Let’s work to end world hunger

Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation, recently spoke about the award ceremony held Oct. 16 in Des Moines. He spoke also of his attending an event in the country of Iran where the importance of the work of Iowa native, Norman Borlaug, was honored.

This year is the Borlaug Centennial. The work of Dr. Borlaug and his successors has greatly increased the productivity of the world's wheat and rice farms so seriously needed in the face of population growth. Projected growth is from about 8 billion to 16 billion by the end of the century.

It should be noted that Dr. Borlaug urged two approaches to the problem of world hunger. In his acceptance speech for the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize he said, '…we are dealing with two opposing forces, the scientific power of food production and the biologic power of human reproduction.” To paraphrase him, we are using our knowledge to increase the rate and amount of food production but we need to use our knowledge to reduce the rate of human reproduction which we are able to do effectively and humanely. He said there can be no permanent progress in the battle against hunger until the agencies that work for increased food production and those that work for population control unite in common effort.

Jim Beatty

Cedar Rapids