Economic Half an Hour today focuses on a small food that has caused a lot of trouble: betel nut. Su Dongpo once wrote a poem, "The red tide on both cheeks makes you charming, but who knows you are drunk betel nut". Betel nut has been planted for more than 1500 years in China, and chewing betel nut is very popular in Taiwan, Hainan, Hunan and other places, However, recent reports about the cancer of betel nut have put the industry on the cusp of the storm. It is now the harvest season of betel nut green fruit, and hundreds of thousands of farmers in Hainan are crying.
1、 Betel nut is deeply trapped in the cancer vortex, resulting in a huge loss of 2.3 million unsalable betel nut farmers in Hainan
Wanning, Hainan, is home to betel nuts. These betel nuts are all the income sources of local villagers. Before 7 o'clock in the morning, Huang Hongquan and his two brothers took the whole family to the mountain to pick betel nuts. Huang Hongquan's family has 8 mu of betel nut forest. 30% of the betel nuts are ripe. If they are not picked, they will not sell when they are old. In a hurry, Huang Hongquan simply called his son who went to primary school to the mountain.
Economic Half Hour reporter: What can I do for my parents?
Huang Hongning, the son of a villager in Dazhou Gupo Village, Changfeng Town, Wanning, Hainan, moves betel nuts.
Huang Hongquan, a villager in Dazhou Gupo Village, Changfeng Town, Wanning, Hainan Province, said, "What can we do if we rely on this income and don't make money without picking it? Do we leave it on the mountain?"? No way out. Prices are too low now. Cutting it down and replanting it will not do.
In previous years, this time was the happiest time for Huang Hongquan's family. However, this year, there was no half joy on their faces. About 80% of Huang Hongquan's family's income comes from betel nuts. At this time last year, the price of fresh betel nuts was about 6 yuan per kilogram. Apart from the cost, the family's income from selling betel nuts alone was more than 40000 yuan. However, the price of betel nuts fell sharply this year, to 1.4 yuan per kilogram at the lowest point, a drop of 80% compared with the same period last year. Although the price of fresh betel nut has rebounded to the highest 1.8 yuan in the past two days, Huang Hongquan still has no money to earn.
Huang Hongning: It's a waste of effort. Now we have to mow the lawn and collect the fees. If we need to hire workers, we should pay at least 100 yuan a day.
The price is low. Huang Hongquan counts left and right, and dare not ask others to pick them. Even if the whole family, including the youngest son, goes to war and picks betel nuts by himself, he can barely keep the capital. Compared with Huang Hongquan, Zheng Quanzhong in the neighboring village suffered more losses. Last year, Zheng Quanzhong saw the price of betel nut go up all the way. He simply contracted 250 mu of betel nut forest with six farmers. In this way, the average cost of each betel nut tree is 20 yuan, and the cost of each kilogram of fresh fruit is more than 3 yuan. Now the average market price is only 1.7 yuan per kilogram.
Zheng Quanzhong, a villager from Houtian Village, Hongshi Village Committee, Damao Town, Wanning, Hainan: We should lose at least 500000 to 600000 yuan. The loss is too great. The farmers here still rely on betel nut as the main source of income. If the betel nut falls, no one will want the betel nut, and our contractors and farmers will suffer, a large number of people will fall.
Public data shows that 95% of China's betel nut is produced in Hainan. The planting area of betel nut is more than 1.2 million mu, which is an important source of income for more than 2 million betel nut farmers in Hainan. In Wanning, the hometown of betel nut, the average income of betel nut accounts for nearly half of the annual income of farmers. However, the sudden market change this year caused the price of betel nut to plummet, and farmers' income was less than one fifth of last year.
Li Dongyu, Deputy Secretary of Wanning Municipal Party Committee of the Communist Party of China in Hainan, said: "We went to the field to visit this betel nut farmer. They used the word" want to cry without tears "to describe their feelings at that time. We are also very worried about the reduction of the betel nut farmers' income.
Half an hour Economy: In Yuanshui Village, Damao Town, Wanning, the reporter came across a villager, Li Yabin, who was pulling the picked betel nuts and looking for buyers everywhere.
Li Yabin, a villager in Yuanshui Village, Damao Town, Wanning, Hainan: In another night, no one will ask for any money. Look at this thing. It's all beginning to rot at this time.
While talking to the reporter of Economic Half Hour, Li Yabin picked out the decaying betel nuts. He told the reporter of Economic Half Hour that betel nuts must be picked within 15 days after maturity, or they will be useless. But he picked more than 10000 jin of betel nuts the first morning and sold them. After two days of running, he went to more than 20 purchase points and did not sell out. Now we have already lost half of the money by removing the rotten ones. If we can sell them, the price will only be the lowest.
Li Yabin: This is going to be sold now. It's one yuan, two yuan, three yuan.
Economy Half Hour reporter: Is the price too low?
Li Yabin: Yes.
Economy Half Hour reporter: How much have you not sold now?
Li Yabin: There are still 10000 jin. Choose a better one and give it to others. They can give as much as they want. There is no way. At least 10000 yuan is missing
When Li Yabin was worried that the picked betel nuts could not be sold, Qiu Liang's brother was dumping the selected dried betel nuts.
Economic Half an Hour reporter: How much is this.
Qiu Liang, a villager in Yuanshui Village, Damao Town, Wanning, Hainan: 500 jin,
Economic Half an Hour: Then you can estimate how many trees have not been picked when they are ripe on the mountain.
Qiu Liang: Thousands of jin.
Economic Half Hour reporter: This will reduce the income.
Qiu Liang: Reduce 300000 yuan.
There are 15 people in Qiu Liang's three brothers' family, including 30 mu of betel nut forest. Seeing that mature betel nuts cannot be sold every day, the family can only pick some and go home for processing and storage. However, drying and processing areca nuts costs dozens of yuan every day. In addition, the family has a loan of 50000 yuan from the bank, and they have to pay more than 600 yuan of interest per month. Now, with the unsalable areca nuts, the family economy has become more difficult.
Qiu Liang: The fertilizer money has not been paid yet. Some children still owe their living expenses to go to school. They have no cash for the time being, so they have to pay their debts. Wait for the betel nut to return the money.
Economic Half Hour reporter: How much do you owe.
Qiu Liang: At least 100000 yuan.
The unsalable betel nut has also pushed Wanning betel nut industry bureau to the forefront of the storm. Wanning betel nut industry bureau is the only betel nut bureau in the country. Lin Juemin, the director of the bureau, has just taken office for more than eight months. He has encountered the problem of the price of betel nut plummeting and unsalable. Now his busiest thing is to help farmers sell betel nuts every day.
Lin Juemin: (Dried fruit) Eight yuan and six yuan are too low. In some cooperatives, it's 13 yuan.
Purchaser: If the price is 13 yuan, I will not lose money (business) for nothing.
Lin Juemin and other farmers need to solve the problem of reducing betel nut rot in the field as much as possible so that they can keep their profits. In addition to helping farmers sell betel nuts, they also mobilized local betel nut processing enterprises to purchase the betel nuts in farmers' hands for drying and storage. However, after half a month of such purchase, enterprises all felt great inventory pressure and capital pressure.
Chen Huilong, Chairman of Hainan Yali Agricultural Development Co., Ltd.: Now we have too much to sell, so we need to stock. But there is no capital turnover. Now I'm ready to build a factory and stock, which is even more difficult. Also, I don't know the price of the inventory. There is still a pressure.
Chen Huilong made a calculation. He tried his best to purchase only 30000 tons of fresh areca. With other enterprises in Wanning, he could only purchase 60000 tons of fresh areca. In 2012, the total output of areca in Wanning was 250000 tons. This year's output is expected to be higher than last year's, so the enterprises can't afford to purchase all of them.
Chen Huilong: Our industry really can't stand it. If we continue like this, the industry will be wiped out and there is no way to do it.
According to the survey conducted by the relevant departments of Wanning, the output of areca in Hainan Province will exceed 500000 tons this year, and the output value will reach 20 billion yuan according to the average price in previous years. However, in the face of the price and unsalable trend this year, the output value of betel nut is expected to be greatly reduced.
Li Dongyu, Deputy Secretary of Wanning Municipal Party Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Hainan, said that the green fruit of betel nut alone has reduced the income of 2.3 million betel nut farmers in Hainan by 3 billion yuan. We believe that it is irresponsible to demonize the betel nut industry, 2.3 million betel nut farmers and 300000 betel nut rough processing households in the province.
A series of changes around areca are not limited to production areas. The Yisuhe Industrial Zone in Xiangtan, Hunan Province, is the place where Chinese areca production enterprises are most concentrated. Generally speaking, it is the peak season for areca production and sales. However, the reporter visited several areca production enterprises, and did not see the busy production and transportation scene.
Zeng Haidong, General Manager of Hunan Flavor King Technology Development Co., Ltd.: In terms of sales, the overall sales should decline by more than 30%. Some even reached more than 50%.
Duan Junfeng, Hunan Pangge Food Co., Ltd.: The whole areca sales market has affected 60%. The sales market of the whole betel nut dropped by 60%.
Duan Junfeng told the reporter of Economic Half Hour that the sales of areca food in Hunan had declined since late July. There were more than 100 large and small areca processing enterprises in Xiangtan, Hunan, and more than 50 enterprises with an annual output value of more than 10 million yuan. So, compared with the same period last year, how much has the sales volume of betel nut products dropped?
Zhu Liming, President of Hunan Areca Food Industry Association: We have made a preliminary statistics, that is, in July and the middle of July, to the end of July, during this period, half a month, the production volume and sales volume are generally more than 30%. More than 60%. Especially the market outside the province. The market outside the province is greatly affected because it is a newly cultivated consumer group.
The slump in sales triggered a chain reaction, with enterprises purchasing significantly less betel nut raw materials.
Liu Yinglong, Deputy General Manager of Little Dragon King Food Co., Ltd.: The soldiers dare not move, dare not go to purchase, because there is no order, and the backlog after the purchase is too great.
During the interview, the reporter of Economic Half Hour learned that all the betel nut production enterprises in Hunan have been downsizing. The number of employees of the Little Dragon King Enterprise has gradually decreased from 6000 in the past to less than 2000 a month ago.
Zhu Liming, president of Hunan Areca Food Industry Association: 20000 or 30000 people have closed down. It's very nerve racking. Therefore, the enterprise also caused turmoil, which was because there were unstable factors at that time. We have done a lot of work in it. The enterprise is required to let these employees and workers stay at least for the minimum wage and living expenses.
2.3 million areca farmers reduced their income by 3 billion, which is only the loss of the planting industry. With the downstream, the loss will be a staggering number. Farmers and processing enterprises said that all the changes were due to the report that betel nut was carcinogenic in July. How could betel nut be associated with cancer?
2、 The theory of betel nut causing cancer is clouded by experts' interpretation
Areca nut has been used as food and medicine for more than 1000 years in China. According to the Compendium of Materia Medica, the seeds, peel and flowers of Areca nut can be used as medicine. Because chewing betel nut has the effects of strengthening stomach, keeping cold and refreshing, it is very popular in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South Pacific islands and surrounding areas.
Xu Qitai, Dean of the School of Pharmacy of Henan University and Distinguished Expert of Chinese Medicine Research of the National Pharmacopoeia Commission: Areca catechu has 68 ingredients, among which, there are mainly fen compounds, as well as flavonoids, including areca alkaloids. Areca alkaloids account for only 0.5% of the total. That is, only 6 of the 68 ingredients belong to arecoline. This arecoline is also the ingredient that we currently believe may cause cancer.
The reporter of Economic Half Hour repeatedly checked relevant reports in his investigation. It is this 0.5% arecoline that makes areca a "first-class carcinogen" and overturns the position of areca as China's top southern medicine for thousands of years. So, is arecoline the culprit of oral cancer?
Xu Qitai, Dean of the School of Pharmacy of Henan University and Distinguished Expert of Chinese Medicine Research of the National Pharmacopoeia Committee: If arecoline is carcinogenic, it should not only be oral cancer, because it has been absorbed, it should be gastrointestinal cancer, stomach cancer, bowel cancer, liver cancer, all possible. Therefore, we believe that it is not the ingredients of betel nut that cause cancer, but rather that it is not appropriate in the process of application, resulting in this insecurity.
Xu Qitai, who has studied the pharmacological components of areca for a long time, believes that the claim that 0.5% arecoline causes oral cancer is not rigorous. After many reports about areca and cancer appeared, the Hunan Center for Disease Control and Prevention also conducted experiments on the acute toxicology and genetic toxicology of Hainan areca nuts.
Yi Chuanzhu, deputy director of the Department of Toxicology of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Hunan Province: There is no way to cause obvious pathological and physiological changes in experimental animals.
Xu Qitai, a distinguished expert on traditional Chinese medicine research of the National Pharmacopoeia Commission: Why is it just oral cancer? We think that it is mainly related to the fiber of betel nut during chewing betel nut.
Xu Qitai's cellulose refers to the fact that the wooden shell of areca repeatedly stimulates the oral mucosa during chewing, resulting in damage to the oral mucosa and fibrous lesions. Arecoline, which contains very little in areca, may take the opportunity to enter and cause oral cancer. So, how high is the probability of canceration of oral fibrosis patients with arecoline, which contains very little betelnut?
Tang Jieqing, deputy director of the Stomatological Committee of Hunan Medical Association: Recently I had a very interesting treatment. You see, this is a project set up in 2004. Recently I made a return visit to 335 patients. None of these people turned to oral cancer.
Tang Jieqing told the reporter of Economic Half Hour that he has been engaged in the research on oral mucosal fibrosis for 30 years. From his research results, oral mucosal fibrosis is just a precancerous state, which is also related to personal physical differences. Areca nut and oral cancer cannot be directly equated. The reporter also conducted an investigation in Xiangtan, the main production and processing area of Areca nut.
Xiao Fuyuan, deputy director of Hunan Xiangtan CDC: 40000 cases (cancer patients) have been found in Xiangtan, the highest of which is lung cancer, which has more than 600 cases, and the second is liver cancer, which has more than 300 cases. There are only more than 40 cases of oral cancer. In terms of the rank of cancer deaths, it is behind the tenth.
This is how the Xiangtan CDC tracked the number of deaths from various cancers from 2008 to 2012. So, what about the data of the detection of oral cancer deaths in Hunan Province during the five years?
Liu Fuqiang, chief physician of the Department of Epidemic Prevention and Control of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Hunan Province: The test results show that the deaths caused by oral cancer in Hunan Province rank very low among all cancer deaths. After 10, this is a conclusion. The second conclusion is that there is no significant difference between the mortality of oral cancer in Hunan Province and that in China. This is basically the same.
So how did the World Health Organization come to the conclusion that betel nut is a class I carcinogen? Zhang Kuihua, the former director of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Peking University School of Stomatology, was invited to attend the Areca Seminar convened by the World Health Organization Cancer Institute in 2003 as the only expert in mainland China. At present, Zhang Kuihua is seriously ill, but he was interviewed when he heard that reporters had solved the problem of betel nut and oral cancer.
Zhang Kuihua, doctoral supervisor of Peking University School of Stomatology: It's just a deduction.
Economic Half Hour reporter: What is the final result?
Zhang Kuihua: It is not a big problem to chew betelnut, but if they chew betelnut with cigarettes, it is a carcinogen. The incidence of oral cancer in India is very high, which is that they chew betelnut with cigarettes, which is particularly dangerous.
Zhang Kuihua told the reporter of Economic Half Hour that he clearly remembered that the discussion at the meeting was very extensive, involving not only the mainland China. The high incidence of oral cancer in Taiwan and India is not a problem with areca. Cigarette and betel nut can produce NNN, NNK and NNB chemicals when chewed together, and these three substances are carcinogenic. A conclusion was reached at this meeting. As for carcinogenic nitrosamines produced during chewing, as long as they are not chewed together with cigarettes, they can be completely ignored. Although it can produce some of these nitrosamines, the amount of nitrosamines produced is very small, which is calculated in nanometres, so there is no problem.
Economic Half Hour reporter: When it comes to the high incidence rate, is there a case that betel nut causes cancer in China?
Zhang Kuihua: The case of betel nut carcinogenesis has not been found yet. We know from this epidemiological survey that in Xiangtan, because Xiangtan is the place where betel nut chewing is the most powerful, Xiangtan has done a epidemiological survey, which has investigated 14406 people and investigated so many. Only one case was found, which may not be related to the betel nut chewing.
During the interview, the reporter of Economic Half Hour learned that, in fact, there are more than 200 primary carcinogens announced by the World Health Organization.
Xu Qitai, a distinguished expert on traditional Chinese medicine research of the National Pharmacopoeia Commission: including the salted fish we often eat, barbecued food, including fried dough sticks, repeatedly boiled water, fried cabbage, which will be eaten after more than 24 hours, and cigarettes, as well as the wine we drink and white wine, which are all Class I carcinogens.
Zheng Genjian, vice president of the School of Stomatology, Hainan Medical College: It has a problem of quantity and a problem of degree. Like white wine, you may drink a small amount of it, which may play a role in promoting blood circulation and removing stasis, and is beneficial to cardiovascular health. But if you overdose, you may get alcoholic liver disease, even liver cancer, and other cancers of the digestive tract. I also think so about betel nuts. If you chew it excessively, excessively, or chronically for a long time, you will start to eat it as soon as you open your eyes and eat it until you go to sleep, it must be harmful to your mouth.
According to Professor Zhang Kuihua, betel nut is extremely dangerous when it is chewed together with cigarettes. That is to say, there are preconditions for betel nut to cause cancer. However, the interview is not over here. Why is the content of the meeting in 2003 now becoming a hot topic in the news, why is the discussion with strict preconditions distorted in communication, and how does the betel nut industry face the future?
3、 Areca industry is in crisis, and transformation and development are inevitable
The reporter of Economic Half Hour found in the investigation that the busiest thing for the areca enterprises in Hunan recently is to rush to change the packaging of their products, and specially mark such words on the packaging.
Chen Yi, CEO of Taste King Group: Since September 1, all packages must have nutrition labels
Lu Keqiang, Chief Engineer of Huangye Food Co., Ltd.: There is a warning on the package that excessive chewing of betel nuts may be harmful to health
Wang Yixiang, assistant general manager of Hunan Wuzizui Food Co., Ltd.: (changing the packaging) has played a certain role in promoting the development of our industry
After the areca cancer crisis, almost all the areca enterprises in Hunan were questioned: why didn't they remind consumers, like cigarettes, that chewing too much areca is harmful to their health, and some consumers even took the enterprises to court.
Zhu Liming, President of Hunan Areca Food Industry Association: After this public opinion, the Areca industry has actually attracted great attention. The betel nut enterprises in the betel nut industry all put warning words on their product packaging in a striking position, that is, excessive chewing of betel nuts is harmful to oral health, so that consumers can understand their own psychology and consume freely.
Zhu Liming told the reporter of Economic Half Hour that Hunan is introducing new areca production standards to regulate the production of areca food. From September 1, the areca processing enterprises in Hunan must put a warning that excessive chewing of areca is harmful to health on the prominent position of the packaging. However, in Hainan, the reporter found that some areas still use the traditional smoking and baking method, and the production and processing standards need to be improved. In Jiaji Town, Qionghai City, Hainan Province, there has been a lot of smoke recently, and there are lots of smoked and roasted areca nuts on the road.
Economy Half an Hour reporter: Are all your piles of wood used to bake betel nuts?
Betel nut processing point boss: Yes
Reporter: How much wood do you burn a year?
Owner of betel nut processing shop: three to four hundred thousand yuan, and cooking like mine is four hundred thousand yuan
The workers (baking betelnut) told the reporter of Economic Half Hour that they were processing green betelnut into black betelnut, waiting for the boss of Hunan to buy it.
The boss of areca processing points: All of them are from Hunan, which has a history of eating areca for hundreds of years.
The smoke from these processing points can even cover the road. The reporter of Economic Half Hour learned that there are about 1500 processing points in Qionghai, and each processing point has stoves ranging from dozens to hundreds. It is estimated that there are tens of thousands of processing stoves for smoking and baking areca in the city.
Economic Half Hour reporter: How many stoves can there be at one point?
The boss of betel nut processing shop: some people have dozens of stoves, some have more than 100 stoves, generally the largest one, and more than 200 stoves.
Hainan Province has also noticed the hidden dangers in this way. The reporter from Economic Half Hour in Wanning saw that the relevant departments were closing the soil stoves for baking betel nuts within a limited time and subsidizing farmers to rebuild steam stoves.
The boss of betel nut processing point: The government subsidized 10000 yuan for each furnace. For example, we subsidized 1.8 million yuan for 180 furnaces. The government subsidy is more than 1.8 million yuan.
In terms of Hainan Province, betel nut production areas will also be linked to implement the healthy development plan of the industry.
The boss of areca processing point: now the crude fiber of areca has changed to extract areca biotin directly from the fresh fruit of areca and inject relevant areca products. From the original single food of areca to the development of southern medicine, the function of areca as the head of southern medicine has been restored.
Half hour observation:
In fact, it is not the first time that the theory of betel nut carcinogenesis has appeared. Since the World Health Organization (WHO) seminar in 2003, the theory of betel nut carcinogenesis has fluctuated. Every time it appears, it will cause a lot of losses to the betel nut industry, and then gradually subside until the next round of debate begins. However, after ten years of ups and downs, there has been no voice from the authoritative department, even the enterprises have been damaged repeatedly, and experts have been fighting each other. In fact, to say the least, even if betel nut causes cancer, it is not terrible. The key is standards and management. By 2012, the output value of China's betel nut industry had exceeded 10 billion yuan, but there was no explanation or standard for the production and consumption of betel nut, which led to frequent disputes and hindered the development of betel nut industry. In India, where areca is popular, areca has been required to be labeled with a clear warning label, which is welcomed by Indian areca consumers. With the sound of regulation and the improvement of standards, the betel nut industry can get rid of doubts and find a controllable development path. At the same time, this is also the responsibility and obligation of the government and enterprises to consumers and growers.
