Labor in food and farming systems, migrant workers, labor rights, and changes in production-side work.
In August 2024, two feature films about the food delivery industry were released. Simultaneously, Hangzhou saw two sudden incidents involving delivery riders: in August, a clash between a rider and a security guard sparked collective protests among nearby riders; in September, a “top-tier” rider died suddenly on his e-bike, triggering…
Is a future where artificial intelligence replaces humans still far off? While some have already begun to fear for their livelihoods, the widespread adoption of algorithms in sectors such as food delivery and retail has already transformed the way ordinary people eat. But does new technology necessarily herald a progressive…
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…
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.
“These oats were sown in mid-October last year; we’ve found that the ‘Eagle’ variety performs best. If we use dense planting, the yield per unit will be higher.” “Have you tried sparse planting?” On 12 June, at Gut Wilmersdorf, an organic farm an hour’s drive from Berlin, a group of…
I.“You have been penalised and demoted to shop assistant” “You have been penalised and demoted to store clerk.” A few months ago, Ms L, a store manager at a Convenience Bee branch in Beijing, suddenly received this message on her handheld terminal. In her daily routine, she had to keep…
I was born in a small tea-growing village in Hunan. Growing up amidst the tea gardens and mountain forests gave me a particular interest in the tea industry. When I was a child, tea production in the village lacked a formal system; every household ran it as a side hustle,…
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 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…
