009, he brought his methods to eleven African countries, all of which have experienced increased crop yields.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, and his discoveries have saved an estimated 245 million lives worldwide.
Before I mourn the deaths of actors, entertainers and famous advertisers, I will mourn the loss of Norman Borlaug, the Iowa farmer that saved millions of people from famine.
