Peace Through Food

The World Food Prize and Iowa farmers share common ground

By Darcy Dougherty Maulsby

When a delegation of Iowa farmers and other agribusiness professionals traveled to Pakistan in early 2020 on an agricultural trade mission, they didn’t expect to see a photo of a famous Iowan in a Pakistani meeting room.

“As we met with researchers and university leaders, they mentioned the photo of Norman Borlaug and spoke of him with great reverence,” says Kirk Leeds, CEO of the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA), which advances the soybean industry and works on behalf of Iowa’s 37,000 soybean farmers. “It was a powerful moment.”

Dr. Norman E. Borlaug was born in northeast Iowa in 1914 and raised on a farm near Cresco. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work in global agriculture. He developed new wheat varieties and improved crop management practices that transformed agricultural production, first in Mexico during the 1940s and 1950s and later in Asia and Latin America, sparking what is now known as the “Green Revolution.”

Photo by Joseph L. Murphy

“Because of his achievements to prevent hunger, famine and misery around the world, it’s said that Borlaug has saved more lives than any other person who has ever lived,” Leeds says.

Borlaug didn’t stop there. He envisioned a prize that would honor those who have made significant and measurable contributions to improving the world’s food supply. In addition to recognizing these dedicated people for their personal accomplishments, Borlaug saw this prize as a means of establishing role models who would inspire others.

A statue of Norman Borlaug on the grounds of the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates in Des Moines.

Photo by Joseph L. Murphy

His vision was realized in 1986 with the creation of the World Food Prize, which is often referred to as the Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture. For decades, the World Food Prize Foundation has been headquartered in downtown Des Moines. It welcomes global leaders to Iowa each year to address the latest issues and innovations in food and agriculture.

“It’s such a treasure to have the World Food Prize Foundation here in Iowa, which is an epicenter of agricultural production and policy that advances technology and sustainability,” says Barbara Stinson, president of the World Food Prize Foundation. “We work to educate people worldwide about innovations occurring in Iowa and around the globe to help feed a hungry world.”

Barbara Stinson assumed leadership of the World Food Prize Foundation earlier this year. She is a champion of policy, research and project innovation through collaborative solutions.

Photo courtesy of the World Food Prize Foundation.

Demand for Soy Protein Grows

Soy protein produced by Iowa soybean farmers can contribute to greater global food security.

“The need for protein worldwide continues to grow,” says Lindsay Greiner, who raises soybeans, corn and pigs near Keota and serves as an at-large director on the ISA board. “Feeding people is the ultimate goodwill gesture.”

Greiner has traveled with other ISA board members to a dozen different countries, from Egypt to China to Vietnam, on agricultural trade missions to learn more about what buyers want from Iowa soybean farmers.

“U.S. soy is a preferred protein source, not only for direct human consumption, but also to feed livestock and support aquaculture,” he says.

Lindsay Greiner

Photo by Joseph L. Murphy

Soy protein supports the World Food Prize Foundation’s mission of ensuring a nutritious, sustainable food supply for all people.

“Increasing food production is a practical science,” says Greiner, who has attended the Borlaug Dialogue, a three-day symposium in Des Moines that brings together global agricultural experts from more than 50 countries. “It’s amazing to learn about how leaders around the world are helping people maximize their natural resources so more people can feed themselves.”

Greiner shares many common interests with Dr. Rattan Lal, the 2020 World Food Prize laureate and soil health expert. Lal, a distinguished soil science professor and founding director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at The Ohio State University (OSU), received the $250,000 World Food Prize award.

Over his career spanning more than five decades and four continents, Lal has promoted innovative soilsaving techniques, which have benefited more than 500 million smallholder farmers. The techniques have improved the food and nutritional security of more than 2 billion people and saved millions of acres of tropical ecosystems. This isn’t just good for the environment; it’s important for national security.

“Hungry people can be disruptive and potentially dangerous,” Leeds says. “The World Food Prize provides an important global platform to promote food production, which is key to a more peaceful world.”

Ambassador Kenneth Quinn hosts a group of food bloggers at the Hall of Laureates in Des Moines.

Photo by Joseph L. Murphy

Cultivating the Next Generation of Ag Leaders

ISA values the World Food Prize Foundation’s focus on various youth programs to address challenges related to global food security. “It builds on the legacy of Norman Borlaug to inspire the next generation of leaders,” Leeds says.

Each year, the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute convenes high school students, teachers and agricultural experts to explore and solve local, national and global hunger and food security issues.

To apply to the Institute, each student researches and writes a paper on a global challenge related to hunger and food insecurity. Students from 25 U.S. states and two foreign countries support the Institute and can be selected as a delegate to the Global Youth Institute.

Megan Decker, a freshman at Iowa State University who grew up on a corn and soybean farm near Rockwell City, participated in the World Food Prize’s Iowa Youth Institute.

“The legacy of Norman Borlaug makes me proud to be an Iowan and shows me how ideas can be cultivated into something that impacts people for generations,” says Decker, who has researched a variety of topics varying from malnutrition in the African nation of Chad to food waste in Belgium.

She adds, “The collaboration of research and contributions of people from all different backgrounds at World Food Prize events showed me that every idea has the potential to add value to the overall mission.”

Anegela Siele tours Bill Couser’s soybean farm in Nevada during a bus tour for World Food Prize attendees.

Photo courtesy of the World Food Prize Foundation.

A World Food Prize attendee examines an ear of corn during a farm tour sponsored by the Iowa Soybean Association.

Photo by Joseph L. Murphy

Each year, 200 high school students from around the world are selected to participate in the three-day Global Youth Institute in Iowa hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation. This unique event allows students to interact with Nobel and World Food Prize laureates and discuss food security and agricultural issues with the international experts.

“Equipping the next generation with the tools to combat the world’s biggest challenges is essential to making progress,” says Decker, who is majoring in agriculture and society with a minor in public relations. “The biggest thing I took away from these World Food Prize experiences is that there’s always new information to be sought, new ideas to be heard and new perspectives to be gained.”

The World Food Prize Foundation offers a number of scholarships for students, along with the prestigious Wallace- Carver Fellowship. This offers college students the opportunity to collaborate with world-renowned scientists and policymakers through paid fellowships at leading U.S. Department of Agriculture research centers and offices across the nation.

“The World Food Prize is renowned for elevating innovators and inspiring action to help feed the world,” Stinson says. “We’re excited about new opportunities to increase the impact of the World Food Prize in the years ahead, especially as the world’s population is projected to reach nearly 10 billion people by 2050.”

Iowa farmers are committed to being part of the solution, too, Greiner says. “We want to do everything we can to provide nutritious food to as many people as possible.”