A while ago, news about oil tankers mixing different types of edible oils was everywhere, leaving many of us wondering if we had also fallen victim to it. Getting enough to eat has long ceased to be an issue, but eating safely and healthily is another matter entirely. I recalled…
I. Returning to the Countryside: Connecting with Pengcheng Natural Farm I grew up in a Hakka village in eastern Guangdong, and as a child, I often longed for the world beyond. In 2015, I finally made it to the big city of Guangzhou for my studies; I have lived, worked,…
The Paris Olympics closed last week, but the dust has yet to settle on the doping controversies. The turmoil involved at least three incidents related to food safety: Ultimately, all three incidents were determined to be caused by the consumption of meat products “contaminated” with doping agents, rather than the…
The suffering of this person shocks me, for it was unnecessary. — Bertolt Brecht The film *Upstream*, which focuses on food delivery riders, has been showing for over a week. Few films have sparked such widespread and intense debate prior to their release. Within these debates, two starkly opposing viewpoints…
A Beijing discussion of the book Empire of Seeds, with Foodthink and the Farmers’ Seed Network, examines how seed standards, crop diversity and industrial agriculture shape the flavour of tomatoes, rice and wheat.
Foodthink’s Perspective 15 August is National Ecology Day. When we speak of ecology and biodiversity, our thoughts immediately turn to wildlife or the Amazon rainforest; few consider the mutual influence between agriculture and ecosystems. In fact, over the last 70 years, the expansion and intensification of agriculture have increasingly degraded…
Foodthink says On 19 July 2024, James C. Scott, Professor of Political Science at Yale University, passed away. Immediately, a wave of commemorative articles began to re-examine his ideas on peasants and agriculture, everyday resistance, state and society, and anarchism. James Scott began by studying peasant struggles before turning to…
Yuyang, who worked as an Ele.me dedicated-delivery rider during his summer holiday in 2021, describes how order dispatch, complaints, attendance and algorithmic control affected his daily routine.
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 in Paris, several international organisations launched an initiative called “Kick Big Soda Out of Sport”, declaring war on the world’s largest soft drink producers, including Coca-Cola. The initiative claims that “Big Soda”—represented by industry giants like Coca-Cola and Pepsi—uses…
