Commemorating Dr. Norman Borlaug, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Congressional Gold Medal, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and founder of the World Food Prize.
Whereas Dr. Norman E. Borlaug was born on March 25, 1914, of Norwegian parents on a farm in Cresco, Iowa, and was educated in a 1-room school house throughout grades 1 through 8;
Whereas Dr. Borlaug attended the University of Minnesota, where he earned a Ph.D. degree in Plant Pathology;
Whereas, beginning in 1944, Dr. Borlaug spent 2 decades in rural Mexico working to assist the poorest farmers through a pioneering Rockefeller Foundation program;
Whereas Dr. Borlaug's research and innovative 'shuttle breeding' in Mexico enabled him to develop a new approach to agriculture and a new disease-resistant variety of wheat with triple the output of grain;
Whereas this breakthrough achievement in plant production enabled Mexico to become self-sufficient in wheat by 1956, and concurrently raised the living standard for thousands of poor Mexican farmers;
Whereas Dr. Borlaug was asked by the United Nations to travel to India and Pakistan in the 1960s, as South-Asia and the Middle East faced an imminent widespread famine, where he eventually helped convince those 2 warring governments to adopt his new seeds and new approach to agriculture to address this critical problem;
Whereas Dr. Borlaug brought miracle wheat to India and Pakistan which helped both countries become self-sufficient in wheat production, thus saving hundreds of millions of people from hunger, famine, and death;
Whereas Dr. Borlaug and his team trained young scientists from Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, and Afghanistan in this same new approach to agriculture, which introduced new seeds but also put emphasis on the use of fertilizer and irrigation, thus increasing yields significantly in those countries as well;
Whereas Dr. Borlaug's approach to wheat was adapted by research scientists working in rice, which spread the Green Revolution to Asia, feeding and saving millions of people from hunger and starvation;
Whereas Dr. Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 as the 'Father of the Green Revolution' and is only 1 of 5 people to have ever received the Nobel Peace Prize, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Congressional Gold Medal;
Whereas Dr. Borlaug headed the Sasakawa Global 2000 program to bring the Green Revolution to 10 countries in Africa, and traveled the world to educate the next generation of scientists on the importance of producing new breakthrough achievements in food production;
Whereas Dr. Borlaug tirelessly promoted the potential that biotechnology offers for feeding the world, while also preserving biodiversity, in the 21st century when the global population is projected to rise to 9,000,000,000 people;
Whereas Dr. Borlaug continued his role as an educator as a Distinguished Professor at Texas A&M University, while also working at the International Center for the Improvement of Wheat and Maize in Mexico;
Whereas Dr. Borlaug founded the World Food Prize, called by several world leaders 'The Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture', which is awarded in Iowa each October so as to recognize and inspire Nobel-like achievements in increasing the quality, quantity, and availability of food in the world;
Whereas the Senate designated October 16 as World Food Prize Day in America in honor of Dr. Borlaug; and
Whereas it is written of Dr. Borlaug that throughout all of his work he saved 1,000,000,000 lives, thus making him widely known as saving more lives than any other person in human history: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That--
(1) the Senate has received with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the passing of Dr. Norman Borlaug;
(2) the Senate directs the Secretary of the Senate to transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the family of the deceased; and
(3) when the Senate adjourns today, the Senate stands adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Dr. Norman Borlaug.
