Speeches
Pelosi: No Person Has Done More Than Dr. Norman Borlaug to Liberate the World From Hunger
07/17/2007
“It is a distinct privilege to join the President of the
“In 1963, President John F. Kennedy said: ‘The war against
hunger is truly mankind’s war of liberation.’
“That same year, Dr. Norman Borlaug was giving bread to a
hungry world, saving millions of lives in countries such as
“No person, before or since, has done more to answer the
call to help liberate the world from hunger.
As such, Dr. Borlaug is one of the greatest liberators the world has
ever known.
“Seven years after President Kennedy’s call to action
against hunger, Dr. Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work, the
only person working in the agricultural field to receive this honor. Commonly know as the ‘Father of the Green
Revolution,’ Dr. Borlaug’s scientific and humanitarian efforts have saved
countless people from starvation and hunger while raising living standards
throughout the world.
“In his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Dr. Borlaug
called on humankind to make reality the ideal of brotherhood between all
nations. He concluded, ‘Let our wills
say that it shall be so.’
“It was his will, his bold vision, and the solutions of
science, by which Dr. Borlaug used the timeless resources of one farmer and one
field to feed more people than ever before.
“And today we are called upon again as a nation and a world,
to muster all our will, all our vision, and the answers that science has given
us to solve the great challenges before us: hunger and poverty; the real and
growing threat of global warming; and the fury of despair felt around the
world.
“As we honor Dr. Borlaug, we also salute those whose love
and support made his glorious achievements possible – his family. We recognize his wife Margaret, who worked
alongside him for more than 50 years, until she passed away earlier this
year. The honor and prestige of this
award recognizes both of their work between them.
“We also acknowledge Dr. Borlaug’s two children, Jeanie and
Billy, his five grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
“Let us honor the leadership of Dr. Borlaug by meeting the
challenges before us.”