“I certainly prefer a lot of animals to a lot of people, but then I prefer some people to some animals too.”

A very interesting point

The more we debate, the clearer the truth becomes. It seems that with regard to our differences, rather than saying they are differences of viewpoint, it would be better to describe them as differences of expression.
However, I believe that out of everything we talk about and are concerned about, the most important part is the problem of the efficiency of organic farming. At the same time, organic farming is also well- intentioned; if it can be done well, we'd definitely support it.
I won't say anything else, or the lawsuit will never be finished. I'll only say one thing, there are two types of food safety problems, one is the melamine kind, and one is the Shouguang vegetable kind. Please think about that.

Hybrid rice paddies are producing yields of 1000 kilograms, which is already close to the upper limit. If the next step in increasing production is to be taken, it currently seems like transgenic engineering is the only path left.

Today, I saw an interview with Longping Yuan on Sina, on the top of the front page. He said " Transgenic foods cannot be discussed as if they are all the same... If transgenic rice engineered to be resistant to insects and disease needs to be tested on human subjects, I'll be the first to sign up."
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2010-03-05/065019793549.shtml

If we assume that transgenic engineering is the trend of the future, organic farming can cater to the well- off. Giving consumers the right to choose is one way forward, and additionally, the transparency of processes such as the production and circulation of such goods, among others, is also very important. Some consumers do want organic, and ecological products. As that is the case, why would you worry that these products may not produced on a comparably large scale, with large production costs and prices as high as transgenic products? As long as there are willing consumers, there is no reason they shouldn't be successful.

I don't think the second and third comments are right. The key to eco-agriculture is both organization and, to a greater degree, technology! It's not that eco-agriculture cannot take root in China or across a large area of the country. The problem is that the results of research conducted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences is a technological utopia! The game is over and the time of squandering taxpayers' dollars is finished.

Some argue that it's not possible for eco-agriculture to become widespread, and it cannot be allowed to spread to such a degree because food safety has to be considered. But it's not true. The problem is that the Chinese Academy of Sciences is unable to come up with a suitable method to make it more widespread.

Comment translated by Clay Baylor

Hello, Mengsi! Please visit Xinhua News website's 'San Nong' discussion forum and read the post titled: A Year of Drought Without Irrigation Can Still Have High Yields. Promoting the "trend toward non-irrigation policy in arable lands stricken with drought, soil erosion, and developing highly-efficient agricultural systems" patented method; it provides solutions to several of China's ecological, environmental, 'san nong', water, water policy, agricultural water, and food safety problems in addition to many more difficult issues. I have conducted work for more than ten years in the provinces of Henan, Gansu, Shaanxi, and Shanxi among others.
Lei Xinzhou, National Tax Bureau, Luoning County, Henan Province, leixinzhou@163.com
Comment translated by Clay Baylor

I think that aside from various kinds of "organic" and "ecological" tag, the objective of agricultural experts should not just be to provide the market with yet another kind of high- quality food for the rich few (even if the cost falls, the quantities produced will still not be enough to satisfy the demand of the general public), but to search for a general- purpose, steady way to change the course of dangerous Chinese agricultural production methods. This is more meaningful than discussing the small market for organic food, and the challenges it presents are also greater.

Organic farming is still in an experimental phase, and to all intents and purposes does not take place on a scale large enough to supply the market; many foodstuffs take a year to grow.

Yuppies and white collars in cities might be eating less rice and wheat, but that doesn't mean they're actually consuming less grain. They're still eating meat, and that meat comes from grain!
(Translated by Jacob Fromer)