About Us
Foodthink is a China-based nonprofit dedicated to environmental sustainability and social justice in the agri-food system.
Our Chinese name, “食通社”(shí tōng shè), means “food news agency” or “food literacy society”. Since 2017, through content creation, public events, small grants, and capacity building, Foodthink has stood at the nexus between research, advocacy, and action around China’s agri-food issues.
Our Mission
To improve understanding of the powers behind agri-food systems, Foodthink connects diverse actors across sectors and empowers communities to create a fair, healthy, and sustainable future for China and the rest of the world.
Our Values
At Foodthink, we believe that real change starts with literacy. Focusing on areas that are often overlooked and underrepresented in China’s food system, our work is guided by:
Sustainability & Equity:
Promoting agroecology, supporting smallholder farmers, and calling for fair policies.
Knowledge & Collaboration:
Making complex information accessible and promoting open, multi-stakeholder dialogue to strengthen understanding and joint action across the food system.
Thinking Global, Acting Local:
Connecting the dots between local actions and global challenges.
What We Do
With a Beijing-based editorial and program team, Foodthink is embedded in China’s sustainable food scene and an expansive network of farmers, academics, journalists, and NGOs.
We believe that only when consumers understand food’s path from farm to bowl, and when producers operate in a fair policy and market environment, can food be truly sustainable and healthy.
Acting as a bridge among smallholder farmers, policymakers, researchers, journalists, NGOs, funders, and consumers, our work can be divided into four main categories:
Knowledge Production & Storytelling
Up to 2025, Foodthink has produced nearly 1000 in-depth articles, podcasts, and multimedia content that reveal the untold stories in how local, regional and global transformations reshape food production and consumption.
We identify how China’s food system intersects with social and environmental issues. Our topics range from smallholder farming, agroecology, food policy, climate impacts, agrobiodiversity, to rural development, consumption patterns and emerging technologies. We also follow international agri-food debates, foster knowledge and practice exchange among Chinese players and their counterts across the world.
We continue to explore new perspectives within sustainable agri-food systems and expand our creative boundaries to reveal more stories behind every link in the food chain
Research & Advocacy
Foodthink has conducted a variety of research projects, with recent work focusing on agroecology, climate change, biodiversity, and food system workers.
In September 2025, we published Smallholder Farmers, NGOs, and Climate Action in Rural China: Pathways for a Just Transition, highlighting the plights and opportunities Chinese NGOs face as they translate national climate targets into local and practical solutions.
Recently, we have collaborated with Southeast Asian partners to share knowledge, support peer learning, and explore joint approaches to strengthening sustainable food communities in the region. We joined the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Challenges in 2023 to advocate for agro-biodiversity conservation, partnering with Peking University’s Center for Nature and Society and the Shanshui Conservation Center.
Advocacy Campaigns:
We monitor policies affecting food and agriculture and engage decision-makers through workshops, reports, and advocacy campaigns. In 2023, our efforts led to the revision of a national regulation that would have prohibited small-scale farmers from producing dry goods.
Public Engagement & Media Outreach
Foodthink organizes events and discussions to foster cross-disciplinary dialogues on agriculture and food.
Large Stakeholder Forums:
We partner NGOs, universities and thinktanks to host large forums, bringing together policymakers, farmers, NGOs, academia and other stakeholders to exchange knowledge and build mutual understanding.
Seminars, Talks & Book Clubs:
We have hosted over 300 seminars, talks, and book club events, inviting the public to engage with agri-food issues in an interactive setting.
Media Network:
We host media workshops that help journalists, podcasters, filmmakers, and bloggers to produce high-impact agri-food stories, building a network of media professionals in the sector. We also serve as an information hub, linking media with industry insiders.
Our media grants support journalists and researchers to investigate under-reported stories that connect food with social and environmental issues.
Capacity Building & Empowerment
We support ecological farmers, grassroots NGOs, communities, and consumer groups to amplify their impact on China’s food system:
Grassroots Initiatives:
We provide small grants supporting innovative, sustainable grassroots food and agricultural projects across China. Over 20 initiatives have sprouted over three rounds of funding.
Agroecology Internship Program:
Launched in 2021, this program has paired more than 90 agroecology enthusiasts with 10+ ecological farms. Some graduated interns have started their own farms or become the backbone of the farm.