Science-based agriculture is essential to fighting world
hunger and should not be considered a frightening concept, Nobel Peace
Prize winner Norman Borlaug said Wednesday while in Tuskegee.
The 87-year-old scientist, who has been called the father
of the "Green Revolution" because of his work in food genetics,
said research into grain production is nothing new. He said it dates
back to the 1940s "and before." "India and Pakistan are
becoming self-sufficient," Borlaug told students and faculty at
Tuskegee University. "I consider it a privilege to be have been
involved in guiding this program."
Borlaug, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970
for his work in agriculture, spoke at a luncheon following a roundtable
discussion with TU students, many of whom were in awe of someone with
his scientific credentials. "It's a great honor to have someone
like him here," said Audrey Means of Mobile, who attended the luncheon.
"It adds to the prestige of our school."
Walter Hill, who directs the university's college of agricultural,
environmental and natural sciences, said descriptive words such as biotechnology
and cloning can create fear and confusion among those unfamiliar with
the subject. "One of our biggest problems is terminology,"
Hill said. "There has been research into food production for hundreds
of years. We're just learning now how to do it in a better way."
Hill said medical research is accepted because of lives
that are saved as a result of advances in equipment. He said the same
benefits can be derived from agriculture if research is conducted "carefully
and "We have a problem of obesity in America, but there is hunger
in Africa and Asia," Hill said. "Agricultural research is
vital to survival and is just what we do here at Tuskegee University."
Borlaug, who described himself a product of a "one-room
country school" in Iowa, joined the Rockefeller Foundation in 1944
and was assigned to help Mexico improve its wheat and maize production.
He soon led a team of international scientists who began work on improving
the yield of wheat and rice. The team also trained technicians from
around the world. The result was a strain of wheat characterized by
higher protein content and higher yield. Much of his speech involved
technical reflections and, when he saw some in his audience begin to
look around the room or down at their plates, he offered a solution.
"Go ahead with your salad and I'll ramble on," he said.