Unconventional Perspective Of Food Security

Since1970s, some transnational agriculture enterprises began to accelerate their expanding speed around the world, led by Monsanto, Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Bunge, etc. With the support from the government of the United States, they made a great impact on the agricultural industry in the developing countries by lower food price. Many developing countries thereby were transformed from a self-sufficient country into a dependant one. Meantime, by diffusing its genetically modified seeds, Monsanto monopolized the soybean production area of Brazil and Argentina in South America; by using their strong transportation and distribution network, Cargill and ADM nearly monopolized the grain transactions all over the world. At the same time, extreme climate events caused by climate change become frequent. Between2007and2008, severe draught, flood, blizzard all over the world made a considerate reduction in grain production, which caused the global food crisis and even political turbulence in many countries, such as Egypt, Cameroon, Haiti and Cote d’Ivoire. In2012, similar climate events occurred again, which made global food prices rise quickly and caused lots of chaos throughout the world. Thus, as one kind of non-traditional security, food security has become a constant and top agenda in every country.Under the influence of global food price turbulence, the topic about food security becomes popular in domestic common life. In the wake of disturbance by the spike in soybean, garlic and sugar prices, the safety problem of genetically modified crop products come into focus recently. In the context of globalization and economic integration, a white war in the peaceful era seems to be approaching, and how to face these non-traditional challenges is worth paying more and more attention.At present, the grain production has kept grown for9consecutive years in our country, and we are abundant and self-sufficient in food supply. However, behind these stable data, there are many instable factors:Firstly, traditional factors, namely, the factors existing all the time.(1) The population in our country is still growing at a rate of8million to10million every year, and it is expected to reach the peak in2030, which keeps enlarging the rigid demand.(2) Industrialization and urbanization intensify the contradiction between industrial water, domestic water and agricultural water, which aggravates agricultural water shortage. In the meantime, urbanization makes more rural labors outflow, making a direct impact on agricultural production; it also makes more food producers transform into food consumers, which further increases food supply pressure.(3) Although the decreasing rate of arable land is dropping, the declining trend isn’t reversed yet.Secondly, non-traditional factors.(1) The factors that occurred occasionally before, but are appearing frequently now. The impact of natural disasters on agriculture and food security exists from of old, but just occurred accidentally. However, as climate change progresses, the temperature begins rising continually, more and more draught, heavy rainfall and extreme weather take place, which poses threat to agricultural production regularly.(2) The factors that existed in an inactive state before, but are emerging continually in recent years. Since China’s entry into WTO in2001, transnational agriculture enterprises have expedited their penetration into our agricultural market. In2004, the "Soybean Crisis" made our soybean market controlled by transnational enterprises. At present, the import volume of soybeans is four times the domestic production, and all of the soybeans imported are genetically modified. Compared to imported soybeans, domestic soybeans are disadvantageous in both price and oil yield. Therefore, for the sake of benefit, domestic crushing plants prefer imported soybeans, and peasants also prefer the genetically modified soybeans, which further strengthens the soybean market control by transnational agricultural enterprises. In addition, it is as well worth paying more attention to wheat and maize, for the import volume of wheat and maize have increased remarkably from2008. On the whole, relying on the advantage in capital and technique, transnational agricultural enterprises are accelerating their strategic layout in our country by expanding in size, seizing market share, controlling products through patent and circumventing restrictions. A comprehensive developing mode, including seed cultivation, grain collection and storage, grain manufacture and distribution, is set up gradually. Thus, transnational enterprises become more and more influential in the agricultural market. To avoid further impact by these non-traditional factors mentioned above, some measures and suggestions are put forward in this thesis.(1) Measures and suggestions on coping with climate change. On the one hand, we can reduce the impact by taking some adapting measures, such as improving agricultural infrastructure, strengthening technique research, developing new crop varieties, establishing climate change insurance, etc. On the other hand, we can reduce the impact fundamentally by taking initiative carbon emission reduction measures, such as moderately adjusting energy structure, increasing energy using efficiency, and adjusting routine behaviors.(2) Measures and suggestions on coping with transnational agriculture enterprises. Firstly, relevant laws and legislations should be made or modified to ensure that the transnational enterprises operate within control, and strengthen the supervision on administrative department. Meanwhile, both the execution of legislation and the punishment to illegal acts of administrative department should be strengthened, to ensure the control on transnational enterprises’access and operation. Secondly, a timely, accurate and reliable information release platform and a monitoring and evaluation system should be established, to avoid jacking up price by transnational enterprises’fake information. Thirdly, state enterprises should speed up development to play the leading role in safeguarding national food security, and private enterprises should be highly supported in time, to form a situation of tripartite confrontation.Moreover, we should further keep and perfect our current achievements. In this thesis, the improvement suggestions on current grain reserve system and food saving are especially mentioned.(1) There are three suggestions on current grain reserve system, including suggestion discussion about grain reserve system, suggestion discussion about grain reserve information system, and suggestion discussion about establishment of a state-local-household grain reserve system.(2) On food saving, the author think that, as a measure to guarantee food security in our country,"saving food" is mentioned by government and public all the time, but is always neglected in executing. The problem is too much attention on macro polices, but too little attention on micro measures; and too much work on appeals and propagations, too little work on execution. In author’s opinion, the dilemma lies that the concrete execution measures are discordant with the government’s will and polices. Therefore, both instructional and mandatory measures should be taken in solving the problem of food waste.