It was a discussion about wheat rust that initially fascinated Norman Borlaug and set him on the path of plant pathology, which ended up saving millions of lives. Borlaug's contributions to the development of disease-resistant wheat secured the crop's supply and even had it thriving in Mexico, Pakistan and India beginning in the 1940s and continuing into the 70s. A couple of weeks ago we asked who the next Norman Borlaug would be and it seems the answer to that question would certainly be helpful now.

Wheat rust isn't exactly a new problem (obviously since it piqued Borlaug's interest during his young adult days), however it's still a serious problem, as evidenced by the Ug99 fungus, which scientists estimate could destroy more than 80 per cent of the world's wheat crops. That's a pretty scary prediction, especially when food shortages and starvation are huge problems now and predicted to become much, much worse in the future. The problem has started in eastern Africa, but already spread as far as Iran and potentially ready to attack crops in northern India and Pakistan. And in the event you're thinking that that's too far away for you to have to worry about, consider that agriculture experts figure it's only a matter of time until the wind will bring the disease to Russia, China and North America.

When swine flu began to appear in multiple countries, it was all anyone could talk and worry about. It's probably safe to assume Ug99 won't receive the same attention, but the implications of it are just as scary. It's been coined a "time bomb" by industry experts and is the top threat to wheat, the world's most widely grown crop.

Scientists are working against a pretty intimidating deadline: develop wheat varieties that are immune to the fungus or watch famine spread across poor, developing countries. The process of doing so can take over a decade and by then, the disease may already have made its way west and wreaked havoc on crops. Then again, in the 1960s, nobody thought India had a prayer of surviving famine (scientists predicted millions of people would starve to death) due to lack of wheat, yet the country managed to double yields of the crop in a matter of five years thanks to Borlaug's work.

Could the 94 year old come out of retirement and do it again or is there another Borlaug waiting in the wings, ready to solve this potential crisis? There doesn't seem to be a lot of time to find out, so let's hope someone steps into his shoes soon.

» Los Angeles Times

Norman Borlaug didn't become a Nobel Peace Prize winner overnight. The documentary below was created by students at Redmond Jr. High School in Redmond, Washington as part of the 2009 Washington State National History Day competition and ended up winning first place.

While the documentary provides a summary of Borlaug's life and achievements, it also explains that the seeds of his agricultural success were planted early (ha, seeds, planted - get it?). Agriculture was in Borlaug's blood, as he grew up on a farm. However rather than taking over the family farming business, Borlaug was encouraged by his grandfather to pursue higher education. He attended the University of Minnesota and was later accepted in the institution's College of Agriculture. There he met Alvin C. Stackman, the head of the plant pathology department, whose discussion of wheat rust disease fascinated Borlaug. It was Stackman who encouraged Borlaug to pursue the field of plant pathology. This, as well as a job with the Civilian Conservation Corps, a public work relief program for unemployed men, had a huge influence on Borlaug. He said of the program, ""I saw how food changed them...All of this left scars on me."

The video also outlines Borlaug's agronomical innovations:

1. High Volume Crossbreeding - Developing rust-resistant wheat by crossbreeding thousands of different lines, rather than dozens which was the typical approach by plant breeders.

2. Shuttle Breeding - Borlaug bred wheat in the central highlands of Mexico and then immediately took the seeds north. This was to take advantage of Mexico's two growing seeds, allowing more crops to be cultivated each year.

3. Changing the wheat's architecture - By changing the structure of the wheat by cross-breeding a Japanese dwarf wheat with high-yielding American wheat, combined with Borlaug's disease-resistant wheat cultivars. The result: six times higher wheat yield in Mexico than a decade earlier.

In other words, the young people at Redmond Jr. High School have done their research and show how Borlaug's childhood and young adult years would eventually lead to his status as one of the most influential humans who has ever lived. Check out the 10-minute documentary below to learn more about Borlaug and his life story.

» YouTube

If you've been enjoying our closer examination of The Cereal Aisle over the past week, don't despair because we're going to continue to examine more of it this week. However here are some highlights of what we've discussed so far:

☆ Wheat and oats and rice, oh my! We took a closer look at the common cereal grains used in the production of - you guessed it - cereal.

☆ Why buy pre-packaged cereal if you can make your own healthy version at home?

☆ If you've ever wondered what a staple crop is, we provide the easy answer.

☆ Though you may love your Frosted Flakes, different parts of the world have their very own favorites, many of which you've probably never even heard of.

» Ecollo (The Cereal Aisle)

Some of the most recognizable names in breakfast cereal use wheat as a base, and it's no wonder: the grain has been around for a long time and is one of the most widely grown crops in the world. However, when you pour that bowl of puffed wheat in the morning, id it ever occur to you that there are so many more varieties of wheat in existence?

History of wheat
While we learned yesterday that oats were only discovered about 3,000 years ago, wheat has been around much longer. It was one of the first plants ever to be cultivated and dates back approximately 11,000 years ago to the Middle East. Because of the early discovery of wheat, it became one of the crops that changed lives, as people began to realize they could rely upon themselves to produce food as opposed to searching for pre-existing food. Not only did wheat provide a means for people to feed themselves, it also determined where they settled since staying put and farming meant a steady, consistent food supply.

About seven thousand years after wheat was first discovered, the grain could be found in Asia, Europe and North Africa, and new species were constantly being developed as farmers figured out how to choose their best kernels and use them for the next planting season. 

Wheat Facts
Wheat is typically planted two times a year, in the spring and winter, both of which serves as identifying the classification of the wheat. In the spring, wheat is planted as soon as temperatures allow for it, while in the fall, wheat is typically planted in September or early October. The harvesting of fall wheat usually occurs the following, May and the harvesting of spring wheat usually happens in late July, and is completed by late August.

Wheat is one of the most common crops in the U.S., and is grown in 42 states. Kansas and North Dakota are the country's biggest wheat producers. About half of the wheat produced in the U.S. is used domestically.

Additionally, one bushel of wheat weighs approximately 60 pounds, contains about one million individual kernels, accounts for about 42 pounds of white flour and 60 pounds of whole-wheat flour, and can be used to make approximately 42 loaves of white bread or 90 loaves of whole-wheat bread.

The six main types of wheat include Hard Red Spring, Hard Red Winter, Soft Red Winter, Hard White, Soft White and Durum.

Wheat in cereal
You can enjoy wheat in either hot or cold cereal. Popular cold varieties include Kellogg's Mini-Wheats, Shredded Wheat by Post and General Mills' Wheaties. If something warm in the morning is more your style, Cream of Wheat can be enjoyed by babies, children and adults alike.

Back in 2000, it was speculated that whole-wheat and wheat-bran breakfast cereals could be valuable sources of dietary antioxidants. Indeed, choose a whole-wheat cereal can provide much needed fiber, which will keep you going for longer than that box of sugar-coated O's sitting in your cupboard.

» ThinkQuest

The increase in the cost of food isn't ocurring in North America and the U.K. alone. Consumers all over the world are being dealt a blow to their wallets as a "perfect storm" of conditions, including weather, economic changes, high oil prices, lower food reserves and the growing consumer demand in developing countries such as China and India.

Food riots have broken out in poor countries like Egypt - where two people were killed last week - as well as Burkina Faso and Cameroon. The cost of spaghetti is twice the price it once was in Haiti and Japan has seen a significant increase in the cost of miso, which is made from soybeans.

“It’s not likely that prices will go back to as low as we’re used to,” said Abdolreza Abbassian, economist and secretary of the Intergovernmental Group for Grains for the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. “Currently if you’re in Haiti, unless the government is subsidizing consumers, consumers have no choice but to cut consumption. It’s a very brutal scenario, but that’s what it is.”

It is poor areas like Haiti that are being hit the hardest - currently 37 counties are facing food crises and the U.N. says their food prgram will be unable to feed 89 million starving invdividuals due to a funding shortfall of $500 million.

As farmers begin to grow more grain, it is predicted that prices will eventually stabilize, but consumers may not see prices level off for another 10 years, according to the FAO. For now, the cost of fuel and the demand for meat in China and India will continue to drive prices upward. Experts say that food crises are not all that uncommon, but the global impact caused by the increasing costs of major foods is odd.

Hit the jump to read the full article for a more in-depth explanation of the global impact of the rising cost of food.

» MSNBC Business

The increasing cost of wheat prices may soon take its toll on your social life. Restaurant prices have steadily risen over the years to the point where it almost doesn't seem worth it to go out for dinner and pay $15 for a tiny order of pasta that leaves you still hungry in the end. Unfortunately that situation doesn't seem as though it will improve anytime soon.

One New York pizzeria owner was paying $16 per bag of flour just a month ago; now he's paying $37 per bag. One source of the flour supplier confirmed that the price would likely jump to $40 in the next week. In case you're not so adept at the math, that's over double the price of what flour cost four short weeks ago. Restaurant owners can only absorb the cost for so long before transitioning it to the customers by raising prices of baked products.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that an annual rate of over nine per cent last month alone and the Chicago Board of Trade confirms a bushel of wheat is priced two-and-a-half more times than what it was last year at this time. The production of ethanol is largely to blame for the rapid rise in cost, as farmers rush to grow more corn crops for fuel instead of growing wheat. Droughts in Australia and France and poor growing conditions last year have only intensified the problem, and wheat prices are still seen as relatively low for other countries thanks to the U.S. dollar hitting all-time lows.

"Ethanol was competing against wheat for acres in 2007," said Joe Victor, grain analyst with Allendale Inc. "Fifty-nine-percent of everything we raised in 2007 is leaving the U.S.," said Victor. "That's 9-10% greater than normal." As a result, Victor said, U.S. wheat supplies are at their lowest level since the end of World War II, another factor pushing prices skyward.

Wheat prices may level out later this year when a crop of winter wheat planted by concerned farmers materializes, but in the meantime consumers may just want to think twice before picking up the phone on Friday night and ordering a large pepperoni and mushroom pie.

» CNN Money