A Word from Foodthink Today marks the first day of the National Day holiday. I wonder if you’ve already hit the road? Recently, Foodthink’s “Eat Well” initiative invited readers to share their home fermentation methods and experiences. We’ve summarised three secret tips and identified one category that is particularly prone…
More than a year ago, I first encountered the concept of “climate-friendly rice farming” at a discussion on community-based agricultural practices addressing climate change. Last month, I travelled with fellow farmers from Panzhihua in Sichuan, Wuhu in Anhui, and Fuyuan in Heilongjiang to project sites in Kunming, Pu’er and Honghe.…
Would you spend tens of yuan in a restaurant on a portion of frozen broccoli that might well be older than your child? — We’ve recently learned that this seemingly absurd scenario might actually be the case. Pre-prepared meals are quietly taking over our dining tables. From restaurants to takeaways,…
I. Typhoon shifts south; force 12 winds lay siege to farming communities “With this typhoon, farming communities have suffered most.” In the early hours of the 25th, Hao Nan, a humanitarian disaster relief specialist and director of Zhuominxinyuan, sent a voice message to the Foodthink editorial team, speaking with earnest…
Recently, Cai Guo-Qiang and Arc’teryx sparked controversy with a “mountain-blasting” art project in the Himalayas that damaged the fragile plateau ecosystem. The relationship between humanity and nature, alongside the exploration of local culture, were featured prominently in the promotional material for the fireworks display. Yet a performance that markets nature…
Foodthink Says From yellow wine and fermented black beans to pickled vegetables and soy sauce, people have long turned to the tangy, aromatic, and mellow depths of fermentation to find the warmth of home and the resilience of life. Across the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, fermentation is woven even more tightly into…
Foodthink Says As climate change intensifies, rural “natural disasters” are becoming an everyday reality. Yet there are always more ways forward than obstacles. It is not just farmers and government bodies seeking solutions; civil society organisations are also drawing on their local, flexible, and community-embedded approach to help small villages…
Foodthink Says Xibei has apologised and promised to improve, and Luo Yonghao has fallen silent; the storm over Xibei’s ready meals has subsided for now. But has the controversy truly ended? Debates and doubts regarding ready meals may resurface—what will be the next focal point? Before the public fully recognises…
I. More Than a Mere Bystander In July, Beijing is at the height of summer. On this land I am soon to leave, seeds sown in spring are now bearing plump fruit. As I immerse myself in the joy of the harvest, I also come to realise how precious the…
The dream of a lazy foodie is to build a self-sufficient, low-maintenance garden: a sustainable food forest that yields an abundance of produce while demanding minimal labour. Back when I studied permaculture in Taiwan, I was properly introduced to the concept of a “food forest”. I had encountered the term…
