Food security forms a vital foundation of national security. As core elements in food production, water and land resources play an irreplaceable role in ensuring the food supply. This study analyzes the water and land resources demand for food consumption by residents in nine Yellow River provinces from 2000 to 2023. We define the Baseline (S1), Dietary guideline (S2), Policy-oriented (S3), and Projection (S4) dietary structures and assess future resource gaps under these diets and propose optimized allocation. The results show that both urban and rural diets have shifted from predominantly plant-based to more diverse patterns. From 2000 to 2023, the cropland needed for plant-based foods decreased by 29.87%, while that for animal-source foods increased by 132.84%. The green water and blue water footprints of food consumption rose by 1.46 billion m3 and 17.73 billion m3, respectively. Considering potential land availability, by 2030, cropland requirements under dietary scenarios S2 and S3 can largely be met. The production water footprint gaps for S1, S2, S3, and S4 are 106.30, 29.73, 32.60, and 140.87 billion m3, respectively. S2 and S3 better support coordinated development of dietary needs and water–land resources, while S4 aligns more with rising demand for animal-based foods.
Ji et al. (Thu,) studied this question.