For turning ‘mines to vines’, founder of Roots of Peace wins World Food Prize
DES MOINES (US), May 11: A California peace activist who has worked to remove land mines from war-torn regions and replace them with grape vines, fruit trees and vegetables was named the 2023 World Food Prize laureate on Thursday at a ceremony in Washington.
The Des Moines, Iowa-based foundation awarded its annual prize to Heidi Kühn, founder of Roots of Peace.
Since founding her nonprofit in the basement of her San Rafael, California, home in 1997, Kühn’s organization has helped remove thousands of mines and assist farmers in more than a half-dozen countries.
The group recently signed an initial agreement to begin work in Ukraine.
Kühn, 65, said she formed the idea of starting her group after hosting an event at her home for dignitaries advocating for the eradication of land mines. “Looking back on it, perhaps it was a vision of turning blood into wine, killing fields into vineyards and hatred into love,” Kühn said in an interview last week.
Kühn was named the winner of the prize, which carries a USD 250,000 award, at an event featuring Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and Terry Branstad, the World Food Prize Foundation president and former US ambassador to China. Kühn, who was visiting minefields in Azerbaijan when the award was announced, will be formally given the prize at an event in October in Des Moines.”Her work shows the world the vital role that agriculture must have in the resilient r overy from conflict to restoration of peace,” Branstad said during the announcement.
“For making her mission to turn mines to vines, I am so pleased to announce that the 2023 World Food Prize laureate is Heidi Kühn.” Kühn said she created her nonprofit after becoming sick with cancer at age 30 while heading a TV production company and raising three children, ages 1, 3 and 5. “My little prayer was, Dear God, grant me the gift of life and I will do something special with it,'” said Kühn, who survived the cancer and had another child.
After learning about the world’s estimated 60 million land mines, and in part inspired by Princess Diana’s efforts to ban the explosives, Kühn said she met with vintners in California’s Napa Valley and began a fledgling effort that has steadily grown over the decades. Roots of Peace started in Croatia and then went on to establish programs in Afghanistan, Angola, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Israel, Iraq, Palestinian areas, and Vietnam. (AP)
