Seeking Strategic Breakthroughs: Solving China's Food Security Problem

Author: Hou Dongmin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-04-01
Features: In this book, the author attempts to analyze and point out as clearly as possible that China's food security should be guaranteed by an independent food security mechanism. It is necessary to move away from the concept and practice of "food security equals food self-sufficiency" and first reflect on the notion that "importing food equals relying on foreign granaries for food security." The book conducts preliminary research along these lines. The study concludes that to date, there is a lack of understanding regarding future land use trends. This lack of understanding largely offsets the previous overestimation of population trends, and China will continue to maintain a long-term strategic food security capability that can basically achieve self-sufficiency. However, this does not mean that China's food self-sufficiency and food self-sufficiency policies can be maintained in the long run. On the contrary, under the trend of international trade integration, China's food security strategy must become independent and separate from the conventional resource-constrained agricultural development strategy. This is an inevitable trend. To achieve this, it is first necessary to implement a revolution in ideological concepts. It must be recognized that the belief that "importing some food means food security is no longer under our control and relies on foreign granaries" is actually a misconception left over from the old "food self-sufficiency equals food security" concept. Food security should, must, and can be guaranteed by an independent food security mechanism.