Foodthink says Why would a girl from the north, who had never even seen a sugarcane stalk, head south to grow it? Why would a short-video content creator be mocked by farmers? Why would a PhD candidate refer to themselves as a primary school pupil? Why would a tea research…
Foodthink’s Perspective This is the second entry in a series of notes from a visit to fishing communities in southern Thailand. In January this year, Foodthink joined the Blue Climate Initiative to visit fishing villages in the south and learn how small-scale fishers protect marine resources. In three mangrove communities…
Last year, on the banks of the fields in the mountains of Yunnan, I saw rice for the first time that grew directly from the levelled soil, without any flooding or irrigation trenches. For many, rice is inextricably linked to paddy fields. In reality, however, it can be grown on…
Foodthink’s Perspective On 17 January 2026, Mercosur (including countries such as Argentina and Brazil, hereinafter referred to as “Mercosur”) and the European Union formally signed a free trade agreement in Asunción, the capital of Paraguay. Prior to this, the agreement had already sparked large-scale protests among farmers in Europe, who…
Every 15 March, public attention focuses intensely on the issue of food safety. Yet, the impact of ‘electronic pickles’—a form of virtual food—on our dietary health has yet to receive sufficient attention. Short-form videos, TV series, variety shows, podcasts… this content, known as ‘electronic pickles’, has quietly become a daily…
Foodthink Says In January this year, Foodthink joined Blue Climate Partners to visit fishing villages in southern Thailand to understand how small-scale fishers and grassroots NGOs are joining forces to combat overfishing and achieve a win-win for both conservation and livelihoods by establishing “community-managed protected areas”. Journeying from Trang to…
In 1972, British scientist John Yudkin published a book titled Pure, White and Deadly. The protagonist of that book was sugar—pure, white sugar. The protagonist of this short piece is also sugar—sweet sugar. When I refer to “sugar” here, I mean sugar, confectionery, and added sugars in food. In the…
Foodthink’s Perspective In 1948, the Central Government decided to import tractors from the Soviet Union to reclaim land and farm the Great Northern Wilderness (Beidahuang). Simultaneously, to train operators, a tractor training course was established at the Beian State Farm in Heilongjiang. Eighteen-year-old Liang Jun was the only woman among…
I. Climate Change in the No. 1 Document For the first time, the term “low-carbon agriculture” appeared in the 2026 Central No. 1 Document. This comes nearly six years after China announced its “dual carbon” goals of reaching a carbon peak and achieving carbon neutrality. However, this does not mean…
When we step into a McDonald’s and wait for our meal at the counter, as is custom, do you ever sense it? In that open kitchen, a highly precise “production campaign” is unfolding. In the mythology of the fast-food empire, everything is standardised: a 90-second service target, fryers kept at…
