If you visit Pu’er in Yunnan this spring, you’ll find coffee farmers everywhere in high spirits. Green coffee bean prices have been climbing steadily for a year, jumping from 38 yuan per kilogram in early 2024 to 66 yuan per kilogram by May this year—a surge that has even outpaced…
From the media dispute between JD.com and Meituan over delivery riders’ social insurance in April, to the new regulations mandating compulsory contributions from 1 September, the working conditions of these riders have increasingly drawn public attention. Yet for many of them, social insurance remains a distant concept, overshadowed by the…
Foodthink Says “Digital pickled greens” primarily refers to the short videos, variety shows, classic dramas, novels, and indeed any entertainment content accessed via smartphone while eating. It is widely believed, particularly among younger generations, that this digital accompaniment serves to relieve the loneliness and boredom of dining alone. Yet the…
Foodthink Says This summer, extreme heatwaves have repeatedly struck Sichuan. Climate change is rendering the southwest region both hotter and drier. Those living in the countryside understand all too well what this entails: scorching temperatures force farmers to completely overhaul their working hours and significantly raise the risk of heatstroke…
I. Climate Change Through the Eyes of Smallholders: Spring Drought, Soil, and Grain Storage With just three days to go until the summer solstice, Yang Xiuyou finally welcomed a heavy downpour. The rain began on the evening of 17 June, alternating between heavy squalls and lighter spells, and continued well…
On 4 July, US Independence Day, Trump signed the “Make America Beautiful Act”, announcing that his most critical agenda for his second presidential term had passed Congress. This sweeping tax-cut and spending bill touches on every facet of US social policy. While Trump claims the “Make America Beautiful Act” will…
Many view craft beer as a niche culture centred on individuality and distinctive taste. Yet long before the arrival of industrial lagers with their monotonous, watery profiles, brewing traditions and flavour profiles were inherently diverse. Beyond the flattening of taste, industrial beer has also stripped fermented foods of their natural…
Foodthink Says Thirty-one elderly residents at a care home in Taishitun Town, Miyun, Beijing, have died. A minibus carrying fourteen female chilli-pickers in Shanxi vanished in the torrential downpours. In the aftermath of these record-breaking floods, each account is heartbreaking, yet they compel us to confront a pressing question: how…
This March, carrying a blend of uncertainty about my future career and anticipation for the unknown, I joined Foodthink’s “Eco-Farming Internship Programme” and arrived at Le Xian Gu Community Farm in Fengxian District, Shanghai. Until then, my image of a farm had been shaped entirely by the fields, lawns, and…
Foodthink Editorial Torrential rain has struck Beijing once again. This time, the flooding has swept through the northern mountainous regions. Upstream of the Miyun Reservoir, water inflow reached its highest level since the reservoir was first constructed in 1959, peaking at 6,550 cubic metres per second — but what does…
