How China Tackles Food Crisis?

“I wish all people to have enough food and clothes”. This famous line written by Yu Qian， a great statesman and poet of China's Ming Dynasty， is a vivid representation of people’s longing for great harvest and adequate food and clothing and also a long-cherished wish which many people with lofty ideals strive hard to achieve.

However， due to the impacts of factors like growing population， decrease of cultivated lands， climate change and biological energy， a world-wide food crisis is imminent.

Grains are important strategic reserves of a nation. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations， the world’s grain reserve has fallen from 30% in 2002 to 14.7% in 2008， reaching a historical low in the past 30th consecutive years； world’s grain reserve was merely 0.405 billion tons， which could only enable worldwide human beings to survive for 53 days， compared with 169 days in 2007. According to the International Grains Council， the world grain output was lower than the demanding level， resulting in a slip in the stock. In 2008-2009， the world grain output expectation was 1.782 billion tons， i.e.， 2 million tons lower. The world grain output in 2010 was expected to reach 1.72 billion tons， lower than the previous year. The world wheat output from 2009 to 2010 was expected to be 652 million tons， i.e.， decrease by 5.1%， while the corn output would decrease by 171 million tons. The mass decline in the world grain reserve has become a concern of every nation. Facing the current severe grain crisis， we should bear in mind that a clear understanding of the crisis itself is a measure to guarantee ecological security.

To me， what is ecological safety？ It is the safety of living. The state of living includes： first， living well， i.e.， a habitable environment and safe urban environment； second， dining well， i.e.， safety food and provision； and third， working and resting well， i.e.， safe environment and transportation. And safety of living refers to： first， plants； second， animals； and third， microorganism， which constitute the life system of the earth. The essence of ecological safety is to preserve the safety of all living creatures.

Since the reform and opening up， China’s rapid economic growth has been regarded as a miracle. But we should also note that the long-term and excessive pursuit for GDP growth by some government bodies has not only resulted in environmental， belief， moral and credit crises， but also made some major construction projects degrade into vanity projects， image projects， face projects or even projects detrimental to the nation. Besides， some government bodies illegally occupied large amounts of agricultural land in the name of constructing college towns， golf courses， high-grade highways or ecological squares， which is a severe threat to food and territorial safety. Some other government bodies indulged themselves in project building， political achievements seeking and economic growth maintaining， thinking merely about short-term interests. They would go to the extreme to make money. Instances abound： From 2007 Xiamen PX incident to Dalian PX incident， and Ningbo PX incident， PX chemical projects moved from one city to another， luring local authorities with a plenty of investments， profits and revenues， giving no peace to the society. Over recent years， China has witnessed a further increase in group incidents caused by ecological and environmental pollution， which played a negative role in social harmony and national stability， and also was regarded as key factors causing ecological， environmental and food crises.

Fourth， faced with the frequent natural disasters and environmental crisis， especially the haze in major cities of our country， both the state and cities should first connect to human， second connect to the earth and third connect to the heaven. Connecting to human means enhancing the construction of ecological civilization， improving the quality of the people， changing people’s bad living habits and raising the nation’s health level. Connecting to the earth means making an evaluation and restoration of the destroyed land， rivers， lakes and wetlands， giving land back to people and safeguarding the nation’s land and food security. Connecting to the heaven means actively addressing extreme weather， decreasing the risks of climate change and making contingency plans against disasters and diseases. For a local war， there is a long diplomatic process while for a contingent ecological disaster， the process is fast and direct and the casualties and property losses of ecological disaster are much heavier than that of a local war. “Tangshan Earthquake， Haiti Earthquake， Wenchuan Earthquake， Zhouqu Mudslide and the super typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines” are all typical examples. If human， the earth and the heaven are connected to one another， there will be no foul air and hazes will dissipate. Human body is just like a micro-ecosystem. If the main and collateral channels are blocked， humans will catch illness. If the channels are connected to one another， humans will be free of illness.

As the saying goes， a state relies on the people， and the people rely on food. To solve 1.3 billion Chinese people’s food problem is always the top priority for administering state affairs and ensuring national security and is always the basis for promoting economic development and maintaining social stability. In terms of China’s current condition， safeguarding national food security means not relying on imported food and not handing our rice bowls to other countries. With the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization， farming lands and fresh water resources are becoming increasingly scarce. The national food security is faced with new challenges. Therefore the policy of relying on our own country to realize food self-reliance cannot be wavered at any time. We should be guided by the Eighteenth National Congress of CPC and the Third Plenary Session of the Eighteenth National Congress of CPC to realize ecological agriculture with scientific ideas， enterprising spirits and practical manners in China and safeguard the long-term and stable development of food security， which is the concrete practice of China’s responsibility to the global ecological security.

（Speech by Director-General of International Ecological Safety Collaborative Organization Jiang Mingjun at the 12th Forum on National Security of China）