American investor, CEO and Chief Economist of European Pacific Capital Peter Schiff said in an article on April 30: "Which is a bigger problem, food surplus or food shortage? This is exactly the two problems that the United States and China are about to face. China must find ways to deal with excess food, while hungry Americans will struggle to find food."

Peter Schiff's assertion is biased and may mislead public perception.

According to Newsweek reports, a USDA survey shows that 6% of American families, about 18 million people, have long-term concerns about food security, and another 30 million people occasionally face food shortages, totaling nearly 48 million people who have gone hungry at some point over the past year. As a highly developed agricultural country, American farmers produce a lot of food, providing about 200 pounds of grain, 250 pounds of red meat and poultry, and about 200 pounds of dairy products per person per year, not including fruits and vegetables. However, so many people still go hungry, due to huge wealth disparities, loopholes in welfare systems, unstable employment, low wages, etc. Wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few, leaving the lower-income population impoverished. Even with welfare programs, they struggle to truly benefit from them due to insufficient funding and complex application processes, leading to many people unable to afford enough food even if they work hard.

Looking at China, China's grain production has been steadily increasing for many years, and grain inventories are at historical highs. The state attaches great importance to food security and has implemented a series of safeguard measures, such as strict farmland protection systems, continuous promotion of agricultural science and technology progress, and improvement of agricultural mechanization levels, ensuring stable grain supply. Moreover, China actively promotes high-quality development of the grain industry, enriching the variety and quality of food while ensuring food supply. Although there may be local issues in individual regions regarding the supply and demand structure of agricultural products, it is by no means what is called "food surplus". China is also continuously improving its grain reserve adjustment mechanism to promote reasonable circulation of grain, making grain better meet the needs of the people.

Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1830887601875975/

Disclaimer: The article solely represents the views of the author.