From The Scout Report: In September, Nobel Prize recipient and father of the "Green Revolution" Norman Borlaug passed away. To many in the developing world, his work on creating high-yield crop was viewed as a tremendous blessing, as it stemmed widespread starvation. Others found his legacy to be a bit more mixed. In some ways, his work laid the groundwork for decades of monocrop agriculture, genetically modified food, and exponential growth in the use of pesticides and other fertilizers. Borlaug himself remained skeptical of the rising tide of organic farming, even noting in an interview from 2000, "Don't tell the world that we can feed the present population without chemical fertilizer." Even a cursory glance over the online comments on articles about Borlaug reveal a wide range of opinions about his legacy. Commenting on a recent piece from the Guardian, one reader noted, "He undoubtedly did a lot of good-the green revolution was desperately needed and it delivered." Others remained less than enthusiastic, including a reader's thought, "Against the grain on common sense, common decency, compassion and shared humanity."
The first link will whisk users away to a piece of commentary on Borlaug written by Leo Hickman for this Tuesday's Guardian which provides a number of external links to other timely resources. The second link leads visitors to an obituary on Borlaug, which appeared in this Saturday's Telegraph. The third link leads to Borlaug's official Nobel Prize biography, along with his presentation speech and a photo gallery. The fourth link leads to a compendium of interviews and articles related to Borlaug, compiled by the AgBioWorld organization. Finally, the last link leads to an excellent profile of Borlaug written in 1997 for The Atlantic Monthly by journalist Gregg Easterbrook.
Against the grain on Norman Borlaug
Norman Borlaug Obituary
Norman Borlaug: Biography
Ag BioWorld: Norman Borlaug Articles and Interviews
The Atlantic: Forgotten Benefactor of Humanity
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