Long equated with self-sufficiency—indeed ‘absolute security’ in rice and wheat—food security requires ~95 percent of grains (also including corn, barley and sorghum) be produced domestically. Emphasis is now switching to nutrition, safety, diversity and quality. With all factors of production limited, providing this for billions imposes steep trade-offs. The PRC imports huge quantities of soybean, meat and other products in order to keep up domestic production of staple grains. As diets diversify, mounting demand for imported meat and feed challenges self-sufficiency targets.