Norman Borglaug was a 3rd generation Norwegian immigrant farmer that invested his life fully on the conviction that it is a moral outrage that any human should have to go to bed hungry. And this strong belief drove him to invest his life in ensuring that people would not be without food.
Borglaug was a quiet man, but he had a heart that was very determined. This trait actually opened up doors for him as people recognized this and gave him a chance when others wouldn’t and probably shouldn’t have. Besides being called the "father of modern agriculture" a.k.a. the "Green Revolution", in his early days Borglaug was an athlete. Actually, a hall of fame wrestler at the U of MN. As often is the case, his sport life played a part in the character and man that he eventually became. His high school wrestling coach, a former Olympic alternate and the principle of Borglaug’s school, had said, "Give the best that God gave you. If you don’t do that, don’t bother to compete." Norman Borglaug’s life exemplified this creed.
Originally he didn’t qualify academically for University studies, so he spent a year in the newly formed "General College" at the U of MN. The 1 room farm house school that he spent most of his education in didn’t really prepare him for the rigours of academic life. But what he lacked in formal training, he made up for in raw determination. This was also his style of wrestling. He only had 1 year of wrestling experience when he entered the U of MN, but his heart provided for whatever was lacking in technical ability and experience (Borglaug became a U of MN hall of fame wrestler).
Upon graduation he went on to pursue grad studies and became passionate about eliminating world hunger. His first stop was Mexico on a US program to turn this countries desperate food shortage problem around. They were quite successful, developing hybrids of grains that tripled the country’s yield and turned them into an exporter of wheat rather than an importer.
From there they went to the subcontinent of India and Pakistan where a looming food crises of epic proportions threatened to kill millions upon millions of people. Their newly developed grain varieties were surprisingly successful and enabled these countries to also no longer be dependant upon western nations to feed them as their yields tripled.
Other countries such as China benefited from these new high yielding and disease resistant varieties. In the 1960's book, "The Population Bomb" an accurate portrayal was presented warning of a looming world disaster whereby 100's of millions of people would starve to death as the world’s population by 1980 would vastly outstrip its ability to produce enough food for everyone. Fortunately this never happened as the authors didn’t take into account the heroic efforts of Norman Borglaug and his associates. Historians have said that it’s quite possible that indeed, 1-3 billion lives have been saved by these grain hybrids and innovative farming techniques.
Of course as with any great story there has been controversy and critics. Many of the modern agricultural techniques introduced by Borglaug have resulted in food that may not be as rich in vitamins and minerals. Perhaps due to the use of chemical fertilizers and not allowing land to be adequately fallowed (as per the Sabbath laws in the Old Testament). Because of this there has been a movement that has greatly resisted the introduction of life saving agricultural practices into Africa. A fight that Borglaug fought until his recent death.
In truth, Norman Borlaug acknowledged that there was much more work to be done. As for me I’d gladly sacrifice some nutrients in my food with the knowledge that a) I can take supplements to make up for it b) the knowledge that 1-3 billion people don’t have to die of starvation because of our modern capacity to increase produce yields.
When I first learned of this amazing man and this wonderful story I felt a little convicted. After all, as previously mentioned, I attended the same University, sat in the same classrooms, even competed athletically for the same University...but what have I accomplished with my life? Granted, it’s hard to compete with saving billions, but still, have I invested (and am continuing to invest) my life wisely?
How does one measure success in life?
A topic for a future blog!
