Under collectivisation, with fewer beasts, greater mobility and the state delivery of supplementary feed, such a disaster would not have happened.

ECONOMIST: Nomadism in Mongolia

The government has relaxed the rules about how long delivery drivers can work so that they can get essential supplies of animal feed through to farms.

BBC: Cold weather: Winners and losers from the long winter

And, this way, for the rest of his life -- be it in the fraternity house, his bachelor pad, or his family's home, as he frantically tries to feed his own growing offspring -- when he opens that front door, smiles at the delivery person, and smells the chicken and broccoli in brown sauce, the kid will think of me.

CNN: Coming to terms with dinner