Congress Honors Norman Borlaug, Father of 'Green Revolution' (1/2)

American agricultural scientist Norman Borlaug has received the Congressional Gold Medal. The award is the highest civilian honor given by Congress. Norman Borlaug is often called "the man who saved a billion lives" and "the father of the Green Revolution."

His work helped fight starvation" class="hjdict" word="starvation" target=_blank>starvation in India and Pakistan in the 1960s. He won the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize.

President Bush, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid presented him with his latest honor last week. The scientist is 93 years old. He still works as an adviser at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico.

In accepting the medal, he urged Congress and the administration to increase development assistance for agriculture. He said the world needs better and more technology to deal with hunger. In his words: "Hunger and poverty and misery are very fertile soils into which to plant all kinds of 'isms,' including terrorism."