Today, 13 October 2024, marks the 35th International Day for Disaster Reduction. Established by the United Nations, this observance aims to draw international attention to the importance of disaster prevention and mitigation. Over the past year, increasingly erratic natural disasters ravaging regions across the country remain the greatest threat to…
Delicious chocolate chip cookies are high-fat traps that trigger a cycle of fear, plunging us into one nightmare after another steeped in dread; the crisp crunch of potato chips offers a crunchy release for pent-up anger, lending a hollow sense of reassurance; sugar-free cola is a ‘cheerful deceiver,’ akin to…
A Note from Foodthink Released this August, the film Another Day Full of Hope stands out not only as the most profound exploration to date of food delivery and algorithms, but also as a rare work of realist cinema in recent years. On 4 September, Foodthink invited director Liu Taifeng…
This summer, relentless rain across North China has made farming feel like opening a blind box. Vegetable prices have also surged. Summer is traditionally the harvest season for fruits and vegetables, yet this year there is little to reap. Sowing, normally carried out in August, was postponed until early September.…
Do we truly understand today’s agriculture and food? When it comes to farming, the first image that springs to mind for many is still that age-old picture of farmers toiling in the fields. Yet in reality, propelled by technology and capital, the landscape of modern agriculture has been transformed beyond…
Is the future where artificial intelligence replaces humans still a long way off? Some have already begun to worry about having their jobs snatched from under them. Meanwhile, the widespread deployment of algorithms in sectors such as food delivery and retail has already transformed the way ordinary people eat. Yet…
Although the Paris Olympics concluded last week, the doping controversies remain far from settled. Amidst the uproar, at least three incidents tied to food safety have surfaced: In the end, all three cases were ruled to be the result of consuming meat products “contaminated” with doping substances, rather than deliberate…
From foraging and hunting to slash-and-burn agriculture, from generations of field labour, to GMOs, drones, cultivated meat and even artificial intelligence, and from home cooking to relying on delivery services, humanity’s agricultural and food systems have undergone a complete revolution. The dramatic shifts within our farmland reflect the impact of…
Foodthink says 15 August marks National Ecology Day. When ecology and biodiversity come to mind, we tend to think first of wild animals or the Amazon rainforest; few consider the intricate relationship between agriculture and ecosystems. In fact, over the past seven decades, the negative impacts of agricultural expansion and…
Foodthink Says On 19 July 2024, James C. Scott, professor of political science at Yale University, died. In the immediate aftermath, a wave of tribute articles emerged, revisiting his ideas on peasants and agriculture, everyday resistance, the state and society, and anarchism. Beginning with his research into peasant resistance, Scott…
