Reposted from Syreene...even her personal comment at the end..

[per_solo]

Because it echoes mine...were it not for Bullshit!, I'd have never heard of this man, and the work he did to help the world.

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Norman Borlaug Dead

DALLAS — Scientist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug rose from his childhood on an Iowa farm to develop a type of wheat that helped feed the world, fostering a movement that is credited with saving up to 1 billion people from starvation.

Borlaug, 95, died Saturday from complications of cancer at his Dallas home, said Kathleen Phillips, a spokesman for Texas A&M University where Borlaug was a distinguished professor.

"Norman E. Borlaug saved more lives than any man in human history," said Josette Sheeran, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program. "His heart was as big as his brilliant mind, but it was his passion and compassion that moved the world."

He was known as the father of the "green revolution," which transformed agriculture through high-yield crop varieties and other innovations, helping to more than double world food production between 1960 and 1990. Many experts credit the green revolution with averting global famine during the second half of the 20th century and saving perhaps 1 billion lives.

"He has probably done more and is known by fewer people than anybody that has done that much," said Dr. Ed Runge, retired head of Texas A&M University's Department of Soil and Crop Sciences and a close friend who persuaded Borlaug teach at the school. "He made the world a better place – a much better place."
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Heck... the only reason I'd ever heard of him is because Penn & Teller talked about him when discussing real heroes on an episode of their show "Bullshit." I'm glad I caught it and knew about Borlaug's work before he passed... because what he did and accomplished for so many was just incredible to behold.

(sigh)

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Penn Jilette actually called Borlaug a real hero...and that's pretty damned awesome in my book.

Thanks Syreene. And thanks Filkertom for making me first aware of Borlaug's passing.

Comments

[thomasgregg.livejournal.com]

I reposted this on my facebook. I hadn't heard of him, which is sad considering what he did for humanity.

Greggy

[per_solo]

*nods* If you get the chance, in first season of Penn and Teller's Bullshit!, he was actually interviewed about Genetically modified foods...it was very good and enlightening.