President Xi Jinping has emphasized the need to adopt a holistic approach to food, meet the people’s growing demand for a better life, stay attuned to evolving dietary patterns, and, on the basis of ensuring food supply, effectively secure the supply of diverse foods, including meat, vegetables, fruits and aquatic products.

China has now developed a diversified food supply system. In the past, the primary goal of Chinese people was simply to have enough food for two meals a day. Times have changed. Chinese consumers are increasingly turning toward high-quality food. At the same time, China’s capacity to ensure food supply has also increased significantly.

Harvesting activities continued across China during this year’s National Day holiday. Autumn crops were being harvested on the fertile black soil of northeast China; fishing boats laden with fish were returning along the coast of the South China Sea; apples were ripening on trees across the Loess Plateau; and fresh vegetables were reaching markets along the Yangtze River. These abundant harvests are enriching the daily diets of the Chinese people.

In 2015, the concepts of “broader agriculture” and a “holistic approach to food” were adopted at China’s Central Rural Work Conference. President Xi Jinping said that, while ensuring environmental protection, China should develop a modern agricultural production structure and regional layout suited to local conditions, giving priority as needed to grain, cash crops, animal husbandry, aquaculture or forestry. Such development should meet market demand while remaining compatible with the carrying capacity of resources and the environment.

Zhao Changpao, director of the Rural Economy Research Center under China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said, “The holistic approach to food is consistent with the improvement of the dietary structure of the Chinese people. In terms of food supply, we are not focusing solely on limited arable land. While strictly protecting the red line of 1.8 billion mu of arable land, we are continuously broadening our perspective on food supply. Today, the sources of China’s food supply are constantly expanding, fully demonstrating the strategic and forward-looking nature of this concept.”

Last year, China’s grain output exceeded 700 billion kilograms. In the same year, vegetable production surpassed 890 million tons, fruit production exceeded 350 million tons, meat production surpassed 100 million tons, and aquatic product output exceeded 76 million tons. Advanced technologies in China are playing an important role behind this diversified food supply.

Recently, a national survey of agricultural germplasm resources was completed in three major national germplasm banks covering crops, livestock and poultry, and marine fisheries. As a result, 139,000 accessions of crop germplasm resources, 1.07 million accessions of genetic resources from livestock and poultry, and 120,000 accessions of aquatic products have been added.

In addition, facility-based agriculture is breaking away from dependence on weather and now accounts for more than 30 percent of total vegetable production. From vertical farms to hydroponically grown vegetables, vegetable cultivation is seeking “yield” from the air, walls and every available space.

Food supplies are also expanding from the deep sea. In Lianjiang County, Fujian Province, large yellow croakers are being farmed in waters several dozen meters deep at deep-sea aquaculture platforms. These offshore aquaculture platforms can withstand typhoons with wind forces exceeding level 16.

In essence, the holistic approach to food is making the diet of the Chinese people increasingly diverse.

Anupama-Alim-Shishir, China Media Group