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Bryant W. Rossi ter -5- Prog. Coord. Conf. 



Let me discuss the CHEMRAWN conferences first. Widespread hunger, 

 malnutrition, and starvation are among the tragedies of our time. The 

 recent report of the Presidential Commission on World Hunger states, "At 

 least one out of every eight men, women, and children on earth suffer from 

 malnutrition severe enough to shorten life, stunt physical growth, and 

 dull mental ability." One out of eight translates to 550 million people, 

 or double the population of the U.S. Even more tragic, consider the 

 nightly news reports from Ethiopia. 



Several years ago, the CHEMRAWN Committee of lUPAC compiled a list 

 of world needs amenable to solution through chemistry and submitted it to 

 leaders in the world chemical community for comment and discussion. Nearly 

 every one of them placed at the top priority the application of chemistry 

 to alleviate malnutrition and hunger. 



Unfortunately, the magnitude of the food problem is so' large that it 

 is difficult to know where to begin. If the hougry, the malnurished, 

 and the starving were collected into cities the size of New Orleans, 

 there would be more than a thousand of them. As the population expands 

 from today's four-plus billion to more than six billion by the year 2000, 

 80% of the people will live in what are today's developing countries. 

 Most people will live in urban centers, and food isn't grown in urban 

 centers. There will be more than three thousand cities larger than New 

 Orleans. By comparison, there are 28 such cities in the U.S. today. 



It was in light of such frightening facts that lUPAC organized the 

 CHEMRAWN Conference on Chemistry and World Food Supplies. The ACS was 

 not a formal sponsor, but I have told many people--and I am pleased to 

 tell you now--that the conference could not have succeeded without the 

 Society's help. It managed all the funds in the conference's budget of 

 about half a million dollars and provided invaluable administrative and 

 editorial support. 



The conference spanned five days. The some 600 leaders from govern- 

 ment agencies, industrial companies, financial organizations, foundations, 

 and universities had an opportunity to hear 75 experts describe the latest 

 findings and list present and future challenges in the different subdisci- 

 plines involving chemistry and agriculture. They also had a chance to 

 listen to the advice from eight international experts on the social, po- 

 litical, and economic factors relevant to solutions for the world food 

 problem. 



Exit polls are popular these days, and we accordingly conducted one 

 at the Conference's end. All of those answering the exit questionnaire 

 agreed that their attendance benefited them and their organizations. Prob- 

 ably more important, however, are the follow-up activities that have oc- 

 curred and are continuing to occur. 



First, the National Academy of Sciences' Board on Science and Tech- 

 nology for International Development conducted a workshop in Manila im- 

 mediately after the Conference. Supported by a grant from the Agency for 



