China's agriculture goes global

Beijing

CHINA is the world's second-largest economy but, ironically, food security is emerging as one of the main concerns for the country's communist leaders. During a visit to an Argentinian farm in July, Chinese President Xi Jinping said: "If China is going to grow, it must solve its grain problem for its 1.3 billion population first." Measures taken by China to address the problem - going to the world - may not be a panacea.

As China grows wealthier, food consumption and diet have undergone a dramatic transformation. Between 1985 and 2005, meat consumption in China quadrupled, reaching 59.5 kilograms per person a year, according to the United Nati…