Organic production, sustainable farming methods, and agroecological practices.
On 12 April, a week after the Grain Rain solar term, eastern Sichuan had seen several consecutive rainfalls. This provided relief from the drought that had persisted from the Lunar New Year into March, and the rice seedlings in the fields were nearing the time for transplanting. That afternoon, Yuan…
Li Pengyue, a former IT professional now running an ecological orchard in Weihai, Shandong, compares crop losses from birds and rabbits to a trapped snow leopard and nine dead sheep, and the real question is who pays when wildlife damages crops and livestock.
Editor’s Note In a corner of Yulin, Chengdu, Xia Lili—known to the locals as “Master Yi Guo”—has launched a new experiment: The Little Dining Table. This is a warm, collective dining initiative where neighbours team up as “dining buddies” to purchase and share meals, establishing regular eating habits and enjoying…
A Note from Foodthink With the passing of Grain Rain, the peak season for this year’s spring tea has come to a temporary close. During the Qingming Festival, Foodthink shared a story about the climate resilience of a natural farming tea garden in Xinyang. Today, we present the second part,…
Foodthink says Since returning home in 2013 to establish the Chengdu Liangliang Farm, Tang Liang’s practice has provided a constant source of inspiration for those concerned with food and farming. In 2018, Tang Liang’s 《The Ledger and Lifestyle of a Family Farm》 offered a sincere answer to the question of…
In Xinyang, Henan, Zhang Chao’s naturally farmed Deyi Tea Garden endures spring drought, late frost and heat, while old drought-resistant tea shows more resilience than the government-promoted early-sprouting variety Xinyang No. 10.
On a windy March day in Beijing, we sat down at the Foodthink office with Tang Liang, who had travelled from his farm in Sichuan, to look back on his twelve-year journey of returning to his roots. Tang Liang was the first in his family to attend university. After graduating…
At the beginning of 2024, Foodthink launched the recruitment for the third ‘Ecological Agriculture Internship Programme’. We would like to thank everyone for their interest and enthusiastic applications. This year, we received a total of 62 farm internship applications. Following detailed discussions between Foodthink, 12 farm mentors, and our partner…
More than 20 years ago, a group of pioneer farmers and social organisations blazed a trail for “ecological agriculture” in China. Driven by a desire to ensure food safety and a commitment to protecting the environment, they began experimenting with cultivation free from pesticides, chemical fertilisers, and herbicides. Whether they…
Foodthink’s Perspective As mentioned previously, consumers are often too disconnected from the point of production to truly understand the quality of their food, making it difficult for them to effectively safeguard their rights. To address this, Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) practices have emerged within China. PGS emphasises that various ‘stakeholders’—including…
