Norman Borlaug is never born

[Hnau]

What if the father of the Green Revolution was never born? I'm talking of course about Norman Borlaug. What would the world be like today?

 

[cra0422]

Most of the world would be less developed in terms of food production, thus suffering from greater famine and leading to more people starving. The key effect to Borlaug's experiments was developing plants that were light-sensitive rather than temperature-sensitive.

 

[danielb1]

Global population would be hundreds of millions lower.

India would have significantly fewer people, and would be poorer overall - though it did have its own indigenous scientists, many of whom worked with Borlaug. Same for Pakistan.

Mexico might have had a civil war or otherwise be a failed state.


Many similar effects in other parts of Asia and Latin America, though not to the same degree. Less of an affect on Africa, where Borlaug didn't do earlier work and proposals to organize agricultural reforms were blocked by misguided blockheads in western countries.