What shocks me about this man’s suffering is that it was unnecessary. — Bertolt Brecht The film *Against the Flow*, which centres on food-delivery riders, has been in cinemas for over a week. Few films provoke such widespread and heated debate before they even premiere. Two sharply opposing viewpoints have…
From foraging and hunting to slash-and-burn agriculture, from generations of field labour, to GMOs, drones, cultivated meat and even artificial intelligence, and from home cooking to relying on delivery services, humanity’s agricultural and food systems have undergone a complete revolution. The dramatic shifts within our farmland reflect the impact of…
Foodthink says 15 August marks National Ecology Day. When ecology and biodiversity come to mind, we tend to think first of wild animals or the Amazon rainforest; few consider the intricate relationship between agriculture and ecosystems. In fact, over the past seven decades, the negative impacts of agricultural expansion and…
Foodthink Says On 19 July 2024, James C. Scott, professor of political science at Yale University, died. In the immediate aftermath, a wave of tribute articles emerged, revisiting his ideas on peasants and agriculture, everyday resistance, the state and society, and anarchism. Beginning with his research into peasant resistance, Scott…
In this episode of Food Talk, we welcome Foodthink’s new colleague, Yuyang, as our special guest. He is not only a fresh addition to our team but also brings a unique background: he spent four months in 2021 working briefly as a food delivery rider. Though interested in the labour…
When we think of Monsanto, it is easy to associate the company with the health risks of genetically modified (GM) foods. However, “Empire of Seeds” by Bart J. Elmore, a US scholar of environmental history, shows that the influence of agricultural capital—epitomised by Monsanto—on the human food system is actually…
On 17 July, on the eve of the 2024 Summer Olympics opening in Paris, a coalition of international organisations launched the “Kick Big Soda Out of Sport” campaign, taking on the world’s largest soft drink manufacturers, including Coca-Cola. The initiative contends that “Big Soda” – soft drink industry giants epitomised…
Editor’s Note In the previous column, Master Yiguo showed us how, from an urban setting, she uses a “small dining table” to serve friends in her neighbourhood meals that are both wholesome and delicious. Yet even more “hardcore” is the grower of the rice served at that very table: Chen…
In this episode of *Food Talk*, we focus on the recent tanker truck incident that has captured widespread attention, exploring how food safety concerns impact our everyday lives. Despite numerous past food safety scandals, consumers still feel largely powerless in the face of our current food environment. This sense of…
A tanker truck caught mixing mineral and edible oils has thrust cooking oil into the spotlight, capturing unprecedented public attention. While people are asking how to ensure the vegetable oils they consume are safe, as a food enthusiast, I’m posing a different question: do we really need to be eating…
