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,…
During the first decade of the 21st century, triggered by a series of food safety crises, a group of Chinese consumers began exploring better agricultural practices and ingredients. Across the country, the first wave of farmers dedicated to organic cultivation gradually emerged. Cao Xiaohong, a guest in this episode, was…
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 Perspective “Is a science geared towards human needs actually possible?” In a modern society where science is equated with progress, this should not even be a question. Yet one of the greatest tragedies of our era is that science—which could be used to help humanity solve poverty, hunger, disease,…
The film *Nei Sha* opens with an immediate explanation of its title. On the banks of a reed bed in winter, Teacher Tang, an organic farmer, explains to a visiting professor: this is the mouth of the Yangtze River, where shifting sands have deposited over time to gradually form islands.…
“It’s all political games!” During a visit to Mindanao in the south of the Philippines in April, this was the near-universal response whenever I asked about the government’s rice trade policies. These voices belonged to mayors, government agricultural technicians, and ordinary smallholders who lived off the land. Indeed, in the…
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…
For World Book Day on 23 April 2025, Foodthink has compiled a reading list recommended by our editors, authors, and peers. Although these suggestions were gathered independently, they converged instinctively on the most fundamental relationship of human existence: our connection to food, land, and the natural environment. From Bruno Latour’s…
