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September 8, 2000

Evangelina Villegas takes top World Food prize

HispanicVista.com

DES MOINES — the World Food Prize Foundation announced the 2000 World Food Prize laureates.

The Foundation made known that leading
experts on food and agriculture selected Evangelina Villegas from Mexico, as one of this year’s World Food Prize recipients.

This is the foremost international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced
human development by improving the quality, quantity and availability of food in the world.

Villegas will be honored for their distinguished work in the improvement of the "Quality of Protein Maize" (QPM). For almost three decades, the scientist has worked at the International Wheat and Maize Improvement Center in Mexico City (CIMMYT).

“Their investigation has laid the foundations of what will be one of the most important contribution to food security in human history,” said the Director of the World Food Prize Foundation, Timothy Reeves.

Evangelina Villegas is the first Mexican national and the
first woman ever, to receive the World Food Prize. Born in
Mexico in 1924, Villegas has a Ph.D. in Cereal Chemistry and Plant Breeding from North Dakota State University..

The World Food Prize known as the "Nobel Prize" for food, was conceived by Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, 1970 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1990, the World Food Prize Foundation was established and assumed sponsorship of The World Food Prize. The
Prize emphasizes the importance of a nutritious and sustainable food supply for all people. Each year, more than 4,000 institutions and organizations around the world are invited to nominate candidates for The Prize. It includes a cash award of U.S. $250,000.