Transcript of U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley
Tribute to Dr. Norman Borlaug
Delivered on the floor of the U.S. Senate
Thank you, Mr. President. I come to the floor today to pay tribute to a fellow Iowan, Dr. Norman Borlaug, a 1970 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. That honor of Dr. Borlaug, winning the Nobel Peace Prize is because he was the father of the Green Revolution. Dr. Borlaug passed away over the weekend at the age of 95.
I'm honored to have known Dr. Borlaug. He was a remarkable man, a true son of the Iowa soil, a tenacity found through wrestling, a love of the soil, and a twist of fate helped Dr. Borlaug develop the scientific breakthroughs to ease malnutrition and famine on this globe. His efforts to spare people from the sharp hunger pains that strike an empty stomach is an example for generations to come showed that one person can in fact make a difference, and in his case a big difference.
Dr. Borlaug's notoriety most often comes, as I've just said, as father of what's called "the Green Revolution," a time when drastically increased crop yields over a short period of years helped alleviate this condition.
He's credited with saving more lives than any other person in history. Dr. Borlaug's desire for a sufficient food supply came from his childhood. He grew up in a small town on a family farm in Northeast Iowa. His education came in a one-room school house full of immigrant children. It was here where he and his schoolmates learned the common threads between them, similar to what their own parents learned-that working together to provide food for their families was more important than any ethnic differences that might divide them. In true Iowa tradition, as a young man, Dr. Borlaug was an outstanding wrestler. His wrestling skills took him to the University of Minnesota, where he -- besides wrestling -- earned a bachelor's and master's degree in forestry and then by a twist of fate, a doctorate in plant pathology.
It was after his graduation and World War II service that Dr. Borlaug first saw the plight of poverty-stricken wheat farmers in rural Mexico. In the early going, his work in Mexico was discouraging, but Dr. Borlaug showed his tenacity and willingness to get dirt under his finger nails and, in fact, over a period of time ingratiated himself to the local farmers.
With the help of the Mexican farmers, Dr. Borlaug and his scientific team eventually developed a disease-resistant wheat, a breakthrough in the fight against hunger. His success in Mexico gave Dr. Borlaug the opportunity to help developing countries all around the world. His innovative work brought an agricultural revolution to poor and hungry countries.
I don't think it's a stretch to say that Norman Borlaug transformed these countries. His work helped these countries avoid starvation and famine, but he also helped to lift the social conditions and create more peaceful societies.
His commitment to this important cause has been recognized worldwide. I already alluded to the fact that he was 1970 Nobel Peace Prize winner. He is also one of only five people to be awarded three different medals of honor: the Nobel Peace Prize, one; the Presidential Medal of Freedom, number two; and this Congress awarding him the Congressional Medal of Honor. Now, that may not sound like much, but let's just put in this context. The other recipients of those three awards -- Dr. Borlaug fits in with a group that includes Nelson Mandela, Elie Wiesel, Mother Teresa and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mr. President, Dr. Borlaug may not be a name known at every kitchen table, but this man is one of the greatest humanitarians who has ever lived. He dedicated his life to the development of scientific breakthroughs in order to ease malnutrition and famine all over the world.
One of Dr. Borlaug's latest efforts, started in the early 1980's, because there wasn't anything in the Nobel armada of prizes that represents agriculture. So, Dr. Borlaug thought in terms that there ought to be an annual award for agriculture and research and helping with the problems of food production. Through his initiative, the World Food Prize was initiated. It recognizes the achievement of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, and availability of food in the world. Just as Dr. Borlaug dreamed, the World Food Prize is helping continue to inspire future generations of scientists and farmers to innovate and lift those mired in poverty and is preserving Dr. Borlaug's legacy over the years. The World Food Prize is the idea of Dr. Borlaug, and so his scientific work will live on there.
The World Food Prize exists today because of the John Ruan family endowing it. They are an outstanding Des Moines business family. They have Ambassador Dr. Ken Quinn, formerly Ambassador to Cambodia, being president of the World Food Prize, headquartered in Des Moines since 1992, probably about four or five years after its founding.
An extraordinary man with a brilliant vision and Iowa common sense who turned his dreams into reality-that was Dr. Norman Borlaug.
I yield the floor.