| Food consumption comprises an important part of household consumption.The structure and manners of consumption in Xiamen have changed, along with the city's urbanization, the enhacement of living standard ,and the quality and quantity of food consumption as well.The general purpose of this thesis is to analyze the variation of carbon consumption of Xiamen inhabitants and its negative influence upon environment during the process of urbanization, and to provide a scentific basis for rational diet and sustainable food consumption,thus to diminish the negative influence upon environment. The results of the reseach include the following aspects:1.Following a comparatively steady state, the total quantity of Xiamen inhabitants' food consumption had rised to a great extend from the late 1990s, from the average annual consumption of 294.04 kilograms per person in 1985 to 354.23 kilograms in 2005, with an increasing rate of 20%. Along with the enhancement of people's living standard, the structure of food consumption and carbon consumption had changed accordingly .The proportion of carbon consumption in grain, occupying in total carbon consumption accounted for 71.6% in 1980 which dimished to 40.8% in 2005, with an decreasing rate of 43%; whereas the proportion of carbon consumption in meat accounted for 15.6% in 1980 which diminished to 34.3%, increasing by nealy 120%.2. The variation of food carbon consumption is correlated with many economic factors, such as Engel's coefficient, GDP index,average controllable income per person, expenditure on food consumption, the equality of food price index and so on. These economic factors mainly exert their influence on average carbon consumption per person in grain, edible vegetalbe oil,meat,aquatic products,fruit and dairy products.3. The irrational diet structure of Xiamen inhabitants has had a tremendous influence on the environment, which is exhibited as follows:(1)The increase of total annual food and carbon consumption per person has added to the city life trash and the resouces of carbon, and has disturbed the process of carbon circulation.(2) With the variation of the structure of food carbon consumption, the way of land utilization has changed, which results in the increase of fertilizer use in agriculture and thus the non-point source of pollution. (3)The tremendous increase in meat consumption and the proportion of people's eating out will lead to the worsening air condition and the increase in ammonia and nitrogen in the source of superground and underground water.4. At present, the quantity of grain,vegetable,dairy products consumption of Xiamen inhabitants is somewhat small, whereas the quantity of the edible vegetable oil,meat ,aquatic products consumption is relatively big.In other words, this kind of structure cannot meet the health needs of individuals,on the contrary, it will impose an enormous influence upon environment. Hence, people should increase the consumption of grain, vegetalbe,dairy products, decrease that of edible vegetable oil,meat and aquatic products ,and take proper amounts of legumes or leguminous products. |
