Dining out,the missing food consumption in China |
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Authors: | Junfei Bai Caiping Zhang Thomas Wahl James Seale Jr |
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Institution: | 1. Center for Food and Health Economic Research, College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China;2. School of Economics, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China;3. Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA;4. Food and Resource Economics Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA |
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Abstract: | Food security concern in China is also the world’s concern. Studies on food consumption in the past, however, often neglected the increasing food consumed away from home (FAFH). Drawn on a survey data recently conducted in nine cities by a week-long diary method, we found that FAFH in urban China accounts for a significant proportion of total food consumption, although its share varies by food category. With substantial expected income growth, overall FAFH consumption will likely continue to rise, but would be negatively affected by the rapid societal aging process, both in dining out probability and per capita consumption level. The main findings of this study have implications for food processing and service industries as well as for studies in food-related environmental issues. |
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Keywords: | Food away from home food security income aging population China |
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