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Putting brakes on banqueting as world's food waste mounts
Source: Xinhua |
February 6, 2013, Wednesday
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A new campaign against food waste is sweeping China, with government officials and Internet users in full swing to fight extravagance in the world's second-largest economy, which still has 128 million people living under the poverty line.
The movement echoes Chinese leader Xi Jinping's call for frugal lifestyles.
In an age of excessive consumption and deficit spending, China's frugality campaign is also setting an example for the world.
A recent campaign by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) coincides with China's efforts, taking the lifestyle issue to the center stage.
Called the "Think, Eat, Save and Reduce Your Footprint," the international initiative appeals to consumers and retailers to embrace innovative measures that could dramatically reduce food waste at all levels.
According to FAO data, around one third of all food produced globally, worth around US$1 trillion, is lost or wasted in the production and consumption systems.
Squandered food
Jose Graziano da Silva, director-general of the FAO, said the 300 million tons of food squandered each year in the industrialized world could feed an estimated 870 million hungry people.
UN figures show that more than one billion people are living without enough food, and 10 million of them die from hunger-related causes each year.
China's efforts to save food feeds into the global frugality campaign, according to Ma Xiaohe, deputy chief of the Academy of Macro-economic Research with the National Development and Reform Commission.
Research in 2008 by the China Agricultural University estimated China's annual food waste at 50 million tons, one-tenth of the country's total grain output.
After nine consecutive years of rising grain output, China's total grain production in 2012 reached nearly 590 million tons.
However, the supply is insufficient. Experts warn of even greater threats, noting that China is importing more and more grain to satisfy the demands of improved living standards.
Han Jun, vice director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said last Tuesday that China's self-sufficiency in grain production has plunged below 90 percent, a warning of a possible food security issue.
The Chinese government sets a 95 percent bottom line on its grain self-sufficiency rate, according to a white paper on food security.
"If good results are achieved in China's frugality campaign, the import of grain and edible oil can be saved for 100 million people each year," said Zheng Fengtian, a professor at Renmin University of China.
"It is also good news for easing the world food crisis," he added.
The movement echoes Chinese leader Xi Jinping's call for frugal lifestyles.
In an age of excessive consumption and deficit spending, China's frugality campaign is also setting an example for the world.
A recent campaign by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) coincides with China's efforts, taking the lifestyle issue to the center stage.
Called the "Think, Eat, Save and Reduce Your Footprint," the international initiative appeals to consumers and retailers to embrace innovative measures that could dramatically reduce food waste at all levels.
According to FAO data, around one third of all food produced globally, worth around US$1 trillion, is lost or wasted in the production and consumption systems.
Squandered food
Jose Graziano da Silva, director-general of the FAO, said the 300 million tons of food squandered each year in the industrialized world could feed an estimated 870 million hungry people.
UN figures show that more than one billion people are living without enough food, and 10 million of them die from hunger-related causes each year.
China's efforts to save food feeds into the global frugality campaign, according to Ma Xiaohe, deputy chief of the Academy of Macro-economic Research with the National Development and Reform Commission.
Research in 2008 by the China Agricultural University estimated China's annual food waste at 50 million tons, one-tenth of the country's total grain output.
After nine consecutive years of rising grain output, China's total grain production in 2012 reached nearly 590 million tons.
However, the supply is insufficient. Experts warn of even greater threats, noting that China is importing more and more grain to satisfy the demands of improved living standards.
Han Jun, vice director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said last Tuesday that China's self-sufficiency in grain production has plunged below 90 percent, a warning of a possible food security issue.
The Chinese government sets a 95 percent bottom line on its grain self-sufficiency rate, according to a white paper on food security.
"If good results are achieved in China's frugality campaign, the import of grain and edible oil can be saved for 100 million people each year," said Zheng Fengtian, a professor at Renmin University of China.
"It is also good news for easing the world food crisis," he added.
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