From the Asia Times:

America heedlessly exports revolution with its corn to the world. China, on the other hand, obsesses about the danger of shipping revolution with its corn from the country to the city.

The pendulum has swung back and forth from city to countryside, depending on where the most pressing national priorities - and problems - appear to reside.

With multiple examples of regime-ending urban unrest in the Arab world, China's emphasis on contentment in the cities is not going to waver.

Currently, China's vaunted commitment to "food security" - the policy that China produce 95% of its needs domestically - looks more like an "urban security" policy ensuring low food prices in the cities than an effort to create a healthy, productive, and profitable agricultural sector.

For the past few years, rural incomes have stagnated as the cities have boomed.

The situation down on the farm, therefore, is pretty grim.

For more, see: China's ethanol binge and corn hangover