The Nobel Peace Prize has never been awarded according to a static set of rules.

[yellowcanine]

Norman Borlaug won the prize for crop breeding in 1970. It isn't always awarded to an individual, sometimes it is awarded to an agency or organization. Sometimes it is not awarded at all. The naysayers in the Republican Party and elsewhere (Taliban, Hamas) miss the point. Sometimes the award is for a specific set of accomplishments - other times it is awarded for a promise. In Obama's case it seems to be a combination of both. Most people understand that and Republicans will pay a real price in political support for treating the Nobel Peace Prize as a political football.

[Buzz Clik]

1. Borlaug was not awarded the prize for his acomplishments in crop breeding, but I see your point.

[yellowcanine]

2. A very fine point to argue. His life's work was crop breeding. That is what he did.

His accomplishments which resulted in what was known as the Green Revolution are credited with increasing the world's food supply. The Green Revolution wasn't JUST crop breeding but crop breeding by Borlaug produced the varieties which responded to a set of modern ag production techniques (mainly dwarfed varieties that could respond to increased nitrogen without lodging)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Borlaug

"During the mid-20th century, Borlaug led the introduction of these high-yielding varieties combined with modern agricultural production techniques to Mexico, Pakistan, and India. As a result, Mexico became a net exporter of wheat by 1963. Between 1965 and 1970, wheat yields nearly doubled in Pakistan and India, greatly improving the food security in those nations.<5> These collective increases in yield have been labeled the Green Revolution, and Borlaug is often credited with saving over a billion people from starvation. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 in recognition of his contributions to world peace through increasing food supply."