Straw Utilization In China China is the world’s largest grain producer in the world, yielding around 700 million tonnes each year. The main process of removal for these crops following the harvest seasons is by burning off the remaining straw. This is done due to farmers’ opportunity costs to save time, money and labor. Although this may be great for the farmers, it leaves a great burden on the environment. There are many harms that this causes, they include pollution, climate change and cognitive health effects. Burning the straw releases harmful toxins in the air which trigger the effects of climate change. These harmful toxins in the air also contribute to the cognitive health effects. Looking back on a study that was conducted, it was found that the toxins in the air affected individuals over fifty-five years of age and had a negative effect on them. Scenarios were conducted to see the outcome of straw being utilized in a different fashion and it required lots of further investment. The studies showed that the environment would be healthier if the problem was targeted better. At the moment, the approach to control straw burning lies within government control, they enforce through the use of penalties but fail to have a long term goal set in place. Recommendations that are believed to work would be to have some sort of incentive for farmers to remove the crops by hand or an eco-friendly alternative. These incentives would be some sort of financial incentive in order to help stop the harmful effects of straw burning. This is a major problem in China and if the problem is worked on, positive effects will be noticeable.