norman borlaug would not be happy.

When the phone rang at 4am at the Borlaug residence in Mexico City on that day in 1970, Norman had already left for work at the test fields in Toluca Valley, about 40 miles to the west. His wife Margaret picked up the phone, only to learn that her husband had won the Nobel Peace Prize.

As an american food scientist in the early 1940's, Norman Borlaug had moved to Mexico City to do wheat research. Through careful reproduction and cross-breeding, he created a semi-dwarf wheat that was resistant to disease. The dwarf aspect meant that the stalk was shorter and thicker, and this would not fall over under a heavy yield. This, coupled with the fact that it was disease resistant, meant that grain production could increase. He started with Mexico, but soon expanded the distribution of his research wheat to southeast asia, most notably India and Pakistan.

By 1963, 95% of Mexico's grain production was using the varieties that he developed, and that year, the harvest was six times larger than in 1944, the year Borlaug moved to Mexico. In war and famine ravaged India and Pakistan, the results of his research was felt almost immediately. By the late 60's and early 70's, both countries were self-sufficient in grain production, and essentially had the means to feed itself. It is estimated that through his research, Norman Borlaug is credited with saving over a billion lives.

So why am I telling you this story?

There was an article in the NYT this week about India's wheat surplus (they've got quite a surplus). As a matter of fact, India has the 2nd largest grain stockpile in the world, even exporting to countries worldwide. This surplus came about as a result of India's farm subsidies and agricultural advancements like those that Norman Borlaug introduced. They have mounds of wheat and rice sitting around, collecting dust and rotting away because they have such a largess of food. Weird huh?

What's even more perplexing, is the fact that an estimated 250 million Indians, or roughly 20% of the country is malnourished, starving, struggling to feed themselves. So why this dichotomy of excess grain and starving people? In a country plagued by corruption and inefficiency, programs that are designed to distribute food to the poor are failing miserably. It's not a case of the country not having enough to feed itself. The country has enough. It has more than enough. Norman Borlaug's lifetime of research saw to that. The government just doesn't deliver on its basic responsibility of caring for its people.

I know, it's easy to say that this country needs prayer (it does). But this country also needs change. It needs a change in the heart of those that do the distributing, those who oversee the mechanisms that are tasked with seeing to it that food gets to where it's needed. It needs a change of heart for those in the government who put up barriers. Seeing situations like this, where people lack even the basic needs because others don't want them to have it, is simply disappointing. I'm sure if Norman Borlaug were still alive, he wouldn't approve of this either.