food crisis in china 17 cross-topic exploration...

Food crisis in China 17

Cross-topic Exploration 2:

Food crisis in China

Issue of Exploration: Can China resolve the concerns brought by global food crisis?(Corresponding to ‘Hong Kong Today’, ‘Modern China’, ‘Globalization’ and ‘Energy Technology and the Environment’)

Steps for Exploration ................................................................................................................. 20

Step 1: Selection of enquiry areas and/or theme ................................................ 21

Step 2: Collection of data .................................................................................. 22

Step 3: Organization of data collected ............................................................... 24

Step 4: Analysis of data collected ...................................................................... 26

Issue in Focus 1: How do Hong Kong people deal with the food problem? ............................. 26

(Corresponding to ‘Hong Kong Today’)

Issue in Focus 2: What is the situation of food production in China? .......................................... 28

(Corresponding to ‘Modern China’)

Issue in Focus 3: How is China’s food market influenced by the international

food market? ....................................................................................................... 29

(Corresponding to ‘Globalization’)

Issue in Focus 4: Can the sustainable development of food production resolve

the food crisis in China? ..................................................................................... 30

(Corresponding to ‘Energy Technology and the Environment’)

Step 5: Evaluation of different viewpoints, drawing a conclusion ........................ 31

Step 6: Presentation of results and production of the product ............................ 32

Extended Readings ................................................................................................................. 32

Suggested Answers ................................................................................................................. 32


Food crisisin China

Handbook for Cross-topic Exploration20

Food prices have increased by 80% since 2005. This has seriously affected the entire world, especially the developing countries. On 11 April 2008, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN) issued warnings to the world that food riots had been reported in several African countries, Indonesia, the Philippines and Haiti. If the major food providers in the world (such as Canada, Australia and the US) do not adopt powerful measures to suppress food prices, it is possible for the recent food crisis that took place in developing countries to extend further.

Under globalization, China cannot avoid the problems brought by the global food crisis. Being a country with the world’s biggest population, as well as a major food producing and consuming country, the food prices in China have kept increasing in recent years, resulting in a domestic food supply shortage. The central government announced that starting from January 2008, it would impose a provisional export tariff of 5–25% and export quota licence administration for 57 kinds of raw grain of wheat, corn and rice and their powdered products for a year. These measures aimed at suppressing food exports through tariffs in order to increase the domestic supply and to stabilize domestic food prices. In 2008, southern China was hit by snowstorms for almost one month; in 2009, northern China experienced severe droughts. These events greatly affected agricultural production, and a large amount of food reserves had to be consumed for emergency relief. The food supply to regions that rely on exports from China, including Hong Kong, was also affected. Previously, Hong Kong citizens were worried that the price of rice would continue to rise, resulting in panic buying in supermarkets.

To resolve the global food crisis, some organizations think that apart from facing the influence of the environment and climate on food supply, China should also take action to ensure its food safety. ‘Eco-farming’ is one of the strongly advocated methods. Based on all kinds of situations, many concerns indeed exist as to how China may ensure sufficient food production and to increase the national food reserve to cope with the people’s needs. In this cross-topic exploration, students will conduct the following activities in order to understand the food crisis in China from different perspectives.

Steps for Exploration

To explore the topic of ‘food crisis in China’, students may refer to the following steps:

First, set the area and topic of enqniry. Students may make use of different methods to stimulate thinking, for instance, identify a topic by drawing a mind

For detailed procedures and skills related to the project learning of Liberal Studies, please refer to the ‘School-based Assessment Resources Pack’.


map or discussing with classmates. Then, collect relevant data according to the topic. Students should try to explore different types of data, such as newspapers and magazines, journals, web resources, etc, so as to enrich their information portfolio. After collecting a certain amount of data, preliminarily organize and analyze the data. Students should analyze the data according to the focuses of the exploration. Finally, students have to evaluate the different views related to the issue in order to draw a conclusion, as well as to prepare a brief project report to express their opinions.

Step 1: Selection of enquiry areas and/or theme

There are many reports and much research related to the global food crisis in China. Students may choose the information that reflects the issue’s influences on China from different perspectives, such as social development, people’s livelihood, international status, sustainable developmental strategies, etc. This will help students determine which issues are worth exploration.

With reference to the mind map below, put down the relationship between the ‘food crisis in China’ and the various Liberal Studies modules. Students need to think about the issues or the key area they want to focus on in this topic. For example:

• ‘Hong Kong Today ’ • Theme 1: Quality of life

• ‘Modern China’ • Theme 1: China’s reform and opening-up

• ‘Globalization’ • Theme: Impact of globalization and related responses

• ‘Energy Technology and the Environment’ • Theme 2: The environment and sustainable development


Based on the area of enquiry and with reference to the content of the above mind map, identify an issue of exploration, for instance:

Can China resolve the concerns brought by the global food crisis?

Step 2: Collection of data

Students should think about what sort of data or methods they can use in response to the issue. Then, collect relevant data through different channels. For the above issue, secondary sources should be more easily accessible. Students can obtain data related to the issue by web surfing, reading newspapers, magazines, periodicals, reports about global food situation, and reference materials on Liberal Studies. Data to be collected should include concepts or glossary related to the food crisis in China:

a. Relevant Concepts / GlossaryGlobal food crisis

One of the major reasons for the global food crisis is global warming. This has made the weather become extremely dry in major food producing regions such as China, Mexico and Australia, and has affected the harvest of food, leading to a sharp increase in food prices. Moreover, due to the rapid economic development in countries with large populations such as China and India, people’s living standard has been raised, thus the demand for meat has greatly increased. However, part of the food supplies in these developing countries and regions are controlled by international food merchants, which has aggravated the pressure on the global food supply. Also, the oil price increased rapidly, making many European and American countries use corn as energy dedicated crops, further decreasing the food supply.

Sustainable development

‘Our Common Future’, a report published by the UN in 1987, mentioned the concept of sustainable development, which includes two fundamental ideas: first, it should meet the needs of the present, otherwise people cannot survive; and second, it should not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

‘Energy Technology and the Environment’ • Theme 2: The environment and sustainable development


S t u d e n t s m a y s e t t h e d i rect ion and issue of exploration according to their own interests and abilities. The issue on the left is only for reference.


Globalization

Because of the rapid development of information technology, the distances between people are being shortened day by day. The boundaries between countries and regions have become more vague; the limitations caused by geographical factors are thus reduced. Incidents that occur far away are closely related to us.

Global warming

Global warming refers to the aggravated greenhouse effect. The increase of greenhouse gas emissions (such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, etc.) in the ozone, result in a reinforced greenhouse effect. These gases will absorb and release more solar heat energy that is supposed to be emitted into space, thus leading to an increase of average temperature of the ozone on the Earth’s surface, and the oceans.

Eco-farming

Eco-farming emphasizes no chemical fertilizers and insecticides, so as to reduce the output of inorganic substances, and to increase agricultural yields and crops immunity by the law of nature. Some reports by environmental protection organizations point out that eco-farming can reduce the release of greenhouse gases, and can fit into and ensure China’s agricultural production and food safety.

b. Relevant Events

Students may collect data related to the food crisis in China from the Internet, periodicals, newspapers, and magazines, etc. For instance:

‘Globalization’ • Theme: Impact of globalization and related responses • Topic 1 ‘Different perceptions of globalization’

‘Energy Technology and the Environment’ • Theme 1: The influences of energy technology • Topic 3 ‘Effects of energy consumption on the environment’


Food crisis around the globeChinese peasants can hardly make money and not willing to plant crops

A1 Local Daily News 29 April 2008

A1 Local Daily News 23 February 2008

Food crisis alarming

Central government restricts exports


c. Extended learning

Reference Websites• 中國評論新聞網︰〈應對糧食危機當未雨綢繆〉

http://www.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1008/5/7/5/100857518.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=100857518&mdate=0115080920

• 光明網：〈糧食危機中的兩個困境〉http://guancha.gmw.cn/content/2008-04/30/content_768400.htm

• 阮一峰的網絡日誌︰〈誰來養活中國？〉http://www.ruanyifeng.com/blog/2008/04/who_will_feed_china.html

Reference Books• 中央電視台中國財經報道欄目組著，劉保平、姜詩明主編：《糧食戰爭》，

北京：機械工業出版社， 2008 年。• Engdahl, F. William. Seeds of Destruction: The Hidden Agenda of Genetic

Manipulation. Montreal: Global Research, 2007.• 《糧安天下 — 全球糧食危機與中國糧食安全》，北京：中國經濟出版社，

2009 年。

Step 3: Organization of data collected

After collecting a certain amount of data, preliminarily organize the data. To have a more in-depth understanding of the food crisis in China, students may categorize the collected data according to different issues, such as the food situation in China, the leading cause of her food crisis, its influence on the country and the whole world, the relevant solutions, etc. Since the main point of study is whether China can resolve the problems brought by the global food crisis, students should particularly pay attention to the opinions and comments of different experts and scholars. The following are some of the related data:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/

Xinhuanet 12-2-2009

Ministry of Agriculture: Droughts won’t lead to rapidly increasing food prices and affect the Nation’s food safetyThe drought situation at present is indeed severe, but the current market food prices remain basically stable without much fluctuation.

Feature China Monthly December 2008

Food crisis has come! What should China do?

Students may refer to the websites and the books l is ted on the lef t for a better understanding of the food crisis in China, and scholars’ opinions on the issue, as well as the solutions they suggest.


A recent threat to China’s food production -- Droughts

There has been no rainfall for consecutively over 100 days in the eight major wheat producing provinces, including Henan, Shandong and Gansu, resulting in the greatest droughts over the past 50 years. With an estimated affected area reaching 1,500 acres, which occupies 43% of the wheat producing areas in the entire country, the droughts have led to water shortages for over 4 million people and over 2 million livestock. Owing to the severity of the droughts and that raining will not come until March, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao ordered a full mobilization of state resources in battling the droughts and protecting crops. Level I of the drought-emergency alert has also been activated for the first time.

(Source: adapted from reports of several websites in the mainland dated 28 January to 1 February 2009.)

(Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China, http://www.stats.gov.cn/.)

Xie Liyong (Associate Professor, College of Agronomy of the Shenyang Agricultural University, Liaoning):

Climatic changes have increased the volatility and lowered the stability of food production. For instance, data shows that the average lowest temperature at night time has increased by 1 degree, for which paddy rice yield will be reduced by 10%. Together with other factors such as population growth and socio-economic development, the threats to food safety will be reflected in food yields in the end.

(Source: Caijing.com.cn, http://english.caijing.com.cn/.)

Scholar’s view

Apart from the categorization of information according to its nature, students may also browse dif ferent websites to search for more reports and comments in different countries on the global food crisis. As China is one of the world’s major food producing countries, there must be a lot of information about its food production status. Students should jot down and organize the relevant keypoints to be used as reference materials for the exploration.

Statistics

News Report


After the data is properly organized, students may illustrate the keywords or concepts related to this issue by drawing a mind map for a more in-depth analysis in the next step. For instance:

Step 4: Analysis of data collected

After organizing the collected data, students may identify several exploration focuses corresponding to various modules of Liberal Studies (for example, ‘Hong Kong Today’, ‘Modern China’, ‘Globalization’ and ‘Energy Technology and the Environment’), analyze the data from different perspectives, and clarify the related focuses of the issue of exploration. For instance, they may conduct focused exploration on how Hong Kong deals with the food problem, the situation of food production in China, how China’s food market is influenced by the international food market, and the sustainable development of food production in China.

Issue in Focus 1: How do Hong Kong people deal with the food problem?

Read the following sources carefully, and then think about the relevant questions. Hong Kong Today


Source 1

A1 Local Daily News 8 April 2008

The supply of rice in the international market is running short. Recently, the import price of rice has increased by about 30%. Citizens were worried the rice price would increase rapidly and rushed to supermarkets to panic buy. Some rice merchants said that the orders they received over the past few days increased twofold or threefold more than normal. Since there is sufficient stock, demand can still be met; the two largest local supermarkets also stated that there are sufficient sources of goods, so they will not increase the price for the time being, but there may be pressure to do so in the long run.

Citizens have remained worried that rice price would rise again, so they tried to buy more to ‘keep in stock’. Some of them even bought ten or more packs of rice using a small trolley. Some citizens also said they are not worried, because ‘one pack of rice can last for a long time’, and believed that the government is able to cope with the food problem. Considering citizens’ panic buying of rice, the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Frederick Ma Si-hang said that there are 14,000 tons of rice reserve in Hong Kong, and the central government will spare no effort to ensure sufficient food supply in Hong Kong and Macau. Citizens do not need to panic.

Citizens rush to buy rice as the import price rises 30%

(Source: adapted from reports of several local newspapers dated 31 March to 8 April 2008.)

Source 2

The 10th 20-Hour FamineA food crisis has broken out in the global village. The number of the famished is rising continuously, and is estimated to reach 1 billion soon! Fellow villagers, will you join us to take action in rescue?

Objective: To raise funds for the famished in the global village to stop the hunger.Date: 14 – 15 February 2009Venue: Hall 1, 1/F, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre New WingHow to act: Each rescuer to raise $300 to join the action.

Please refer to ‘The 10th 20-Hour Famine’ website for more details: www.abcdefg.com.hk.

• What are the different opinions of Hong Kong people on the priorities which constitute the quality of life?

• H o w c a n i n d i v i d u a l s o r organizations contribute to the maintenance and improvement of the quality of life?

(a) According to Source 1, what are the responses of Hong Kong citizens when there is a problem with the food supply?

(b) With reference to the sources above, how do various organizations in Hong Kong deal with the food crisis?


Issue in Focus 2: What is the situation of food production in China?

Read the following sources carefully, and then think about the relevant questions.

Source 3

(Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China, http://www.stats.gov.cn/.)

Source 4

Speech by Wei Chao’an, Vice Minister of Agriculture of China at a press conference on 12 February 2009:

The length of time, the breadth of the affected area and the severity of this drought are all rarely seen in history. Faced with the serious drought situation, the government at all levels and relevant departments have spared no effort in battling the droughts, and the effective results can be preliminarily seen. In addition, rain fell in some of the drought-affected areas recently. The dryness was slightly relieved, but the situation of battling droughts is still severe. The drought situation at present is indeed severe, but as far as we know, the current market food prices remain basically stable without much fluctuation. Owing to a rich harvest of total food yield for a consecutive five years in our country, the food supply level has greatly increased, and the reserve is also sufficient. Therefore, the current drought conditions will not lead to sharp increases in food prices, and will not affect the food safety in our country.

(Source: rewritten from Xinhuanet, http://www.xinhuanet.com/, 12 February 2009)

Modern China


(c) According to Source 3, what is the food production situation in China since the reform and opening-up? Explain.

(d) According to Source 4, what are the concerns and confidence of the central government in facing the food crisis?

Issue in Focus 3: How is China’s food market influenced by the international food market?


Source 5

Monthly feature China Monthly October issue

Fluctuating food prices in international market affect domestic food pricesIn recent years, a structure of ‘net imports’ in the food market has formed in China. The

influence of international food prices on certain kinds of food is more prominent. It is estimated that domestic food prices will stay high in the near future. However, since the food prices in the international market remain high, domestic food prices are also rather high, exerting certain pressure on consumers as well as increasing the burden of the urban and rural residents, especially of the low-income residents. At the same time, since food and its related food commodities account for a larger proportion in China’s consumer price, the increase in food prices will exert pressure on inflation.

(Source: adapted from reports of several websites in the mainland.)

Source 6

‘Food is God for People’, but the prices of fresh food or food-stuffs have increased. We have to think thrice when buying food. Should we really have to reduce to two meals from three meals a day?

ADM Company, international food

merchant

Consumer

Chinese peasant

Although people’s demand for food has largely increased, we have not benefited due to the increased agricultural productivity. In addition, the oil price has increased. Since chemical fertilizers, machineries and transportation all need to use oil, thus the cost of production has risen. Under such circumstances, we do not have much total income indeed.

We have already set up or purchased food processing enterprises in food producing regions in China, including Shandong, Hebei, Henan and Hunan, and plan to establish grain collection and storage enterprises in provinces such as Jiangsu and large grain collection and storage operations in places such as Heilongjiang. At the same time, we plan to develop both domestic and overseas trade in paddy rice.

(Source of information: Website of Information on Agricultural Science and Technology, http://

www.cast.net.cn/, 16 August 2007.)

• How has the way of life been changed across the whole country since the reform and opening-up?

• How has the Central People's Government dealt with the effects of reform and opening-up?

Globalization


(e) According to Source 5, how is the food market in China affected by the international market?

(f) With reference to the sources above, what are the impacts of global issues (such as the expansion of international enterprises, oil issues and food prices) on China’s food safety? Explain.

Issue in Focus 4: Can the sustainable development of food production resolve the food crisis in China?


Source 7

International environmental organization Greenpeace released a report of ‘Food for thought: Climate change threatens China’s food security’ on the eve of the ‘World Food Day’. It pointed out that global warming might cut China’s overall food production by 14%–23% by 2050 if no action is taken immediately. Greenpeace said that the high greenhouse gas emissions around the globe will sabotage China’s agriculture, thus it advocates restoring farmland to forest and eco-farming by using natural fertilizers, in order to safeguard China’s food safety.

The report pointed out that eco-farming can fit in with and ensure China’s agricultural production and food safety. Under circumstances of temperature rise, water scarcity, erratic weather changes and dependence on pesticides, the advantages of eco-farming include: keeping the soil fertile, lowering farmers’ dependence on the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides through biological means, reasonably utilizing and conserving natural resources by natural regulatory mechanisms, and establishing diversified production patterns with measures adjusted to local conditions.

A1 Local Daily News 15 October 2008

Greenpeace advocates eco-farming to safeguard China’s food safety

(Source: Greenpeace, http://www.greenpeace.org/china/en/.)

Energy Technology and the Environment

• W h a t a r e t h e characteristics and trends in the development of globalization?

• D o e s g l o b a l i z a t i o n provide benefits to all countries? Or only to developed countries?


Source 8

Monthly feature China Monthly May issue

Food production must be oriented towards sustainable development

The main objective of the sustainable development of food production is to maintain stable agricultural productivity, stable soil fertility, and a healthy and coordinated ecological environment, as well as sustainable utilization of resources and the environment. To implement the sustainable development of food production, the carrying capacity and comprehensive productivity of farmlands must continue to grow. This may guarantee food safety and ensure an increase in economic, ecological and social effectiveness, as well as accelerate the marketization and modernization of food production.

(Source: Website of China Agriculture and Investment, http://www.chinanytz.com/, 9 May 2005.)

(g) According to Source 7, what are the advantages of eco-farming to China’s food production?

(h) With reference to the above sources, can the sustainable development of food production resolve the food crisis in China? Explain.

Step 5: Evaluation of different viewpoints, drawing a conclusion

By analyzing the above data, students understand the reasons for and influences of the potential food crisis in China, as well as the relevant solutions. Then, students can evaluate the different points of view of the data, and draw a conclusion according to their judgment. For instance:

Conclusion

• Owing to some global issues, there are concerns about reduced food production and rising food prices in China.

• The consequence is that the amount of imported food in other places such as Hong Kong may be reduced.

• The present food production and reserve in China is basically sufficient.

• The central government has always adopted regulatory measures to stabilize the food supply and prices; it also plans to implement some policies for the sustainable development of food production.

• H o w d o e s t h e development of energy technology af fect the exploitation and use of energy?

• How do sc ience and t e c h n o l o g y m a t c h w i t h s u s t a i n a b l e development? What are the constraints?


Step 6: Presentation of results and production of the product

Finally, students need to produce a brief report of their own points of view by summarizing all the collected data and based on the above conclusion. It may be presented in the form of an article (approximately 500 words), a PowerPoint presentation or a video record, etc.

Extended Readings

Reference Websites

• The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Special report on the ‘World Food Situation’

http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/wfs-home/en/?no_cache=1

• 中央政府門戶網站：〈世界糧食日：我國積極應對糧食安全兩大新挑戰〉

• Greenpeace: ‘Food for thought: Climate change threatens China’s food security’

http://www.greenpeace.org/china/en/news/climate-change-food-security

Reference Books

• 楊萬江著：《危機與出路－中國糧食結構與農業發展新論》，北京：社會科學文獻出版社，1999 年。

• 唐風編著：《新糧食戰爭》，北京：中國商業出版社， 2008 年。

• 嚴瑞珍著：《經濟全球化與中國糧食問題》，北京：中國人民大學出版社， 2001 年。

Suggested Answers

(a) When there is a problem with the food supply, Hong Kong citizens may have completely different responses. Some of them worry that food prices will keep rising as the supply is not enough to meet the demand, so they will panic buy foodstuffs; others remain positive and believe that there is sufficient food supply. They also have confidence in the government’s ability to cope with local food supply problems.

(b) Retailers (such as supermarkets): to ensure sufficient supply and to raise food prices when necessary; Citizens: some people panic buy food for contingency, while others have confidence in the Hong Kong government and trust that it can deal with the citizens’ needs; The Hong Kong government: to actively communicate with the central government to ensure a sufficient food supply for Hong Kong so as to comfort the citizens’ feelings; Charitable organizations: to organize different fundraising activities to provide assistance to people affected by food problems.

(c) Since its reform and opening-up, food productivity in China has fluctuated occasionally. During some of the years, including 1981 – 1984, 1993 – 1997, and 2003 – 2008, food production greatly increased, whereas during 1999 – 2001 the productivity dropped more prominently. In general, food productivity in China has continuously risen.


(d) The concerns of the central government in facing the food crisis: under the influence of natural disasters, the domestic food supply has turned critical. The central government needs to invest substantial resources to resolve the problem of food production. The food crisis will exert certain pressure on the country’s food safety in the long run. The confidence of the central government in facing the food crisis: the food productivity of the nation has increased for a five consecutive years, which has greatly increased the food supply level, and the reserve is sufficient. Food prices will not rise rapidly. People have sufficient food supply, and the country’s food safety is still safeguarded.

(e) For instance, when the food prices of the international market are high, the domestic food prices will thus increase. Since food and its related food commodities account for a larger proportion in China’s consumer price, the increase in food prices will exert pressure on domestic inflation.

(f) Globalization causes food enterprises in China to be controlled by international food merchants. For instance, some international food merchants will choose China as the spot for food storage to carry out development and consolidation plans, which will be a setback to the food enterprises in China. Rising oil price also increases the cost of production for many peasants, making business more difficult for them. Food supply in the world may run short. Consumers will have to bear the burden of rising food prices in the end, which may lower their purchase intent. It may even result in tremendous pressure on the lives of some poor citizens.

(g) Eco-farming can fit in with and ensure China’s agricultural production and food safety. For instance, it keeps the soil fertile, lowers farmers’ dependence on the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides through biological means, and utilizes and conserves natural resources by natural, reasonable regulatory mechanisms, such as restoring farmland to forest. This will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make agricultural production patterns more diversified.

(h) Free answers. For example, yes: China has actively implemented sustainable development in recent years. If the sustainable development of food production is fully implemented on this basis, it may double the result with half the effort. Also, sustainable development can bring lots of foreseeable benefits to agriculture in China, like guaranteeing food safety and ensuring a raise of economic, ecological and social effectiveness, as well as accelerating the marketization and modernization of food production. Or no: in order to effectively implement sustainable development, lots of agricultural technology experts are needed to ensure the needs of agricultural technological research, development and promotion can be met. However, there are some internal problems in this aspect in China, one of which is the backwardness of the relevant technological developments. In addition, the loss rate of domestic science and technology personnel is relatively high. The demands of the sustainable development of food production in the aspects of technological development and its supply and demand situation may not be met.

food crisis in china 17 cross-topic exploration...

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