HUNGER TRAIL STARTED

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31621, 6 March 1968, Page 18

HUNGER TRAIL STARTED

The greatest disservice one could do in the affluent Western

nations today was to minimise the plight of the world’s starving people, said the Rev. H. Dixon, national secretary of the Freedom from Hunger Campaign, in Christchurch yesterday.

Mr Dixon was speaking at a luncheon to launch his organisation’s hunger trail in Christchurch.

The luncheon was attended by representatives of about 35 organisations associated with C.0.R.5.0. One hundred guests attended and $lOO was given after the meal of rice and lentils and a glass of water. The money was given in amounts ranging from 20c to $3O. The trail was started by the Mayor (Sir George Manning), who praised the effort and said it was good to see so much compassion shown by so many persons towards the less fortunate of the world. The 101 b of rice and 91b of lentils for the luncheon cost less than $2Guests were welcomed by the organiser of the Canterbury-West Coast area of C.0.R.5.0. (Mr R. H. French), who is shown on the left of the photograph with the Bishop of Christchurch (the Rt Rev. W. A. Pyatt) and Mr Dixon. Mr Dixon said he took strong exception to a report in a recent issue of a Sunday newspaper which suggested that Dr C. P. McMeekan, agricultural adviser to the World Bank, told South Island Rotarians in Christchurch that there were no starving millions. Although daily newspapers had elaborated Dr McMeekan’s four main points, Mr Dixon said, the Sunday newspaper had not.

Summarising Dr McMeekan’s address, Mr Dixon said the Sunday newspaper had emphasised four main points:—That Dr McMeekan did not believe claims that two-thirds of the world’s population was underfed; that he had roamed the world for 15 years without encountering any starving milions; that there was plenty of usable land, labour and capital; and that the world population would stabilise at 6000 m by the year 2000. If Dr McMeekan was right, there was no need for a hunger trail in New Zealand or

anywhere else, said Mr Dixon. “But I firmly believe that Dr McMeekan is wrong in these four contentions. I cannot find any real statistics to back up his views.” Mr Dixon said he had written to Dr McMeekan offering to meet him on any platform in New Zealand to debate these issues. “I believe Dr McMeekan is as decidedly wrong now as he was two years ago with his outburst about sacred cows and the Indians not helping themselves, and I would like the opportunity of proving it,” said Mr Dixon.

The whole emphasis of Dr McMeekan’s remarks was to encourage an attitude of “She’ll be right,” said Mr Dixon. On the contrary, there was a need to be deeply concerned with the problem of the world’s underfed and undernourished. The Freedom from Hunger Campaign had sought to alert public opinion to the gravity of the problem, and the way out. C.0.R.5.0. in New Zealand needed at least $823,680 this year to meet its commitments. If $1 a household was raised the organisation would reach its target.