Foodthink Says It’s time for another 618 shopping festival. After the excitement of “buy, buy, buy” and “unbox, unbox, unbox”, have you ever wondered where all that plastic packaging we’ve swept out of our homes actually goes? “Eating well” means more than just enjoying our food; it means protecting our…
I. Plastic: The Skeleton of Modern Life Can we really function in the modern world without plastic? When an American writer decided to challenge herself to spend “one whole day without touching plastic”, she quickly realised that modern life is almost impossible to navigate without it. Ten seconds after waking…
Foodthink Says Since this spring, Shaanxi has experienced its most severe drought since 1961. Combined with extreme weather such as high temperatures, strong winds, and sandstorms, these compound disasters have seriously threatened agricultural production and rural livelihoods. In May, with the support of the Oxfam Hong Kong Beijing office, Foodthink…
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,…
I. Flowers in Early Bloom On 3 May, in Jinqu Town, Mei County, Shaanxi, Xu Yuanlin spotted the messenger flower in his vineyard first thing in the morning. He was stunned. The so-called messenger flower is the first blossom of the season; like a herald, it warns farmers to begin…
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 When discussing the impact of climate change on rural areas, we often say that “farmers are at the mercy of the elements”. But is it really as simple as that? What kind of agricultural systems and rural realities do today’s farmers actually live in? How should the macro-issue…
Foodthink says “Seeking the tastes of childhood” has become a trending topic over the last few years. The subject of this article, the “White Rabbit” melon, is the very embodiment of that “childhood sweetness” cherished in the memories of the people of Guanzhong. This heirloom variety has been cultivated since…
Foodthink Says A previous Foodthink article, “Have Nutritionists Become Shills for Food Giants? Perspectives from Registered Nutritionists”, exposed how North American food corporations sponsor influencer nutritionists and industry organisations to sway public perception of food through misleading, quasi-scientific popularisation. Similar issues exist in China: health supplements and food advertisements are…
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,…
