Editor’s Note I first met Jiang Ziqi at a book fair in Hangzhou in 2023. She had invited the Farmer Seed Network to give a talk on seed saving during the event; at the time, I knew that she and several of her partners in Hangzhou tended their own small…

In late September, as the rainy season in Xishuangbanna draws to a close, Qin Xianrong—a youth from the post-90s generation who has returned to his roots—drove us north from Mengyang Town in Jinghong City to visit his ecological planting base in Dadugang Township. To reach Dadugang, one must pass through…

Last week, the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai region suffered a historically rare series of blows, being hit by two consecutive typhoons of Force 10 or higher within just four days. Around 7:30 am on 16 September 2024, Typhoon Bebinca made landfall along the coast of the Lin-gang Special Area in…

Another Mid-Autumn Festival has arrived. When relatives and friends exchange gifts, they are mostly mooncakes. Some boxes are lavish, others simple; Cantonese or Suzhou style, savoury meat or purely vegetarian, handmade or organic. One might be from a prestigious old brand in Hong Kong, while another comes from a trendy…

Meeting Nichole made me realise just how dire the food and living environments of modern people have become. In the United States, the manicured lawns in front of houses are an environmental disaster. According to statistics from the environmental organisation Friends of the Earth, Americans spray 80 million pounds of…

As a foodie, I don’t eat meat, but I cannot live without beans—soybeans, mung beans, red beans, black beans, and chickpeas. Although I avoid buying from shops as much as possible and try to eat what I grow myself, the consumption of soy products at Evil Person Valley has always…

A tanker truck carrying a mix of mineral and edible oil has suddenly put oil in the spotlight. People are wondering how to ensure the safety of their vegetable oil; but as a foodie, my question is different: do we actually need refined vegetable oil at all? I. A History…

Foodthink Says The rainfall in the south this year has been distressing; we have not only seen the devastation in the news but have also received a steady stream of bad news from our farming friends about reduced yields. Our old friend Kouzi, based in Fujian, has seen almost total…

I once wrote ‘How Much Land Does a Man Need?’ and, in practice, I found that a modest plot of land is quite enough to sustain all my life’s needs. So, for someone like me living on such a plot, how much living space is actually necessary? How large should…