The implementation of the big food concept cannot be limited to a single, flat agricultural production process, but should expand the possible boundaries of modern agriculture and cultivate new agricultural productivity through enabling industries, resources, technology, etc.
In today's China, people have more and more tables. General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed during his recent inspection in Hunan that we should adhere to the concept of big agriculture and big food, actively develop characteristic agriculture and agricultural product processing industry, and improve the level of agricultural industrialization. In 2024, the first document of the central government proposed to establish the concept of "big agriculture" and "big food", and expand food sources through multiple channels. It can be said that the big food concept is related to the future of agriculture.
Behind the big food view is the big resource view, which represents integrity and innovation. In a country with more people and less land, we should take the initiative to protect people's happiness. With economic development, people's consumption of staple food will gradually decrease, and consumption of meat, fruit and fish will increase significantly. The concept of "big food" conforms to this trend, which is the boundary expansion and connotation deepening of the concept of food. Read the "classics of mountains and seas", sing the "forest and grass play", play the "fruit and vegetable card", and develop food resources in an all-round way, which can not only increase the total amount and variety, but also improve the quality and efficiency, so as to build a high-quality agricultural industrial system.
The big food concept and food security strategy complement each other and reflect the bottom line thinking. Chinese style modernization is a modernization with a huge population, and more than 1.4 billion people have to rely on their own jobs. Diversified food supply does not mean that food security can be relaxed. The change of dietary structure does not mean the decline of the status of staple food, but makes people pay more attention to food security. After all, animal food needs food to transform. Only when grains are basically self-sufficient and rations are absolutely safe can the effective supply of other agricultural products be regarded as icing on the cake. Therefore, precious farmland, especially permanent basic farmland, should be used for food production in priority.
The concept of big food and the concept of big agriculture come down in one continuous line, containing the concept of system. We should not only make good use of the limited arable land, but also be kind to the gifts of nature. We can neither miss items nor ignore one thing and lose another. While ensuring food security, we must ensure the stable and safe supply of other important agricultural products. China has more than 1.9 billion mu of arable land, and the area of forest land, grassland, rivers, lakes and seas is far larger than that of arable land. These food sources should be used well.
Of course, how a place implements the concept of big food depends on resource endowments, strategic needs, technical conditions and market factors. From this point of view, the implementation of the big food concept cannot be limited to a single, flat agricultural production process, but should expand the possible boundaries of modern agriculture and cultivate new agricultural productivity through enabling industries, resources, technology, etc.
Adhere to market orientation. To adapt to the changes in consumption as the starting point, promote the effective connection of production, processing, circulation and consumption. The industrial development has its own laws. There are many kinds of big food. We must aim at market demand, produce marketable products, improve quality, strengthen brand, and stabilize production advantages with market advantages. At the same time, both grain and non grain food are inseparable from the deep integration of primary, secondary and tertiary industries. We should not only deepen the production chain but also expand the processing chain, attach great importance to the initial processing and deep processing of agricultural products, and build and deeply develop the whole chain.
Adhere to local conditions. Although some places have limited arable land resources, they are rich in mountain, woodland and grassland resources. From the perspective of traditional agriculture, "eight mountains, one water and one farmland" is a disadvantage, but from the perspective of big food, it is an advantage. The key is to break through the inherent thinking, base on the resource endowment, and do not follow the same pattern. Of course, we should ask for food from mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes and grass. We should follow the laws of nature and develop them in a reasonable and orderly manner on the premise of protecting the ecological environment.
Adhere to scientific and technological support. At present, the development of diversified food resources is still not mature, which is manifested by insufficient investment in scientific research and development and more investment in the planting industry. However, both the improvement of traditional food supply capacity and the layout of future agricultural industries cannot be separated from scientific and technological support. To ask for food from facility agriculture, saline alkali land and deep sea, we must pass the breeding, agricultural and promotion customs. We should strengthen research on new technologies such as biosynthesis, with a view to promoting new industrial models through revolutionary technological breakthroughs.
The concept of "big food" is formed in practice, which shows a strong push for high-quality agricultural development and will provide strong support for new agricultural productivity in the future. (Author: Qiao Jinliang Source: Economic Daily)
