Green branding and misleading sustainability claims by companies, institutions, or policies.
“Is there truly nothing else left to eat?” “Snowpiercer was far too prescient!” Just yesterday, after seeing a journalist visit an American cockroach farm and drink a cup of crispy cockroach coffee, netizens voiced this piercing question. Picture this: alongside the American cockroach, countless yellow mealworms and black soldier fly…
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 “Humanity’s unsustainable production and consumption patterns are pushing the planet to the brink of disaster,” is the opening line used by the United Nations to introduce Zero Waste Day, observed annually on 30 March. For urban residents in China, the single-use plastic waste accumulating in daily life is…
Foodthink Says 21 March is International Forest Day, with this year’s theme, “Forests: A Valuable Source of Food”. Yet on the other side of the world, Brazil’s beef industry continues to expand at the cost of felled forests and lost biodiversity. Faced with international demands to halt deforestation, major meat…
Recently, the news that delivery platforms have softened their stance and pledged to cover social security contributions for riders has sparked heated debate. Only time will tell how many couriers will actually stand to benefit, and whether this will genuinely improve their working conditions. In the latest episode of Foodthink’s…
With the Spring Festival drawing near, supermarkets are not only slowly filling the air with their festive playlists, but the familiar ‘holiday weight gain’ adage is also dominating social media feeds. In the past, many assumed festive weight gain was simply down to indulging in rich, meat-heavy meals. In recent…
Foodthink Says In response to the climate crisis, many advocate harnessing capitalist market mechanisms to cut carbon emissions. The model discussed here operates on one such premise: companies pay for carbon credits, with the proceeds directed towards reducing deforestation and fostering alternative livelihoods in a given region, thereby offsetting their…
Foodthink Says Another Double 11 is upon us. Have you joined the shopping frenzy this year? Paying with a clear conscience, or spending to back the ethics and ideals you believe in, constitutes a form of ethical consumption that stands apart from the conventional shopping rush. It reflects how consumers…
When we think of Monsanto, it is easy to associate the company with the health risks of genetically modified (GM) foods. However, “Empire of Seeds” by Bart J. Elmore, a US scholar of environmental history, shows that the influence of agricultural capital—epitomised by Monsanto—on the human food system is actually…
On 17 July, on the eve of the 2024 Summer Olympics opening in Paris, a coalition of international organisations launched the “Kick Big Soda Out of Sport” campaign, taking on the world’s largest soft drink manufacturers, including Coca-Cola. The initiative contends that “Big Soda” – soft drink industry giants epitomised…
