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ACSH Distinguished Achievement Awardee--Norman E. Borlaug, Ph.D.

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While historians seem disproportionately infatuated with documenting brutal dictators who ruthlessly murder millions, a great deal less attention is paid to truly noble men — men like Norman Borlaug. Dr. Borlaug is credited with saving a billion people from starvation. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.

At a time when neo-Malthusians predicted bloody revolutions triggered by food shortages, Dr. Borlaug's development of high-yielding, disease-resistant dwarf wheat strains sparked instead what's come to be called the Green Revolution, transforming wheat production in Mexico, Asia, and Latin America. The effect has been nothing short of phenomenal. Today, Dr. Borlaug continues his work to stave off starvation in the Third World, especially in some of the hardest-hit regions of sub-Saharan Africa.

His accomplishments haven't gone entirely unnoticed by the public — even comedians and political commentators like Showtime's infamous duo Penn and Teller. Penn and Teller have paid homage to a man they see as having changed the world. In a recent episode of their series on Showtime, Penn and Teller, in complete seriousness, named Norman Borlaug the greatest person in history. NBC's popular television drama series The West Wing recently included a segment with President Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen, discussing miracle-makers in the world, Norman Borlaug being one of them, and detailing the six-fold increase in wheat production that occurred in India as a result of Borlaug's intervention.

Four decades have passed since the Green Revolution and Dr. Borlaug is still acclaimed for saving more lives than anyone else in history. Tonight, ACSH honors Dr. Borlaug's remarkable contributions to science and his continued battle against world hunger and the doomsayers who contend it's a lost cause.

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Other Awardees:

Bruce N. Ames, Ph.D.

Robert L. Bartley

C. Everett Koop, M.D.

Donald A. Henderson, M.D., M.P.H.

Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D.