Grain Rain ( guyu 谷雨 ) has arrived; the showers nurture the fields as the countryside enters the busiest and most vibrant season of the year. After a fortnight of quietude, Foodthink is also taking this solar term as a moment to begin anew. Riding on the season’s rains, we are sowing fresh seeds back into the soil and bringing new voices back here. After some time apart, we would like to take this opportunity to reintroduce ourselves.
Who is Foodthink?
Foodthink is a content platform focused on food and farming issues, as well as a knowledge, information, and writing community centred on sustainable food and agriculture. Through our publications and public events, we aim to present readers with a food and farming system in all its complexity and reality.Foodthink was founded in 2017 by a group of activists and researchers with long-standing experience in food and agriculture. Our name can be understood as either a ‘food news agency’ or a ‘food literacy collective’. Here, we bring together people from diverse disciplines and regions who share a commitment to food and farming—academics, journalists, fieldworkers, farmers, non-profits, and consumers alike. We hope that through documentation and dialogue, we can help make our food and farming systems more equitable and sustainable.In 2022, to reflect this world’s complexity across different media, we launched the podcast *Food Talk*. We took our microphones out into the fields, aiming to amplify more voices straight from the ground. At the same time, we stream live events and feature compelling conversations on our video channels, inviting a wider audience to join public discussions on food and agriculture.
Our Areas of Focus
When working towards a sustainable and equitable food and farming system, what areas deserve our attention? The following are the core themes we have focused on and debated since our inception.
Smallholder Livelihoods
Since its founding, Foodthink has focused on the plight of smallholder farmers, striving to secure a fairer market and a more supportive social environment for those working in agroecology. Over 200 million smallholders manage 70% of the country’s arable land across China; the reality of small-scale farming within a major agricultural nation is a longstanding feature of its landscape. Viewed on a global scale, smallholders produce roughly a third of the world’s food and play a pivotal role in tackling climate change, safeguarding plant genetic resources, and preserving biodiversity. Yet their contributions have long been undervalued, and their livelihoods increasingly squeezed. In recent years, under the weight of corporations, digital platforms, and large-scale industrial systems, smallholders have steadily lost their voice over land use, production standards, and business practices.By consistently documenting and reporting on smallholders’ stories, Foodthink aims to shed light on their real-world conditions on the land, while deepening public understanding of their value and contribution to the broader food and farming system. Amid grand narratives of “building a strong agricultural nation” and “agricultural modernisation”, Foodthink’s focus remains grounded: how can every smallholder secure a market for their produce, maintain access to land, and keep a home to return to?◉During the winter of 2023, prices for mid-to-high-end fruit took a sharp dive, and the retail price of ordinary navel oranges repeatedly fell below 6 yuan per jin. In December 2023, Foodthink visited Huichang County in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province—a core production region for navel oranges—and found dozens of warehouses along the roadsides in Youshui Township stacked floor to ceiling with the fruit.
Labour in Food and Farming
From field to table, it is not just food that makes the journey, but the workers behind every stage of the chain. Behind our three daily meals lies the unseen labour of farmers, greengrocers, hospitality staff, sorters, and delivery drivers. In recent years, Foodthink has continuously tracked how the livelihoods and daily lives of both veteran and new entrants to the food and farming sector are being reshaped under industrialised food systems and digital capital. As China shifts out of traditional smallholder farming, what are the uncertainties, aspirations, and hopes in new labour structures?
Climate Change
Farmers have always depended on the weather to feed their families. As climate change intertwines with rural transformation, and the most vulnerable smallholders silently bear the brunt of both natural disasters and human-made crises, our reflection on current development models falls far short of the situation’s gravity. 1.5 degrees Celsius, unprecedented disasters, severe heatstroke… these terms are fast becoming part of our everyday vocabulary, serving as stark warnings that climate change is already disrupting agriculture and food production, and reshaping power dynamics. Will climate change ultimately drive the food system to the brink of collapse, or will it present a catalyst for transformation? The answer depends on the actions we take right now. But first, we must clearly see the fork in the road ahead.Last year, Foodthink documented farmers in the southwest turning to drought-resistant rice varieties, and those in the north digging drainage channels. We recorded a Beijing farm swept away overnight by exceptional flooding, and abnormal heatwaves in Shaanxi that disrupted orchard blooming cycles and left agricultural workers battling heat exhaustion… By chronicling the ways climate change intersects with the agricultural and food systems, we strive to remain closely attuned to the earth, deepen our understanding of the complex relationship between climate and land, and search for truly equitable, sustainable solutions.◉ In April 2024, severe drought struck Yunnan, leaving rice terraces in Mojiang severely cracked. Photo: Yunnan Sili Centre
Biodiversity
Farming stands as the most significant symbiosis between humanity and the natural world, yet it affects all life beyond us: wild plants, fungi, animals, and even microorganisms. Diverse ecologies form the very bedrock of human survival. How do our agricultural practices affect biodiversity? How does the push towards increasingly uniform commercial varieties erode both the diversity of our food and our species? Why could everyday bubble tea and takeaway consumption potentially threaten wildlife survival?Once we grasp the intricate link between food systems and biodiversity, a more vital question emerges: what kind of agricultural system can nourish people while simultaneously safeguarding the habitats and breeding grounds of other species? Which farmers continue to conserve and save seeds, and what policies or measures are needed to sustain the wisdom and practice of keeping seed reserves within farming communities? Foodthink has continued to raise awareness on the loss of crop varieties, and documented those work on their revival since its inception.
Systemic Changes in Agri-foods
After decades of economic reform and development, putting food on the table for China is no longer a struggle. Consequently, agriculture has yielded importance to industrial development, and has been steadily pushed to the margins in national policies and market environments. At the same time, increased productivity has brought its own set of challenges: soil health deteriorating due to agrochemical reliance, structural upheaval in rural labour markets driven by mechanisation, and those safeguarding our food security earning less from a single acre than the price of an iPhone. Meanwhile, the agricultural supply chain traps farmers in a self-defeating race to the bottom, leaving them powerless to negotiate fair market prices… What are the social, economic and political processes that has led our food systems to this point? Foodthink the abstract level, and dives into the livelihoods and living conditions of female machinery operators, drone pilots, Qinghai herders, and Guangdong sugarcane growers.
Policy
New agricultural policies come into effect every year: “high-standard farmland” projects, land transfer initiatives, consolidating plots, and the annual No. 1 Central Policy Directive outline China’s visions for its agri-foods future. What do these policies mean for different rural communities, and do they align with the needs of smallholder farmers? Beyond that, are they sound approaches? Will they deliver tangible improvements? Foodthink visits farming households each year to keep a close watch on the practical impact of agricultural policies once they are put into action. A policy is more than ink on paper; to understand how to design more grounded and effective solutions, we look to the fields and the farmers for answers.
Eating Well
Within the grand narratives of modernisation, the everyday is all too easily overlooked. Yet when we turn our gaze back to the ordinary, we find that life’s weightiest matters boil down to something as simple as “eating well”—paying attention to our grains and vegetables, and nurturing our bodies, the environment, labour, and dignity through daily routines we can actually live out. The three daily meals may seem unassuming, but they connect us to distant fields and complex production chains, as well as to our own lifestyles and value systems.How can we use our own lives as a method? Many are already exploring practical ways to do so. Through the stories of those taking action, Foodthink encourages everyone to make their own daily practice a starting point. You might begin by getting your hands in the soil, tending daily to the microbes in kimchi or kombucha, growing vegetables on a balcony, or simply composting your kitchen scraps.◉ Kombucha made by Xiaofang, a close friend of Foodthink. Source: XiaofangGlobal DevelopmentsGeopolitical uncertainties are increasingly exerting a direct influence on food and agricultural systems worldwide. The ripples of conflict are becoming ever more visible—food crises, fertiliser shortages, and disrupted supply chains. These shifts are not only affecting agricultural production in developing countries but are also reshaping what appears on dinner tables in wealthier nations. Foodthink has been consistently tracking international developments in food and farming. From cutting-edge research and innovative practices to forward-looking debates and policy shifts, we continually examine how global changes play out concretely for local people, landscapes, and production.Key Focus Areas This Year
International Year of Women in Agriculture
2026 year was declared the United Nations’ International Year of Women in Agriculture. Foodthink launched the ‘The Land and her’ content initiative, focusing on the labour, experience, and circumstances of women within agricultural and food systems. For a long time, women have carried out much of the work that sustains everyday food and farming activities—from field production and market distribution to frontline sales—yet their contributions are frequently overlooked, even rendered invisible. Through interviews, long-form writing and workshops, Foodthink will document the women and stories within these systems. We seek to understand how women’s participation shapes our food systems, and invite everyone to join a conversation on how a fairer, more dignified future can be realised for women in agriculture.
International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists
Food does not come solely from agricultural regions and crop farming. Pastoral lands, which sustain the lives and livelihoods of countless herders, are among China’s most vital yet most frequently overlooked ecological and economic landscapes. Against the backdrop of the United Nations International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, Foodthink will turn its focus to what “rangeland degradation” actually looks like across China, the impact of climate change on pastoral resilience, and issues concerning livestock markets and the distribution of value to herders across the value chain.◉ Herders on the shores of Qinghai Lake riding motorcycles to round up their sheep and drive them back to the pens. Photo: Jiao Xiaofang
Climate Change
Climate change is a long-standing priority for Foodthink. This year, our focus is squarely on finding solutions, particularly technologies or collaborative models that bring tangible benefits to smallholder farmers and communities. We invite partners across the agriculture and food sectors—whether you are a farmer, village official, cooperative member, NGO representative, or researcher—to reach out and connect with us. By working together to explore and scale climate-resilient practices, we can help farmers build the resilience needed to weather natural disasters, while ensuring we all enjoy safer, more secure food. We will also be announcing small grants for frontline practitioners, so please keep an eye out for our future posts.
Those Who Feed Us
From farmers working the land, rural e-commerce livestream hosts, supermarket packers, and delivery riders, to wet market stallholders and restaurant owners, Foodthink dedicates its writing to documenting the stories and livelihoods of every worker along the food chain, from production to the plate. Since last year, “Food Talk” has been producing the “100 Those Who Feed Us” series, inviting people across the food and agriculture value chain to share their experiences. If you play a part in this chain, we’d love to hear from you.
Public Events
Beyond original content, Foodthink partners with numerous collaborators to create spaces where those engaged with food and agriculture issues can meet and exchange ideas. Last year, through more than 30 online and in-person sharing sessions, book clubs, markets, and workshops, we brought real-world challenges from the fields and farms to a wider audience. These events ranged from the impact of extreme weather on agriculture, to discussions on biodiversity conservation from *Disappearing Foods*; from local wisdom embedded in fermentation traditions, to interactive board games and collage poetry at the “Hands-on Making” market.This year, Foodthink will host screenings and discussion events for the documentary *Beyond the Plate*, supported by the Lianhe Creative Programme. The film examines how imported beef and mutton have disrupted the livelihoods of local herders around Qinghai Lake, while also tracing the global supply chains behind the meat on our plates. If you are interesting in hosting a screening at your venue, please get in touch.
What else do we do?
Lianhe Creative Programme
To gain a deeper understanding of today’s food and agricultural landscape, and to encourage wider exploration of the complexities underpinning these issues, Foodthink collaborated with several philanthropic and media partners in 2024 and 2025 to launch the “Lianhe Creative Programme”. This initiative funds creators and researchers to carry out investigations in the food and agriculture sector and to produce content aimed at the general public.Over the past two years, supported works have been released in succession, steadily capturing public attention and prompting broader conversations about pastoral communities, farmers, and the hidden dynamics of our food systems. Though often overlooked by mainstream media, these subjects are gradually coming to light through the “Lianhe Creative Programme”, revealing unseen challenges that await our collective response.
Agroecology Internship Programme
Since its inception, Foodthink has supported young people passionate about food and agriculture, particularly those aspiring to work in ecological farming, guiding them as they develop a deeper understanding of the practice. In 2026, Foodthink launched our sixth cohort of the ‘Ecological Farming Internship Programme’. Over recent years, the initiative has connected nearly 100 aspiring ecological farmers with experienced eco-farms across the country, where participants spend between three and twelve months working alongside and learning from farm mentors.◉ March 2023: The ecological farming interns at Lüwo Farm watch the sunset together after a day’s work.
Small-Scale Action Grants
Though based in Beijing, we recognise that slogans and research alone cannot transform food and farming systems. Real change ultimately comes from the sum of small actions taken across individuals and communities. Change carries a cost, and new ventures may well fail. We have observed that many grassroots practitioners and communities simply lack a small amount of seed funding to test new ideas and launch new initiatives. Foodthink’s “Lianhe Programme” exists to support these local food and farming actions, helping practitioners identify workable methods. From community seed banks and rural school gardens to local market exploration groups and research into traditional foodways, Foodthink has been privileged to take part in and support these tangible, innovative efforts. We look forward to partnering with even more practitioners in the future.
Research and Advocacy
Beyond our day-to-day documentation and discussions, we also conduct targeted research and advocacy.In 2023, working alongside countless smallholder farmers, experts, and media partners, we persuaded the State Administration for Market Regulation to accommodate the needs of small-scale producers in the revised Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Quality and Safety in the Market Sale of Edible Agricultural Products. This change secured the right of farmers to produce and sell their own dried goods.In 2025, drawing on years of field visits and targeted research, we published a report titled Pathways for Rural Social Organisations to Tackle Climate Change. The report documents and analyses how civil society groups have, over the past two decades, pioneered approaches to the climate crisis across diverse fields including agricultural livelihoods, energy transition, disaster risk reduction, rural eldercare, gender equality, and public health. Our findings reveal that it is not just the climate that is shifting; rural landscapes are transforming too. To grasp the foundational principles of climate action, we must first understand these rural transitions. Click “Read the Full Article” at the end of this page to download the complete report. Dive in, and join our community of like-minded changemakers.◉ Supported by Oxfam Hong Kong’s Beijing Office, Foodthink conducted extensive interviews and surveys over the past year to explore how civil society organisations can strengthen climate resilience in rural communities. This work culminated in the publication of Pathways for Rural Social Organisations to Tackle Climate Change.
Get in Touch
If you have your own observations and insights on agriculture, rural development, and the food system, and possess both writing skills and a passion for sharing them, we warmly invite your submission. We are also happy to chat with potential contributors from diverse backgrounds. Sometimes, a conversation is all it takes to spark a written piece. Feel free to reach out if you identify with any of the following profiles:
Small-scale agroecological farmers with practical experience, ideas, hard-learned lessons, and questions who wish to share their journey with fellow practitioners;
Academics researching agricultural, rural, and food system issues who wish to translate their scholarly work into accessible insights for broader audiences;
Journalists and media professionals with a long-standing focus on agriculture and the food sector;
Professionals working within the agriculture and food industries;
Researchers dedicated to rural studies and community development;
Practitioners in the NGO sector or government departments, particularly those engaged in rural development and environmental conservation.
Currently, Foodthink is particularly seeking contributions in the following areas:
The intersection of climate change, biodiversity, and the food-farming system;
Value chains for food and agricultural produce;
The impact of retail and hospitality sectors on agricultural production;
How emerging technologies and platform economies—from e-commerce and drones to solar PV and AI—are reshaping the food-farming system;
Misleading “low-carbon” and “green” initiatives versus genuinely effective solutions;
Changes in pastoralist livelihoods and the ecological landscapes of grazing lands;
Food-farming topics that intersect with broader public issues, including the environment, technology, public health, gender, and geopolitics.
Follow Foodthink ElsewhereBeyond our website and official WeChat Account, you are welcome to connect with us across various platforms to stay updated with the latest developments and in-depth insights on sustainable food and farming. We look forward to crossing paths with you wherever you read:Official WeChat : @FoodthinkXiaohongshu: @FoodthinkFoodthinkFoodthink Annual Reviews: 2022–2025
