Environmental pressures, climate change, biodiversity, species protection, and pollution.
“These oats were sown in mid-October last year, and we found the ‘Eagle’ variety gave the best performance. If we opt for closer planting, the yield per hectare will be higher.” “Have you ever tried wider spacing?” On 12 June, at Gut Wilmersdorf, an organic farm an hour’s drive from…
I. “You Have Been Penalised and Demoted to Clerk” “You have been penalised and demoted to a clerk.” A few months ago, Ms L, a store manager at a Bianlifeng branch in Beijing, suddenly received a message to this effect on her handheld terminal. As part of her daily routine,…
Foodthink Notes This year’s rainfall across southern China has been deeply concerning. Beyond the news reports of widespread damage, we have also begun receiving troubling updates from our farming partners regarding diminished yields. Kouzi, a long-standing friend of Foodthink based in Fujian, has seen his onion and wheat crops nearly…
I. My Story with Fireflies As someone from the north, I had never seen a firefly before the age of fifty; my limited understanding of them stopped at the classical idiom ‘studying by the light of snow and a pouch of fireflies’. It was only when I travelled to Taiwan…
On 12 April, a week after Grain Rain, eastern Sichuan had seen several consecutive showers, easing a drought that had persisted since the Spring Festival. Rice seedlings in the fields were now nearing transplanting season. That afternoon, senior agronomist Yuan Yong and a colleague travelled from Jianyang City to Zaizi…
I. Who Truly Cares About the Snow Leopard? Pema Tseden’s posthumous film *Snow Leopard*, winner of Best Film at the Tokyo International Film Festival, tells a remarkably straightforward tale: on the high, snow-swept plateau, a herding family loses nine sheep after a snow leopard attacks their livestock pen. This incident…
Foodthink Says As May arrives, Yunnan once again enters the season for foraging wild mushrooms in the hills. In recent years, wild vegetables and mushrooms have surged in popularity. Not only are pricey varieties now regularly stocked in supermarkets, greengrocers, and online grocery platforms, but “wild foraging” (the practice of…
A Word from Foodthink Today is International Day for Biological Diversity. This year’s theme is “Biodiversity: A Shared Endeavour” (Be part of the plan). For most people, the most direct way to get involved is simple—through what we eat. Through our diet, we can savour the wonders that biodiversity brings,…
Foodthink Says Now that the Grain Rain solar term has passed, the peak season for this year’s spring tea harvest draws to a close. During the Qingming Festival holiday, Foodthink shared a story about the climate resilience of a natural farming tea garden in Xinyang. We are now publishing the…
Foodthink says Since returning home in 2013 to establish Chengdu’s Liangliang Farm, Tang Liang’s work has been a constant source of inspiration for those concerned with food and farming. In 2018, his The Ledger and Lifestyle of a Family Farm offered a candid answer to the question, “How does one…
