Following up on a previous blog (2 1/2 years ago!)
The amount of arable land in China is marginal with respect to feeding its population, and that land is shrinking. Here is a good update (which ends by recommending that we all invest in farmland, as its price is sure to rise):
http://technorati.com/business/finance/article/arable-land-shortage-and-the-case/
A brief summary: Chinese arable land has probably decreased below the 120 million hectares thought necessary for agricultural self-sufficiency; that's about .08 hectares per person; China is probably a net food importer, and will surely become one in a couple of years; China is attempting to compensate by buying land overseas, particularly in Africa.
In his book "Endless Appetites," Alan Bjerga points out one of the problems of foreign ownership of farmland: how local people will react if they experience a food shortage while food is being exported. But here's another issue: at least some of the "available uncultivated land" in Africa is RAIN FOREST. There is surely a link between tropical deforestation and the rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. So while China must surely pursue many avenues to feed its still-growing population, we must also keep track of how their overseas efforts could effect the global environment.
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