Surf and Turf: Environmental and Social Impacts of China’s Growing Seafood and Pork Consumption
March 25, 2014 // 9:00am — 11:00am
Event Speakers
Increasingly prosperous consumers in China are consuming fewer food grains and demanding more dairy, fruits, vegetables, meat, and seafood. These protein-rich diets have brought many important health benefits to China’s population. However, the ecological footprint of China’s growing seafood and pork consumption is posing unique environmental and social challenges both domestically and globally. Speakers will discuss the major ecological and supply chain trends in the China’s seafood and pork industries.
Pigs and people forged close links in traditional Chinese agrarian society—aptly the Chinese character for family/house depicts a roof with a pig under it. These close links still exist in China. To meet the nation’s growing appetite pork, China has shifted meat production from smallholder farms to large factory farms, some of which are located in the heart of cities. While these factory farms have helped China put meat on the dining table, they are also breeding grounds for disease, raising alarms about food safety and water quality. Fred Gale (USDA) will discuss the trends in pork production and how the Chinese government and industry leaders view the role for pigs in 21st-century China’s society, economy, and ecology.
China’s appetite for seafood has penetrated deep into what were once remote frontiers of the Asia-Pacific region. How this region and the world adapt to increased market demand and consumption within China will be a major social and environmental issue in the years to come. Michael Fabinyi (Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies) will discuss the trends and drivers of Chinese seafood consumption, highlighting several specific supply chain relationships between China and source countries in the region.
Pigs and people forged close links in traditional Chinese agrarian society—aptly the Chinese character for family/house depicts a roof with a pig under it. These close links still exist in China. To meet the nation’s growing appetite pork, China has shifted meat production from smallholder farms to large factory farms, some of which are located in the heart of cities. While these factory farms have helped China put meat on the dining table, they are also breeding grounds for disease, raising alarms about food safety and water quality. Fred Gale (USDA) will discuss the trends in pork production and how the Chinese government and industry leaders view the role for pigs in 21st-century China’s society, economy, and ecology.
China’s appetite for seafood has penetrated deep into what were once remote frontiers of the Asia-Pacific region. How this region and the world adapt to increased market demand and consumption within China will be a major social and environmental issue in the years to come. Michael Fabinyi (Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies) will discuss the trends and drivers of Chinese seafood consumption, highlighting several specific supply chain relationships between China and source countries in the region.
Location:
5th Floor, Woodrow Wilson Center
Event Speakers List:
- Fred Gale //Senior Economist at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service
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Research Fellow, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
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