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author: gao mingyong, researcher at zhengbang think tank

premier li qiang presided over an executive meeting of the state council on august 30 to deploy and implement relevant work on the big food concept. the meeting pointed out that establishing a big agriculture and big food concept and building a diversified food supply system are important measures to ensure national food security and build a strong agricultural country.

among all things, food is the most important thing for people. three meals a day, firewood, rice, oil and salt are the necessities. statistics show that the country's 1.4 billion people consume 700,000 tons of grain, 98,000 tons of oil, 1.92 million tons of vegetables and 230,000 tons of meat every day. the problem of "eating" has always been a top priority for the people.

in the past decade, the concept of big agriculture and big food has also been one of the important terms in the central government's agricultural policies, and has received more and more attention. in 2015, the central rural work conference proposed "establishing the concept of big agriculture and big food, promoting the coordinated development of grain, economy and feed, the combination of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, the integration of planting, breeding and processing, and the integrated development of the first, second and third industries". this was the first time that the concept of big food was formally proposed at the central level. in 2016, the central government's "no. 1 document" wrote for the first time "establishing the concept of big food", "facing the entire land resources, developing food resources in an all-round and multi-channel manner, and meeting the increasingly diversified food consumption needs".

the report of the 20th cpc national congress attached great importance to it from a higher level, "establishing a big food concept, developing facility agriculture, and building a diversified food supply system". the central government's "no. 1 document" in 2023 proposed: "establish a big food concept, accelerate the construction of a diversified food supply system that integrates grain, economy and feed, combines agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, and promotes plants, animals and microorganisms, and formulates implementation plans in different fields." the central government's "no. 1 document" in 2024 proposed: "establish a big agricultural concept and a big food concept, expand food sources through multiple channels, and explore the construction of a big food monitoring and statistical system."

from the perspective of the evolution of policy statements, the concept of big agriculture and big food means thinking about agricultural and food/grain issues from a more macro, more comprehensive, more diverse, and more innovative strategic level. on the one hand, both the concept of big agriculture and the concept of big food require the thinking and integration of the security of the entire industrial chain. on the other hand, the two are not isolated from each other, and they present a progressive support trend in terms of logical relationship. in fact, this puts forward higher standards for practical work. from the surveys conducted in some regions or departments, one of the main problems for the emergence of some related phenomena and problems is the lack of smooth and timely coordination and collaboration between different regions, different systems, and different departments.

interpreted from the perspective of people's livelihood, the concept of big agriculture and big food will also face the question of how to accurately understand "where is big". first of all, "big" is reflected in the trend change. as of 2023, china's grain production has achieved "twenty consecutive bumper harvests". from the perspective of the chinese people's dining table, the trend of staple food not being "main" and non-staple food not being "non-staple" has been highlighted. at the social supply level, the transformation from "what you have to eat" to "what you have to eat", and from "eating enough" to "eating well" has basically been achieved. secondly, "big" is reflected in the room for improvement. the "china food and nutrition development report 2023" shows that in 2022, the per capita daily energy supply of chinese residents was 4871 kcal, an increase of 3.9% in the past five years. compared with other countries, my country's per capita energy supply is still lower than that of most developed countries in europe and the united states. thirdly, "big" is reflected in social expectations. the irrational dietary structure is one of the important reasons for the high incidence of various chronic diseases. the overweight and obesity rate in my country exceeds 50% for adults, more than 17% for children and adolescents, the prevalence of diabetes is 11.9%, and the number of people with cardiovascular diseases is 330 million. obviously, unreasonable "food view" is one of the factors that cause these problems.

in this case, people's real life will inevitably face more specific, more direct and more sensitive "big food checkpoints". for example, the "big health checkpoint", as emphasized by the state council executive meeting, is to "improve the level of food quality and safety". not long ago, the "coal-to-oil tanker mixed with edible oil" incident was a hot topic and attracted widespread attention. the joint investigation team composed of the state council food safety office and other departments made a public response after a detailed investigation and verification. the standard and technical department of the state administration for market regulation has launched a public solicitation of opinions on the mandatory national standard project of "hygiene requirements for bulk transportation of edible vegetable oils".

regarding the "big economic hurdle", the conference proposed "we should develop according to local conditions, produce grain where it is suitable for grain, produce economy where it is suitable for economy, produce animal husbandry where it is suitable for animal husbandry, produce fishery where it is suitable for fishery, and produce forestry where it is suitable for forestry, so as to achieve the unity of ecological, economic and social benefits." this requirement is not small in real life. the fragility and long cycle of agriculture itself, coupled with the increased probability of extreme weather, the disproportionate cost-benefit of engaging in agricultural labor alone, the "hollowing out" of the rural population, and the "aging" of the agricultural labor force. the superposition of these factors will greatly affect the unity of the three major benefits.

there is also the "big governance barrier". in the field of public management, there is a well-known "frog story": there is a rare frog that lives in lakes, wetlands and surrounding farmlands and forests. in order to protect it, the law gives management responsibilities to the forestry and fishery departments. large lakes and reservoirs are also managed by the water conservancy department, while farmlands and forests involve the land department. as a result, frogs swimming in the water are under the jurisdiction of the fishery department, jumping on the shore are under the jurisdiction of the forestry or land department, and being caught is under the jurisdiction of the industrial and commercial department... similar governance issues are not uncommon. at the operational level, it is necessary to further explore the policy system, working mechanism, scientific and technological research and development, talent support, etc. that are consistent with, matched with, and adapted to the concepts of big agriculture and big food.

in short, passing the "big food test" will be more conducive to practicing the big agriculture and big food concepts.

executive producer: zou ming

producer: gao mingyong

review: zheng xinping