Norman Borlaug Justice Essay

Anonymous
10 April 2019
Green Justice

Why Norman Borlaug’s Green Revolution is Humanity’s Greatest Justice

	Imagine waking up in the middle of the night for a midnight snack. You walk up to the counter, grab a cup of oatmeal, and heat it up with warm water. As you munch down on the soft, warm, sweet and spicy cinnamon-flavored oatmeal, you are unknowingly eating a genetically-modified variant of wheat and rice within the oatmeal. Before you scream bloody murder, genetically modified organisms (GMOs for short) have been around since the early stages of human civilization, as humans have been cross-breeding crops for centuries (Lines, 2009). This process is made much more efficient with the Green Revolution, a burst of improved agricultural productivity kickstarted by a crop scientist named Norman Borlaug (Robinson, 2012). The Green Revolution has saved billions of lives from starvation, thanks to dramatically increasing the number of crops through his research on dwarf wheat varieties that resisted pathogens and pests while yielding two to three times more grain than regular wheat (Chavez, 2002). However, there are costs that come along with the Green Revolution, along with the cultural backlash between GMOs and organic crops. Is Norman Borlaug’s Green Revolution just? The answer will be found through a scholarly look into Norman Borlaug’s life, his actions, and his legacy.

	Norman Borlaug’s early life will spark his interest in science. Norman Borlaug is born on March 25, 1914, Cresco, Iowa. He grew up on a farm with his two sisters, as they work together to make ends meet. Cresco and its surroundings had a large, hard-working Norwegian ancestry population whose lifestyles reflected experiences with hunger and privation that led them to migrate to the New World. The importance of careful planning and hard work in order to survive came home to Borlaug at an early age Norman attended the local grade school and high school as a football captain. His agricultural teacher, Harry Schroeder, mentioned that Norman enjoys learning about crop and soil management, so Schroeder nurture’s Norman’s hunger for knowledge with extra teachings about soil agriculture (Borlaug, 2009).

	Norman Borlaug begins his scientific journey. In 1932, Borlaug graduated from high school and enrolled in a college instead of becoming a farmer. During his freshman year, he attended a lecture by the head of the plant pathology department, Elvin Charles Stakman, an authority on crop research. Stakman's lecture had such an impact on Borlaug that he decided to study plant pathology under the professor's direction. At Stakman's urging, Borlaug remained at the University for post-graduate study (Borlaug, 2009). Throughout his college years, Norman Borlaug earns his Bachelor’s Degree of Science in 1937. Norma works as a forester for his part-time job, completing his Master’s Degree in 1939. Norman also wrote about a fungus epidemic to the flax field in his doctor’s thesis (Borlaug, 2009).

	Norman Borlaug begins his Green Revolution. Norman Borlaug becomes the first agricultural scientist in 1970. (Borlaug, 2009).
 The Green Revolution saved a billion from hunger, but not all celebrate. Norman’s Green Revolution has successfully saved approximately one billion lives with the modified crops, but millions of lives still suffer from hunger. According to Alter, “in 1960, about 60 percent of the world's people experienced some hunger every year. By 2000 that number was 14 percent, a remarkable achievement. But as Borlaug cautioned at the ceremony in his honor, that still leaves 850 million hungry men, women and children. They are waiting for the Norman Borlaugs of the future to make their mark, even if they are not likely to get famous for it” (Alter, 2007).
	Norman Borlaug’s death left a significant mark in science and humanity. Norman died on September the 12th, 2009, Dallas, Texas. (Gillis, 2009).

In conclusion, Norman Borlaug is a brilliant-minded and humanitarian scientist whose hunger for knowledge led to the salvation of human civilization from famine. While he has his critics, Norman Borlaug’s actions and intentions still deserve the admiration that he has worked forward to, and without the Green Revolution, human life would be in an even worse state than before. Life is never sun shines and rainbows, but well-meaning scientists, like Norman Borlaug, can make life a little bit sweeter (word count minimum: 1,300).

Works Cited

Alter, Jonathan. "He Only Saved a Billion People." Newsweek, 30 July 2007, p. 39. Science In Context, http://0-link.galegroup.com.archway.searchmobius.org/apps/doc/A166779065/SCIC?u=sain32367&sid=SCIC&xid=60cc9e45. Accessed 11 Mar. 2019.
Chavez, Lupe. "Feeding the world." Agricultural Research, vol. 50, no. 2, 2002, p. 12. Science In Context, http://0-link.galegroup.com.archway.searchmobius.org/apps/doc/A83343285/SCIC?u=sain32367&sid=SCIC&xid=bdbea587. Accessed 13 Mar. 2019.
“Genes and Cloning: The Science of Selective Breeding.” Films Media Group, 2006, digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=104554&xtid=40287. Accessed 25 Mar. 2019.
"Green Revolution." Plant Sciences, edited by Richard Robinson, Macmillan Reference USA, 2001. Science In Context, http://0-link.galegroup.com.archway.searchmobius.org/apps/doc/CV2643350125/SCIC?u=sain32367&sid=SCIC&xid=24614d80. Accessed 11 Mar. 2019.
Gillis, Justin. "Norman Borlaug, Plant Scientist Who Fought Famine, Dies at 95." New York Times, 14 Sept. 2009, p. A1(L). Science In Context, http://0-link.galegroup.com.archway.searchmobius.org/apps/doc/A207767405/SCIC?u=sain32367&sid=SCIC&xid=7574d97a. Accessed 27 Mar. 2019.
"Norman Ernest Borlaug." World of Genetics, Gale, 2006. Science In Context, http://0-link.galegroup.com.archway.searchmobius.org/apps/doc/K2433100023/SCIC?u=sain32367&sid=SCIC&xid=915675c9. Accessed 13 Mar. 2019.