IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/agrhuv/v29y2012i4p481-492.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Potential and observed food flows in a Chinese city: a case study of Tianjin

Author

Listed:
  • Dingyang Zhou
  • Hirotaka Matsuda
  • Yuji Hara
  • Kazuhiko Takeuchi

Abstract

This study examines the food flow in Tianjin, divided into three areas (urban, suburban, and rural), as a case study to gain a better understanding of local and regional food flows and ecosystem performance. The study has the following objectives: (1) to evaluate the capacity for self-sufficiency within Tianjin’s administrative boundary by estimating a self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) using statistical data at both the city and local scales, (2) to estimate food flow at the city scale from field surveys of the local markets and statistics provided by the local government, and (3) to examine the real flows of the two primary types of arable crops (cereal grains and vegetables) at the local level by conducting semi-structured household interviews. The results of this study show that Tianjin has experienced a rapid increase of self-sufficiency capacity since the 1980s, and it appears to have the capacity to support the citizens within its borders. Rural areas have had a surplus in all of the studied food categories since the 1980s, and suburban areas have a history of high estimated SSR for vegetables, poultry, and fish. However, a low degree of locally sourced product flow was observed in this study. Most of the local cereal crops were consumed in the agricultural production areas, but 70 % of the vegetables produced in the rural areas flowed outside of Tianjin and did not support Tianjin local consumption. To reduce its vulnerability to food security issues and to promote a more environmentally desirable local food system, Tianjin needs to recognize the high productivity of its local ecosystem and reduce its dependence on other remote ecosystems for its food needs. A stronger relationship between urban and rural areas should also be established. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Suggested Citation

  • Dingyang Zhou & Hirotaka Matsuda & Yuji Hara & Kazuhiko Takeuchi, 2012. "Potential and observed food flows in a Chinese city: a case study of Tianjin," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(4), pages 481-492, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:29:y:2012:i:4:p:481-492
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-012-9374-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10460-012-9374-x
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10460-012-9374-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Turner, Karen & Lenzen, Manfred & Wiedmann, Thomas & Barrett, John, 2007. "Examining the global environmental impact of regional consumption activities -- Part 1: A technical note on combining input-output and ecological footprint analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 37-44, April.
    2. Chen, Jian & Yu, Zhenrong & Ouyang, Jinliang & van Mensvoort, M.E.F., 2006. "Factors affecting soil quality changes in the North China Plain: A case study of Quzhou County," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 91(3), pages 171-188, December.
    3. Hubacek, Klaus & Sun, Laixiang, 2001. "A scenario analysis of China's land use and land cover change: incorporating biophysical information into input-output modeling," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 367-397, December.
    4. Kemp, Katherine & Insch, Andrea & Holdsworth, David K. & Knight, John G., 2010. "Food miles: Do UK consumers actually care?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 504-513, December.
    5. Swinton, Scott M. & Lupi, Frank & Robertson, G. Philip & Hamilton, Stephen K., 2007. "Ecosystem services and agriculture: Cultivating agricultural ecosystems for diverse benefits," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 245-252, December.
    6. Ma, Hengyun & Rae, Allan N. & Huang, Jikun & Rozelle, Scott, 2004. "Chinese animal product consumption in the 1990s," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 48(4), pages 1-22.
    7. Gerbens-Leenes, P. W. & Moll, H. C. & Schoot Uiterkamp, A. J. M., 2003. "Design and development of a measuring method for environmental sustainability in food production systems," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 231-248, September.
    8. Princen, Thomas, 1997. "The shading and distancing of commerce: When internalization is not enough," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 235-253, March.
    9. Isabelle Vagneron, 2007. "Economic appraisal of profitability and sustainability of peri-urban agriculture in Bangkok [Evaluation economique de la profitabilité et de la durabilité de l'agriculture péri-urbaine à Bangkok]," Post-Print hal-02666459, HAL.
    10. Arrow, Kenneth & Bolin, Bert & Costanza, Robert & Dasgupta, Partha & Folke, Carl & Holling, C.S. & Jansson, Bengt-Owe & Levin, Simon & Mäler, Karl-Göran & Perrings, Charles & Pimentel, David, 1996. "Economic growth, carrying capacity, and the environment," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 104-110, February.
    11. Ellen Desjardins & Rod MacRae & Theresa Schumilas, 2010. "Linking future population food requirements for health with local production in Waterloo Region, Canada," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 27(2), pages 129-140, June.
    12. Vagneron, Isabelle, 2007. "Economic appraisal of profitability and sustainability of peri-urban agriculture in Bangkok," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2-3), pages 516-529, March.
    13. Costanza, Robert, 1995. "Economic growth, carrying capacity, and the environment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 89-90, November.
    14. Sundkvist, Asa & Jansson, AnnMari & Larsson, Pia, 2001. "Strengths and limitations of localizing food production as a sustainability-building strategy -- an analysis of bread production on the island of Gotland, Sweden," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 217-227, May.
    15. Wolf, J. & Bindraban, P. S. & Luijten, J. C. & Vleeshouwers, L. M., 2003. "Exploratory study on the land area required for global food supply and the potential global production of bioenergy," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 841-861, June.
    16. John R. Porter & Lisa Deutsch & David Dumaresq & Rob Dyball, 2011. "How will growing cities eat?," Nature, Nature, vol. 469(7328), pages 34-34, January.
    17. Huang, Jikun & Liu, Yu & Martin, Will & Rozelle, Scott, 2009. "Changes in trade and domestic distortions affecting China's agriculture," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 407-416, October.
    18. Amy Guptill & Jennifer Wilkins, 2002. "Buying into the food system: Trends in food retailing in the US and implications for local foods," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 19(1), pages 39-51, March.
    19. Sundkvist, Asa & Milestad, Rebecka & Jansson, AnnMari, 2005. "On the importance of tightening feedback loops for sustainable development of food systems," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 224-239, April.
    20. Risku-Norja, Helmi & Maenpaa, Ilmo, 2007. "MFA model to assess economic and environmental consequences of food production and consumption," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(4), pages 700-711, February.
    21. Coley, David & Howard, Mark & Winter, Michael, 2009. "Local food, food miles and carbon emissions: A comparison of farm shop and mass distribution approaches," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 150-155, April.
    22. Wiedmann, Thomas & Lenzen, Manfred & Turner, Karen & Barrett, John, 2007. "Examining the global environmental impact of regional consumption activities -- Part 2: Review of input-output models for the assessment of environmental impacts embodied in trade," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 15-26, February.
    23. Fan, Shenggen & Zhang, Xiaobo, 2002. "Production and Productivity Growth in Chinese Agriculture: New National and Regional Measures," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 50(4), pages 819-838, July.
    24. Laura DeLind, 2011. "Are local food and the local food movement taking us where we want to go? Or are we hitching our wagons to the wrong stars?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 28(2), pages 273-283, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xiaoxing Qi & Laiyuan Zhong & Liming Liu, 2015. "A framework for a regional integrated food security early warning system: a case study of the Dongting Lake area in China," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(2), pages 315-329, June.
    2. Enthoven, Laura & Van den Broeck, Goedele, 2023. "How to boost the local trade of participatory guarantee system (PGS)-certified produce? A value chain perspective in Huánuco, Peru," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    3. Rattan Lal, 2014. "Climate Strategic Soil Management," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-32, February.
    4. Tedesco, Camille & Petit, Caroline & Billen, Gilles & Garnier, Josette & Personne, Erwan, 2017. "Potential for recoupling production and consumption in peri-urban territories: The case-study of the Saclay plateau near Paris, France," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 35-45.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kissinger, Meidad, 2012. "International trade related food miles – The case of Canada," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 171-178.
    2. Moon, Wanki, 2011. "Is agriculture compatible with free trade?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 13-24.
    3. Iñaki Arto & Jordi Roca & Mònica Serrano, 2012. "Emisiones territoriales y fuga de emisiones. Análisis del caso español," Revista Iberoamericana de Economía Ecológica, Red Iberoamericana de Economía Ecológica, vol. 18, pages 73-87, Abril.
    4. Roca, Jordi, 2003. "Do individual preferences explain the Environmental Kuznets curve?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 3-10, April.
    5. Arto, Iñaki & Roca, Jordi & Serrano, Mònica, 2014. "Measuring emissions avoided by international trade: Accounting for price differences," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 93-100.
    6. Princen, Thomas, 1999. "Consumption and environment: some conceptual issues," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 347-363, December.
    7. Organ, Kate & Koenig-Lewis, Nicole & Palmer, Adrian & Probert, Jane, 2015. "Festivals as agents for behaviour change: A study of food festival engagement and subsequent food choices," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 84-99.
    8. Steven Schnell, 2013. "Food miles, local eating, and community supported agriculture: putting local food in its place," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(4), pages 615-628, December.
    9. David Cleveland & Allison Carruth & Daniella Mazaroli, 2015. "Operationalizing local food: goals, actions, and indicators for alternative food systems," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(2), pages 281-297, June.
    10. Helen Scharber & Anita Dancs, 2016. "Do locavores have a dilemma? Economic discourse and the local food critique," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 33(1), pages 121-133, March.
    11. Opschoor, J. (Hans) B., 1995. "Ecospace and the fall and rise of throughput intensity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 137-140, November.
    12. Kaika, Dimitra & Zervas, Efthimios, 2013. "The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) theory. Part B: Critical issues," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1403-1411.
    13. G. Mythili & Shibashis Mukherjee, 2011. "Examining Environmental Kuznets Curve for river effluents in India," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 627-640, June.
    14. George Halkos & Iacovos Psarianos, 2016. "Exploring the effect of including the environment in the neoclassical growth model," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 18(3), pages 339-358, July.
    15. Carmen van der Merwe & Martin de Wit, 2021. "An In-Depth Investigation into the Relationship Between Municipal Solid Waste Generation and Economic Growth in the City of Cape Town," Working Papers 07/2021, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics, revised 2021.
    16. Thomas Bolognesi, 2015. "The water vulnerability of metro and megacities: An investigation of structural determinants," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 39(2), pages 123-133, May.
    17. Dan Yu & Dongyan Wang & Wenbo Li & Shuhan Liu & Yuanli Zhu & Wenjun Wu & Yongheng Zhou, 2018. "Decreased Landscape Ecological Security of Peri-Urban Cultivated Land Following Rapid Urbanization: An Impediment to Sustainable Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-16, February.
    18. Figge, Frank & Hahn, Tobias & Barkemeyer, Ralf, 2014. "The If, How and Where of assessing sustainable resource use," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 274-283.
    19. Rothman, Dale S., 1998. "Environmental Kuznets curves--real progress or passing the buck?: A case for consumption-based approaches," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 177-194, May.
    20. B. Venkatraja, 2021. "Does China exhibit any evidence of an Environmental Kuznets Curve? An ARDL bounds testing approach," Economic Thought journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 1, pages 88-110,111-.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:29:y:2012:i:4:p:481-492. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.