The Effects of Soil Contamination on Urban Food Production: A Study of China's Agricultural and Environmental Policies
Abstract
China’s economy has rapidly industrialized within the past decades, but at the expense of the agricultural sector and the environment. Rapid urban expansion and industrial pollution has resulted in a significant decline in arable land resulting in a lack of healthy food since much of China’s food sources are contaminated. The Chinese government is working to reduce emissions, control pollution, and enhance water conservation. These environmental initiatives aim to benefit the country’s food supply and ultimately citizen health. The 11th and 12th Five-Year Plans highlight the government’s efforts to combat soil contamination in order to improve human health. These strict food safety laws are evident in the 2009 Food Safety Law, 2015 Action Plan for Soil Pollution Prevention and Control, and the 2017 No. 1 Central Document. These initiatives hope to be cost effective policies that decrease the number of contaminants while increasing food security. This thesis incorporates graphs that outline the change in agricultural and arable land. They show that much of the land on which crops are grown is not arable, which is a serious problem. This thesis argues that the Chinese government is initiating agricultural policies to not only increase soil standards, but to also enhance urban food production safety. The thesis will analyze Chinese government documents and food related policies initiated within the past decade to assess methods attempting to increase the amount of arable land.
Subject Area
Asian Studies|Environmental Health|Agriculture|Public policy|Urban planning
Recommended Citation
McNatt, Susanna Lee, "The Effects of Soil Contamination on Urban Food Production: A Study of China's Agricultural and Environmental Policies" (2018). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI10809742.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI10809742
