[Guangming Review]
Author: Wei Yonglian (Special Researcher of Beijing Xi Jinping Research Center for Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in a New Era)
Food, rice, oil and salt, one vegetable and one rice, are both family affairs and the biggest of the country. Recently, the research team of the Yangtze Delta Smart Oasis Innovation Center of Zhejiang University successfully realized cell culture of salmon, which has attracted wide attention, and is expected to provide new ideas for cultivating and obtaining high-quality protein. Scientific and technological innovation has enriched the types of food on people's tables. "Cell meat", "alternative protein" and "future food", which were rarely seen before, have frequently appeared in news reports, academic reports, science and technology forums and other occasions. People can create new food types while producing food. A new food revolution is on the way.
From the Central Rural Work Conference in 2015, which proposed "to establish the concept of big agriculture and big food", to the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which proposed "to establish the concept of big food, develop facility agriculture, and build a diversified food supply system", Then in 2024, the No.1 Document of the Central Committee put forward the idea of "establishing a big agricultural concept and a big food concept, expanding food sources through multiple channels, and exploring the construction of a big food monitoring and statistical system." The "big food concept" not only meets the expectations of people to enjoy a better life, but also points out the direction for the high-quality development of food technology and industry.
From grain to food, the development and changes over the years reflect the new climate of China's economic take-off and abundant resources. With the improvement of living standards, people's demand for food has changed from "full" to "good" to "healthy and rich". However, from the perspective of resource endowment, China has only 9% of the world's arable land and 6% of the world's fresh water, but it has fed nearly 20% of the population. Where should we go to tap the potential again? To practice the concept of big food, we need to find a way out from scientific and technological innovation. Through scientific and technological innovation, we can improve efficiency, expand sources, and transform ways. We need food from forests, from rivers, lakes, and seas, and from multi-dimensional space.
Let the policy and technology system escort the technological "wonder". What is the supply capacity of China's large food resources? While strengthening the research on the national food security strategy, we should fully assess and tap the supply capacity of large food resources, explore the construction of a large food monitoring and statistical system, strengthen the collection and research of food consumption data of Chinese residents, expand the development of nutrition standards from the traditional range of agricultural products to the range of large food, and accelerate the construction of a quality standard system compatible with the concept of large food, To lead agricultural food production with standardization and digitalization. In recent years, it has become a common form for colleges and universities, scientific research institutions and enterprises to establish industrial technology alliances and consortia. In the process of implementing the concept of "big food", we should also encourage this form, promote the integration of scientific and technological research and development, production and manufacturing, and promotion and application, and increase biosynthesis The research and development of new technologies such as artificial synthesis and the promotion and application of biological breeding will strengthen the innovation of food variety production methods, expand the research of biological industry, and promote the deep integration of technology and industry.
Use science and technology to shape the production pattern of the big food concept of resource adaptation. The source of big food has expanded from cultivated land resources to the whole land resources. We should follow the principle of "grain is grain, economy is economy, herding is animal husbandry, fishing is fishing, and forestry is forest", increase the research on forests, rivers, lakes, and seas, and ensure that green rivers and mountains are transformed into golden mountains and silver mountains through the traction and support of science and technology, so as to develop food resources in an all-round way and better meet the people's needs for a better life. Fujian has developed a "forest granary" close to the mountain and built a "blue granary" near the water. The food supply is more abundant and diversified, which fully demonstrates the practical strength of the big food concept. Accelerate the research and development of key practical technologies such as edible protein and feed substitute products by using biotechnology, expand the source of new food and feed, and demand heat and protein from plants, animals and microorganisms. Data shows that as one of the most important nutrients for human beings, food protein is expected to reach 265 million tons in 2050, and traditional protein will not be able to meet the needs of human life in the future. We not only need to improve the utilization rate of food protein resources through technically precise allocation, but also aim at the development direction of cell cultured meat, functional recombinant protein, etc., and make up our minds to seize the commanding heights of international research, so as to realize the transformation from following to leading.
Advocate the formation of a big food concept. To implement the concept of big food, the government, scientific research institutions, social groups, schools, enterprises and other parties need to work together to adhere to local conditions, adhere to market orientation, strengthen policy formulation, capital investment, technology research and development, achievement transformation and other work, and also pay special attention to the education of the concept of big food for young people to cultivate their healthy lifestyle. The just concluded sixth Beijing primary and secondary school students' food and education practice activity, jointly carried out by science and technology museums, scientific research institutions, social organizations, schools and other parties, has attracted more than 6000 primary and secondary students to actively participate. It has a variety of projects, including nutritional diet production, recipe design, campus food safety experiment challenge, etc. The students show their entries on the spot, and communicate with scientists face to face, Through a variety of ways, it has improved the students' concept of healthy diet and effectively promoted the concept of big food to be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Solid granaries make the world safe. Science and technology enable the big food concept, which opens up a new way to obtain food, making food categories more abundant, structure more optimized, and quality more guaranteed, so that people can eat fully, eat well, eat healthily, and eat abundantly, further meeting the people's desire for a better life, and steadily holding up the happiness on the tip of people's tongue.
