Norman Borlaug, 1914-2009

Sep 13th, 2009 10:17 PM UTC
By Chris Scott

Norman Borlaug, a scientist whose work in plant breeding has been credited with saving hundreds of millions of lives, succumbed to complications from cancer last night.

You can find a bio of Norman Borlaug’s work in the New York Times here, excerpts posted below. Our condolences to his family. We’ll post more reactions as they come in.

He was widely described as the father of the broad agricultural movement called the Green Revolution, though decidedly reluctant to accept the title. “A miserable term,” he said, characteristically shrugging off any air of self-importance.

Yet his work had a far-reaching impact on the lives of millions of people in developing countries. His breeding of high-yielding crop varieties helped to avert mass famines that were widely predicted in the 1960s, altering the course of history. Largely because of his work, countries that had been food deficient, like Mexico and India, became self-sufficient in producing cereal grains.

“More than any other single person of this age, he has helped provide bread for a hungry world,” the Nobel committee said in presenting him with the Peace Prize. “We have made this choice in the hope that providing bread will also give the world peace.”

-Chris Scott

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