Hopefully by now, the name Norman Borlaug is at least on your radar. Quick recap for those just joining us: he saved millions of people from starving to death India and Pakistan back in the 1960s, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, was heralded by some of the most influential people in the world including Jimmy Carter and George Bush, as well as by lesser-dignitaries Penn & Teller.

Contrary to what you might be thinking, even though Borlaug won his Nobel prize nearly 40 years ago, the words he spoke in 1970 while accepting the honor are just as relevant today as they were back then. Check it out:

It is true that the tide of the battle against hunger has changed for the better during the past three years. But tides have a way of flowing and then ebbing again. We may be at high tide now, but ebb tide could soon set in if we become complacent and relax our efforts. For we are dealing with two opposing forces, the scientific power of food production and the biologic power of human reproduction. Man has made amazing progress recently in his potential mastery of these two contending powers. Science, invention, and technology have given him materials and methods for increasing his food supplies substantially and sometimes spectacularly, as I hope to prove tomorrow in my first address as a newly decorated and dedicated Nobel Laureate. Man also has acquired the means to reduce the rate of human reproduction effectively and humanely. He is using his powers for increasing the rate and amount of food production. But he is not yet using adequately his potential for decreasing the rate of human reproduction. The result is that the rate of population increase exceeds the rate of increase in food production in some areas.

There can be no permanent progress in the battle against hunger until the agencies that fight for increased food production and those that fight for population control unite in a common effort. Fighting alone, they may win temporary skirmishes, but united they can win a decisive and lasting victory to provide food and other amenities of a progressive civilization for the benefit of all mankind.

Interesting, especially when you consider the news as of late: A growing population will be starving by 2100 unless we figure out how to grow more food, while science and technology will have to be embraced in order to meet this demand, at least according to some experts in the industry. The issues being dealt with in Borlaug's heyday don't sound all that different than the ones we are facing in 2009: millions of starving people and the growing desperation to find a solution before it's too late. However, while Borlaug made results happen and developed new drought-resistant crops in the 1950s and 1960s, these days there seems to be more argument than action regarding on the best way to proceed. Organic farming? Cloning crops? Accepting that science will inevitably play a part in any solution will address the problem on a large scale? Everyone has their own opinions on the best ways to succeed. Now if only someone could get some definitive results the way Borlaug did...

» Nobelprize.org