Policy, institutional, economic, and technology trends shaping food and farming systems.
In Russian, summer is also known as “dacha season”. Maxim Gorky wrote a short play that was translated into Chinese as *The Summer Visitors*; its original Russian title, *Dachniki*, is more literally rendered as “Dacha Dwellers”—in 1995, the same story was adapted into a film titled *Summer People*. The dacha…
Foodthink Says In 1924, Fei Dasheng, along with teachers and students from the Jiangsu Provincial Women’s Sericulture School, arrived in Kaixiangong Village, Wujiang County, to found the Silk Improvement Society. Nearly a century has passed since then. Later, his younger brother, Fei Xiaotong, wove the society’s experiences into his doctoral…
Key Takeaways The potential for profit has spawned professional anti-counterfeiting claimants. Following the introduction of punitive damages under the Food Safety Law—which raised compensation from three to ten times the purchase price—the formerly unprofitable food sector saw an influx of such professionals. While this has helped standardise food business operations,…
Key takeaways Food safety issues can arise at any stage of the supply chain. If regulation fails to keep pace in other areas, simply slapping heavy fines on individual street vendors is a superficial fix that addresses the symptoms, not the root cause, and will not solve food safety problems.…
Two summers ago, I graduated with a master’s in sociology and, equal parts eager and apprehensive, joined a top-tier real estate company to work in agriculture. Three seemingly unconnected paths had just converged. Choosing a career against the conventional grain initially left my family and friends utterly baffled. Yet, I…
Recently, news of Singapore’s sugary drink grading system and its impending ban on advertising for bubble tea and fruit juices has sparked heated debate in China. In fact, Singapore is not the first country to intervene in the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages. Over a decade ago, policymakers began introducing regulations…
Over the past four decades, and particularly in the last ten years, China’s food system has undergone a profound transformation. Many have observed and experienced the following: local wet markets are quietly fading from mainstream daily life, while fresh food e-commerce and online grocery shopping have become the primary way…
Did you know that, according to research published in *The Lancet*, two-thirds of the world’s population have some degree of lactose intolerance, developing symptoms such as bloating and diarrhoea after consuming milk? Given this, why has milk become a daily drink enjoyed worldwide? And when did glasses of pure, tempting…
I. Dried produce can continue to be sold The Measures for the Quality and Safety Supervision and Administration of Edible Agricultural Products in Market Sales (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Measures’), long awaited by farmers across the country, have finally been issued. Compared with the consultation draft previously released, the…
Letian Haiwan Farm in Fengxian, Shanghai, is decidedly not your typical eco-farm. When I arrived for my internship this past March, I immediately sensed this place differed from my preconceptions of agriculture: it wasn’t simply about growing crops, but also involved leasing land and hosting events. You couldn’t help but…
