Exploring China's Food Security Issue and Its Solutions
China's housing area is less than half that of the United States and 2/3 that of Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany; when per capita housing area reaches 35 sq m, it equals that of the United Kingdom and France. The green coverage rate is not high because there are many high-rise and super-high-rise buildings; China's per capita residential land area of 5 sq m ranks at the bottom worldwide, less than the land area for cattle and horse pens - truly worse off than cattle and horses, living in overcrowded houses without natural wind or natural light, and the sports areas in residential compounds cannot accommodate 1% of the residents for outdoor fitness and exercise. According to estimates by relevant experts, without exercise, or with 3 hours of exercise a day or running 5 km, one would need to eat 30% less grain.
China's economy ranks second in the world, yet the output value per unit of industrial and commercial land is low, less than 1/3 that of the United States, mainly because underdeveloped technology means a relatively large land area is occupied. This has created land finance revenue.
China has the world's largest population, accounting for 19.6% of the world's population and 17.3% of the world's agricultural land; the output per unit area of forestry, oil crops, grassland husbandry, feed, and aquaculture on non-cultivated land is very low, less than 1/10 that of developed countries. The reason is the lack of water conservancy and land consolidation, which saves land input costs. The cultivated land left by our ancestors has a relatively high yield per unit area of 380 kg/mu.
Annual per capita grain ration consumption is calculated at 220 jin, totaling 168 million tonnes; the rest is all fed to livestock, poultry, chickens, fish, and pets, which is 3 times the grain ration, of which nearly 300 million dogs and cats consume 1/5 of the grain. China, with 19.6% of the world's population, consumes 14.2% of the world's grain ration, 30% of its pork, 40% of its fish, and 50% of its vegetables; the eggs, dairy, meat, and vegetables eaten are 4 times the grain ration, and with such high caloric intake, 90% are obese. It is still developing the world's largest-scale pet and pig industries.
China's aquaculture area has potential to increase, grassland output has potential to increase, and non-cultivated farmland has enormous potential to increase production; cultivated land has no potential, and industrial structural adjustment is imperative.
Solutions:
First, construction land should be built on non-cultivated land as much as possible. Second, establish very strict total quantity controls on pets and pigs. Third, improve the quality of agricultural land and water conservancy to raise output per unit area. Fifth, agricultural science and technology. Sixth, adjust the agricultural industrial structure so that people eat human food and livestock eat livestock feed. Cattle and sheep eat grass; pigs and chickens eat potatoes, sweet potatoes, and processed forage.
The claim of "feeding 19.6% of the world's population with 9% of the world's cultivated land" is very foolish; cultivated land accounts for only 11% of the national territory, meaning all other agricultural land is wasted. Wasting 75% of agricultural land - what kind of management level is this government at?
Construction land is mainly land for industrial and commercial production and land for industrial and agricultural production infrastructure; what should be built still needs to be built. Developed countries have much better basic conditions and housing than we do; otherwise, crowded cities and overly backward infrastructure are not conducive to industrial and agricultural production.
Potatoes as a staple food: during the People's Commune period, sweet potatoes and potatoes served as staple foods, and poultry and livestock ate forage. Now poultry, livestock, and pets eat 2/3 of the grain, while people eat 1/3 of the grain plus potatoes. It is strongly recommended that the Ministry of Agriculture study making forage a staple crop; forage yields 20 tonnes per mu per year. Perhaps one day when grain is scarce, cattle and sheep will eat potatoes and sweet potatoes, and then people can eat grass. Only this can reflect that what people eat is worse than what poultry and livestock eat; less exercise and more grass-eating would solve the food crisis.