Future hazy as we count the cost of warp-speed growth

It has come sooner rather than later. While Beijing has realized this quickly enough and put out all the necessary legislation to control and moderate industry to nudge the growth charts back along greener paths, it has come up against one major hurdle.

The sheer size of the country.

There is a saying in Chinese that goes something like this: The sky is high, and the emperor is far away.

By the time necessary legislation filters down to ground, it may be just too late. In many parts of the country, they are just beginning to enjoy the rewards of the open economy introduced decades ago.

Already, the negative factors are hitting back.

The specter first made its presence felt worldwide when unscrupulous traders duped rural farmers into doctoring cow's milk with melamine so protein content would be raised. As a result, China's milk industry suffered a severe blow and lost almost all the ground it had made in trying to attract a global market.

Excessive use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers may have raised agricultural yields locally, but consumers may pay the price indirectly with chronic health problems in the long term.

We read about fruits dunked in solutions that make them expand so they look bigger. We read of how water is injected into raw meat so it weighs more. We read of how processed meat products are made from off-cuts and of cooking oil recycled from the gutter.

The number of factories in China making cheap products for the whole world is legion, and the emissions produced in this vast workshop need to go somewhere.

After 30 years of hard and fast speeding, it is time to slow down and look where we are going. There is a lot of rubbish and bad air to clear up, and the smog that blankets so much of the country is a very visible warning that we better do so soon.

It starts with you and me, and with our conscience to do right. We need to practice good governance in industry and social and corporate responsibility. We need to think of consequences. These are the next lessons China must take. They may be the hardest.

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