Exploring China's food security evolution from a local perspective

Abstract

Local food self-sufficiency is a feasible path to make up for supply chain dependence caused by food system globalization. However, despite policies advocating food localization, China's current trends, such as the imbalance between food supply and nutritional demand and the mismatch between production space and consumption space, gradually restrict the sustainability of food security. This study analyzes China's local food security from 2000 to 2020 around the multi-dimensionality of supply, acquisition, and demand. Results show that regional differentiation of China's staple food self-sufficiency has become more significant. As a result, food supply capacity in rapidly urbanizing areas has weakened, and mountainous and underdeveloped areas are difficult to be self-sufficient. Fortunately, staple foods in China are highly accessible, and urban with a population of less than 50,000 have the best food transportation security. Overall, aging and scale management greatly affect China's food system, which currently can resist sudden natural disasters. In the future, decision-makers should focus on urban resources integration and rural land consolidation and realize sustainable food system transition by optimizing the local supply-demand structure through central planning based on popular science and healthy diet structure.