China's toxic land problem

Apr 18, 2014, 04:59 PM

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China's leaders deemed an environmental report so sensitive they classified it as a state secret. But now the secret's out. And it's a big one. It says a fifth of China's farmland is contaminated with toxic metals. The rice belt in the south is particularly badly affected. Cadmium, nickel and arsenic have been found in soil across the countryside, raising fears about the safety of food. In high doses or over a long period of time, these metals can cause heart and liver problems as well as cancer. Lucy Hornby, a correspondent for the Financial Times in Beijing has been reading the now-declassified government report and tells us what it says. Plus, we speak to Jennifer Duggan, an environmental blogger in Shanghai about the growing concern amongst Chinese shoppers about food safety.