Environment – Page 2 – Debunking Myths of China

Chinese Organic Farming: Food Safety

acookey-gam / April 7, 2014May 6, 2015 / Environment, Food

By Ashley Cookey-Gam, Katherine Crosby, and Nick Shaw

Organic farming and food safety in China go hand in hand when dealing with the production, processes, and manufacturing of food. Traditional Chinese farming definitely has its faults due to the lack of strict food regulations. Often times “…many of them (manufacturers) are out to make a quick buck regardless of public health…” (Ang 2012: 215) The lack of carefulness leads to the continuous problems in food safety because the manufacturing is not always in the best conditions in terms of sanitation. [Link: Difficulties of Organic Farming]

Audra Ang’s book To the People, Food is Heaven: Stories of Food and Life in a Changing China gives several accounts about what goes on in the production of food in China. One instance occurred when Ang tried to observe a family-owned noodle business. She witnessed a worker not exercising proper hygiene as he “…picked his nose and used the same hand to pack a bag (of noodles).” (Ang 2012: 215) Many people have no idea how their food is treated or prepared; they simply just partake in the consumption aspect of the food without realizing what they are actually putting into their bodies. “…eating in China was a little like playing Russian roulette with food.” (Ang 2012: 215)

“Yuanyang hani farmer” by “Takeaway” is licensed under Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

As seen in other parts of the world, so many unnatural additives are involved with farming in China. “…beans treated with banned pesticides, cooking oil recycled from gutters…watermelons exploding after being boosted by growth accelerators, and pork passed off as beef after being soaked in a detergent additive” (Ang 2012: 215) are just a few examples. In addition to the dangerous substances being used with the food, loyalty and trustworthiness between farmers and their customers are broken as farmers may not be completely honest about how their food is being produced. Therefore, it is very imperative to remember that “For food, safety is all-important.”

To help ensure food safety, organic farming was introduced to China in 1990. [Link: Chinese Organic Farming Introduction] “Since then, the movement has gained momentum, fueled by a growing network of young and educated Chinese who are joining or starting organic farms in an effort to control what goes into their bodies in the wake of tainted food scandals.” (Ang 2012: 215) The amount of organic farms in China increased during the 2005-2006 time frame. During this year the amount of organic farmland went from 740,000 acres to approximately 8.6 million acres.

“Raw Pork Meat in Bloody Butchery of Corpses” by epsos.de licensed under CC BY 2.0

China has come a long way in the farming realm. It has established more regulations to better the quality and safety of food production. The true problem lies with making sure that those standards are carried through across the board. Overall, China’s organic farming system is thriving and continues to improve as well as appeal to a broader group of people.

Bibliography

Audra Ang, To the People, Food Is Heaven: Stories of Food and Life in a Changing China (Guilford: Lyons, 2012), 215.

Pollution in China: Global Impact of China’s Air Pollution

byetman / April 7, 2014May 6, 2015 / Environment, Pollution

By Ben Yetman and Plicca Watt

Attracted by cheap labor and lax regulations, many companies from all over the world have outsourced the production of their products to massive Chinese factories. The benefits of inexpensive production costs do come with a steep price, however. According to a CBS News article citing the World Bank in 2007, 16 of the top 20 most polluted cities in the world were in China (Lagorio 2007).

Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest, “Air Pollution”, accessed 9 Apr 2014, http://quest.eb.com/images/132_1235077

More recently, in January of 2014, an article in the New York Times illustrated how widespread pollution in China directly impacts the rest of the world. Based on a study led by nine scholars, published in the prominent scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study found that strong global winds called westerlies act as catalysts to intercontinental pollution. The westerly transport black carbon and other pollutants across the Pacific and deposit this toxic matter into Californian valleys and other areas of the Western US. Black carbon poses an especially high risk as it remains in the air even after rainfall. Cities such as Los Angeles suffer at least one extra day a year in which smog levels exceed federal ozone limits as a direct result of Chinese factory pollution (Wong 2014). Although the impact of Chinese pollution on American cities is small compared with America’s domestic pollution, when paired together it compounds the toxicity of the air we breathe each day. American cities are not alone in this, as many European and Asian countries are also impacted by the massive amounts of toxic air pumped out in China on a daily basis.

Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest, “Smog Shrouds Beijing”, accessed 9 Apr 2014, http://quest.eb.com/images/115_2700082

Works Cited

Lagorio, Christine. “The Most Polluted Places On Earth.” CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 06 June 2007. Web. 05 Apr. 2014.

Wong, Edward. “China Exports Pollution to U.S., Study Finds.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Jan. 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2014.

Chinese Organic Farming: Difficulties Encountered by Organic Farmers

nshaw2 / April 6, 2014May 6, 2015 / Environment, Food

By Nick Shaw, Katherine Crosby, and Ashley Cookey-Gam

Organic Chinese farmers face many difficulties with water and soil quality. “Modern agriculture consumes large quantities of chemicals… leading to damage to agricultural ecosystem, low sustainable production capability, poor product quality, and pollution and damage to the environment.”(Yi 2001:450) [Link: Food Safety] The main complication with organic farming is that it requires clean and sustainable soil, but with the modern agricultural system much of China’s soil and water supply is polluted by pesticides and fertilizers. According to “China: Food for a Billion Plus,” much of China’s pollution comes from the rapidly growing manufacturing industry.

“Of Trash and Skyscrapers” by ngader is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Quality of soil is taken very seriously when it comes to organic farming. Organic farming is defined as healthy, uncontaminated food, free of pesticides and chemicals. [Link: Chinese Organic Farming Introduction] However, with much of China’s water and soil being polluted from the manufacturing industry, it is very hard for organic farmers to find land. Thus, it is also difficult for the organic industry in China to be acknowledged by other countries.(Yi 2001:450)

Although the government is helping the organic industry, there is still a struggle with the small organic farmers. The government owns the land in China, so the government loans the land out to farmers, and they can grow whatever on the land. The one key problem is that the land is not cheap because there is not very much land that could be cultivated in China. If the farmer cannot afford to pay the rent, the farm eventually goes bust. China’s organic industry is still small-scale production. (China: Food for a Billion Plus 2002) Needless to say, China is working very hard to make improvements.

Bibliography

“China: Food for a Billion Plus,” Films on Demand, 25:00, by Films Media Group, 2002, http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=9151&xtid=35174.

Qian Yi, Xu Hui, Peng Bu-zhuo, and Jiang Xiliu, “Development Strategy for Organic Food Industry in China,” Ambio 30, no. 7 (Nov., 2001): 450-451.

Chinese Organic Farming: Introduction

kcrosby2 / April 4, 2014May 6, 2015 / Environment, Food

By Katherine Crosby, Nick Shaw, and Ashley Cookey-Gam

China has practiced traditional agriculture for centuries, feeding over twenty-two percent of the world’s population with only seven percent of the world’s arable land. However, China’s traditional agriculture is unsustainable.

These are Chinese Tea Workers on a traditional tea farm in China.

“Scenes of China” by Cory M. Grenier is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

No changes were made to this image.

The Chinese have overused chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides with a negative impact on the environment, including contamination of water and erosion of soil. “…[T]he government reported 43 percent of state-monitored rivers are so polluted, they’re unsuitable for human contact.” (Wan 2010)

In the early 1980’s, the Chinese government began promoting Chinese Ecological Agriculture, which emphasized crop rotations, organic fertilizers, and limited use of pesticides and herbicides. China’s Ministry of Agriculture began certifying “green food” as “A” or “AA” for domestic consumption. In 1994, the China Organic Food Development Centre began certifying organic food. The first exported organic food was green tea. (Sanders 2006: 215-216)

Here are some people growing organic plants by a body of water in Shanghai.

“Shanghai Organics” by kafka4prez is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

No changes were made to this image.

Today, organic farming is a trend, popular with young urban professionals who are reversing the massive urban migration and returning to the countryside to become organic farmers, despite facing difficulties. [Link: Difficulties of Organic Farming] Chen Shuaijun, a young banker, and his wife have rented eight acres on Chongming Island. Chen’s neighbors ridiculed him, and his parents, who had labored as farmers, were angry. Not using pesticides or fertilizers has meant that he has had to catch insects by hand, endure endless hours of weeding, and haul foul-smelling organic fertilizers. His neighbor, Han Guojie, gave up a high-paying job as a water quality engineer to become an organic farmer because he believes the traditional farmers have destroyed the land. (Wan 2010) In Sichuan province, Luo Yu, a former stockbroker who earned several thousand U.S. dollars per month, owns an organic farm. He hangs plastic water bottles filled with sugar water to catch insects. His parents told him he was going back to ancient times, but he is committed to improving the ecosystem and growing safe food. (Luo 2008) [Link: Food Safety]

Over fifty different products are grown organically in China today. These include “potatoes, rice, maize, wheat, tea, beans, herbal medicines, vegetables, sesame, honey, eggs, and peanuts.” (Sanders 2006:216)

This is an organic spiky cucumber grown on an organic farm outside Beijing.

“Chinese Farming” by IvanWalsh.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Domestic sales have increased as organic food has become popular with the young affluent urban professionals, although the majority of the Chinese cannot afford it. Organic exports have also increased and totaled $350 million in 2005. China has 5.7 million acres of certified organic farmland, ranking only behind Australia and Argentina. (Liu 2007)

Bibilography in Footnote Format

Juliana Liu, “Organic Farming Grips China,” BBC news release, October 4, 2007, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7012056.stm.

Yu Luo, interview by Melissa Block, National Public Radio, broadcast audio, April 4, 2008, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90448284.

Richard Sanders, “A Market Road to Sustainable Agriculture? Ecological Agriculture, Green Food and Organic Agriculture in China,” In China’s Limits to Growth: Greening State and Society, ed. Peter Ho and Eduard B. Vermeer (Maiden: Blackwell, 2006), 215–216.

William Wan, “Young Chinese Farmers Sowing Seeds for Organic Revolution,” The Washington Post, November 1, 2010, accessed March 29, 2014, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/01/AR2010110106322_pf.html.