"The greatest human being who ever lived" has died.

[What's his face]

Link

And yet most of us, I bet, have never even heard of him.

Norman Borlaug, whose discoveries in agriculture saved hundreds of millions in the third world from starvation, has died. He was 95.

The article I linked to above makes a very good point:

When Princess Diana died, television networks covered it 24/7. Michael Jackson’s passing created a tsunami of Internet traffic. I learned about Borlaug’s passing on the sidebar of a news website on global development issues in foreign policy.

Norman Borlaug goes to a better place having made the Earth undeniably better, safer and freed from hunger.

And he goes in virtual silence.

 

[TheLonelySquire]

RIP, sir. An unbelievable contribution to society.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

A long life, well spent . Let people bemoan the loss of Michael Jackson all they want. Great people die without that spectacle, they simply leave us. The great die with quiet dignity, not pomp- as it should be .

 

[Australis]

Wow. This made me incredibly sad. I wish I'd known him. I wish I'd known of him. A life lived with hobour, generosity and humility.

Of his harshest critics Borlaug stated, "some… are the salt of the earth, but many of them are elitists. They've never experienced the physical sensation of hunger. They do their lobbying from comfortable office suites in Washington or Brussels. If they lived just one month amid the misery of the developing world, as I have for fifty years, they'd be crying out for tractors and fertilizer and irrigation canals and be outraged that fashionable elitists back home were trying to deny them these things."

This, this, a thousand times this.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I've heard of Mr. Borlaug before, and I agree--one of the greatest, if not the greatest person of all time. In absolute terms, he probably directly improved more lives than anyone who has ever lived.

 

[Rii]

Of his harshest critics Borlaug stated, "some… are the salt of the earth, but many of them are elitists. They've never experienced the physical sensation of hunger. They do their lobbying from comfortable office suites in Washington or Brussels. If they lived just one month amid the misery of the developing world, as I have for fifty years, they'd be crying out for tractors and fertilizer and irrigation canals and be outraged that fashionable elitists back home were trying to deny them these things."

This, this, a thousand times this.

It should be noted that he was referring specifically to environmental lobbyists here.

 

[Australis]

^ I took it to be referring to his 'harshest critics'. Either works for me.

 

[RJDiogenes]

The greatest thing a Human Being can hope to accomplish is to save one life. Hundreds of millions? This was one lucky, lucky man who lived a grand and meaningful existence.

RIP, Norman Borlaug.

 

[Rii]

^ I took it to be referring to his 'harshest critics'. Either works for me.

I think it works as a more general statement too, and I suspect that Normal Bourlaug would agree, but I also think the original context should be honoured, to do otherwise seems disrespectful and manipulative.

Having done only a little reading on the subject, it appears to be a complex and nuanced issue.

 

[An Officer]

Not the Rockefellers again. You always have to question their motives.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

He truly was the King of Crop

 

[Bones2]

I'd never heard of him before. That is sad, because after reading up a little, he deserves the recognition of all.

 

[K'riq Sa]

"Either this man is dead or my watch has stopped." groucho





k'riq