The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 20, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 19, 1978 Page: 1 of 16
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Berg examines world hunger
Alan Berg said Wednesday night that the basic problem with world
hunger has not been altered. —charles jenkins
It
by Steve Sullivan
"One can be less optimistic
now than at the height of the
food crisis," said Dr. Alan
Berg in his assessment of the
current world food situation.
Berg, who spent four years in
India as head of food and
nutrition of AID, is Head of
Nutrition at the National
Academy of Science and is a
member of the Brookings
Institute, spoke Wednesday
night in the second of the
President's Lecture series.
During the food crisis two
years ago, bad weather in
many parts of the world and
snow
The Rice
Thrasher
can't
volume 65, number 20
here
thursday, january 19, 1978
the leap in oil prices drove
world food reserves down to
their lowest level in twenty
years. The oil price increases
caused the price of petroleum-
based fertilizers to jump 1000%
in some cases. "There were
predictions of a million
starvation deaths," said Berg,
"a number of experts were
calling for a triage type of
policy." The triage was the
method used in World War I to
allocate medical supplies. The
wounded were divided into
three groups—the ones who
needed only some medication
to survive, the ones who would
live if given extensive
treatment, and the ones who
would most likely die no
matter how much attention
was given them. This theory
said that the wealthy nations
should give the most attention
to those countries that could be
saved. Also being bandied
about was the "Lifeboat
Theory," which said the secure
nations must limit space on
the boat to the most promising
of the poor nations.
Berg claims that such
Malthusian policies were
premature. The largest grain
producers in the world were
still paying farmers to reduce
acreage. "The number of
people in need was rela-
tively few," maintained
Berg. "At the same time there
was an increase in production
Summer program to offer 27 courses
by David Butler
The Rice Summer school
program will begin its second
year of operation as an
"experimental" program this
May. The two-year experiment
launched following a pilot
program in summer 1976, will
come under review by the
administration during the
1978-79 academic year.
Twenty-seven courses are
listed as offerings in the
summer program. While the
majority of courses will be
offered during a six week
period from June 5 through
July 14, other options will be
available during the summer.
The Jones School is offering
four successive three-week
intensive courses in account-
ing between May 15 and
August 4, and three of the
introductory computer
courses, Elec/Masc 220, 222,
and 223, will be offered at
evening sessions between May
22 and July 28. Also offered at
night, during the regular
session, will be the ever
popular Diffy-Q course, Math
211. The English history in
England course is also
included in the Summer
Program.
Campos urge caution
After three* incidents in the
past month and a half, the
Rice Police cautioned women
about walking alone in the
area immediately north of
campus. In an unrelated
incident, a man pulled a fuse
box at a women's section of
Baker on January 8 and was
seen waiting outside the
darkened room.
c
In the first attack on
November 25, a non-Rice
woman was chased onto
campus and then raped.
(Thresher, December 8,1977)
Her attacker was described as
being 6 feet tall, approxi-
mately 25 years old, with
broad shoulders, slender build,
light brown eyes, a medium
brown complexion, bushy side
burns and a small Afro
haircut. He is also suspected in
the attack on another woman
December 13, in the same area.
On January 9, a woman
bicycling north of campus was
accosted by two black men.
Ken Brooks, assistant chief
of Rice Police, warned against
walking or jogging alone in
the area. He also cautioned
women who live off-campus
north of Rice to be suspicious
of strangers.
In the Baker incident, a
stranger pulled an open fuse
box in the old wing of the
college. A Baker woman and
her boyfriend investigated the
blackout and found a fully
dressed male holding a towel
and bottle of shampoo in the
hallway. When questioned
about his presence in the
college, he said he was looking
for a bathroom and quickly
left. He was described as a
white male about 6' 3", with
reddish-blonde hair and a
mustache, in his early or mid-
twenties.
According to Baker presi-
dent Mark Richardson, the
college plans to lock all fuse
boxes. Baker members are also
urged to call the campos if the
man is seen again.
Academic coordinator Gale
Stokes, associate professor of
history, noted that an addition
to the program this year may
be of special interest to
premeds. Organic Chemistry I
and II (Chem 211/212) will be
offered in consecutive six-
week periods between May 15
and August 4. Taking these
courses during the summer,
Stokes pointed out, "could be
an advantage to premeds who
might want to concentrate on
this course and then take a
lessened load during the
year—which could consider-
ably improve their position."
The course will be taught by
Professors Billups and
Wenkert.
Stokes and Continuing
Studies director Linda
Driskill commented that the
summer program operates on
a cost-recovery basis; whereas
courses offered during the
academic year are funded
from several sources, tuition is
the only source of income for
the summer program and has
to cover administrative costs
as well as salaries for the
instructors. Most classes will
need nine to thirteen students
in order to be cost-effective,
according to Stokes; the
chemistry program will
require seventeen. A decision
on which coursea'have met the
enrollment requirements will
be made after registration
closes May 12.
Last year's program
attracted 226 students, a
sizeable jump from the first
year's enrollment of 95. Stokes
says, "I'd be delighted if we
had 300 students this year, but
I would be surprised if
(enrollement) took the same
jump it did last year." He
noted that "only a certain
percentage of the student body
is going to want to go to
summer school, no matter
what we offer. Rice can't have
(continued on page 6)
in Latin America and East
Asia." The main reason he
does not see famine as an
inevitable crisis in the future is
the fact that the world is still
nowhere near its production
capability. India has as much
good arable land as the United
States. Only 10% of Sudan,
which he called the "bread-
basket of Africa," is currently
being farmed. He notes that
there has been an 8% increase
over the last two years in
agricultural production in the
developing countries, achiev-
ed with only a moderate
dispersal of modern tech-
nology. In some countries,
such as Lebanon, Ethiopia,
and Uganda, the food
shortages are caused by
political problems more than
anything else. "There are
many empty spaces in the
lifeboat," concludes Berg.
Then why is Berg so
pessimistic about the future
world food supply? Mostly it is
because the food problem has
dropped low on the list of
priorities now that the crisis
has passed. "Easing of the
pressure does not mean the
malnutrition problem hae
been eradicated," Berg
emphasized, "the turnaround
in the last two years was
entirely at the whim of the
weather." Malnutrition is still
a critical world problem. 86%
of the world's population
growth occurs in the low-
income countries. "In some
areas 40 to 50% of the people
die before they reach their
productive years," said Berg.
"Malnutrition is the cause of
nearly 60% of all childhood
deaths." The most optimistic
estimates of world population
growth predict the population
of the world will stabilize at
about 8 billion.
Not all the evidence looks
bleak, though. In 25 countries
the average family size has
dropped by one child or more
over the last ten years
Deadline for registration is
tomorrow at 5pm. Forms
are available in the
colleges. Upperclassmen
must have their paperwork
signed by their department
advisors, while freshmen
and sophomores need only
the signature of their
college advisor. Failure to
follow procedure will cost
you $25.
Super Bowl fans gather in the Pub Sunday.
•-waiter underwood
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Parker, Philip. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 20, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 19, 1978, newspaper, January 19, 1978; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245357/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.