Development and challenges of green food in China

Abstract

Green food in China refers to a wide array of primary and processed agricultural products that are safe, nutritious and of high quality for human consumption. Green food has been certified and produced following the principle of sustainability since the 1990s, making historic achievements in providing quality food, protecting the environment, increasing farmer income, and nurturing agricultural brands over the past 30 years in China. Today, the green food industry enters a steady-growth stage in terms of cultivation area, product number and sales. This article summarizes the history of the development of green food in China and current achievements, analyze major challenges that may hamper further development of the industry, and propose strategies to address these challenges, i.e., optimization of the food supply chain, deep food processing, and utilization of food wastes.

Changes in Agricultural Land Requirements for Food Provision in China 1990-2020: A Comparison Between Urban and Rural Residents

“…Therefore, the development of the factors influencing food consumption and land demand is non-linear, presenting a complex process. Chinese residents' food consumption will develop in the direction of green, healthy, and personalized choices [42][43][44]. At present, urban and rural residents' food consumption has reached saturation, but a large gap is evident in the consumption of fresh vegetables and fruits, with considerable potential for growth in protein consumption of protein-based foods such as eggs, milk, and aquatic products.…”

Agriculture Green Development: a model for China and the world

“…In addition, the development of a green food industry also faces new challenges such as maintaining food and nutrition security, climate change, limiting water availability, and decreasing biodiversity [40] . In this theme of the National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, food processing, healthy diet and food (including nutrition) security were included to help realize targets for green food production, green processing and healthy human life.…”

Evaluation of Sustainable and Analysis of Influencing Factors for Agriculture Sector: Evidence From Jiangsu Province, China

“…Especially, remarkable achievements have been made in China's agricultural development since the implementation of the policy of reform and opening up (Zhou et al, 2019). Subsequently, SA development has been strengthened by institutional arrangements nationally in China (Sanders, 2006), such as rural revitalization strategy (Zhu et al, 2021), green food certification (Ul Hassan et al, 2020) and beautiful rural construction (Zeng et al, 2021). Accordingly, research on SA in China is emerging among the academic community.…”