Analysis of national and local agricultural policies, food policies, regulatory changes, and governance mechanisms.
Recently, the scandal involving coal-to-oil tankers contaminated with edible oil sparked a public outcry, once again bringing food safety and public health to the forefront of public concern. In reality, safety hazards stemming from food have always been present. In March this year, a study published in *Nature Communications* titled…
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,…
Is genetically modified (GM) rice actually safe? Why can it not be easily brought to market? On 18 April, a Philippine court ruled that the commercial promotion of Golden Rice was unconstitutional, highlighting once again the cautious attitude of various sectors of society towards GM staple crops. The court also…
Gerile and other dairy producers in Sanggen Dalai Town, Zhenglan Banner, Inner Mongolia, describe how hand-fermentation, local fresh milk and wooden tools shape flavour, and explain why standardised upgrading makes it hard for many small workshops to expand production.
One of the most significant recent news stories from Europe has seen farmers across the continent taking to the streets to protest against EU trade and land management policies, with France serving as the epicentre of the unrest. According to leaders of the primary French agricultural unions involved, extreme weather…
Foodthink says ‘315’ is the shorthand for Consumer Rights Day. Every year on this date, people instinctively focus on which frauds have been exposed by CCTV. In daily life, however, a product’s value exists in more than just a binary of ‘real’ or ‘fake’; consumers also care about quality and…
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…
Today, the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change opened in Dubai. While humanity continues to bicker over the distribution of responsibility for saving the planet—who should pay how much, and who must step outside their comfort zone to alter existing economic development…
Power generated above, crops grown below—one piece of land yielding two streams of income. “Agrivoltaics” claims to deliver multiple benefits, including clean electricity, efficient land use, agricultural modernisation, and rural development; it is often viewed as a win-win technological innovation to simultaneously address food, energy, and climate issues. According to…
In media reports over the last few years, it has been common for street vendors to be fined for selling produce such as chives and celery with pesticide residues exceeding legal limits, with penalties ranging from 5,000 to tens of thousands of yuan. The performance of high-end supermarkets and premium…
