Dr. Norman Borlaug, Who Saved a Billion Lives,
Honored by Congress This Week
Nobelist
has been called "The Man Who Fed the World"
New
York, NY -- July 17, 2007. The American
Council on Science and Health (ACSH) is delighted
to acknowledge that Dr. Norman Borlaug, one of our founding
directors (in 1978), today receives the Congressional
Gold Medal in honor of his tireless work and multiple
accomplishments in agricultural science. A Congressional
Gold Medal is the highest civilian award bestowed by
the United States Congress. Dr. Borlaug's award is to
be presented by President George W. Bush and Speaker
of the House Nancy Pelosi.
For nearly three
decades, Dr. Borlaug has been actively involved in directing
and advising ACSH's activities in multiple public health
areas. His frequent attendance at ACSH board meetings
and other activities has provided invaluable assistance
as we strive to provide the best scientifically valid
information to the media and to consumers.
Dr. Borlaug has
been called the "Father of the Green Revolution"
for his contributions to improving the characteristics
of crop plants (especially corn and wheat), allowing
Mexico, Pakistan, and India to expand their food production
and avoid widespread famines. Indeed, it has been said
that Dr. Borlaug has saved more lives than any other
single person in history.
In a career
spanning over five decades, Dr. Borlaug has received
the Nobel Peace Prize (1970) for his agricultural achievements.
He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in
1977. Dr. Borlaug is one of only five individuals who
have been awarded the Nobel Prize, the Presidential
Medal of Freedom, as well as the Congressional Gold
Medal (Mother Teresa, Elie Wiesel, Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela are the others who received
all three). He is also a member of the National Academy
of Sciences.
Now 93, Dr. Borlaug
still travels widely to developing countries to encourage
the application of agricultural advances in the interest
of both human wellbeing and environmental conservation.
He teaches part of the year at Texas A & M University
and is a special consultant to (and former director
of) the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
(CIMMYT) in Mexico. He also works for the Sasakawa Global
2000 program in Africa.
ACSH
president Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, one of many attending
the award ceremony, comments that "Norman Borlaug
is one of the
great Americans of the past century. It is entirely
appropriate that this honor be given to a man who, through
his tireless work, has given so much both to Americans
and to people around the world. I cannot imagine anyone
more deserving. I am honored to know Dr. Borlaug, as
are all those associated with the American Council on
Science and Health."
American Council
on Science and Health
Dr. Elizabeth Whelan — ACSH President
212-362-7044 x228
whelan@acsh.org
The
American Council on Science and Health is an independent,
non-profit consumer education organization concerned
with issues related to food, nutrition, chemicals, pharmaceuticals,
lifestyle, the environment and health. For more information
visit h http://www.acsh.org
or http://HealthFactsandFears.com
American
Council on Science and Health, 1995 Broadway,
New York, NY 10023-5860 United States