“American Superhero” is what Congressman Tom Latham just called Norman Borlaug in explaining why he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. As I explained in a post last year, Borlaug is arguably the greatest American. His Green Revolution improved the efficiency of world-wide agriculture and saved a lot of people from starvation.
Just how many people were saved is hard to say, but the lowest estimate I’ve read was half a billion. That’s twice what’s needed to offset all the war dead of the 19th and 20th centuries. If Latham’s estimate of one billion is correct—it’s certainly possible—then the Green Revolution has saved more people than the entire current population of the United States, Europe, and Japan combined.
That sounds like a job for a superhero.
(Heck, there’s even a Rap song about Norman Borlaug.)
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