Norman Borlaug, RIP

submitted by Max Sparber

Sep 14 2009 — 10:55am

This weekend saw the death of Norman Borlaug, University of Minnesota Alum, father of the Green Revolution, and a man who may have saved a billion people from starving to death.

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6 Reader Comments

DouglasG Sep 14 2009
11:29 am

A true unsung hero!

justpbob Sep 14 2009
11:56 am

I had thought that most of his accomplishments were made in the lab (which are amazing), but recently learned that Borlaug was a tireless advocate for his new plant strains, working overseas to convince the poorest farmers and the most powerful leaders in famine-prone regions to make the switch.

So yes, a hero. Unsung? No. It’s just that many of us had not heard the full story until now.

kwatt Sep 14 2009
6:22 pm

Native Iowan, by the way.

justpbob Sep 15 2009
6:48 am

Yep. Another farm boy from the Hawkeye State who done good.

fams Sep 15 2009
8:18 am

Norman was one of kind. “His total devotion to ending famine and hunger revolutionized food security ” – just read this from Josette Sheeran, the executive director of the UN World Food Programme. Worth a read: http://bit.ly/15foeb

connietoolazytologin Sep 17 2009
11:05 am

What an incredible man.