Norman Borlaug Dead At 95

Norman Borlaug Dead At 95
Topic Started: Sep 13 2009, 08:30 AM (161 Views)
Balore	Sep 13 2009, 08:30 AM Post #1
King of Kings Posts: 2,337 Group: Members Member #11 Joined: Jun 7, 2008 Premium No	Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug dies at 95 --- Nobel laureate Norman E. Borlaug, an agricultural scientist who helped develop disease-resistant wheat used to fight famine in poor countries, died Saturday. He was 95. Borlaug died from cancer complications in Dallas, Texas, a spokeswoman for Texas A&M University said. A 1970 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Borlaug was a distinguished professor of international agriculture at the university. Borlaug started at Texas A&M in 1984, after working as a scientist in a program that introduced scientific techniques for preventing famine in Mexico, according to the university. Until recently, he traveled worldwide working for improvements in agricultural science and food policy, said Kathleen Phillips, a university spokeswoman. Borlaug was known as a champion of high-yield crop varieties, and other science and agricultural innovations to help fight hunger in developing nations. "We all eat at least three times a day in privileged nations, and yet we take food for granted," Borlaug said recently in an interview posted on the university's Web site. "There has been great progress, and food is more equitably distributed. But hunger is a commonplace, and famine appears all too often." He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2006, according to the university's Web site. The agriculture institute at the university was named after him in 2006. Borlaug also created the World Food Prize, which recognized the work of scientists and humanitarians who have helped fight world hunger through advanced agriculture, the university said. A memorial service will be held at the university at a later date. --- He will certainly be missed. Personally, this man was and is a great source of inspiration to me. It's really shocking how many people have no idea who he is -- I, myself, would not have known unless I watched a certain episode of Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, and I must agree with Penn's admiration; Borlaug was probably one of the greatest people who ever lived. Keep in mind that his work with genetically modified plant life is estimated to have saved over at least 245 million lives. I'll leave you with a quote from Penn Jillette, himself: "At a time when doom-sayers were hopping around saying everyone was going to starve, Norman was working. He moved to Mexico and lived among the people there until he figured out how to improve the output of the farmers. So that saved a million lives. Then he packed up his family and moved to India, where in spite of a war with Pakistan, he managed to introduce new wheat strains that quadrupled their food output. So that saved another million. You get it? But he wasn't done. He did the same thing with a new rice in China. He's doing the same thing in Africa - as much of Africa as he's allowed to visit. When he won the Nobel Prize in 1970, they said he had saved a billion people. That's BILLION! BUH! That's Carl Sagan BILLION with a "B"! And most of them were a different race from him. Norman is the greatest human being- and you've probably never heard of him." - Penn Jillette, on the show Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
	=== Ask me stuff: http://www.formspring.me/DouglasDauphney


Sedaheht	Sep 13 2009, 09:35 AM Post #2
Hero of Thyme Posts: 1,423 Group: Members Member #52 Joined: Mar 28, 2009 Premium No	This man was a dedicated scientist, who not only went to great lengths to insert himself into the location of the problem he intended to fix, but actually went on to begin finding a solution that works. He put his heart into his work, I guess.
	~Alex


CopShadowGuy	Sep 13 2009, 11:52 AM Post #3
The Night Posts: 4,755 Group: Shadow Sage Member #17 Joined: Jun 8, 2008 Premium No	I'm certain I'll hear about this at school on Monday. A good man he was.
	GET AGAINST THE TREE!!!


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