Westernised Diet In China Case Study

Discuss the view that the increasing move towards a more westernised diet in china has significant environmental implications.

China is one of the fastest growing economies and has been steadily expanding by 10% per year since the 1980s and this is contributing to environmental problems as two thirds of China’s cities have insufficient water and over half of the water in the seven largest river basins is undrinkable due to air pollution from fossil fuel production (Fawssett, Morris and Warren, 2009, p15). The increase in the economy is playing a major role in the move from a traditional diet to a more westernised diet due to the amount of people migrating from the country to the city in order to find employment within construction, manufacturing
Much land has been cleared to allow the growing of maize and soya which is required to feed the cattle and due to the amount of feed required China was the world’s largest importer of soya beans in 2008 (Fawssett, Morris and Warren, 2009, p104). However the large scale operation of intensive farming also means that large areas of land are cleared which not only affects the ecosystems and biodiversity of natural habitats but also forces farming communities to seek alternative land or employment. A major environmental impact of intense farming of ruminant livestock is the increasing amount of methane released into the atmosphere through belching and through their manure. It is believed that around 80 million tonnes per annum of methane is emitted this way (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2009) and should the meat consumption continue to grow this will have a serious impact on the environment by additional land clearing for farming but also the release of greenhouse gases which will contribute to an increase in global
The traditional Chinese diet mainly consisted of grains, seeds, plant roots, vegetables and incorporated very little meat, fish or dairy products. Oxen and Buffalo was kept by many farmers but purely to work the land and even though these animals could be milked, dairy products were almost none existent due to Chinese inability to absorb lactose (Fawssett, Morris and Warren, 2009, p80). However this has now changing and the government are actively encouraging the Chinese population to consume more beef products, fresh milk and dairy products as means of improving the national health and in particularly targeting the young through School Milk Programs (Fawssett, Morris and Warren, 2009, p102). The increased migration and the change from the traditional Chinese diet to a more westernised diet has had a positive effect increasing life expectancy from 68 to 73 years and reducing the under five mortality from 45 to 22 by comparing data from 1990 and 2007 (Table 1.1, Fawssett, Morris and Warren, 2009, p21), however there also appears to be a negative effect as the consumption of a more westernised diet has also seen the increase in child obesity in the cities due to the high fat and sugar contents and people leading a more relaxed lifestyle