Agriculture superstar, peace activist to deliver Bertrand Russell Lecture before receiving honorary degree

A celebrated agricultural scientist and prominent peace activist is to
explore the connections between food, hunger and peace when he
delivers the annual Bertrand Russell Lecture on Monday, June 13.

MS Swaminathan, described by the UN's Environment Program as “the
father of economic ecology” and the first recipient of the first World
Food Prize, began a six-day visit to Hamilton today.

His calendar includes:

– speaking at a Millennium Goals conference at McMaster Saturday, June
11 (noon to 5 p.m. CIBC Hall, third floor McMaster University Student
Centre)

– appearing at a fundraiser for Mahila Shanti Sena (MSS), a grassroots
social movement centered on Gandhian principles of peace and non-
violent action on Sunday evening

– delivering the Russell Lecture Monday evening

– addressing graduating science students Tuesday (2:30 p.m.
Hamilton Place), when he is to receive his 61st honorary degree.

– visiting local farms on Wednesday

Mexican geneticist Norman Borlaug's “miracle wheat,” combined with
Swaminathan's work mobilizing Indian government, scientists, farmers
and public opinion, is credited for solving India's massive food
problem and for increasing food production worldwide.

The two men started what is commonly known as the “Green Revolution”
that saved hundreds of millions from starvation during the latter half
of the 20th century.

Swaminathan was listed by Time magazine as one of the 20 most
influential Asians of the 20th century and is one of the only three
from India, the other two being Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath
Tagore.

Among his many responsibilities, he served as President of the Pugwash
Conferences on Science and World Affairs (2002-07) and President of
the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (2005-07).

Swaminathan was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community
Leadership in 1971, the Albert Einstein World Science Award in 1986,
the first World Food Prize in 1987, and Volvo and Tyler Prize for
Environment, the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and
Development in 2000 and the Franklin D Roosevelt Four Freedoms Medal
and the Mahatma Gandhi Prize of UNESCO in 2000.

“There is no other prize for him to win except the Nobel Prize,” says
Rama Singh, a professor in McMaster's Department of Biology and a
member of the university's Peace Studies Advisory Council. “He is a
very important person in the world.”

The Russell lecture takes place from 7:30 p.m. 9:30 pm in Room 1305 of
the
Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery. The event is
free and open to the public.