【Nature | Correspondence】China is currently managing to feed its people (F. Zhang et al. Nature 497, 33–35; 2013), but food loss and waste throughout the supply chain must be taken into account if food security is to be maintained in the future.

Of China's grain output, an estimated 8%, 2.6% and 3% are lost during storage, processing and distribution, respectively — a total of some 35 million tonnes annually. As in many other developing countries, these alarming losses are a result of inadequate infrastructure, knowledge and technology, and are exacerbated by a decentralized agricultural production system.

The pattern and scale of food waste in China are still unclear: more quantitative research will help to inform policy-making and to increase public awareness of the problem (see our pilot study at go.nature.com/8zq1je; in Chinese).

Liu, G; Liu, X.; Cheng, S., Food security: Curb China's rising food wastage. Nature 2013, 498, (7453), 170.

Source from http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v498/n7453/full/498170c.html