Food production, farmers, rural society, and agroecological practices.
Foodthink says Across the world, large-scale, mechanised farming has seen high-yielding monocultures displace many of the crop varieties that once thrived in the fields. Small-scale farming culture now appears to be relegated to the status of agricultural heritage, destined to be consigned to the past. But is this really…
Heading to the town market, I found two snack stalls within three paces. One stall was run by a local elderly woman. She has a permanent spot in the market, sitting on a low stool by a pot of hot oil, frying and selling dengzhangao (traditional Fujian fried…
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.…
I. Women’s Lives Standing at sixty and looking back on my thirties, the distance feels immense, as though I am gazing into another life altogether. Back in the 1990s, during my thirties, the cultural landscape was awash with end-of-the-century prophecies and apocalyptic fiction. Whether in novels or films, the central…
I. Farm Machinery Memories of the Post-2000s Generation As far back as I can remember, my family has been farming, cultivating mainly wheat and rice. During school holidays, I used to tail the harvester with my friends, picking up stray rice ears trailing behind it. Harvesters were scarce back then;…
Friends were divided on whether Guan Qi was an introvert or an extrovert. Several people had asked him directly, only to receive a different answer each time. After he passed away, as we gathered together, we realised this was a truth that could never be pinned down. Whenever I recall…
On 4 April last year, Foodthink published a “collection of deleted articles”. Since then, each time a piece was taken down, the team would console themselves with an inside joke: “We’ve already got another ‘404ed 404’ for next year.” But the 404s over the past two years aren’t entirely the…
Foodthink Says As the Qingming Festival approaches, whether for travel or tomb-sweeping, many will head to the countryside for a few meals of “farmhouse food”. This year’s Spring Festival was no different for the author of this piece. This account of dining during a return to the village for the…
How did an organisation focused on insect ecology start caring about farmers’ livelihoods? And how did an organisation focused on livelihoods end up writing a “Song of the Fly“? How did a man from Shanxi become a “male Women’s Director” in a Yunnan village? Why is a top genetic engineering…
