SAG's 24-hour fast highlights food security
Source: Xinhua |
October 17, 2012, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINESE grain officials yesterday joined an "experience 24 hours of hunger" campaign to promote public awareness of food security and curb grain waste.
The campaign was initiated by the State Administration of Grain, which called on its staff members in local branches across China to voluntarily fast to mark yesterday's World Food Day.
Shu Gang, director of the Chengdu Grain Administration in southwest China's Sichuan Province, said he hoped the activity could correct many citizens' misconceptions that China is not short on grains.
Shu participated in the 24-hour fast, and said that everyone in good health should participate in the event to realize the value of grains.
The SAG also said the fasting experience was aimed at reminding citizens not to forget about grain conservation during years of good harvests.
In Jinan, capital of eastern Shandong Province, one of the country's major grain-producing regions, the SAG, the Shandong provincial government and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations jointly organized special activities to mark the day. More than 300 students, workers, farmers and officials held a candlelight vigil to pray for undernourished people worldwide.
Official data show that China's grain output grew 4.5 percent last year to 5.7 billion tons, marking the eighth straight year of growth. Agricultural experts have forecast that output is likely to rise further in 2012.
However, analysts estimate that about 85 million tons of grain are wasted in China during consumption and storage. Also, about 10 percent of food is wasted daily at family dinner tables.
Xiong Wudong, another official with the Chengdu Grain Administration, said that yesterday's fasting made him understand the adage, "A man who is full does not know how hungry a starved man is."
"I really regret having squandered grains before. For example, I never took home leftovers from meals I had in restaurants," he said.
The Chinese government has been attaching great importance to food security in a country of 1.3 billion. Although more farmers and urban families are living relatively well-off lives following more than three decades of economic development, a small portion of the nation's population in rural or mountainous areas still lives in poverty and does not have enough to eat.
Around 900 million people around the world face chronic hunger, 70 percent of them living in rural areas.
The campaign was initiated by the State Administration of Grain, which called on its staff members in local branches across China to voluntarily fast to mark yesterday's World Food Day.
Shu Gang, director of the Chengdu Grain Administration in southwest China's Sichuan Province, said he hoped the activity could correct many citizens' misconceptions that China is not short on grains.
Shu participated in the 24-hour fast, and said that everyone in good health should participate in the event to realize the value of grains.
The SAG also said the fasting experience was aimed at reminding citizens not to forget about grain conservation during years of good harvests.
In Jinan, capital of eastern Shandong Province, one of the country's major grain-producing regions, the SAG, the Shandong provincial government and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations jointly organized special activities to mark the day. More than 300 students, workers, farmers and officials held a candlelight vigil to pray for undernourished people worldwide.
Official data show that China's grain output grew 4.5 percent last year to 5.7 billion tons, marking the eighth straight year of growth. Agricultural experts have forecast that output is likely to rise further in 2012.
However, analysts estimate that about 85 million tons of grain are wasted in China during consumption and storage. Also, about 10 percent of food is wasted daily at family dinner tables.
Xiong Wudong, another official with the Chengdu Grain Administration, said that yesterday's fasting made him understand the adage, "A man who is full does not know how hungry a starved man is."
"I really regret having squandered grains before. For example, I never took home leftovers from meals I had in restaurants," he said.
The Chinese government has been attaching great importance to food security in a country of 1.3 billion. Although more farmers and urban families are living relatively well-off lives following more than three decades of economic development, a small portion of the nation's population in rural or mountainous areas still lives in poverty and does not have enough to eat.
Around 900 million people around the world face chronic hunger, 70 percent of them living in rural areas.
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