Foodthink Says Since the beginning of June, a video titled “From Waste Siege to Not Enough Waste to Burn: China’s Speed Leaves the West Bewildered” has spread rapidly across the internet. The idea of throwing eyesore rubbish into a furnace to burn it all away, then using the released energy…
“We should have happy, blissful, sunlit times”—I truly love this lyric, although I’ve never quite learned to demand “Give me your innocent smile” with the same bold confidence as Lao Lang. After enduring seasons of oppression, sorrow, and gloom, I have come to appreciate just how vital happiness, bliss, and…
I. A Journey Starting with Bananas Bananas have been one of the plants I have encountered most frequently over the past year. From Africa to Brazil, I have seen and eaten a great many of them—deep-fried, stewed with tomatoes, sautéed in butter; some as long as an arm, others as…
I.Leaving it all behind for the farm On an ordinary morning, walking into the passion fruit field, I saw golden fruit hanging heavy from the branches. The trees planted in late March had brought forth a second bloom, and the bees, busy pollinating, buzzed in my ears. The scene before…
Two years ago, I jumped ship to a financial media outlet to cover agriculture full-time. I imagined this would be a role closer to the land and to food itself—a way to reconnect news reporting with the tangible realities of life. Unlike food writers who chronicle flavours, I wrote about…
Not long ago, Nature Cities published an article explaining how urban residents in China transfer the risk of heat exposure during extreme temperatures onto delivery riders by ordering takeout. The logic is simple enough to grasp, yet when faced with torrential rain or scorching heatwaves, the delivery rider is reduced…
Foodthink Insights Internationally, an increasing number of scholars, policymakers, and practitioners have begun to promote and adopt the concept of “agroecology”. While this term remains somewhat unfamiliar in the Chinese-speaking world and is often translated as “ecological agriculture”, the latter fails to capture the rich connotations of agroecology, which integrates…
If you visited Pu’er, Yunnan, this spring, you would have found the coffee farmers beaming with joy. The price of green coffee beans has been climbing for a year; from 38 yuan per kilogram at the start of 2024, it rose to 66 yuan per kilogram by May—a growth rate…
From the war of words between JD and Meituan over delivery riders’ social security in April, to the new regulations mandating contributions on 1 September, the working conditions of riders have come under increasing scrutiny. Yet for many riders, social security feels like a distant concept; they are consumed by…
Foodthink’s Perspective “Digital side-dishes” primarily refers to the short videos, variety shows, classic dramas, novels, and any other entertainment consumed via smartphone while eating. It is generally believed that young people, in particular, use them to alleviate the loneliness and boredom of dining alone. However, the story of “digital side-dishes”…
