THE WORLD FOOD PRIZE
“Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture”

Celebrates Twenty Years of Inspiring Life-Saving Achievement

When Iowa native Dr. Norman E. Borlaug sets his mind to something, it gets done.

When he learned of the famine plaguing Mexico in the 1940s, he took action, inventing “miracle wheat” that turned the country’s dire situation around and led Mexico to self-sufficiency.

Later, when Dr. Borlaug heard that hundreds of millions of people in India and Pakistan were at risk of hunger and starvation, he once again set his mind to action and brought the “Green Revolution” to South Asia and the Near East.

After these great accomplishments, Dr. Borlaug set out to create an award recognizing the work of others in the fight to end world hunger. Naturally, he would not stop until that dream, too, became a reality.

A recipient of the world’s premier humanitarian honor, the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. Borlaug realized that no prize existed to recognize advances in food and agriculture. Showing the same determination that led to his life-saving scientific breakthroughs, Dr. Borlaug set out to create such an award on his own, and in 1986, the World Food Prize was born.

Now celebrating its 20th Anniversary, the Des Moines-based, $250,000 World Food Prize is the foremost international award recognizing individuals who have made exceptional achievements in improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. Its growth and success over the past twenty years has even surprised its founder. “It has grown far beyond my fondest expectations,” Dr. Borlaug said.

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT OBSERVANCE OF WORLD FOOD DAY ANYWHERE

At the announcement of the 2001 World Food Prize Laureate, then President of Germany Johannes Rau declared, “The World Food Prize is the ‘Nobel Prize’ for food and agriculture.’”

Today, Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, President of the World Food Prize Foundation, often refers to Rau’s statement when describing the World Food Prize to others.

“Over the past twenty years, the World Food Prize has made enormous strides in terms of global recognition,” Quinn said. “I have endeavored to shape our annual World Food Prize Laureate Award Ceremony into a signature international event.”

TURNING THE EYES OF THE WORLD TO IOWA

On the evening of October 19, Brazilians Edson Lobato and Alysson Paolinelli and American A. Colin McClung will be added to the pantheon of World Food Prize Laureates during a ceremony at the beautiful Iowa State Capitol.

With the support of Governor Tom Vilsack and the Iowa State Legislature, the Annual Laureate Award Ceremony was moved to the Capitol, one of North America’s grandest buildings, in 2000.

As in years past, the 2006 ceremony will gather renowned international experts, policy makers and government officials from over 60 countries to pay tribute to the life-saving achievements of the newest Laureates.

“The World Food Prize Laureate Award Ceremony surpasses the ceremony at which I received the Nobel Prize,” said Dr. Borlaug. The ceremony will be broadcast live across the state on Iowa Public Television.

PROMOTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN IOWA

Each October, hundreds of government officials, business leaders, policy makers, researchers and scientists descend upon Des Moines for the annual International Symposium and Laureate Award Ceremony.

The symposium, which in 2006 will be renamed the Dr. Norman E.

Borlaug International Symposium, has featured over 200 internationally acclaimed speakers addressing cutting edge issues in biotechnology, food safety and nutrition.

The 2001 symposium, held just one month after the tragedies of 9/11, was the first conference in the world to address the threat of agroterrorism. “The ideas that came out of the World Food Prize International Symposium helped shape the US response to bioterrorism immediately after the events of 9/11,” said FDA Acting Commissioner Bernard Schwetz.

Federal officials also praised the 2005 Symposium on the dual global challenges of malnutrition and obesity as “the first conference ever to address those two topics at the same time.”

UNIQUE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR IOWA YOUTH

John Ruan and Norman Borlaug created the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute in 1994 to increase awareness of global food security issues among Iowa high school students.

Approximately 100 students and 100 teachers now attend the International Symposium and Global Youth Institute each October. Students and teachers interact in small discussion groups with World Food Prize Laureates, research scientists and policy makers.

Since its inception, over 1,000 students and teachers from 140 high schools have participated in this unique program. Participants in the Youth Institute are eligible to apply for Borlaug-Ruan International Internships, eight-week, all expenses paid, “hands-on” experiences at international research centers in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

FUTURE PLANS

World Food Prize Chairman John Ruan III announced a $5 million pledge to restore the 100-year-old Des Moines Public Library and create the Norman E. Borlaug Hall of Laureates.

With a matching contribution from Polk County, private and corporate contributions and federal funds, the Hall of Laureates will be a centerpiece of the new Principal Riverwalk. Recognizing Iowa’s historic legacy in feeding the world, The Hall will pay tribute to the achievements of The World Food Prize Laureates and Iowa heroes such as President Herbert Hoover, Vice President Henry Wallace, scientist George Washington Carver, and 4-H founder Jessie Field Shambaugh.

As The World Food Prize celebrates its 20th Anniversary this fall by reflecting on the past, its eyes remain firmly set on the future. “Norman Borlaug’s vision was that the World Food Prize

could become recognized globally as the ‘Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture;’ and John Ruan hoped that Iowa could be seen as the food and agricultural capital of the world,” said Ambassador Quinn. “We are working hard to fulfill these two dreams.” n

For more information, please visit www.worldfoodprize.org