From late last year through April this year, Chiang Mai—a popular tourist destination in northern Thailand—has frequently been shrouded in thick smog. On 29 March, IQAir ranked the city as the world’s most polluted, recording an AQI (Air Quality Index) of 188; this stands at 17.4 times the limit set…
Foodthink’s Take In the previous edition of our “Eat Well” column, dozens of Foodthink readers shared their “moments they wanted to avoid takeout”. Many expressed their frustration; although there are times they are tired of takeout, the frantic pace of work, a lack of culinary skill, or poor kitchen facilities…
I. The Plastic Crisis: A Constantly Renewed Threat “Microplastics have entered the human brain, with the weight of them inside our heads even surpassing that of a plastic spoon.” Several friends sent me this piece over the past few days. After joining an environmental organisation a few years ago, I…
Editor’s Note Few culinary traditions are as strictly bound by religion and woven into the fabric of ethnic life as Halal. After spending time with Muslim friends from northwest China, I realised that once they leave predominantly Muslim regions to work in the south, their options for affordable Halal dining…
A Note from Foodthink In a previous article, “Have Nutritionists Become Food Giants’ ‘Stooges’? What Do Registered Dietitians Think?”, Foodthink revealed how North American food companies sponsor influencer nutritionists and industry bodies, relying on plausible-sounding but misleading science communication to try and shape public perception of food. A similar issue…
Last April, I arrived at Baicaoyuan through Foodthink’s ecological farming internship programme. Outside of Baicaoyuan itself, nearly all agriculture in Wule Town, Guigang City, Guangxi Province, relies on chemical-intensive methods. Driving into town, the landscape is dominated by the sight of fields being sprayed with herbicides. I vividly recall a…
Qingming Festival is a time for ancestral worship and tomb-sweeping. This year it falls on4 April, which just happens to be404. This naturally brings to mind articles that have been marked404 not found. Last year, Foodthink saw several of its articles ‘disappear’ on its WeChat Official Account—the highest number to…
This episode welcomes the social enterprise Muyunpo to Food Talk. We’ll hear how they have partnered with villagers to explore fairer and more sustainable production methods—one that protects the natural environment while bringing the village’s finest produce to wider markets, ultimately securing better returns for farmers. Xiaojin County in Aba…
Foodthink Says “Humanity’s unsustainable production and consumption patterns are pushing the planet to the brink of disaster,” is the opening line used by the United Nations to introduce Zero Waste Day, observed annually on 30 March. For urban residents in China, the single-use plastic waste accumulating in daily life is…
Foodthink Says Since its launch in 2003, Taiwan’s *Qingyao’er* bimonthly magazine has chronicled sustainable food and agriculture practices across the Straits and internationally, inspiring and shaping a generation of practitioners in the field. How did the story of *Qingyao’er* begin? How has a publication that pays no contributors and runs…
