Introduction
Food security exists when people have unconditional access to adequate food with the necessary nutrients to sustain healthy life styles. According to FAO, food security is different from famine even though both states have some close relationship. Population refers to the number of people in a particular area at specific time. Population growth in turn explains the rate at which the occupants of a certain area increase over a specific period of time, like a year. This paper will explain the link between food security and the rate of population growth in China by exploring the extent to which food insecurity in China can be attributed to population growth.
Food security as a function of population growth can be evaluated from the vulnerability point of view. Vulnerability is the reduced or diminished ability of the rising populations to cope with or resist the effects of increased numbers. Several indices have been formulated to explain the vulnerability among populations such as the Chronic Vulnerability Index which assumes that vulnerability is a linear and additive phenomenon with discrete causes and effects. Vulnerability is major cause of food insecurity in China today: it is usually associated with rising populations on unmatched resource bases. This results to inevitable insufficiency of the resources because they cannot support the swelling populations. Vulnerability can also be described as the exposure to contingencies and stress and difficulty in coping with them. It complicates the impact of a hazard on a population and this increases the level of food insecurity among the people. (Jericho Burg, 2008). A rapid population growth also results to a direct mismatch between the resources against the population. For example China today holds an average of 20 % of the world’s population based on a 7 % and 6.6 % of the global arable land and fresh water sources respectively. Despite the fact that the country is devoted to heavy investment in artificial fertilizers to increase the productivity of the land, a potential risk of drought still exists and in the event of its occurrence, the consequences could not be avoidable on the Chinas population in terms of food security. The direct mismatch between the population and the resources available is the foundation of food insecurity. The measures taken to cushion the country against food insecurity prove the association of huge populations with food insecurity. The direct relationship between food insecurity and population growth is evident from the Chinese situation. (Hendrik J. Bruins & Fengxian Bu, 2006) Food is a basic need for the survival of all humankind and continuity of life. High population growth triggers a state of self-insufficiency in the country. The insufficiency results from the fact that the increasing populations exert excess pressure on the available resources which eventually translates into low food productions and food insecurity creeps in to the country as a result. Population outburst or any unmatched population growth in any country is deterrent to the achievement of food security.(Shutao Gao, 2010)
Direct relationship exists between the population growth, availability of water and food security. The population expansion has led to an increased human demand and use of water. There has been a recent fall of the water tables globally a phenomenon which has seen many rivers such as the Yellow River in China, dry up before getting to the sea. Increasing populations exert pressure on the existing water catchments by drawing water from them leading to most of them drying up or remaining with very little water to sustain food production hence food insecurity enrages in China. The effects of population influx has seen the reduction in the amount of water available for agriculture hence food insecurity in the country. (Popular Press Annotations November, 1, 1999.) The law of demand predicts that a rising demand on a constant supply pushes the prices of commodities high. As such, a population influx has resulted into high food prices. A population influx is a seed of a disaster which often yields high rate of food insecurity. High populations put extra pressure on agriculture. China has been a victim of high food prices in the recent past. The pressure is absorbed by a resultant fall in the amount of food available for the people. This state is already a food insecurity state caused by population growth. (Michael Schuman, July 14, 2011) There is a recent rise in food trade as well as populations in China today. Food trade is usually founded on numerous restrictions which make in difficult to conduct especially on a foreign ground. There is also a historical trend of falling levels of food production against the persistently rising populations as in the case of Brazil and Russia and China as well. In such a situation, food security is inevitable. (The economist, May 28, 2012)
The program, SNAP, (Science for Nature And People) is designed to see how protecting the nature, can help to ensure food, water, energy, and security for 9 billion people or more. Today, as the that as the world’s population pushes high above 7 billion, the correlation between nature, and the food, water, energy and security becomes increasingly clear, (Peter Kareiva). The rising populations have led to a strained resource base which deters food production to sustain the populations, thus food insecurity. (The SNAP website, September 24, 2013) The expected level global human population will be 10billion by 2100. This large population base necessitates the formulation and enactment of a core strategy to meet the goal of feeding this population by meeting future food production challenges and environmental challenges. To achieve that, the destructive human activities such as farming in tropical forests need to be stopped and protect the natural resources. The high human populations hamper all efforts geared towards sufficient food production and this lays a strong foundation for food insecurity. The collaboration of a high populations and other micro reasons and contributors such as natural disasters are responsible for the food insecurity today. (Darci Palmquist, 2011) A rising population leads to a direct rise if the demand for food which in turn puts a command to the use of additional water and arable land especially in the absence of adequate food production technology and integrated programs. The projection by the Food and Agriculture organization that the population and economic growths could lead to a doubling effect on the demand for food by 2050 further ascertains significant effect of population growth on food security. The overall food demand is usually affected by population growth. Food production relies solely on the croplands and water supply which are often strained by rising human populations. The pressure created by the population rise often leads to low food production hence food insecurity. (The SNAP website, September 24, 2013)
The dramatic effect of the environmental changes in the modern day and the global efforts to maintain a constant and reliable food security for the populations are inevitable. The rising populations and demographic changes alongside food price increases have been major contributors of food insecurity in China today. A rising population leads to an increased pressure on the existing resources of arable land and water. This automatically leads to a reduced level of food production in the country. The food security in China will thus face a challenge from the growing population. Population growth therefore couples with other several dynamic factors to cause the food insecurity in China today. (Bryan. L. McDonald, 2010)
Conclusion
The relationship between food security and population growth is an evident fact that can be verified beyond any doubt. The increased populations against unmatched expansion in the resource base have resulted in undue pressure on the existing resources in the country. The net effect of the pressure on resources is a strain on the same resources and this has resulted in reduced food productivity in China. Large populations also cause a cost push demand which has seen the food prices on the rise. The situation of China thus proves that there exists a direct relationship between food insecurity and population growth.
However, population growth is not the sole cause of food insecurity but it plays a central role alongside other micro factors such as climatic changes and natural disasters to orchestrate food insecurity. These other contributing factors aggregated with the huge populations have the potential to launch of acute food insecurity situation as it has been in the case of China. Ideally, unfavorable climate and natural disasters such as earthquakes in China can be blamed for the food insecurity in the country as well as the populations.
References
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Bryan. L. McDonald, Food Security, Polity Press, 2010, Cambridge, U.K.
