Latest News:  

English>>China Politics

China's anti-waste campaign revives frugal spirit

(Xinhua)

08:07, February 04, 2013

BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- A campaign against food waste is sweeping across China, with government officials and netizens in full swing to fight extravagance in the world's second-largest economy, which still has 128 million people living under the poverty line.

The movement echoes Chinese leader Xi Jinping's call for frugal lifestyles, urging the fine Chinese tradition of "being diligent and thrifty."

In an age of excessive consumption and deficit spending, China's frugality campaign is also setting an example for the world.

A campaign launched more recently by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) coincided with China's efforts, taking the lifestyle issue to the center stage.

Called the "Think, Eat, Save and Reduce your footprint," the initiative appeals to consumers and retailers to embrace innovative measures that could dramatically reduce food waste at all levels.

According to data released by the FAO, about one third of all food produced globally and worth 1 trillion U.S. dollars is lost or wasted in the production and consumption systems.

Jose Graziano da Silva, director-general of the FAO, said the 300 million tonnes of food squandered each year in the industrialized world would be sufficient to feed an estimated 870 million people hungry in the world.

Figures show that there are more than one billion people living without enough food, 10 million of which die from hunger each year.

"In a world of seven billion people, set to grow to nine billion by 2050, wasting food makes no sense, economically, environmentally and ethically," said Achim Steiner, UN under-secretary-general and UNEP executive director.

Ma Xiaohe, deputy chief of the Academy of Macro-economic Research with the National Development and Reform Commission, said as the world's largest developing country, China's food saving feeds into global frugality.

Research by China Agricultural University in 2008 put China's annual food waste at 50 million tonnes, one-tenth of the country's total grain output.

UNEP spokesman Nick Nuttal also said China's contribution is critical to help the world cut down on food waste or loss.

Food supply has long been a thorny problem in the world's most populous country. Even now, China is still facing challenges in food supply, with national requirements that see only seven percent of the total arable land on Earth feeding 22 percent of its population.

Having just witnessed a ninth consecutive year of rising grain output, China's total grain output in 2012 reached nearly 590 million tonnes.

However, experts have warned that greater threats loom large, as China imports more and more grain from abroad due to people's improved living standards.

Han Jun, vice director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said on Tuesday that China's self-sufficiency rate on grain has plunged below 90 percent, a warning sign that the nation may have a food security issue.

The Chinese government sets a 95-percent bottom line on its grain self-sufficiency rate, according to a white paper on China's food security.

"If good results are achieved in China's frugality campaign, the import of grain and edible oil can be saved for 100 million people each year," said Zheng Fengtian, a professor with Renmin University of China.

"It is also good news for easing the world food crisis," the academic added.

We recommend:

A 'high-risk stage' for officials in the future

Why world focus on China's anti-corruption

China won't follow Western powers' old path

'Two Sessions style' of CPPCC meeting

China calls for opposition to self-immolation

Billionaire heiresses debuts at 'two sessions'

Email|Print|Comments(Editor:王金雪、陈丽丹)

Leave your comment0 comments

  1. Name

  

Selections for you


  1. Weekly review of military photos(January28-February 1)

  2. 33 dead, 121 injured in explosion at Mexican oil giant Pemex

  3. Israeli president tasks Netanyahu with forming new gov't

  4. Cold snap brings snow to most parts of China

  5. Going home or going away?

  6. In pics: bridge collapse accident site in central China

  7. Psy stages first commercial show on Chinese mainland

  8. Cinema guide for Spring Festival 2013

  9. 42nd World Money Fair held in Berlin, Germany

  10. Gold price more sensitive to bad news

Most Popular

Opinions

  1. China's year of challenges
  2. Rice imports not a threat to food security
  3. Getting workers their wages on time
  4. Clean Your Plate Campaign
  5. On the Road to Recovery
  6. The Internet needs a safety net
  7. Pollution prompts concern
  8. System needed to help patients
  9. China's reliance on oil-gas imports growing
  10. China needs strategic balance in Asia-Pacific

What’s happening in China

H.K. limits visitors' buying of infant formula

  1. Police chief sacked for concealing son's crime
  2. 4% of migrant workers suffer wage default
  3. 4.8-magnitude quake hits sea off Taiwan: CENC
  4. Reservoir leak results in casualties in Xinjiang
  5. 13 dead, 21 injured in SW China road accident