Changes in Household Dietary Diversity in Herder Communities over the Past 20 Years: Evidence from Xilin Gol Grassland of China

Abstract

Food security is critical for socioeconomic development. In grassland areas, inappropriate food consumption patterns can cause irreversible damage to vulnerable local ecosystems. This study aims to examine the household dietary diversity status and development trend over the past 20 years in Chinese herder communities. We draw on a cross-sectional dataset of 230 households involving 652 family members from the Xilin Gol Grassland areas in North China. Household dietary diversity was assessed using the household dietary diversity score (HDDS), which was calculated based on 12 food groups. Results show that HDDS increased from 3.74 in 1999 to 5.92 in 2019, with an annual average growth rate of 2.45% during the past 20 years. The increase in plant-based food scores made a major contribution to the HDDS improvement. The variations in household dietary diversity status between pastoral areas and agro-pastoral areas showed differences among different types of grassland in arid and semiarid transitional zones. It is worth paying more attention to monitoring the main impact factors that affect HDDS and how these changes might impact the local ecosystem, which will benefit regional sustainable development.

Can Non-farm Employment Improve Dietary Diversity of Left-Behind Family Members in Rural China?

“…Dietary diversity. Referring to previous studies [ 21 , 50 , 51 ] and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) classification of food products [ 52 ], in order to take into account the characteristics of the Chinese diet and data availability, this study used the types of food consumed by left-behind household members in the past week to measure dietary diversity, using nine food groups, including meat (pork, mutton, beef, poultry), eggs, fish and other aquatic products, milk, cereals (rice, flour, and maize), potatoes, legumes, vegetables, and fruits. Left-behind household members were given a score of 1 if they had consumed a food category in the past week or 0 if they had not consumed that food category, with the total score being the dietary diversity score.…”