Arable Land Requirements Based on Food Consumption Patterns: Case Study in Rural Guyuan District, Western China

ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS 69 (2010) 1443– 1453

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Arable land requirements based on food consumption patterns: Case study in rural Guyuan District, Western China

Lin Zhena,⁎, Shuyan Caob, Shengkui Chenga, Gaodi Xiea, Yunjie Weia,c, Xuelin Liua,c, Fen Lia aCenter for Resources Science, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 11A Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, PR China bDepartment of Public Management, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, 19 Qingyuan North Road, Daxing District, Beijing 102617, PR China cGraduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, PR China

ARTICLE DATA ABSTRACT

Article history: In comparison with all data for rural China, deficiencies of animal protein and fat intake were Received 8 November 2007 identified using the method of Gerbens-Leenes et al. ([Gerbens-Leenes, P.W., Nonhebel, S., Iven, Received in revised form W.P.M.F., 2002. A method to determine land requirements relating to food consumption 1 December 2008 patterns. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 90: 47–45]) in examining food Accepted 15 December 2008 consumption patterns and arable land requirements of Guyuan District, a remote rural area Available online 23 January 2009 of western China. Population growth and rapid economic development have increasingly been reducing the land available for primary production, creating potentially serious risks for Keywords: China's food security. Land required to produce food is determined by population size, Food consumption consumption patterns, land resource endowment – or “agro-ecological” conditions and the Arable land requirements level of farm intensification. Per capita land requirements in Guyuan District were identified to Western China meet basic consumption needs, and to evaluate nutritional conditions related to current consumption patterns. Data used for this analysis were obtained from surveys of household food consumption. Food consumption involved only meeting basic requirements for sustenance, with grains, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, and plant oils being the most − commonly consumed foods. Per capita intake of calories totaled 11.1 MJ·day 1,matchingthe recommended level for China to meet basic health requirements. Daily protein intake was − − − − 66.8 g·person 1·day 1, being below the recommended standard of 77 g·person 1·day 1.Ofthis total, protein from animal meat accounted for only 7.5% of total protein. Fat intake totaled only − − − − 47.4 g·person 1·day 1, being far below the standard of 70 g·person 1·day 1. Yet, farmers must sell their limited livestock to earn enough income to meet their daily consumption needs. This expenditure accounted for nearly 33% of mean annual household income, so only 28% of domestic animal products were consumed locally. Benchmark data is provided to assist with improving living standards of rural people. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction politicians for decades (Brown, 1995; Fan and Pardey, 1997; Zhu, 2004; Feng et al., 2005; Xu et al., 2006; Chen, 2007; Qiu and As China is the most populous country in the world, its food Liu, 2008). China's rapid economic development since the security has been a primary concern of researchers and nation's opening up to the outside world has stimulated

⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 10 6488 8196; fax: +86 10 6485 4230. E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (L. Zhen).

0921-8009/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.12.008 1444 ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS 69 (2010) 1443– 1453 industrialization, urbanization, and infrastructure develop- (which tend to include higher proportions of animal products) ment, but this progress has also been accompanied by soil are adopted as people become more affluent, increasing erosion and desertification. There is an increasing scarcity of pressure will be placed on arable land to meet this demand, high-quality arable land (Cai et al., 2002). For instance, from representing a large challenge given China's limited arable 1952 to 1995, the per capita area of arable land has decreased land resources. from 0.19 ha to 0.08 ha in China (Cai et al., 2002). The situation Most studies of agricultural production and land use have is also severe in remote rural areas, where fragile land focused on changes in land use dynamics, improvements in resources have been heavily stressed by population growth, production techniques, and food security (Wen, 1993; Fan, economic growth, and environmental protection policies that 1997; Andzio-Bika and Wei, 2005; Yu and Lu, 2006; Zhen et al., call for the conversion of arable land into grassland and forests 2006, 2007), but have often overlooked relationships between (Feng et al., 2005). For example, in Yuanzhou county of Ningxia food consumption patterns and land requirements to sustain Hui Autonomous Region, per capita area of arable land had this consumption. In the present study, we attempted to fallen to 0.13 ha by 2004 as a result of arable land conversion to quantify consumption patterns and their impacts on the land forest and grassland (Tao et al., 2007). Previously published requirements. We identified requirements for arable land estimates of the per capita arable land required to feed an created by each combination of food types by combining adult range from 0.10 ha for developing countries to 0.03 ha for available data on food consumption with data on the specific developed countries (Cai et al, 2002), when the latter can fully land requirements for each food. In this analysis, we included exploit modern fertilizers, irrigation techniques and advanced food items that not only fulfill basic physiological needs, but agricultural machinery. With land degradation and shrinkage that also satisfy social and cultural demands, as defined by of high-quality arable land and growing consumer awareness Gerbens-Leenes et al. (2002). We also assessed the nutritional of the need for environmental conservation, China's popula- conditions related to current consumption patterns. We tion growth and the accompanying increased demand for food followed the method for determining land requirements are placing a considerable strain on the country's future ability developed by Gerbens-Leenes et al. (2002), being the first use to produce sufficient food (Xu, 2001; Tao et al., 2007; Chen, of this approach in western rural China. It allowed us to 2007). examine relationships between consumption patterns and For a given type of arable land (e.g., for a given soil fertility), land requirements to sustain these patterns. the area required for food production is determined by population size and by the types and amounts of specific foods that are consumed—that is, by food consumption 2. The Study Area patterns (Gerbens-Leenes and Nonhebel, 2002). It has been argued that in the near future, changes in consumption We selected Guyuan District for our study. Located in a remote patterns rather than population growth will be the most mountainous region of western China (Fig. 1), the area has a important variable that determines the total land requirement mean annual rainfall of 472 mm based on weather station data for food production (Gerbens-Leenes and Nonhebel, 2002). collected at a representative elevation in the study area, Studies in China have recently begun to characterize con- 1753 m asl (Li et al., 2002). With elevations ranging from 1248 sumption into four categories: a basic level, which provides to 2942 m above mean sea level, the area has a continental sufficient energy intake to sustain the physiological require- monsoon climate characterized by an annual average tem- ments for bodily functions; a second level, which provides perature of 5 to 8 °C. The annual evaporation ranges from 1250 enough energy and nutrients to exceed the basic level; a third to 2000 mm, and only rain-fed agriculture is possible due to a level, in which affluence permits a diet that meets the basic lack of large bodies of surface water. energy requirements, but also the social and cultural aspects Farmers in the area have limited resources and primarily of food; and a fourth level, which provides more than basic practice subsistence agriculture rather than the production of energy requirements and also provides a more healthy level of cash crops. Their per capita holdings of arable land, forest, and nutrition (Li, 2007). grassland in 2007 (SGBY, 2007) were 0.27, 0.28, and 0.31 ha, Food consumption patterns in China have changed greatly respectively, which are higher than the corresponding from 1952 to 2003, with per capita annual consumption of national averages of 0.11, 0.11, and 0.24 ha. Among the six major food items increasing greatly (RSDDSMST, 2005; Li, land use categories defined by the Chinese Academy of 2007): grains (increased by 13%), edible oils (199%), pork (133%), Sciences (Liu et al., 2002), the major land uses in 2005 were beef and mutton (37%), poultry (644%), eggs (372%), marine dominated by grassland (46.9%) and arable land (43.2%), products (74%), sugar (36%), and beer and wines (573%). followed by forest (7.4%), built-up land (1.7%), and unused Simultaneously, total calorie consumption and consumption land (b0.1%) (Fig. 2). Since the implementation of a sloping of protein and fat from animal sources have been increasing land conversion program in 2000 to combat soil erosion faster than consumption of plant sources (Li, 2007). In rural (Zhang et al., 2006), the area of arable land has declined, by China, grain consumption declined from 62% of the total food an average of 8.5% from 2000 to 2005 (SBGY, 2007), whereas in 1978 to 58% in 2001, while animal meat and products forest and grassland areas increased by 8.0 and 6.8%, increased from 2% to 7% of the total, and consumption of respectively, during the same period. protein and fat from animal sources increased from 4% to 13% The major crops grown in the area are the cereals winter and from 26% to 50%, respectively, over the same period (Feng wheat (Triticum sativum) and summer maize (Zea mays), but and Shi, 2006); in coming decades, further increases in per potato (Solanum tuberosum) is another widely planted crop that capita meat consumption are projected. If improved diets serves as a source of carbohydrates, and is categorized as a ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS 69 (2010) 1443– 1453 1445

Fig. 1 – Location map of the case study area, Guyuan prefecture of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

principal crop by local people. These three crops occupy 48% of oats (Avena sativa), beans (including field beans, Vicia faba;the the total cropped area. The remaining land is used mainly for common beans, Phaseolus vulgaris; and peas, Pisum sativum), cultivation of millet (Panicum miliaceum), buckwheat (Fagopyrum sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), a range of vegetables, fruit trees, esculentum), oil-producing plants such as oilseed rape (Brassica napus), and fodder crops. As of 2006, population density was 133

Fig. 2 – Land use patterns in Guyuan. Data were obtained from Liu et al. (2002). 1446 ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS 69 (2010) 1443– 1453

− person·km 2, and out of the population of 1.5 million, 89% were calculating the land requirements to sustain food consump- farmers. Uchida et al. (2004) found that the average real tion: (1) primary production, which included mainly agricul- household net incomes have increased significantly (by an tural products that were mostly produced locally as well as amazing 75%) for participants in the sloping land conversion products imported from other places; (2) secondary produc- program in Ningxia during the implementation period of the tion, which included livestock products such as meat, eggs, program. The study also showed that when income inequalities and milk; (3) food items, which included beverages, sugar, and across households are taken into account, the program has had a other manufactured and processed food; and (4) the house- significant positive impact on the incomes of the poorest hold level, in which we multiplied the per capita land households and those with a median income. requirement per food item by the average number of persons per household. We excluded the national level defined by Gerbens-Leenes et al. (2002) from our case study because the 3. Research Methods large diversity of consumption patterns among parts of China would have required prohibitively large amounts of data to The total land requirement for a certain type of food was obtain reasonable estimates. determined by the specific land requirement for that type of To calculate the total land requirement for food in our food (i.e., the ability of each unit area of the land to produce a study, we followed a step-by-step approach in which the given amount of the food) and by the amount consumed. In output of one step became the input of the next one (Gerbens- other words, the per capita land requirement (m2)was Leenes et al., 2002). There were seven steps in this calculation − − calculated by multiplying consumption (kg·person 1·year 1) (Fig. 3): − of each food item by its specific land requirement (m2·kg 1) Step 1: The base food requirement was equated to the per − and summing the results. capita quantity of each food item consumed (kg·person 1). In this step, data were obtained from the Guyuan Household 3.1. Land Requirements to Sustain Food Consumption Socio-Economic Survey (SBGY, 2004), which was based on a representative sample of households. Food items covered by In this study, we distinguished four levels of scale (three this survey included (1) primary agricultural products, includ- overall levels for a study area and a per-household level) for ing grains, potatoes, soybean and other beans, tobacco,

Fig. 3 – Flow chart illustrating the sequence of steps in the calculations of the land required to provide food and the inputs used in these calculations (modified from Gerbens-Leenes et al., 2002). (a) The base requirement represents per capita consumption of food items in 2004 (SBGY, 2005); (b) the base land requirement represents the area needed to produce the amount of food calculated for the base requirement. ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS 69 (2010) 1443– 1453 1447

Table 1 – Equivalent grain consumption to produce various animal meats and by-products. Items Product

Beefa Muttona Milka Porka Poultry meata Eggsa Fishb

Grain equivalent 47.32 20.77 20.44 80.29 94.10 40.31 180 (kg per 50 kg of product) Source of standard Affiliated Neighboring Affiliated Affiliated National Neighboring National province province (Gansu province province average province (Xinjiang) average (Ningxia) and Xinjiang) (Ningxia) (Ningxia)

Sources: a NDRC (2005); b Zhao et al. (2006).

vegetables, fruits, melons, and tea; (2) secondary agricultural produce the animal products (Table 1). Whenever local products, including beef, mutton, pork, domestic poultry, eggs, standards were not available, we adopted the national average fresh milk, and fish; and (3) manufactured and processed or figures from neighboring provinces. agricultural products, including wine, beer, sugar, bean The land requirements for animal products were then products, and edible plant oils. determined using the procedure in Step 2 used for primary Step 2: Specific land requirements for local primary production. The arable land requirements (m2) per kg of production were calculated. This parameter was expressed mutton, beef, and milk equaled 5.6, 2.4, and 2.4, respectively. − − as the area per kg of a crop per year (m2·kg 1·year 1). The land In step 4(2), the equivalent arable land requirement for the requirements for agricultural crops were calculated for each animal fodder was assessed. In Guyuan, feed consumption crop by dividing the total cultivated area (m2) in Guyuan by the was based on traditional local fodder such as grass, bypro- total local yield per year (kg) for each crop. ducts from crop production such as leaves as well as residues Because vegetable cultivation was rare in the area, and only that remained in the field after harvesting and household the total quantity of vegetable consumption was recorded, we wastes. To determine the land requirements for providing calculated the land requirement for vegetable consumption by grass and silage, the grassland area needed to provide this dividing the total cultivated area (m2) by the total annual fodder was estimated based on local standards for man-made consumption (kg). The data used for this calculation were grassland; for one sheep and one cattle, this amounted to obtained from SBGY (2005). 0.07 ha and 0.30 ha, respectively. If the average weights of Step 3: The weighted land requirement for imported crops sheep and cattle were considered to be 50 and 270 kg, was calculated in two phases: respectively, and milk production totals 3000 kg per year for In the first phase, the land requirement for imported crops each animal, then the equivalent arable land requirements was calculated. This calculation assumed national averages per kg of mutton, beef, and milk equalled 13.3, 11.1, and 1.0 m2, for yields of the imported crops. To perform this calculation, respectively. In step 4(3), the total specific land requirement we used data on cultivated area and total production of for each animal product was derived by summing the results imported crops such as wheat and rice from the China from phases (2) and (3). We used a similar approach to Statistics Yearbook (SBC, 2005), and the specific land require- quantify the land requirement per kg of fish, but assumed that ment was derived following the calculation procedure producing 1 kg of fish products required 0.144 kg of corn, described in Step 2. In the second phase of the calculation, 0.032 kg of wheat and 10 kg of aquatic plants as feedstuff (Zhao the weighted average land requirements for crops available in et al., 2006). The results from Step 4 are shown in Table 2. Guyuan (both locally grown and imported) were calculated. Step 5: The land requirements for food items were assessed. For each crop, the weighted average was determined by The land requirement for each specific food item was calculating the proportions of the total consumption of the calculated by multiplying the land requirements for the − − crop accounted for by locally grown and imported sources, basic materials (m2·year 1·kg 1) by the quantity of basic − then multiplying these two values by the corresponding materials (kg·kg 1) needed to produce the food item, and specific land requirements and adding the results. then summing these results. The amounts of basic materials Step 4: The land requirements for livestock and fish products were estimated. In Guyuan, animals were mostly fed with roughage obtained by farmers from their own Table 2 – Arable land requirements for animal and fish agricultural production system, and their fodder included products. − − grass, straw, silage, and feed concentrates such as maize and Livestock Land requirement (m2·year 1·kg 1) crop residues. Land requirements for livestock products products Feed grains Fodder Total (including only the product produced in the largest quantity, such as meat or milk) were assessed in three phases. In step 4 Beef 5.6 11.1 16.7 (1), the arable land requirement to produce feed for the Mutton 2.4 13.3 15.7 animals was calculated using conversion factors provided by Milk 2.4 1.0 3.4 Fish 0.4 2.0 2.4 the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC, Poultry meat 4.0 – 4.0 2005). In this phase, the production of animal products was Pork 3.4 – 3.4 converted into an equivalent quantity of grain consumed to 1448 ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS 69 (2010) 1443– 1453

− needed to manufacture 1 kg of a food item were assumed to be (1035 kg·year 1), wheat had the highest household land 2.5 kg of wheat for wine, 0.3 kg of wheat for beer, 3.5 kg of oil requirement (4810 m2 per household) (Table 4). A similar trend seeds for edible plant oils, 1.0 kg of beans for bean products, was observed for melons and pork, with respective household 6.0 kg of beetroot for sugar, 1.6 kg of pork for animal fats, and land requirements of 395.2 and 173.5 m2. Local people relied 1 kg of specific crops and animal products for processed foods mostly on pork as their source of meat, so its consumption was produced from these crops and animals (CSSD, 2004). higher than that of other meats. Natural conditions in the study Step 6: The per capita land requirement for food (m2)in area were suitable for the cultivation of high-quality melons, so Guyuan was determined by combining data on the amounts of farmers planted melons wherever possible (e.g., beside river − − food items consumed per capita from step 1 (kg·person 1·year 1), banks, at the sides of roads, in their yards) for their own using the categories of assessed land requirements for food consumption. Also, vendors from neighboring provinces such − − items from step 5 (m2·year 1·kg 1). as Gansu came to Guyuan to sell melons during the harvesting Step 7: The total land requirement per household for food in season (every August). Other food items showed high specific Guyuan was determined by multiplying the base land land requirements, but relatively low total household land requirement calculated in step 6 by the average number of requirements due to low consumption. This was particularly persons (4.82) per household in Guyuan in 2004 (SBGY, 2004). true for consumption of meats such as beef and mutton, with − − specific land requirements of 16.7 and 15.7 m2·year 1·kg 1,and − 3.2. Nutritional Parameters per household consumption of 5.1 and 7.6 kg·year 1, for total land requirements of 28.9 and 18.3 m2. In addition, some food There is obviously a link between food consumption and items showed both a high individual land requirement and a nutritional status, but the link depends on both the intake of high total household land requirement due to high consump- each food and on its energy and nutrient contents (Ivens et al., tion; for instance, plant oils had a total household land 1992; Gerbens-Leenes and Nonhebel, 2002). In the present requirement of 761.6 m2. study, we calculated the energy and nutrient intake obtained Food items were grouped into eight categories (grains; from the consumption of different food items (Table 3)by potatoes, vegetables, and fruits; edible plant oils and sugar; multiplying a nutritional coefficient taken from Xu (2001) by meat; milk and eggs; beans and bean products; beverages; and the local per capita consumption. For this analysis, we divided tobacco and tea). Per capita land requirements for these food the nutrients into energy (calories), protein, and fat. items are shown in Table 5, with household land requirements shown in Fig. 4. Grains accounted for the largest consumption category, with about 1041 and 5017 m2 of per capita and 4. Results and Discussion household land requirements, respectively, accounting for 68.5% of the total arable land. Potatoes, vegetables, and fruits 2 4.1. Land Requirements for Food Consumption accounted for 204 and 983 m per capita and per household, respectively, and about 13.4% of the total arable land. The land The per-household land requirement for a specific food item requirement for edible plant oils and sugar was based on the was determined by the specific land requirement for each food consumption of plant oils extracted from oil plants such as item and the total amount of the food consumed by the sesame (Sesamum indicum) and oilseed rape (Brassica campes- household. Some food items showed low individual land tris), which (along with sugar) accounted for 10.5% of the total requirements but high consumption, resulting in relatively arable land requirement per household. These three food high total land requirements per household. For example, the categories thus accounted for 92.4% of the total land require- − − land requirement for wheat was only 4.6 m2·year 1·kg 1, but due ment for food in Guyuan, versus 83.0% for rural China as a to the high amount of wheat consumption per household whole. This difference reflected the fact that in rural Guyuan, the food consumption pattern was very basic, mostly to meet each person's physical requirements, with the foods domi- Table 3 – Energy and nutrient coefficients (Xu, 2001) used nated by noodles, steamed bread, and fried vegetables in this study to assess the nutritional characteristics of the foods consumed by residents of the study area. (including potatoes). The per capita rural arable land required to support food Food items Energy Protein Fat consumption totaled 1520 m2 in Guyuan, which was nearly coefficient coefficient coefficient − − − 2 (MJ·kg 1) (g·kg 1) (g·kg 1) 392 m higher than the average for rural China as a whole. This sharp contrast resulted from the fact that the food consump- Corn, potatoes, and beans 14.87 93 25.7 tion pattern in Guyuan depended strongly on wheat (214 kg of Vegetables 0.75 11.4 1.6 wheat out of a total of 223 kg of grains), whereas that of China Fruits and melons 1.83 6.2 2.4 was more mixed (with 117 kg of rice and 72 kg of wheat out of a Sugar 15.81 4.6 0 Plant oil 37.67 0 1000 total of 213 kg of grains). Thus the pattern of food consump- Bean products 10.86 65.1 17.99 tion in Guyuan demanded more land than the Chinese Tea 10.00 0 0 average. The additional 0.62 persons per household in Guyuan Beef and mutton 16.39 99.5 387.8 compared with the average rural Chinese household, com- Milk 2.89 33.6 40.2 bined with this pattern of consumptions, meant that to meet Pork, poultry meat, and 16.39 99.5 387.8 its household food requirements, a Guyuan household needed other 243 m2 more additional arable land than the average Chinese Eggs 6.15 123.8 101.4 rural household. ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS 69 (2010) 1443– 1453 1449

Table 4 – Land requirements per food item based on local consumption in rural Guyuan (SBGY, 2004), and a comparison with the results for rural China as a whole (SBC, 2005). Food item Specific land Per capita food Per capita land Household land requirement consumption (kg) a requirement (m2) requirement (m2) − − (Guyuan, m2·year 1·kg 1) Guyuan China Guyuan China b Guyuan China b

Wheat 4.6 214.75 72.40 997.6 336.3 4810.4 1412.6 Rice 1.6 4.49 117.40 7.1 186.1 34.2 781.4 Other grains c 2.1 (corn) 9.6 (others) 4.42 23.40 36.2 107.7 173.5 452.1 Potatoes 3.5 9.76 3.00 34.0 10.5 163.9 43.9 Sweet potato 2.7 0.46 0.20 1.2 0.5 5.8 2.2 Soybean 9.5 0.10 1.9 1.0 18.1 4.8 76.0 Other beans 7.6 0.09 1.10 0.7 8.4 3.4 35.1 Tobacco 3.2 0.03 0.03 0.1 0.1 0.5 0.4 Vegetables 0.4 55.57 106.60 22.9 44.0 110.9 184.6 Melons 6.7 12.34 5.10 82.5 34.1 395.2 143.2 Fruits 4.0 15.64 11.90 63.2 48.1 304.6 201.9 Sugar 1.3 0.79 1.10 1.0 1.4 4.8 6.0 Plant oils 31.6 5.01 5.30 158.2 167.4 761.6 703.0 Wine 13.3 0.95 3.10 12.7 41.4 62.7 173.7 Beer 1.6 1.13 4.30 1.8 6.9 8.7 28.9 Bean products 6.7 0.36 0.36 2.4 2.4 11.6 10.1 Tea 14.3 0.37 0.37 5.3 5.3 25.5 22.2 Fish 2.4 0.15 4.50 0.4 10.6 0.5 44.6 Beef 16.7 1.06 0.5 17.7 8.4 28.9 35.1 Mutton 15.7 1.58 0.8 24.8 12.6 18.3 52.8 Milk 3.4 0.36 2 1.2 6.8 4.3 28.6 Pork 3.4 10.55 13.5 35.7 45.7 173.5 192.1 Poultry d 4.0 1.49 3.1 5.9 12.3 28.4 51.7 Other meats d 4.0 0.46 1.4 1.8 5.6 8.7 23.3 Eggs 1.7 2.15 4.6 4.2 7.8 20.2 32.9 Total – 343.8 388.0 1,520 1,128 7,325 5,437

a In 2004, an average rural household in Guyuan consisted of 4.82 persons (SBGY, 2004), versus 4.20 persons in China (SBC, 2005). b Land requirements per capita and per household were calculated using the same specific land requirement as in Guyuan because our focus in this analysis is on how food consumption patterns affect land requirements, rather than on agricultural productivity. The results show that specific land requirements for most food items at a national level are lower than those in Guyuan, for example, at the national level, the specific − − land requirements (m2·year 1·kg 1) are 2.4 for wheat, 2.7 for potatoes, and 1.6 for fruits, which are about 52, 77, and 40% of the respective weighted values for Guyuan. c Other grains include millet, oats, and buckwheat. d Poultry and other animals used to produce meat are mainly fed using low-yield corn.

Less meat was consumed than plant materials in the study meat along with carbohydrates (noodles, steamed bread, or rice) area (Table 5), so the land requirement for meat was only 5.7% of and vegetables (including potatoes). If Guyuan followed the the total arable land, which was less than the national average same trends as the rest of China, meat consumption would of 8.4%. This meant that potentially there was considerable increase in future with the increasing income of local people, room to increase land use to produce meat, because a standard leading towards a more balanced diet. However, to make these hot meal in western China generally included at least some dietary changes feasible, they must also be culturally

Table 5 – Per capita land requirements for the main consumption categories. Consumption categories Per capita land requirement for the main Land requirement (% of the total arable − consumption categories (m2·person 1) land) for individual food consumption

Guyuan China Gap (Guyuan–China) Guyuan China Gap (Guyuan–China)

Grains 1,041.0 630.0 411.0 68.5 55.8 12.7 Potatoes, vegetables, and fruits 203.9 137.1 66.8 13.4 12.2 1.2 Plant oils and sugar (sugar in parentheses) 159.2 (1.0) 168.8 (1.4) −9.6 10.5 15.0 −4.5 Meat 86.4 95.1 −8.7 5.7 8.4 −2.7 Milk and eggs 5.4 14.6 −9.2 0.4 1.3 −0.9 Beans and bean products 4.0 28.9 −24.9 0.3 2.6 −2.3 Beverages 14.5 48.2 −33.7 1.0 4.3 −3.3 Tobacco and tea 5.4 5.4 0.0 0.4 0.5 −0.1 Total arable land 1,520 1,128 391.50 100.0 100.0 0.0 1450 ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS 69 (2010) 1443– 1453

Fig. 4 – Household land requirements for the main consumption categories in Guyuan.

appropriate (i.e., people must be willing to accept the change) eggs, beans and bean products accounted for only a relatively and socially appropriate (e.g., they must have enough money small proportion of total arable land. and land to permit the change). Consumption of tobacco and tea and of other beverages 4.2. Nutritional Conditions at Current Consumption Levels accounted for only 1.4% of total arable land (96 m2 per household), being 3.3% (33.7 m2 per capita) lower than the At current consumption levels, per capita intake of calories totals − national average. In reality, this category should account for a 11.1 MJ·day 1, matching the standard for China to meet basic higher total because beverages such as soft drinks and juices requirements for human health (Table 6). The protein intake was − − were excluded from our analysis due to a lack of data. Milk, 66.8, below the recommended standard of 77 g·person 1·day 1.

Table 6 – Nutritional conditions based on current consumption patterns for Guyuan and rural China as a whole. Food items Total calories Total protein Total fat − − − − − − (MJ·person 1·year 1) (g·person 1·year 1) (g·person 1·year 1)

Guyuan China Guyuan China Guyuan China

Wheat 3,194 1,077 19,972 6,733 5,519 1,861 Rice 67 1,746 418 10,918 115 3,017 Other grains 57 348.0 356 2,176 98 601 Potatoes 145 45 908 279 251 77 Sweet potato 6.8 3 43 19 12 5 Soybean 1.5 28.3 9.3 177 2.6 49 Other beans 1.3 16.4 8.4 102 2.3 28 Vegetables 42 80 633 1215 89 171 Melons 23 9 77 32 30 12 Fruits 29 22 97 74 38 29 Sugar 12 17 3.6 5 0 0 Plant oils 189 200 0.0 0 5,010 5,300 Bean products 3.9 3.9 23 23 6.5 6.5 Tea 3.7 3.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Fish 0.6 17 19 563 3.6 109 Beef 17 8 105 50 411 194 Mutton 26 13 157 80 613 310 Milk 1.0 5.8 12 6 14 80.4 Pork 173 221 1,050 1,343 4,091 5,235 Poultry 24 51 148 308 578 1,202 Other meat 7.5 22.9 46 139 178 543 Eggs 15 28 303 569 248 466 Daily average 11.1 10.9 66.8 68.0 47.4 52.9 Recommended daily standard 11 77 70

Data from Xu (2001). ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS 69 (2010) 1443– 1453 1451

Of this total, protein from animal meat accounted for only 7.5% national average of 3255 RMB. The direct effect of such a low of the total protein, below the recommended standard of 30% of income was weakened purchasing power. Farmers must sell protein intake (Xu, 2001). In addition, fat intake totaled only their limited number of livestock to earn enough income to meet − − − 47.4 g·person 1·day 1, far below the standard of 70 g·person 1·- their daily consumption needs. This expenditure accounted for − day 1. The survey revealed that a major cause of low meat nearly 33% of mean annual household income. The survey also consumption was the poor economic conditions of local people. revealed that only 28% of domestic animal products were As of 2006, 40% of the population (nearly 600,000 people) had an consumed locally. As a result, intake of protein per Guyuan − annual income below the poverty line of 882 RMB (1 US$=7.728 rural resident was 11.3% (7 g·day 1) lower than the Chinese − − RMB), and of these individuals, 104,000 people were classified as average of 53 g·person 1·day 1. extremely poor. The majority of farmers in the survey (54%) had Animal protein contains eight essential amino acids an average annual income of 2000 RMB per household, below the required for human bodies that were not available in sufficient

Fig. 5 – Food consumption (4-a) and fat intake (4-b) by rural residents in Guyuan in comparison with recommended standards (Chen, 2007) and the Chinese rural average (2004). 1452 ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS 69 (2010) 1443– 1453 quantities from the plants consumed by Guyuan residents for a total of about 95% of the total arable land requirement. As (Xu, 2001). So insufficient intake of animal protein in the long a result, a typical hot meal in rural Guyuan included mostly run could lead to health problems. Insufficient consumption noodles, steamed bread, fried vegetables, and had strongly of meat, milk, sugar and eggs compared with the country's “vegetarian” food content. However, such meals also normally rural average could be causes of the low level of protein and fat included some meat (e.g., pork, beef, mutton, and chicken). intake (Fig. 5). High intake of grains and potatoes meant that calorific These results also indicated significant variations in the level intake was able to meet the recommended basic requirements. of nutritional associated with different food consumption items However, protein (particularly animal protein) intake and fat in Guyuan (Table 6). Intake of some nutrients was higher than intake were far below the recommended standard, leading to the national average, whereas intake of others was lower. For unbalanced nutrition. To close this gap, increasing meat example, the main sources of calories, protein, and fat from consumption with related falls in grain consumption would − − non-animal sources were wheat (3194 MJ·person 1·year 1,plus represent a favorable change of food consumption patterns. − − 19,972 and 5519 g·person 1·year 1, respectively) and potatoes However, for such dietary changes to be feasible, they must − − − − (145 MJ·person 1·year 1, plus 908 and 251 g·person 1·year 1), also be culturally and socially appropriate. This meant that, representing more than three times the corresponding income levels of rural people needed to be improved for them to national averages. Consumption was much lower for beef be able to purchase the necessary meat, and they should also be − − − − (17 MJ·person 1·year 1, plus 105 and 411 g·person 1·year 1) willing to change their dietary habits to more diversified ones. − − and mutton (26 MJ·person 1 ·year 1 , plus 157 and For instance, local people currently consume less fish and − − 613 g·person 1·year 1). In contrast, rice, other grains, vege- products with per capita annual consumption of only 0.15 kg, to tables, pork, poultry, and eggs provide high levels of calories, increase fish consumption to the national average figure of protein, and fat, but at levels far below the national average 4.5 kg, more land is required for producing fish feed. To this end, (Table 6). These results indicated that it should be possible for the “Grain for Green Project” currently being implemented Guyuan residents to improve nutrition levels by encouraging could not only combat soil erosion, but also improve income of consumption which more closely follows the national aver- the rural people from governmental subsidies and from age and by adjusting the proportions of each type of food harvesting forest plantations. The information from this being consumed. analysis is useful benchmark data to assess future development and to allow comparisons with other regions of China.

5. Limitations and Possible Inaccuracies Acknowledgments Our attempt to estimate the food consumption patterns, land requirements, and nutritional conditions in Guyuan had The authors are very much grateful for the most constructive several limitations: and valuable comments from the two reviewers in the first and second review processes. This research was funded by the • Uncertainty related to food consumption was caused by National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: losses during transformation (i.e., from raw grain to bread 30670374); National Key Project for basic research (973): flour), consumption of crops or animal products in the field Ecosystem Services and Ecological Safety of the Major Terres- (not included in the survey statistics), and use of food for trial Ecosystems of China (grant number: 2009CB421106); non-food purposes such as feeding pets. Special Funds for International Cooperation of the Ministry of • It was possible that reported quantities purchased by house- Science and Technology (MOST. No. 0813); National Project of holds were sometimes overestimated or underestimated; for Scientific & Technical Supporting Program funded by MOST example, the consumption of meat reported in the survey (No. 2006BAC08B06); the EU 6th Framework Programme for was low compared with other estimates for the area. Research, Technological Development and Demonstration, • Conversion factors were used to convert between categories Priority 1.1.6.3 Global Change and Ecosystems (European of consumption as in, for example, the conversion from Commission, DG Research, contract 003874 (GPCE). We are meat consumption to the corresponding grain consump- grateful for the support provided by those organizations. The tion. However, due to lack of local conversion factors, we authors thank the staff at the Commission of Economy and used some national or provincial standards. Planning, the Bureau of Land Resources, and other government • It was assumed that yields of the imported crop are authorities in the study areas for sharing their time and represented by national averages, therefore, relatively a expertise. smaller than actual “local” land requirement is being determined for the imported wheat. REFERENCES

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