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Source: PRESS RELEASE, 6/19/13
Three distinguished scientists — Marc Van Montagu of Belgium, and Mary-Dell Chilton and Robert T. Fraley of the United States — were today named the winners of the 2013 World Food Prize during a ceremony at the U.S. State Department, where Secretary of State John Kerry delivered the keynote address. Mr. John Ruan III, Chairman of the World Food Prize, also participated in the ceremony.
In announcing the names of the 2013 Laureates, Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn, President of the World Food
Prize, emphasized the impact and potential of their work.
“These three scientists are being recognized for their independent, individual breakthrough achievements in
founding, developing, and applying modern agricultural biotechnology,” Quinn said. “Their research is making it
possible for farmers to grow crops with improved yields, resistance to insects and disease, and the ability to
tolerate extreme variations in climate.”
In a written statement, Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, the renowned Indian scientist and Chairman of the World Food
Prize Laureate Selection Committee, said the award is especially fitting this year.
“2013 marks the 60th anniversary of the discovery of the double helix structure of the DNA Molecule by James
Watson, Francis Crick and Morris Wilkins,” Swaminathan said. “During the last 60 years, the science of
molecular genetics, also referred to as New Genetics, has opened up uncommon opportunities for shaping the
future of agriculture, industry, medicine and environment protection. It is therefore appropriate that the World
Food Prize is being awarded this year to some of the pioneers of the New Genetics who have opened up
opportunities for achieving a balance between human numbers and the human capacity to produce adequate
food.”
Building upon the scientific discovery of the Double Helix structure of DNA in the 1950s, Van Montagu, Chilton,
and Fraley each conducted groundbreaking molecular research on how a plant bacterium could be adapted as
a tool to insert genes from another organism into plant cells, which could produce new genetic lines with highly
favorable traits.
The revolutionary biotechnology discoveries of these three individuals - each working in separate facilities on
two continents - unlocked the key to plant cell transformation using recombinant DNA. Their work led to the
development of a host of genetically enhanced crops, which, by 2012, were grown on more than 170 million
hectares around the globe by 17.3 million farmers, over 90 percent of whom were small resource-poor farmers
in developing countries.
From their work in the laboratory to applying biotechnology innovations in farmers’ fields, the combined
achievements of the 2013 World Food Prize Laureates have contributed significantly to increasing the quantity
and availability of food.
Estimates show the global population growing to 9 billion by 2050. Currently, 870 million, or 1 in 8 people, are
hungry. Scientific advancements will play a critical role as we face the global challenges of the 21st century of
producing more food in a sustainable way, while confronting an increasingly volatile climate, Quinn said.
“We have a great responsibility to continue to move science forward and to utilize it in the best ways possible
to nourish mankind, especially those who are suffering every day,” Quinn said. “As our founder, the scientist
Norman Borlaug, said, we are going ‘from the Green Revolution to the Gene Revolution.’ Our international
symposium this October will focus on three intertwined issues: biotechnology, sustainability, and climate
volatility. I invite people across the globe to engage together in rational debates and solution-based dialogues
to identify ways we can harness technology for the greatest benefit to mankind and our environment.”
Marc Van Montagu, who is Founder and Chairman of the Institute of Plant Biotechnology Outreach at Ghent
University in Belgium; Mary-Dell Chilton, who is Founder and Distinguished Fellow of Syngenta Biotechnology;
and Robert T. Fraley, the Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Monsanto, will be formally
awarded the World Food Prize at the 27th Annual Laureate Award Ceremony at the Iowa State Capitol on
October 17, in conjunction with the Borlaug Dialogue international symposium in Des Moines, Iowa, focused
this year on “The Next Borlaug Century: Biotechnology, Sustainability and Climate Volatility.” Also in October,
the World Food Prize Foundation will begin the yearlong Borlaug Centennial Observance, honoring the 100th
anniversary of the birth of Dr. Norman Borlaug, founder of the World Food Prize and known as the “Father of
the Green Revolution.”
Dr. Mary-Dell Chilton, 2013 World Food Prize Laureate:
I am deeply honored, both personally and on behalf of a great many colleagues and collaborators with whom I
have shared this intellectual adventure. It is gratifying that our work, which started as curiosity-driven
fundamental research, has now found worldwide application in agriculture with the promise of benefitting all
mankind. The committee’s decision to award the World Food Prize to biotechnology researchers will help
convey to consumers the value, utility and safety of genetically modified crops. I am both humbled and
extremely grateful for this honor.
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THE WORLD FOOD PRIZE was created in 1987 by Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Norman Borlaug, and is the foremost international award recognizing individuals whose achievements have advanced human development by increasing the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. The prize was endowed by John Ruan Sr. Continuing his legacy, Iowa businessman John Ruan III now serves as chairman of the organization. A Selection Committee of experts from around the world oversees the nomination and selection process, and is chaired by Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, who was also honored as the first World Food Prize Laureate.
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