National Geographic

FEEDING CHINA 103of windows overlooking the grounds, about adozen of us seated at a heavy wooden table witha rotating center. I was given the seat of honor,at Wang’s right, and we grazed on the 27 dishesarrayed on the lazy Susan, including grapes anddragon fruit from the park’s greenhouses. Wangoffered me red wine and, in keeping with Chinesecustom, praised me warmly. It was the most lav-ish meal I ate in China.EVEN AS CHINA STRIVES to scale up its agricul-ture, many affluent urbanites have leapfroggedahead to a distrust of industrial farming. Acompelling example of this can be found northof Beijing, where Jiang Zhengchao, the son ofJiang and Ping, is helping build the latest ad-dition to China’s agricultural future. Behindtwo squat concrete buildings next to a roaringfreeway, he tends five acres that make up hispatch of China’s agricultural quilt.Jiang grows nearly a hundred crops—water-melon, eggplant, taro, and sweet corn amongthem. He takes some to wholesale markets, buthis primary business is persuading middle-classBeijingers to pay him in six-month installmentsfor weekly delivery of safe, farm-fresh food totheir door. He also rents plots to people who wantto grow food, and for an extra fee, he will tend``````1RRGOHVGU\DWDIDFWRU\RZQHGE\&2)&2DVWDWHRZQHGHQWHUSULVHLQ=KHQJ]KRXLQHDVWFHQWUDO&KLQD&KLQHVHFRQVXPHUVQRZHDWVRPHPLOOLRQWRQVRISURFHVVHGIRRGD\HDULQFUHDVLQJO\SUHIHUULQJLWVFRQYHQLHQFH