From 6 April, sand has been blowing almost every day in Damao Banner, Baotou, in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The worst was on the 10th, when a sandstorm lasted for nearly five hours; outside, the wind and sand blotted out the sun, leaving the indoors dim and dark. “We…
Twenty hours later, I finally set foot on the thick blankets of snow in Lapland, northern Sweden. It was seven o’clock in the morning, and the dawn had not yet fully broken over Jokkmokk; however, the light reflecting off the brilliant white snow was enough to reveal the silhouettes of…
Since Dutch farmers’ protests against nitrogen reduction policies began over six months ago, the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BoerBurgerBeweging, or BBB), widely seen as ‘pro-farmer’, has emerged as a dark horse in this March’s provincial elections. Founded just four years ago, the BBB not only secured nearly 20% of the vote but…
In the UK news of 2022, alongside the death of the Queen, the accession of King Charles, skyrocketing heating and electricity bills, and the revolving door of Prime Ministers, there was also the “egg shortage” towards the end of the year. For several weeks between November and December, egg supplies…
Foodthink’s Take Beyond being consumed, becoming waste is the final destination for a significant portion of our food. According to estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, one-third of all food worldwide is eventually lost or wasted, much of which ends up in the bin. Food…
I. Xiao Tang and Xiao Wen’s home is nestled in a valley. The stream there is small, barely half a metre deep, yet it flows year-round and can be found on a map. Flowing south, it joins other waterways several times before feeding into the Ohio River, which runs from…
Author’s Note My husband, Mr Panghu, and I live in a small town in the Great Lakes region of the American Midwest. The local farmers’ market has been running for nearly thirty years, and we have witnessed more than a decade of its history. This series of short pieces aims…
In early November, Odesa had not yet succumbed to large-scale missile strikes and power outages, and the shops along the streets remained open as usual. Aleksey, a farmer, arranged to meet me at a café in the city centre. Aleksey’s farm is located near Odesa. He told me it covers…
In 2015, by a stroke of luck, I found myself in an intentional community in southern Germany, where I was first introduced to organic farming. Since then, I have worked on three different organic farms, first as a volunteer and later as an agricultural apprentice with Demeter im Norden. In…
