The Man Who Fed The World

Dr. Norman Borlaug died late Saturday, at the age of 95. If anyone deserved to end his life at a great age laden with honors, he certainly did. Dr. Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work in developing new crop strains which increased food production by as much as four times. His grains transformed India from a nation perpetually on the verge of famine into a food exporter.

One result of Dr. Borlaug's work has been to throw into clear focus the true causes of famines. Everyone now recognizes that low yields or crop failures alone aren't the cause. In the modern world it's blatantly obvious that famines are political events, usually involving men with guns somewhere in the heart of the matter.