Foodthink’s Perspective Since the 1950s, a “Fair Trade” movement has emerged globally. Cheap agricultural products from developing countries are constantly imported into developed nations, yet the vast majority of profits from commodity prices are seized by large capital interests within the trade chain, leaving farmers and labourers with only a…
I. An Unexpected Village Party Secretary “Ecological farming?” Fan Hanquan, who had his back to us, suddenly turned around. “I want to try it.” I was slightly surprised. It was 23 February 2022. I remember it so clearly because since I entered E-Ren Valley in 2021, he has been the…
Foodthink Says As autumn arrives, The Little Dining Table in Yulin, Chengdu has been running for half a year. These six months of practice have fostered a growing sense of harmony between the cook, the dining companions, the farmers, and the food itself. For everyone involved, beyond the planned changes,…
Several Chinese scholars and practitioners discuss the newly published history of Monsanto, Seed Empire, moving from GM seeds’ actual performance to farmers’ seed saving and public plant breeding, asking whether ordinary people and smallholders can reclaim the right to choose food and seeds.
From 1 January 2025, platform workers in Singapore—including those in food delivery, courier services, and ride-hailing—will receive more comprehensive social protections covering work injuries, retirement, healthcare, and housing. They will also be able to form “Platform Work Associations” to strengthen their collective bargaining power. This is the result of the…
Today, 13 October 2024, is the 35th International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction. Established by the United Nations, this day aims to raise international awareness of disaster prevention and mitigation. Over the past year, the increasing frequency of abnormal natural disasters across various regions has remained the greatest threat to…
Editor’s Note I first met Jiang Ziqi at a book fair in Hangzhou in 2023, where she invited the Farmer Seed Network to give a talk on seed saving. At the time, I learned that she and some of her partners in Hangzhou cultivated their own small vegetable gardens and…
Editor’s Note I first met Jiang Ziqi at a book fair in Hangzhou in 2023. She had invited the Farmer Seed Network to give a talk on seed saving during the event; at the time, I knew that she and several of her partners in Hangzhou tended their own small…
After two years at Share Harvest Ecological Farm in Beijing, 1990s-born Qin Xianrong returned to Dadugang, Xishuangbanna, to grow pineapples, passion fruit, and macadamia nuts on a four-hectare hillside—no fertilisers, no pesticides, near-wild management.
Last week, the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai region suffered a historically rare series of blows, being hit by two consecutive typhoons of Force 10 or higher within just four days. Around 7:30 am on 16 September 2024, Typhoon Bebinca made landfall along the coast of the Lin-gang Special Area in…
