[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Page 21570]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING NORMAN BORLAUG

  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, today is an opportunity to honor an 
unassuming and too often unsung hero, a humanitarian credited with 
feeding 1 billion people and saving the lives of hundreds of millions 
of people throughout the world.
  There are few who have walked the Earth who have had the impact 
Norman Borlaug had; not only in his own country but in the areas of the 
Earth he referred to as the ``forgotten world.''
  As an Iowa farm boy, Dr. Borlaug recognized there are no miracles in 
agricultural production, there is science. Norman Borlaug is the father 
of the green revolution. He warned that fear-mongering by environmental 
extremists against pesticides, fertilizers, and genetically improved 
foods would again put millions at risk of starvation while damaging the 
very biodiversity those extremists claimed to protect.
  In fact, Dr. Borlaug's green movement does not provoke a war of man 
versus plant, it strengthens that relationship by using science to 
supplement the Earth's natural resources and provide a stable food 
source for a stronger and healthier world.
  Biotechnology has breathtaking possibilities for improving human 
health, the environment, and enhancing agricultural production around 
the world. Already, hundreds of millions of people worldwide have been 
helped by biotechnology drugs and vaccines. There are many more drugs 
and vaccines currently being tested which will eventually help us wipe 
out other diseases as well.
  For thousands of years, farmers have fought countless pests and 
diseases that have destroyed crops and limited production. 
Biotechnology is bringing hope to those in the developing world by 
providing crops that are more tolerant of drought and more resistant to 
insects and weeds and more nutritious.
  Biotechnology is also increasing the nutritional value of foods 
produced by increasing the vitamin and mineral content of crops grown 
and reducing fat.
  Bt, Bacillus thuringiensis, is a natural insecticide in the soil. It 
is being transplanted into corn, potatoes, cotton, and rice, allowing 
farmers to produce more food with far fewer chemicals.
  In the United States, use of transgenic seeds has reduced pesticide 
application on our fields by tens of millions of pounds annually. Dr. 
Borlaug's work focused on the principle that wealthy nations have many 
problems, hungry nations have only one. He stated that: ``Without food, 
many can live at most but a few weak; without it, all other components 
of social justice are meaningless.''
  Today, in the United States and in this Congress, we have the luxury 
of being concerned with so many other issues because our bellies are 
full. In an excerpt from Dr. Borlaug's epilogue from his biography, 
``The Mild Mannered Maverick Who Fed a Billion People,'' he underscored 
that ``Helping struggling subsistence farmers produce a food surplus is 
the way to rid the world of much poverty and misery.''
  Dr. Borlaug's work will be remembered as the catalyst in solving 
world hunger and we, as world citizens, are forever indebted to his 
humanitarianism and a reminder of what science can do and why it should 
be defended and promoted.
  Today, let's all give thanks for the life and honor the memory of one 
of the foremost humanitarians of our age, Dr. Norman Borlaug. His 
passing earlier this week is a cause for the celebration of his life 
and a dedication to continuing his work as the best tribute we can 
provide to this truly great humanitarian.
  I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BURRIS. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Murray). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. BURRIS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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