Press Release (Copied From Plant Tissue Culture List):
DR. EVANGELINA VILLEGAS AND DR. SURINDER K. VASAL AWARDED $250,000
MILLENNIUM WORLD FOOD PRIZE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF "MIRACLE MAIZE"
--QUALITY PROTEIN MAIZE (QPM)--WHICH IS COUNTERING MALNUTRITION AND
SAVING THE LIVES OF MILLIONS OF CHILDREN WORLDWIDE
First woman Laureate was part of a team that overcame skepticism
about their research to produce protein enriched corn, known as
Quality Protein Maize or QPM.
DES MOINES, IOWA, USA (September 7, 2000) - Ambassador Kenneth M.
Quinn, President of The World Food Prize Foundation, announced today
that the $250,000 Millennium World Food Prize has been awarded to
biochemist Dr. Evangelina Villegas of Mexico and plant geneticist Dr.
Surinder K. Vasal of India. Dr. Villegas is the first woman ever to
receive The World Food Prize.
Quinn said that Dr. Villegas and Dr. Vasal will be honored first at a
special ceremony on October 12 in the historic Iowa State Capitol
Building in Des Moines and again at a luncheon in New York City on
October 16 - World Food Day - featuring remarks by
U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations Richard C. Holbrooke and
Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman.
The World Food Prize, referred to informally as the "Nobel Prize for
Food," has been awarded to Drs. Villegas and Vasal for their success
in developing maize with both higher quality protein and desirable
agronomic characteristics. The two scientists collaborated on this
problem for almost three decades at the International Wheat and Maize
Improvement Center in Mexico. Their painstaking scientific detective
work finally achieved the breakthrough discovery of how significant
amounts of additional protein could be added to low nutrition corn,
thus producing enriched "miracle maize." However, even as their
testing process was finally producing results, such research lost
support in some scientific circles.
Despite a cut off in funding, Drs. Villegas and Vasal nonetheless
persistently continued to pursue their goal. Thanks to their
tenacity, today hundreds of millions of people in developing
countries who depend on maize as a primary food source, and as a
livestock feed, have access to a high nutrition food. Known as
Quality Protein Maize, or QPM, this grain has significantly improved
the quality and quantity of food in the world, underlying criteria
for The World Food Prize. In a world where nearly one seventh of the
total population (well over 800 million people) is chronically
malnourished, the significance of QPM cannot be overstated. (A
detailed account of the work of these two scientists is attached to
this release).
The successful collaboration of Drs. Villegas and Vasal is hailed by
researchers as one of the most innovative team approaches to
conventional plant breeding ever carried out to achieve a common
goal. Dr. Normal E. Borlaug, Nobel Laureate and World Food Prize
Founder, states: "I'm pleased that the efforts of Drs. Vasal and
Villegas are being recognized by the World Food Prize. Their efforts
in developing QPM, working through times when QPM research was quite
unpopular, has resulted in significant inroads to alleviating
malnourishment and poverty in developing countries. What they have
done has inspired other gut-fighting teams of scientists who labor to
serve human beings, not just as an academic exercise."
Former President Jimmy Carter, Member of the World Food Prize
Council of Advisors, adds: "Dr. Villegas and Dr. Vasal not only
achieved a remarkable breakthrough on maize quality, but their
efforts to teach and train others in furthering QPM adoption are
exemplary."
John Ruan, chairman of The World Food Prize Foundation, commented:
"Food security brought about by QPM is a fundamental advance to help
the poor break the cycle of poverty and malnutrition. We salute Dr.
Villegas and Dr. Vasal for their contribution to humanity."
________________________________________________________________
YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET!
Juno now offers FREE Internet Access!
Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Oct 02 2000 - 17:37:30 MDT