JOHN RUAN’S MAHASKA COUNTY ROOTS CONNECT BEACON TO A GLOBAL PRIZE
Former Iowa Governor and now Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the World Food Prize Foundation Tom Vilsack sat down with Oskaloosa News at Bridget’s Public House on Friday to talk about food security.
DES MOINES — The World Food Prize is based in Iowa, but former Iowa Governor and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack says many Iowans still do not fully understand what it is.
“I think it’s the most important question you can ask and the most important observation you just made, which is that not as many Iowans understand and appreciate what the World Food Prize Foundation is and what the World Food Prize is,” Vilsack said to Oskaloosa News during a lunch break at Bridget’s Public House just off the square in Oskaloosa.
The World Food Prize was founded in 1986 by Iowa native Dr. Norman Borlaug. Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work improving crop production around the world. He later created the World Food Prize because there was no Nobel Prize focused on agriculture or food.
“There is no Nobel Prize for agriculture or food. We have it here in Iowa,” Vilsack said.
The prize is awarded each year in Des Moines to a person who has made major contributions to improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food around the world.
“No one gives out the World Food Prize except one state one time in the year, and that’s in Iowa,” Vilsack said.
JOHN RUAN’S SUPPORT KEPT THE PRIZE IN IOWA
Vilsack said Iowa businessman John Ruan Sr. played a major role in making sure the prize stayed in Iowa.
“Without John’s generosity, we wouldn’t have the World Food Prize here in Iowa,” Vilsack said. “He saw the vision of a state like Iowa being the host and home of the World Food Prize, and he put resources behind it.”
For Mahaska County residents, that story hits close to home.
John Ruan Sr. was born in 1914 in Beacon, Iowa, just southwest of Oskaloosa. He grew up in southern Iowa before building what became a major transportation company and later becoming one of the state’s leading business and civic figures.
His support helped secure the World Food Prize’s future in Iowa and ensured the annual award ceremony would be held in Des Moines.
The prize has now been awarded for 40 years. The Foundation is marking that anniversary in 2026.
“We’re encouraging folks to think about, in the 40th year of the World Food Prize, making a donation of $40 in honor of the World Food Prize,” Vilsack said.
MORE THAN JUST AN AWARD
Vilsack said the World Food Prize Foundation does more than hand out a trophy once a year.
Each year, about 175 to 200 Iowa high school students take part in a Youth Institute at Iowa State University. Students write research papers on food and nutrition security and present their work on campus.
“It has grown over time… to include… a Youth Institute that provides opportunities for 175 to 200 young people in Iowa to go up to Iowa State University every year to present their papers on food and nutrition security,” Vilsack said.
The Foundation also hosts a Hunger Summit each July in Iowa and runs an international startup competition for agriculture innovation.
“The deadline for that is April 15,” Vilsack said, referring to the innovation contest.
HOW FOOD SECURITY IS DIFFERENT TODAY
When asked how food security is defined in 2026, Vilsack said many people think only about starvation in other countries. He said the issue is broader than that.
“In the United States, it is people who at the end of each month have a difficult time meeting their nutritional needs,” he said.
He said some families start the month doing fine but struggle financially before the next paycheck arrives.
“They have to choose between medications, rent, mortgage payments, car payments and food, and often food basically suffers,” Vilsack said.
SCIENCE AND PUBLIC TRUST
Dr. Borlaug’s work focused on improving crop yields through science. Today, agriculture includes advanced tools like genetic research and gene editing.
“There have been countless studies that indicate the safety of consuming food that’s been produced through genetically modified processes,” Vilsack said.
He said the World Food Prize does not take political sides but supports science.
“Our job is to basically say to people trust the science,” he said. “We believe in science, we trust science. We think science and innovation are critically important to feeding the world.”
FOOD AND GLOBAL CONFLICT
Vilsack also said food security is tied to national security and global stability.
“Ukraine is an example,” he said.
“Russia made a concerted effort to disrupt Ukraine’s capacity to grow and to sell what they grow so they use food as a weapon of war,” Vilsack said.
WHY IOWA SHOULD CARE
Vilsack said Iowa competes with other states for population growth and economic opportunity. He believes hosting the World Food Prize helps Iowa stand out.
“A way of distinguishing ourselves is by focusing on things that are special or unique,” he said.
He ended the conversation with a simple message for Iowans.
“We do something that nobody else in the world does,” Vilsack said. “We should be very proud of it.”
