China Animal Welfare Translations No. 1 - July 2021
No. 1 Document, 5-year action plan cattle and sheep, Food Safety and Plant-Based Food
This is the very first edition of the China Animal Welfare Translations Newsletter! The main goal of this newsletter is to make a range of Chinese documents relevant to animal welfare available to an English speaking audience. In addition to the translations, I also provide some background and personal takeaways (“my 2 cents”) for each document.
Disclaimer: I am a student of BA International Studies at Leiden University who happens to be interested in animal welfare issues in China. I am not an expert on animal welfare and also by no means an authoritative analyst of Chinese policy making or Chinese society! Any comments I make in the “my 2 cents” section are just my personal thoughts and should be taken with a grain of salt. Please always read the actual translation and reach your own conclusions. If you discover any mistakes or inaccuracies in my translations, please also let me know.
Want to see certain content covered in this newsletter? Then please fill in this form! I am happy about concrete document suggestions, but also about general comments on the types of texts you find most interesting. This newsletter is in a very early stage, so your feedback can help me a lot to make sure that the content is tailored to the needs and interests of my readers!
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1. Translation: Excerpts of the “No. 1 Document” on Rural Policy 2021 #policy
Full Title: Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Accelerating Agricultural and Rural Modernization by Comprehensively Promoting Rural Revitalization
Access the translation here.
My two cents:
Some background:
The “No. 1 Document” is issued by the Party Central Committee and State Council at the beginning of each year (that is really high up in the hierarchy).
It’s name makes it the perfect first document to be featured in this newsletter.
It covers agriculture and rural development.
In past years, the focus was usually on poverty alleviation. Since China has officially achieved its goal in this regard last year, this year’s document instead stresses the need for modernization of agriculture and “rural revitalization”.
What does this document mean for farmed animals in China?
Good news: Both food security (粮食安全，e.g. being sure to always have enough food for the population) and food safety (食品安全, e.g. having food that is free from disease or contamination) are high up on the agenda. This is understandable, given that China has had serious problems with the swine flu and following shortages in pork supply in the recent past. Transitioning to a more plant-based diet could help China achieve better food security and food safety.
Bad news: The document does not acknowledge this potential solution. Instead, it calls for more government support of the pig industry and diversification of food sources by growing the cattle and sheep industry (more details in the 2nd translation below).
General caveat: Inferring consequences for animal welfare from “adjacent” topics like food safety is ultimately speculative.
2. Translation: Ministry of Agriculture 5-year action plan to promote the development of cattle and sheep production #policy
Full Title: Notice of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on the Issuance of the 5-Year Action Plan for Promoting the Development of the Beef Cattle and Sheep Production
Access the translation here.
My two cents:
Some background:
This is the MoA’s response to the requirement of the No. 1 document to diversify meat supply through an increase in cattle and sheep production.
It provides a much more detailed outline for how this should happen, including roles for different geographic areas in China.
What does this document mean for farmed animals in China?
Bad news: The problems of pork farming in terms of supply insecurity and animal diseases are fought by farming more other animals.
Some points of hope:
Surprisingly enough, the quantitative target for beef and lamb output in 2025 (6.8 mio tons and 5 mio tons) is only slightly above the 2019 level (6.67 mio tons and 4.88 mio tons).
The plan calls for slaughtering to happen closer to farms. This would reduce the horrendous long transport of living animals.
The plan pushes for more standardized, large-scale farming. This would make it easier to implement already existing rules in regards to animal welfare. The formulation of new standards in theory also provides an opportunity for animal welfare concerns to find more prominence, but this is entirely speculative at this point.
3. Translation: International Forum of Food Safety & Nutrition Health - Call for Papers Plant Based Food Innovation and Challenges #industry
Full Title: The Third International Forum of Food Safety & Nutrition Health: Notice of Call for Papers (Presentations) - Sub-forum with Topic “Plant-Based Food Innovation and Challenges”
Access the translation here.
My two cents:
Some background:
The International Forum of Food Safety & Nutrition Health (国际食品安全与营养健康高峰论坛) is an annual conference held in Beijing. It is associated with the “China Food Industry Association Nutrition Guidance Committee”, a branch of the China Food Industry Association.
It brings together “relevant local governments, scientific research institutes, production enterprises, technical service units and managers, college students and colleagues who are concerned about food safety and nutrition health”.
This document is a call for papers for the 3rd edition which will be held later this year (exact date unknown due to Covid-19).
What does this document mean for farmed animals in China?
Good news: Plant-based food as a potential solution to food safety problems is made explicit here! Also, Chinese food industry itself is taking a proactive stance towards developing plant-based proteins.
Caveat: It is a bit unclear how much direct influence on policy making and regulation this conference has.
I want to thank everybody who provided valuable feedback prior to the publication of this newsletter: George, Jonathon, Isla, Ziya, Fai, and some more who prefer to stay anonymous!