Assessment and Prediction of the Food Production Capacity and Consumption Gap in Arid Oasis Metropolitan Area

Food security is the foundation of sustainable human development, and the balance between food supply and demand in urban areas is highly important for promoting residents’ health and the sustainable development of cities. This paper takes the Urumqi Metropolitan Area (UMA), a typical oasis urban ar...

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Main Authors: Mingjie Cui, Yufang Zhang, Degang Yang, Wenqiang Xu, Rongqian Lu, Wenshuai Bai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Foods
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/13/24/4185
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author Mingjie Cui
Yufang Zhang
Degang Yang
Wenqiang Xu
Rongqian Lu
Wenshuai Bai
author_facet Mingjie Cui
Yufang Zhang
Degang Yang
Wenqiang Xu
Rongqian Lu
Wenshuai Bai
author_sort Mingjie Cui
collection DOAJ
description Food security is the foundation of sustainable human development, and the balance between food supply and demand in urban areas is highly important for promoting residents’ health and the sustainable development of cities. This paper takes the Urumqi Metropolitan Area (UMA), a typical oasis urban area, as the study area and uses the food production—demand gap indicator to assess the balance of food production and consumption in the region from 2000 to 2020 and projects food demand in 2030–2060. The results show, first, that residents’ food consumption is characterized by high carbohydrate, protein, and fat consumption, and that this put more pressure on food production. Second, different food consumption structures will have different impacts on food production, and the local food production capacity in UMA falls short of ensuring a balanced nutritional structure for residents. Third, food demand increases significantly in 2030–2060, and the pressure of population consumption structure on food production is much greater than that of population growth. Considering the environmental effects of food transportation and the loss of food nutrients, on the production side, the construction of the UMA should be accelerated by including Qitai County and Jimsar County in the UMA’s planning scope, strengthening city—regional connections, and improving the local food production and supply capacity of surrounding areas. On the consumption side, regional dietary guidelines should be developed based on local dietary culture and agricultural production conditions to help guide residents to adjust their dietary structures, thereby alleviating pressure on local food demand. Such measures are crucial for ensuring sufficient food supply and promoting balanced nutrition among the population.
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publishDate 2024-12-01
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spelling doaj-art-47c132e56a5042ac900d98da97535e862025-08-20T02:53:33ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582024-12-011324418510.3390/foods13244185Assessment and Prediction of the Food Production Capacity and Consumption Gap in Arid Oasis Metropolitan AreaMingjie Cui0Yufang Zhang1Degang Yang2Wenqiang Xu3Rongqian Lu4Wenshuai Bai5Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, ChinaFood security is the foundation of sustainable human development, and the balance between food supply and demand in urban areas is highly important for promoting residents’ health and the sustainable development of cities. This paper takes the Urumqi Metropolitan Area (UMA), a typical oasis urban area, as the study area and uses the food production—demand gap indicator to assess the balance of food production and consumption in the region from 2000 to 2020 and projects food demand in 2030–2060. The results show, first, that residents’ food consumption is characterized by high carbohydrate, protein, and fat consumption, and that this put more pressure on food production. Second, different food consumption structures will have different impacts on food production, and the local food production capacity in UMA falls short of ensuring a balanced nutritional structure for residents. Third, food demand increases significantly in 2030–2060, and the pressure of population consumption structure on food production is much greater than that of population growth. Considering the environmental effects of food transportation and the loss of food nutrients, on the production side, the construction of the UMA should be accelerated by including Qitai County and Jimsar County in the UMA’s planning scope, strengthening city—regional connections, and improving the local food production and supply capacity of surrounding areas. On the consumption side, regional dietary guidelines should be developed based on local dietary culture and agricultural production conditions to help guide residents to adjust their dietary structures, thereby alleviating pressure on local food demand. Such measures are crucial for ensuring sufficient food supply and promoting balanced nutrition among the population.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/13/24/4185food securityfood productionfood consumptionUrumqi metropolitan area
spellingShingle Mingjie Cui
Yufang Zhang
Degang Yang
Wenqiang Xu
Rongqian Lu
Wenshuai Bai
Assessment and Prediction of the Food Production Capacity and Consumption Gap in Arid Oasis Metropolitan Area
Foods
food security
food production
food consumption
Urumqi metropolitan area
title Assessment and Prediction of the Food Production Capacity and Consumption Gap in Arid Oasis Metropolitan Area
title_full Assessment and Prediction of the Food Production Capacity and Consumption Gap in Arid Oasis Metropolitan Area
title_fullStr Assessment and Prediction of the Food Production Capacity and Consumption Gap in Arid Oasis Metropolitan Area
title_full_unstemmed Assessment and Prediction of the Food Production Capacity and Consumption Gap in Arid Oasis Metropolitan Area
title_short Assessment and Prediction of the Food Production Capacity and Consumption Gap in Arid Oasis Metropolitan Area
title_sort assessment and prediction of the food production capacity and consumption gap in arid oasis metropolitan area
topic food security
food production
food consumption
Urumqi metropolitan area
url https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/13/24/4185
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AT wenqiangxu assessmentandpredictionofthefoodproductioncapacityandconsumptiongapinaridoasismetropolitanarea
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