Norman Borlaug just turned 94 – and is still going strong
This Iowa farm boy and University of Minnesota agriculture graduate
lived Thomas Edison's maxim to the fullest. "Invention," Edison once
remarked, "is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." Dr. Borlaug did most
of his 99% in the sweltering fields of Africa, India, Mexico and
Pakistan.
At 94, and despite having cancer, the "Father of the Green Revolution"
is still "an Energizer Bunny," his daughter Jeanie says. He serves as a
consultant, attends occasional conferences, and graciously let my
daughter interview him for a high school paper.
Decades ago, while neo-Malthusians were predicting mass famine, Borlaug
used Rockefeller Foundation grants to unlock hidden (recessive) genes
and crossbreed different wheat strains, to create new "dwarf" varieties
that were resistant to destructive "rust" fungi. The shorter plants were
also sturdier, put less energy into growing leaves and stalks, and thus
had higher yields.
He also taught modern farming methods to Third World farmers and
persuaded governments to lift price controls and permit the use of
chemical fertilizers, thereby generating unprecedented harvests. Mexico
became self-sufficient in wheat by 1960, India and Pakistan soon did
likewise, and Borlaug next helped China, Indonesia, the Philippines and
other countries achieve great success with wheat, corn and rice.
When the Nobel committee awarded him the 1970 Peace Prize, it said his
work had saved a billion lives. Borlaug simply observed that "you can't
build a peaceful world on empty stomachs and human misery." He later won
the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal.
In 1985, he began working with former President Jimmy Carter to bring a
Green Revolution to Sub-Saharan Africa, emphasizing intensive modern
farming methods with new hybrid and biotech seeds on existing fields, to
reduce the need to slash and burn wildlife habitat, as soil nutrients
are exhausted.
Unfortunately, their progress may be undermined by former UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan and his misleadingly named Alliance for a Green
Revolution in Africa. Annan says biotech crops are unsafe, untested, and
likely to enslave poor farmers to mega-corporations and expensive seeds.
He wants to battle Africa's chronic poverty and malnutrition with "traditional
seeds" and methods.
Dr. Borlaug fears that would be a devastating failure. As he said during
a 2005 biotechnology conference, sponsored by the Congress of Racial
Equality at the United Nations, he sees no way the world can feed its
hungry population without genetically engineered (GE) crops, especially
if it relies more on biofuels.
He has little patience for "well-fed utopians who live on Cloud Nine but
come into the Third World to cause all kinds of negative impacts," by
scaring people and blocking the use of biotechnology. These callous
activists even persuaded Zambia to let people starve, rather than let
them eat biotech corn donated by the USA. They also oppose insecticides
to combat malaria – and fossil fuels, hydroelectric dams and nuclear
power to generate abundant, reliable, affordable electricity for poor
nations.
"Our planet has 6.5 billion people, says Borlaug. "By all means, use
manure. You can't let it sit around. But if we use only organic
fertilizers and methods on existing farmland, we can only feed 4
billion. I don't see 2.5 billion people volunteering to disappear." To
feed everyone with organic and traditional farming, we would have to
plow millions of acres of forests and other wildlife habitat, he
calculates. If, instead, we continue to use commercial fertilizer and
hybrids, and have strong public support for both biotech and traditional
research, "the Earth can provide sufficient food for 10 billion people."
Producing 7 billion gallons of ethanol in 2007 required corn grown on an
area the size of Indiana – plus vast amounts of water, insecticides,
fertilizers and petroleum. It's a primary reason World Food Program
operating costs rose 40% since June 2007, forcing the WFP to ration food
aid, and millions to go to bed hungry. That is unsustainable – morally,
economically and ecologically.
Biotech crops have higher yields; provide enhanced nutrition; are more
resistant to insects, fungi and disease; and require less water and
insecticides. New varieties are being developed that grow better in
drought and flood conditions, and even supply vaccines and anti-diarrhea
nutrients. Ongoing research will ensure that genes that once protected
crop plants will be replaced by new ones, as plant pathogens continue
mutating.
Genetically engineered crops are more stringently regulated and tested
than any others – unnecessarily so, say many scientists. Americans have
eaten well over a trillion servings of food containing genetically
engineered ingredients, without a single instance of harm to people or
habitats, notes former FDA biotech director Henry Miller – whereas
organic spinach sickened and killed a number of people in 2007.
Biotechnology actually frees poor farmers from the shackles of Nature's
destructive forces. They pay more for seeds, but less for insecticides
and water, get higher yields and make more money. South African farmers
who've switched to GE crops attest to this.
Elizabeth Ajele: "The old plants would be destroyed by insects, but not
the new biotech plants. With the profits I get from the new Bt maize
(corn), I can grow onions, spinach and tomatoes, and sell them for extra
money to buy fertilizer. We were struggling to keep hunger out of our
house. Now the future looks good. If someone came and said we should
stop using the new maize, I would cry."
Richard Sithole: "With the old maize, I got 100 bags from my 15
hectares. With Bt maize I get 1,000."
Thandi Myeni: "The new Bt cotton means I only spray two times, instead
of six. At the end of the day, we know the crop won't be destroyed and
we will have a harvest and money."
Bethuel Gumede: "By planting the new Bt cotton on my six hectares [15
acres], I was able to build a house and give it a solar panel. I also
bought a TV and fridge. My wife can buy healthy food and we can afford
to send the kids to school."
Farmers in Brazil, China, India, the Philippines and other countries
share similar stories.
His accomplishments have made Norman Borlaug a household name in parts
of Africa, though not in America. That's partly because he did most of
his work overseas. But it also reflects the fact that his favorable
views on chemical fertilizers and biotechnology put him at odds with
environmentalists and journalists who don't share his perspectives on
these issues.
Leon Hesser's fascinating and inspiring account of Dr. Borlaug's life
and successes may finally bring him the fame he deserves. "The Man Who
Fed the World" does what I've always loved about biographies: it shows
how one person can change the world. Now out in paperback, the book will
ensure that Norman Borlaug's incredible legacy will live on – as will
the billion-plus people whose lives he saved.
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