'At a time when doom-sayers were hopping around saying everyone was going to starve, Norman was working. He moved to Mexico and lived among the people there until he figured out how to improve the output of the farmers. So that saved a million lives. Then he packed up his family and moved to India, where in spite of a war with Pakistan, he managed to introduce new wheat strains that quadrupled their food output. So that saved another million. You get it? But he wasn't done. He did the same thing with a new rice in China. He's doing the same thing in Africa -- as much of Africa as he's allowed to visit. When he won the Nobel Prize in 1970, they said he had saved a billion people. That's BILLION! BUH! That's Carl Sagan BILLION with a 'B'! And most of them were a different race from him. Norman is the greatest human being, and you probably never heard of him.'
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- A detailed account of how this person improved farming in multiple countries to save millions.
- In plain terms
- He traveled to many countries to teach farming and save millions of people.
- What can you take from it?
- Actionable work in local contexts creates real change.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What stops heroes from working?
- How do we learn from them?
Another view
Success depends on political permission and local conditions.
More from Norman Borlaug
'Some credit him with saving more human lives than any other person in history.'
Permalink to quote #6 'Though barely known in the country of his birth, elsewhere in the world Norman Borlaug is widely considered to be among the leading Americans of our age ... N…
Permalink to quote #8 'Producing food for 6.2 billion people, adding a population of 80 million more a year, is not simple. We better develop an ever improved science and technology…
Permalink to quote #5
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