Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Food: Origins

Interesting article posted on grist by Andrew Stein, a writer/researcher who lives in Hangzhou. He decided to try to trace the food that he buys at his local markets to see where it comes from. He uncovers some interesting quirks in the Chinese food supply chain.

I'm currently taking a class at Sichuan University called Environmental Issues in China. The teachers are a great source of information on just about everything. We recently discussed the budding organic movement in China. They also told us that some of the farmers around Chengdu actually rent out plots of land to city-dwellers, who visit the farms on the weekend to grow/pick their own vegetables. Also, a student in my program  told me that her host family took her out to a farm where a group of Chengdu-ites come out 3-4 times a year to work. They harvest vegetables and then cook a big meal together. Organic farming tourism, fascinating!

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