The Rockefeller Foundation played a key role by supporting early research by Norman Borlaug and others to enhance agricultural productivity. Applications of this research â developed in collaboration with governments, private companies, and the Ford Foundation â sparked the Green Revolution, which is estimated to have saved a billion people from starvation.
What is the source for the Green Revolution having saved 1 billion people from starvation? I guess it extrapolates exponential population growth too far, because fertility would become lower for a starving population.
As a side note, I think it would be even less realistic to attribute the impact of saving 1 billion people from starvation to Norman Borlaug, as some do. From his Wikipedia page:
[Norman] Borlaug was often called âthe father of the Green Revolutionâ,[6][7] and is credited with saving over a billion people worldwide from starvation.[8][3][9][10][11][12]
Assuming Norman had a career of 50 years with a salary of 100 k$/âyear, it costed 5 M$. If so, Norman saved a life for 0.005 $ (= 5*10^6/â10^9). GiveWellâs top charities save a life for around 5 k$. As a result, Norman would have been 1.00 M (= 5*10^3/â0.005) times as cost-effective as GiveWellâs top charities.
Thanks for sharing!
What is the source for the Green Revolution having saved 1 billion people from starvation? I guess it extrapolates exponential population growth too far, because fertility would become lower for a starving population.
As a side note, I think it would be even less realistic to attribute the impact of saving 1 billion people from starvation to Norman Borlaug, as some do. From his Wikipedia page:
Assuming Norman had a career of 50 years with a salary of 100 k$/âyear, it costed 5 M$. If so, Norman saved a life for 0.005 $ (= 5*10^6/â10^9). GiveWellâs top charities save a life for around 5 k$. As a result, Norman would have been 1.00 M (= 5*10^3/â0.005) times as cost-effective as GiveWellâs top charities.