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A Study on the Relationship between Income Change and the Water Footprint of Food Consumption in Urban China

Author

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  • Guojing Li

    (Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China)

  • Xinru Han

    (Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China)

  • Qiyou Luo

    (Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China)

  • Wenbo Zhu

    (Rural Development Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100732, China)

  • Jing Zhao

    (Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Frostburg, MD 21532, USA)

Abstract

We use a threshold model to analyze the relationship between per capita income and the per capita water footprint of food consumption in the urban Guangdong Province of China, and further simulate the effect of changes in income distribution on the per capita water footprint of food consumption. The income growth of urban residents has a significant positive effect on the per capita water footprint of food consumption, where the effect varies by income stratum. The income elasticity of the per capita water footprint of food consumption for the total sample is 0.45, where the income elasticity of the low-income group (0.75) is greater than that of the high-income group (0.23), indicating that a change of income in the low-income group has a greater effect on water resources. The simulation results show that increasing the income of residents, especially that of the low-income group, significantly increases the water footprint due to food consumption for the whole society. At present, China is in a period of rapid economic growth and urbanization, comprising a period of profound change and sensitive response to the income level of urban and rural residents. Therefore, in order to reduce the effect of food consumption on the environment, sustainable food consumption management strategies should consider group differences. We should correctly guide all kinds of groups to carry out sustainable consumption, advocate healthy and reasonable diet models, reduce animal food consumption, avoid the excessive consumption of food, and strengthen the management of food waste.

Suggested Citation

  • Guojing Li & Xinru Han & Qiyou Luo & Wenbo Zhu & Jing Zhao, 2021. "A Study on the Relationship between Income Change and the Water Footprint of Food Consumption in Urban China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-16, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:13:p:7076-:d:580837
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Paweł Brzustewicz & Anupam Singh, 2021. "Sustainable Consumption in Consumer Behavior in the Time of COVID-19: Topic Modeling on Twitter Data Using LDA," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-20, September.

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