Foodthink says McDonald’s wears two faces. Once a beloved children’s playground, it is now a fast-food grindhouse for young wage earners. It is as much a small-scale factory as it is a place to dine. McDonald’s kitchens are open-plan, yet they conceal a highly precise production workflow. Within…
Over the past few years, a growing number of food companies have begun to publicise their emission reduction targets and environmental contributions, and food packaging has increasingly featured marketing terms such as ‘sustainable’, ‘recyclable’, ‘low-carbon’ and ‘climate-friendly’. These claims are designed to persuade consumers that simply purchasing the product…
After graduating with my bachelor’s degree in 2025, I did not rush to secure a stable job. Instead, I spent time meandering in search of my own vision of a good life. Having grown up amidst cramped flats and concrete, I have come to realise that nature can both…
1 Peak Straw Burning Ban Season It was clear to everyone that the crop straw burning ban had suddenly meant business. Set in 2025, Village A is located in the heart of the Dongting Lake basin in Hunan Province. The flat terrain makes it a…
◉ Eating garlic scapes far from home is pure bliss. Photo: Jiang Xiechi “I came across some garlic scapes today!” On an early summer Saturday morning, a friend excitedly showed off their farmers’ market haul. Since moving to the UK last year, we’ve regularly met up at the…
In China, if you want to truly get to know a place, there is nothing quite like sitting down to a local communal banquet. It matters little whether you are a local or from far away, a near or distant relation, a familiar face or a complete stranger. The…
Foodthink says Another 618 mid-year shopping festival is upon us. Open the homepage of any major e-commerce platform, and you will inevitably be greeted by slogans such as “platform subsidy programmes”, “time-limited threshold discounts”, and “flash-sale prices”, all designed to coax you into placing an order immediately. Some might…
Foodthink says At a Technology Courtyard run by China Agricultural University in Quzhou County, the daily routine of Xianzi, a postgraduate student born in the 2000s, bears little resemblance to clean lab benches, precision instruments, and reagent bottles. Instead, her days are spent amidst the scent of fermenting piles,…
Foodthink says Is there a food-related item you have used for years that continues to be part of your daily life? Recently, Foodthink invited readers to share their takes on “long-termism in the kitchen”. When an object is passed down through generations, it is no longer just a…
At eight o’clock on the morning of 19 April, I stood on the main street of Lihu Yao Ethnic Township in Nan’an County, Guangxi, feeling like a piece of scrap. I had travelled from the county town to Lihu entirely on my own to visit the market. The…
