Changes in China’s food security driven by nutrition security and resource constraints

Abstract

Food security and the utilization of natural resources in a sustainable manner are vital to the expansion of China's agricultural system. The relationship between environmental pressure and dietary structure has influenced the quantity and spatial distribution of China's food supply and demand, but it has not been evaluated. Our research centered on the security of China's food nutrition–resources–food (NRF) system, considering the inherent relationship between food security, nutritional health, and resource security. The following are the study's findings: (1) The Chinese population is rapidly changing from a diet focused on grains to a more diverse diet. Between 1990 and 2019, the dietary quality and nutritional status of Chinese individuals have vastly improved. In terms of nutrient levels, discrepancies between urban and rural resident persist, with urban residents consuming a diet that is closer to the ideal structure. However, the structure of rural residents' food consumption is diversifying, and the gap between urban and rural residents is gradually narrowing. (2) From 2000 to 2019, the pressure, status, and response indices of China's NRF system all show an upward trend, and the security of the NRF system has steadily grown. The magnitude of change in the response index exceeded that of the state index, which exceeded that of the pressure index. This indicates that the increase in the pressure and state indices of the NRF system was primarily attributable to the effectiveness of policy efforts.

Produce or Buy: Impacts of Citrus Farming and Crop Diversification on Household Dietary Diversity in Guangxi, China

“…In the FCS calculation, food categories were assigned the following weights: main staples (2), legumes (3), vegetables (1), fruits (1), meat and fish (4), milk (4), sugar (0.5), oil (0.5), and condiments (0). Frequencies were measured as never (0), hardly at all/one day per week (1), every second to three days (3), most days (5), and daily (7). Based on the FCS calculation methodology described above, we summarized the food consumption score results and distribution for citrus-growing farmers and non-citrus-growing farmers, as illustrated in Table 1.…”

“…Thus, while food security remains imperative, there is a persistent need to intensify efforts aimed at improving the quality and diversity of diets among the entire rural population. This persistent challenge looms large as a major concern [7].…”

Towards Sustainable Development Goals: Coupling Coordination Analysis and Spatial Heterogeneity between Urbanization, the Environment, and Food Security in China

“…To compound the issue, the decomposition of municipal waste and atmospheric pollution engender acid rain, further depreciating soil quality and compromising food production [21]. Moreover, changes in human lifestyles associated with urbanization have led to the increased consumption of animal-based food, adding pressure on the ecological environment and food security [22]. In essence, it is imperative to recognize the intricate interplay between urbanization, the environment, and food security.…”

Farm size and greenhouse gas emission: Do large farms in China produce more emissions?

“…To expedite the progression of ecological farming and catalyse the shift toward sustainable, green, and low-carbon agricultural practices, scholars worldwide have conducted extensive research on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, contributory factors, and evaluation methodologies associated with agricultural endeavours (Bekun and Alola 2022;Han et al 2023). Investigations have revealed several determinants of GHG emis-sions with agricultural origins, such as land utilisation, management techniques, the prevalent use of pesticides and fertilisers, mechanisation in agriculture, combustion of biomass, livestock enteric fermentation, manure handling, and soil tilling (Garnier et al 2019).…”