20 May marks World Bee Day. Silkworms and bees are the only two insects domesticated by humans, yet when drones fly overhead, their dead bodies litter the fields. Having covered silkworms, we now turn our attention back to bees, an essential pollinator. China’s agriculture depends on pollinators…
Foodthink says In March this year, pesticide spraying in oilseed rape fields caused severe losses for beekeepers, briefly thrusting bee mortality into the public eye. Yet beyond the visible “deaths” lies a more insidious disappearance: rather than perishing in large numbers inside their hives, bees are abandoning their colonies…
This March, news of pollinating bees being “accidentally harmed” by drones in rapeseed fields caught the public eye. Yet beyond the spotlight, another insect that has coexisted with human civilisation for millennia—the domestic silkworm—is facing a far more insidious and severe survival crisis. “Once the drones take…
Today, fresh-food e-commerce platforms such as Hema (Alibaba), Xiaoxiang Market (Meituan), 7Fresh (JD.com) and Pupu are growing increasingly popular. These platforms mean that with just a few taps on your smartphone from the comfort of your home, you can have a wide range of daily essentials delivered within 30…
What is it like raising a fussy eater? When a child won’t eat properly, what exactly are mothers so anxious about? In this Mother’s Day special, we start with fussy eaters, but our conversation quickly moves beyond pickiness, feeding routines, and menu planning to explore intergenerational memories,…
Late March in Tongchuan still holds a cool chill. There have been two showers over the past few days, light and intermittent as they were, but the dampness clings to the air. At last the skies cleared, and just after seven in the morning, Hongxia headed up the…
A note from Foodthink Can an urban professional rebuild their life and career in the countryside? Chen Xi, a former consultant who grew up in Beijing and spent a decade living and working in the United States, travelled to a Dong village in Guizhou for a water quality survey.…
Happy Youth Day to all our young friends! People often say that young people are the most proactive, dynamic, vibrant, and idealistic group. Yet in reality, most young people are simply wage earners hustling to make ends meet. In this busy, ever-accelerating era, over the past two…
The Earth is on the brink of breaching the 1.5°C warming threshold. Coral bleaching has affected 84% of reefs worldwide, marking the largest and most severe bleaching event on record. As Arctic permafrost thaws, it threatens to accelerate the warming process further. We are now triggering the first climate…