The Impact Of Food Consumption Structure Changes On Chinese Virtual Water Consumption

Water resources are considered as an important strategic resource and one of the key components of food production.The ways of various food production that demand for water are different.The changes of residents‘ food consumption structure has undergone many in China.With the improving standard of people‘s living and rapid development of economy,which lead to new requirements of water supply.This paper mainly focus on the changes of food consumption structure effect on the demand of water resources in China.From the perspective of virtual water,analysis of the effects reveal Chinese consumption of virtual water per capita is increasing from 384.44 m 3 to 489.67 m 3,this on a large proportion due to the demanding consumption of animal products.For deeply understand the the consumption of virtual water between urban and rural residents,we calculate the consumption of virtual water respectively.Results show the increase of virtual water consumption among the residents from 1981 to 2014.The urban per capita consumption of virtual water is 387.39m3 to 507.18m3.While the rural is 386.21m3 to 451.68m3 comparatively.Totally,the increasing consumption rate of non-cereal food,i.e.,animal products might be the main reason that explain the higher consumption of virtual water from urban residents.Another,between urban and rural areas,we summarize the diversity index of food virtual water consumption from 1981 to 2014.The diversity index of virtual water consumption from both areas is increasing by years,revealing both consumption and diversity of food are increasing between them.By comparison,the diversification index of urban residents' virtual water consumption shows much higher,while the gap between them start to decrease at the year of 1993 and reduce to 0.29 in 2014.In the future,food consumption structure of Chinese rural residents will be highly improved,from the point of food virtual water consumption diversification,it is expected to approach or even surpass urban residents.In summary,this paper argues the structure of food consumption from Chinese residents is changing as the increase of people‘s income and China's economy,especially the demanding consumption of animal products,further leading to a increase in the consumption of virtual water.However,to achieve sustainability of water resources,we must alleviate the pressure of Chinese water shortage through the way of cutting expenditure.And details are listed:1,Increasing imports of water-based food by the virtual water trade and reducing its consumption,thereby increasing supply of water resources.2,Strengthening the management of water resources,improving water use efficiency,the use of green water efficiency,change the agricultural production structure,etc.,are included to reduce water consumption.3,Advocating a healthy diet with increasing its diversity and reducing water consumption.This is because of the fact current consumption structure of Chinese residents,animal products,vegetable oil and other food consumption per capita has exceeded the upper limit of Chinese residents,which is considered not healthy.4,By consolidating the construction and adjusting the spatial and temporal distribution of water resources,thus easing the pressure of water resources in China.