State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycles in River Basins, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China.
State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycles in River Basins, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2023 Nov 20;900:165750. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165750. Epub 2023 Jul 26.
The conflict between the growing demand for food and limited water resources is intensifying. To further elucidate the relationship between food and water, we construct a water footprint life cycle assessment framework for food products and propose a modified algorithm for measuring a food's water footprint to assess the virtual water transfer between grain crops and animal products. To address the mismatch between regional water resources and food production, we propose a novel optimization model for food production structure, with both reducing water use and maintaining food security as its objectives. Using 2020 as an example, the analysis proposes an adjusted food production structure for China at national, regional, and provincial scales. The results show that 24.9 % of water consumed by grain crops is transferred to animal products through feed grain. The total water footprint of food production in China is 820.8 billion m, with the blue water footprint accounting for 32.9 % of that total. The blue water footprint for food production in northern China is 161.8 billion m, which is much larger than 108.2 billion m in southern China. Water scarcity is also greater in northern regions, which produce the majority of grain and animal products. Our optimization shows that a reasonable food production structure can balance water resources and food security by remarkably reducing China's total blue water footprint and increasing food production in the south while reducing production in certain northern provinces to ensure sustainable regional development.
粮食需求与水资源有限之间的冲突正在加剧。为了进一步阐明粮食与水之间的关系，我们构建了食品产品的水足迹生命周期评估框架，并提出了一种改进的测量食品水足迹的算法，以评估粮食作物和动物产品之间的虚拟水转移。为了解决区域水资源与粮食生产之间的不匹配问题，我们提出了一种新的粮食生产结构优化模型，以减少用水和保障粮食安全为目标。以 2020 年为例，该分析提出了全国、地区和省级粮食生产结构的调整方案。结果表明，24.9%的粮食作物耗水量通过饲料粮转移到了动物产品中。中国食品生产的总水足迹为 8208 亿立方米，其中蓝水足迹占总水足迹的 32.9%。中国北方的粮食生产蓝水足迹为 1618 亿立方米，远高于南方的 1082 亿立方米。北方地区的水资源短缺也更为严重，那里生产了大部分粮食和动物产品。我们的优化结果表明，通过显著减少中国的总蓝水足迹，增加南方的粮食产量，同时减少某些北方省份的产量，可以实现水资源和粮食安全之间的平衡，从而确保可持续的区域发展。
