Platform economies, food delivery workers, and urban consumption behavior.
A Working Holiday Visa holder delivers food on foot for Uber Eats in Melbourne’s city centre. In their first month, over 80 orders earned them more than 1,200 Australian dollars; a cafe job covers rent, yet hourly pay falls below Australia’s legal minimum hourly wage.
From US military products to takeaway containers, plastic has penetrated everyday life through the oil industry and single-use consumption. Recycling and biodegradable solutions have limits; humanity must reconsider which products should be made from plastic and how to create less waste.
I am someone who succumbed to pressure; I couldn’t keep playing this game of racing between skyscrapers. Now, I write my story in the hope that as a “failed player” still in flight, I can identify from those past “failures” the things that truly made me feel lonely and depressed,…
JD and Meituan are locked in a fierce battle for the food delivery market, with the most striking point of contention being the dispute over riders’ social security. On 19 February 2025, JD took the lead by announcing it would pay the “Five Insurances and one Housing Fund” for full-time…
Foodthink’s Take In the previous edition of our “Eat Well” column, dozens of Foodthink readers shared their “moments they wanted to avoid takeout”. Many expressed their frustration; although there are times they are tired of takeout, the frantic pace of work, a lack of culinary skill, or poor kitchen facilities…
Qingming is a festival for ancestral worship and tomb-sweeping. This year, Qingming falls on 4 April, which happens to be 404. This brings to mind those articles that have been 404 not found. Last year, several Foodthink articles “disappeared” from our WeChat official account—the highest number in our history. Yet,…
Sun Shan, Shanshui Nature Conservation Centre co-founder, and environmental advocate Ma Tianjie begin with Meituan-funded environmental organisations and the Asia Pulp & Paper deforestation scandal, discussing how companies use charitable funds, algorithms and rules to shape environmental agendas, and how non-profits can maintain oversight boundaries.
At a recent press conference during the National People’s Congress, the National Health Commission announced the launch of a three-year ‘Weight Management Year’ initiative. The campaign aims to encourage the public to prioritise weight management, adopt science-based eating and exercise habits, lose weight healthily, and lead healthier lives. Everyone should…
Foodthink Says Was there ever a moment when you suddenly just didn’t want to order takeaway anymore? On 1st March, Foodthink’s new column, “Eat Something Good”, launched a call for submissions: 「100 Moments I Didn’t Want Takeaway」, and we received many letters from our readers. As an editorial team that…
Meituan’s “Pin Hao Fan” service, launched under the banner of “zero delivery fees and 10-yuan meals”, has seen a surge of workers flocking to it thanks to its low-price strategy. While the adage “you get what you pay for” inevitably raises concerns about food safety—and I myself suffered two days…
