The Food Safety Benefit Counterparts Analysis in Ecological Safety
Perspective
Xiaoxiao Li
Tianjin University of science & technology, 1038 Dagu Nanlu, Hexi District, Tianjing, China
Keywords: Ecological Safety, food safety, benefit counterparts, government department.
Abstract: By revealing the inner relation between ecological safety and food safety, this paper discusses the influence
of the ecological environment destruction on food safety and in all round ways and analyses the six benefit
counterparts involved in the food safety problems: government departments, legislature and judicial organ,
enterprises, media, experts and elites, consumers. This will provide theoretical foundation for constructing
food safety controlling mechanism.
1 ECOLOGICAL SAFETY AND
FOOD SAFETY
1.1 Definition of ecological security and
food safety
The First International Symposium of Ecosystem
Health and Medicine held in Canada in 1994,
declared the establishment of the “International
Symposium of Ecosystem Health” (ISEH) with the
president David Rapport. From the perspective of
ecosystem serving support for human beings, this
symposium put forward that: the healthy ecosystem
can not only provide foods, water, fresh air etc. it
will also support the ecological service, like dietary
fibers assimilation, waste recycling etc (Song et al.,
2003).
The International Development and Research
Center (IDRC) had expanded the field of ecosystem
health for the first time to political, economic,
cultural, and social fields. IDRC thinks that the
ecosystem health is not only nature system health,
but also includes the interaction among the complex
of the foods and residential environment, society,
economy, culture, and politics in cities. It was the
first time to show the ecological health composite
attribute and foods relation, and it expanded the
application course scope and range. Meanwhile,
food safety is regarded as the important part and
core content of the ecosystem health (Lebel, 2008).
The food safety idea was firstly put forward in
the World Foods Conference which was held by
United Nations Foods Agriculture Organization
(FAO) in November, 1974. The World Food safety
International Agreement made by FAO pointed that
food safety refers to human beings’ basic right of
living, and the assurance of “anybody could gain
enough foods for living and health where they are”
(Jin et al., 2008). The World Health Organization
(WHO) stated in the World Food safety Strategic
Draft that “Having the safe foods will improve the
health, and this is at the same time the basic human
right. Safe foods are benefit for health and
prolificacy, and will provide an efficient platform
for promoting social development and relief
poverty” (WHO, 2002).
Generally speaking, food safety has three
meanings: foods security, food safety and ecological
security are all the meanings of “food safety”. Foods
security refers to the national or social foods
assurance, means whether foods are supplied
enough. Food safety is the public sanitary problems
of foods noxious and harmful substances’ influence
on human body. For the consumers, the most
important thing is safety, while nutrition is less
important than safety. The foods which didn’t meet
the quality standards and sanitary standards are not
safe foods. This kind of foods could not promote
human body health; while they will do harm to
human body, even threaten life. Ecological security
mainly refers to the social problems caused by
scientific technology development. New technology
application in foods production, for example, the
transgene and radiation; and the new foods resources
developments long term and unstable influence on
263
Li X.
The Food Safety Benefit Counterparts Analysis in Ecological Safety Perspective.
DOI: 10.5220/0006448702630267
In ISME 2016 - Information Science and Management Engineering IV (ISME 2016), pages 263-267
ISBN: 978-989-758-208-0
Copyright
c
 2016 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
263

the human beings, animals and plants, ecological
environment. Ecological security requires no harm
to human beings, animals and plant, and the
ecological environment.
Ecology and foods problems are involving
social, political, economic, natural areas regional
problems. In China, with the economic
transformation from traditional industrial society to
modern industrial country, ecology and foods
problems also made the important transformation
from “sanitation” to “health” (Mao & Bai, 2009).
1.2 Food safety characteristics
1) Food safety is a comprehensive concept, which
includes foods sanitation, foods quality, foods
nutrition and other related content and foods (diet)
planting, breading, processing, packing, storage,
transportation, sales, consumption and other steps.
Foods safeties, foods quality, foods nutrition all are
part of the food safety, and there are many inner and
outer intersections among them. Thus food safety
could be supervised repeated.
2) Being different from hygiene, nutrition
science, quality, and other subject, food safety is a
social controlling concept. The food safety
outstanding problems and controlling requirements
are different from different countries, and different
phases of a country. Currently, in the developed
countries like the U.S., Japan, food safety concerns
mainly about problems caused by scientific
technology development, for example, the transgene
foods influence on human health. However, in the
developing countries, food safety focuses mainly on
the fake commodities caused by the immature
market economy, and on the illegal business of the
noxious and harmful foods. Chinese food safety
problems concerns all the contents mentioned above.
3) Food safety is a political concept. No matter in
the developed countries, or the developing countries,
food safety is the basic social responsibility and the
promise that enterprises and government must make.
Food safety is closely related with the existence
right, and it is unique and forcible. It usually belongs
to the government assurance or government forcing
type. While goods quality and other aspects are
usually related with the developing right, and it is of
different levels, and choices. It usually belongs to
the business choices or the government promoting
type. In recent years, in international society food
safety gradually taking the place of foods sanitation,
and foods quality concepts, thus, it strengthened the
food safety political responsibility.
4) In the end, food safety is also a legal concept.
2 THE ECOLOGICAL
ENVIRONMENT
DESTRUCTION INFLUENCE
ON FOOD SAFETY
2.1 The ecological environment
destruction increase the risk of
foods quantity supply
Foods quantity safety is the first level of food safety.
To review the domestic situation, we are facing a
series of problems, for example, the unbalanced
districts development, water shortage, earth
seriously polluted, and the increasing scale and
frequency of natural disasters, the too fast grown
population. These problems will directly increase the
risk and threat of foods quantity supply breakdown,
decrease the world foods producing countries, and
restrict the foods exporting (Lu & Wang, 2010). To
review the world situation, the problems of heavy
population growth, soil and water heavy erosion
degradation, extreme climate changes, foods
replacing energy, and western countries controlling
right of foods politics, formed the uncertain factors
of social economic crisis and social turbulence risks,
threats and disasters (Lu & Wang, 2010).
2.2 The ecological environment
destruction threats the food quality
safety.
Superficially, modern chemistry industrial
development destructed the air, soil, water resources,
and had inconvertible effect on the whole ecological
environment. While for the long term meaning,
chemical substances superposition and combination
causes the virus spread and variation, breaks through
the shielding of the species, and influence the food
quality safety.
The diseases caused by the chemical substances
are called the human made food-borne disease
(Jiang, 2006). The WHO statistics showed that there
are billions of food-borne diseases accidents happen
every year in the world. In 2000, there were 2.1
million people died of diarrhea caused by foods and
drinking water pollution, and the most the dead were
children. Even in the developed countries, there will
be 40% people who will suffer for the food-borne
disease for once every year.
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2.3 The disease caused by the
ecological environment pollutions
brought huge financial losses.
The study shows that the financial losses of the
diseases which were caused and triggered by the
ecological environment pollution will reach to
hundreds of billion RMB for China every year. In
China the prevalence rate of digestive cancer is
higher than any other country in the world. The
Breast Cancer and Testicular Carcinoma prevalence
rate will gradually increase by 50% in the future.
Because of the environment pollution and foods
pollution, the world’s male’s sperm quantity
decreased by 50% compared with 20 years ago.
Ecological environment pollution turned out with
time going by, and with the deleterious substance
accumulation. For example, the minamata disease
occurred in 1950s in Japan, the high prevalence rate
of digestive cancer caused by the chemical and
medical things polluted the water environment in the
U.S.
In September, 2006, the “Spinach” incident
happened in 8 states of the U.S., caused 173 people
infected, 27 people were with serious symptoms of
hemolytic-uremic syndrome, 3 dead. What’s more,
vegetables peasants were suffering hundreds of
millions financial losses during this incident (Wang
et al., 2008).
The ecosystem health and safety influences on
the world natural resources and human health are
obvious; especially the food safety caused by the
ecological health is directly related with the human
life health. When we think about the ecological
safety controlling from the perspective of food
safety, it will respect to the inner logic of ecological
safety and food safety, and at the same time it will
solve the ecological problems and foods problems.
3 FOOD SAFETY BENEFIT
COUNTERPARTS ANALYSIS
Different countries and institutions define food
safety benefit counterparts differently. World Foods
Agriculture Organization and World Health
Organization’s explanation of the food safety benefit
counterparts as: food safety benefit counterparts are
the subject body in the whole chain from foods
planting (breading) to consuming.
The Food safety Law being effective from June
1st, 2009, states clearly of the main benefits
counterparts in the food industry. This law has made
it clear that enterprise is the first person responsible
for foods quality, and we should enhance the
enterprises’ effective supervising of foods quality.
Each level of government should strengthen the food
safety leading work, and make sure foods are safe
everywhere. The related administrative departments
should strictly enforce the law and dealing cases in
accordance with law, in order to make implement of
the food safety supervision and effective law
enforcement. We should strengthen the social
supervision of the food safety problems, including
public opinion supervision. Based on this law, the
paper holds the opinion that food safety benefit
chain includes government, legislature and judicial
organization, enterprises, media, consumer, and
experts and elites, in total 6 counterparts.
Ecology and food safety recycling chain as Chart
1 shows below:
Chart 1: Ecology and food safety recycling chain
Legislature
Government
Enterprises Consummers
Experts and Elites
Media
Judicial Organization
Guide
Regulate
Feedback
Supervising and taking part in
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3.1 Government Department
Government department is the important benefit
counterpart of food safety and is playing the
controlling and overall planning role in the chain.
China is a country with the main subject of
administration. Whether in legislation and judicial
aspect, the enforcement of administration prevention
is beyond the law. It shows that the Chinese policy
value and decision orientation of the great
significance.
When the policy making and putting forward are
mainly about ecological economy, the laws and
rules, supervision law enforcement, and morality
constructing will have regulating effect on the
market. Enterprises’ honesty self-discipline is the
core of brand managing. Media, experts, and
consumers increased the government legality and
credibility. Therefore, the ecological environment
and marketing order safety are insured.
3.2 Legislature and Judicial
Organization
Legislature and Judicial Organization are playing the
role of assurance in the food safety benefit chain.
Legislature guarantees the related law systems
perfection. Law enforcement organization will
supervise and do it with accordance to the law.
However, they are captured by the benefit groups,
by not making and perfect the related laws, without
accordance to laws, and even coordinating with
enterprises to avoid laws and inspection. Thus,
counterfeit and inferior commodities and the
noxious and harmful substances overflow by
avoiding laws.
Because the law system is not perfect, and lack
of supervising, the cost of action violation is low.
The law breakers look down upon the law
supervising and have the lucky mind to continue to
act violation. And publicity and society will
decrease the credibility of the law rules makers,
governing party, and the law enforcers. Therefore,
the publicity will not be satisfied with the governing
system. Even it will cause the social instability, the
occurrence of the group incidents, and large scale of
law suing cases. It is the foundation of maintaining
the ecological health and food safety important
guarantee.
3.3 Enterprises
Enterprises are the largest and the direct benefit
counterpart. In the ecology and food safety related
benefit counterparts’ chain, enterprises’
self-discipline and heteronomy are the most
important step of influencing the whole chain (Guan,
2013).
The enterprises’ self-discipline and heteronomy
directly influences the public health. With the
changes of the international economic political
situation and the fast development of the information
technology, the ecological pollution and food safety
incidents caused by enterprises are increasing year
by year. It deepens the damage to the society and the
publicity, and increases the possibility of triggering
crisis and disasters.
However, if the enterprises morality
self-discipline and industry self-discipline increase,
it will not only make high reputation of the
enterprise brand, but also bring a lot of benefits.
Moreover, it will save supervising resources, avoid
the enforcement department rent-seeking corrupt
behaviors, and improve and purify the society, and
make up the supervising resources shortage and the
imperfect law rules policy.
3.4 Media
Media is playing the important role in the ecology
and food safety public interest, and it is the watcher
and supervisor in the public area. Media is the key
power in leading and solving crisis. Media has the
authoritative public credibility that other institutions
don’t have. The SARS in 2003, the benzene
exploded incident of Jilin petrochemical branch
company of PetroChina in 2004 had caused people
to buy and store water; and the huge tsunami caused
by the earthquake in Japan in March 2011 had led to
the nuclear leakage accident which caused people to
buy and store salt. Media was playing the important
role of well explaining the situation and stabilizing
the publicity moods in these ecology and food safety
crisis incidents. It is playing the role of social
stabilizer.
In China, the Weekly Quality Report and other
public opinion supervising reports, which are
revealing counterfeit and muckrakes, guarantees the
public benefit and are praised by the public. On the
other hand, these reports also touch the groups who
want to get benefit relying on foods. These groups
are called “Foods benefit groups”. These groups
usually have legal background and the relevant
political resources. Therefore, they will face the
heavy politic, legal, administrative, economic risks
when they are public opinion supervised by the
media.
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3.5 Experts and Elites
In the ecology and food safety benefit counterparts
chain, knowledge elites is an easily ignored group.
Knowledge elites are the law rules maker, and they
are with the power of affecting government and
leading the public. They are also the tools of the
benefit groups’ bothering legislature and affecting
law enforcement, and pushing the policies deviations
and directing the public opinions.
If media is the “society inspector”, the
knowledge elites and media together will be the
“society stabilizer”. They have the higher industry
position, strong speech rights and influence. It is
possibly risky and threatening when experts are
directed by intentionality in legislature and
regulations. For example, government makes the
foods enterprise exemption system with the
participation of experts, and it caused a lot of food
safety incidents. On the other hand, experts and
technical elites are taking the responsibility of social
public justice and safety. As a doctor from Lanzhou
revealed that Chinese dairy products are with
melamine. Many CPPCC National Committee
members are calling for abolition of the exemption
system.
3.6 Consumers
Consumers are the ring close to the end of food
safety chain. In the past, they are the victims of food
safety. But in recent years, with the citizens
consciousness realization and micro-blog, wechat
and we media development, consumers are
beginning to speak something and organize protests
(especially the group incidents) to express their own
voice, influence the public opinion, supervise the
judicial and forcing the perfection of legislature.
With the ecological recycling interaction,
analysis ecological and food safety benefit
counterparts’ interaction; we have avoided the
shortage of the sole subject. It is very practical. By
analyzing thoroughly the food safety benefit
counterparts, it is helpful for government to put
forward policies with full consideration, to learn to
solve the public contradictions by using media, to
remove people’s worries by using talented elites, to
make sure the whole chain from the beginning of
policy making, legislature, governing supervision,
judicial, to the end consumers is smooth, so as to
guarantee Chinese ecology health and food safety.
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Jin, Z., Peng, C., 2008. Food Safety, Zhejiang University
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Lebel, J., 2008. An Ecosystem Way of Concerning Human
Health, China Environmental Press. Beijing.
Lu, L., Wang, J., 2010. Food Safety, Zhejiang University
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Mao, L., Bai, L., 2009. From Food Sanitation to Foods
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