Chinese try fasting on World Food Day

"I am starving now. I have been fasting for nearly 24 hours with only water to drink..." This was an online entry posted Monday by a Chinese netizen following his previous proclamation to stop eating for a day and a night starting 3 p.m. Sunday.

The netizen, "azuonipeisi," wrote on Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like platform, that he had not eaten since Sunday, and he was open to supervision.

The netizen's resolution was echoed by many other netizens who expressed their support and voiced their interest in the move.

The individuals' actions were also in line with a statement made earlier by the State Administration of Grain (SAG) which said the SAG would call on its staff around the country to voluntarily fast on Tuesday, which is World Food Day.

The SAG said the call aims to raise public awareness about food conservation.

Shu Gang, director of the Chengdu Grain Administration in southwest China's Sichuan Province, said that he will join the fasting, local media reported Monday.

"We should attach greater significance to food security and bolster the public awareness to save food," he said.

He said that although famines are extremely unlikely in the country, food security remains an issue that deserves attention due to ever-increasing demand driven by China's enormous population and the upgraded consumption structure.

Data show that China's grain output grew 4.5 percent last year to 5.7 billion tonnes in 2011, marking the eighth year of growth. Agricultural experts forecast output is likely to rise further in 2012.

However, analysts estimate that about 85 million tonnes of grain are wasted in China during consumption and storage. Also, about 10 percent of food is wasted daily at family dinner tables.

Shu said that China needs stable food policies and technological innovations to meet its food demands. "We not only need to make more and better products, but equally important, we need to pay attention to frugality during consumption," Shu said.

Shu said that young people nowadays do not conserve food as previous generations did. He added that the fasting would be an opportunity to deepen people's understanding of food security.

However, health experts advised people in poor health not to fast, as it could lead to hypoglycemia and stomachaches.

Fan Shenggen, head of the International Food Policy Research Institute,said that China cannot rest easy in food security, as the price stability of some food products at home remains vulnerable to volatility in the international market.

World Food Day, initiated in 1981 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is celebrated every year on Oct. 16. The theme this year is "Agricultural cooperatives -- key to feeding the world."

A new hunger report by the UN said almost 870 million people, or one in eight, are suffering from chronic malnutrition. The report showed a steep decline in the number of undernourished people over the past 20 years, but it warned that immediate action is still needed to tackle hunger, particularly in developing nations.

Jose Graziano da Silva, FAO director general, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua in late September that the agency will work to coordinate the food policies of different nations in order to better cope with challenges posed by food security.