Elvin Stakman: Guardian of the World’s Wheat
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:
May 17, 1885
On this day, we celebrate the birth of Elvin Charles Stakman, an American plant pathologist whose work would go on to shape the future of global food security.
Can you imagine a world where wheat, the staff of life for so many cultures, was constantly under threat?
This was the world that Elvin Stakman dedicated his life to changing.
His primary focus?
Identifying and combating diseases in wheat, a pursuit that would have far-reaching consequences for millions around the globe.
In 1917, Elvin's personal and professional lives intertwined when he married fellow plant pathologist Estelle Louise Jensen.
One can only imagine the dinner table conversations in the Stakman household, filled with discussions of fungi, plant diseases, and agricultural innovations!
But perhaps Elvin's most significant contribution to the field came not through his own research, but through his role as a mentor.
When a young Norman Borlaug found himself jobless due to budget cuts at the Forest Service, it was Elvin who encouraged him to pursue a career in phytopathology.
Can you fathom the ripple effect of this single act of mentorship?
Norman Borlaug would go on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his discovery of dwarf wheat varieties that dramatically reduced famine in India, Pakistan, and other developing countries.
How many lives were saved, how many futures brightened, because Elvin Stakman saw potential in a young, unemployed forester?
In 1938, Elvin gave a speech that perfectly encapsulated his life's work: "These Shifty Little Enemies that Destroy our Food Crops."
The primary villain in his tale?
Rust, a parasitic fungus that feeds on phytonutrients in grain crops like wheat, oat, and barley.
Imagine these microscopic marauders, invisible to the naked eye, yet capable of destroying entire harvests!
Today, Elvin's legacy lives on at the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus, where Stakman Hall - the building where Plant Pathology is taught - bears his name.
It's a fitting tribute to a man who shaped not just the field of plant pathology, but the very future of global agriculture.
In "The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World," Charles Mann offers us a glimpse into Elvin's philosophy:
Stakman did not view science as a disinterested quest for knowledge.
It was a tool—maybe the tool—for human betterment.
Not all sciences were equally valuable, as he liked to explain.
"Botany," he said, "is the most important of all sciences, and plant pathology is one of its most essential branches."
Can you hear the passion in Elvin's words?
As we face the challenges of feeding a growing global population in an era of climate change, Elvin Charles Stakman's work and philosophy remain as relevant as ever.
His life reminds us that science is not just about discovery, but about applying that knowledge to improve the human condition.
So the next time you bite into a piece of bread or savor a bowl of oatmeal, take a moment to think of Elvin Stakman and the countless other scientists who work tirelessly to protect our food supply from those "shifty little enemies."
Their work, often unseen and unsung, is the foundation upon which our food security rests.