China Eats A Quarter of World’s Meat
China now eats twice as much meat as the U.S. and must rein in its appetite or face a food crisis, one of the country’s leading farm experts has warned.
“It is not possible to feed everyone so much meat,” said Wen Tiejun, the dean of Renmin university’s agriculture school and a leading advocate of rural reform. “People must simply eat less.”
In the past 30 years, Chinese demand for meat has quadrupled, according to figures from the U.S. agriculture department. The country now eats a quarter of the world supply, 71 million tons a year.
Chinese farmers are unable to keep pace with demand, and imports of meat, breeding stock and animal feed have risen dramatically. Food scares have resulted from farmers attempting to bulk up their produce.
The average Chinese person still only eats half the meat eaten by his American counterpart.
– The Province