How can we tell whether fruit and vegetables are truly good? Should we rely solely on how symmetrical and attractive they look? If so, why is it that the ‘ugly’ produce—the misshapen fruits and veg found on the farm—disappears the moment it hits the shelves? The genes haven’t mutated; the…
At the start of 2024, farmer protests spread like wildfire across Europe, beginning in Germany. During the peak of the protests in mid-January, more than 30,000 farmers drove over 5,000 tractors from across Germany to demonstrate in Berlin. The immediate trigger was the German government’s announcement at the end of…
Foodthink’s Perspective Organic farming is far from a pastoral idyll, a fact for which the young people participating in Foodthink’s Lianhe Ecological Agriculture Internship Programme had already mentally prepared. However, out in the fields, through day-after-day of labour and observation, they gained a completely new understanding of farmers, ecological farming,…
In Sanyuanqiao, Beijing, there is an unusual community vegetable shop where all produce is delivered directly by local agroecological smallholders. Each piece of produce is tied to a specific grower’s name, and nothing is grown using pesticides or chemical fertilisers, adhering to strict production standards. This shop, called Ji Shi,…
Foodthink’s Lianhe Initiative is inviting young people and established farms to apply for phase three of its ecological farm internship programme across China, with applications closing on 6 March 2024.
Over a year ago, the entire Foodthink team “usurped the nest“, taking over the community vegetable shop of the Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market. In a single day, we took full responsibility for all shop operations and achieved such great sales results that we won our “wager”. The first “Occupy the…
Foodthink Author Kouzi A determined farmer-trekker and village brewmaster. Full-time foodie, part-time farmer, and amateur writer. Some people might look at the title and think it’s wrong: ‘Isn’t the New Year supposed to make you put on a few pounds? How on earth can you lose weight…
Foodthink’s Take With the Lunar New Year approaching, who wouldn’t want to prepare a lavish New Year’s Eve feast with minimal time and effort? Riding this wave, various pre-prepared meals have once again trended across online shopping platforms—for just over a thousand yuan, you can bring home a full set…
Foodthink’s Take In the final episode of the hit TV series *Blossoms Shanghai*, the protagonist, Mr Bao, quotes the famous line from *Gone with the Wind*—’Land is the only thing that lasts’—as he retires to the farmland of Chuansha on the outskirts of Shanghai. Had Mr Bao’s land not been…
Long-time readers of Foodthink will certainly be familiar with the name “Grandma Kouzi”. Since 2021, this woman in her sixties has chosen to move to “Villain’s Valley” in Fujian. There, she built her own home and worked the land herself, carving a sanctuary out of the wilderness to explore a…
