|
|
Article: Still growing its own by decree: China.(food production)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- August 9, 1997
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
WHEN Chairman Mao promised his fellow Chinese an "iron rice bowl", he was appealing to something deep in the national psyche. Throughout its long history China has known many famines. Even today many ordinary people do not take it for granted that they will always have enough to eat. In large part, this is because Mao failed to make good on his promise. The worst Chinese famine of all, claiming as many as 30m lives, began on the Chairman's watch in 1958 and remains a vivid, painful and formative memory for anyone aged 40 or more.
The memories of that famine may also account for official China's preoccupation with the notion of national self-sufficiency in food. While ...