Welcome to the 2nd issue of the Good Food Fund Newsletter!
The Good Food Fund, established in 2017, is a special fund under the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation. Our focus is promoting the transformation of a healthy and sustainable food system in China. In the 2nd issue of "Good Food Newsletter," we hope to share the latest news of Good Food Fund and China's food system with you.
The COVID-19 situation in China has stabilized in the third quarter of 2020. Good Food Fund’s work is gaining momentum as the food market has been recovering. We recently did a few live stream broadcasts with the national television network and won the Rockefeller Food System Vision Prize. At the same time, we are preparing to collaborate with Beijing Design Week, organizing the annual Good Food Summit, and so much more!
| After half a year of competition, we finally won the global "Food System Vision Prize”! |
After half a year of competing with 1,319 organizations around the world, our project "From Mama's Kitchen to Good Food Hub” finally won the "Food System Vision Prize!"
This is an award co-sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation of the United States, SecondMuse, and OpenIDEO. It is currently the most well-known award in the field of global food system transformation. At present, we are working with 9 other award-winning teams worldwide, we've entered the three-month online acceleration phase, and are landing our first "Mama's Kitchen" in Dali, Yunnan.
On September 19th, we began recruiting culinary talents from all over the country. Applicants who meet the requirements will gather in Dali (with costs covered by GFF) to conduct a teaching demonstration of sustainable cooking with Lee, the final champion of the Good Food Fund designer competition. We will livestream and broadcast the whole process.
| Together with China Global TV, we talked to many experts around the world about nutrition, food security, and food crisis |
Changing the food system requires the participation of influential media. In July, we teamed up with the classic program of China Global TV Network’s “CGTN DIALOGUE" to jointly plan the talk show "Post-epidemic era, reflection on diet and sustainable development”.
Five expert guests were invited to participate in the talk show: Mr. Victor Koo, founder of Youku.com and board member of the Good Food Fund; Dan Buettner, discoverer of the "Blue Zones"; Kathy Freston, best-selling New York Times author; Professor Shenggen Fan, former Director of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ; and Professor Kelly D. Brownell, Director of the World Food Policy Center of Duke University.
Following the host’s questions, the five guests discussed the relationship between diet and personal health; the innovation brought about by plant-based meat technology; how to address the global food crisis under COVID-19, and the significance of the public's attention to food policy.
The show was broadcast live on multiple platforms across the network with a total of 100,000+ viewers. You can watch the replay here.
| To protect biodiversity, we have gone to Yunnan! Edible China’s first stop: Enter Zhengjiazhuang, Dali home to 7 ethnic groups |
"Edible China”, a biodiversity food project co-sponsored by the Good Food Fund and China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, has been launched.
This is an integrated project. On one end, it connects production areas, enterprises, governments, NGOs, universities, think tanks, art institutions, kitchens, chefs, farmers, and consumers. On the other end, it integrates food cultivation, recipe design, health practices, culture research, poverty alleviation for farmers, sustainable living, and other related fields, giving birth to the possibility of innovation and change. This project explores how to build a cooperative ecosystem.
On the afternoon of September 13th, at the first stop of "Edible China", we walked into Zhengjiazhuang, Dali, Yunnan, a place that is home to 7 ethnic groups (Han, Bai, Tibetan, Dai, Naxi, Lisu, Yi,)
In this village, we looked for a variety of new ingredients. Lee, the winner of the 2020 Good Food Fund Designer award, was invited to cook with local ingredients on site.
We captured the whole visit through Baidu live stream and received an enthusiastic response, with a total of more than 210,000 viewers! Captain Yang, who runs a restaurant in the village, said after tasting Chef Lee's "fruit and vegetable quartet", "I never thought to prepare cucumber this way.”
The first stop of "Edible China" has been a success. If you want to learn about our next event, please follow the “What's for dinner “official account on WeChat, where we will release the event preview.
| We are developing China's first "vegan/vegetarian label"! |
According to research, the estimated vegetarian population in China is about 50 million. With the exception of India, China's total vegetarian population is higher than that of any other country in the world, and even more than the entire population of Spain, the fourth most populous member country of the European Union. So far, there are no official vegetarian/vegan standards and labels in China, while labels such as “plant-based meat" and “plant-based milk" are currently in development or still preliminary.
Compared with standards and labels like plant-based meat or milk, vegan/vegetarian labels will be more widely applicable. Therefore, Good Food Fund hopes to fill this gap. At the same time, we believe that the birth of vegetarian/vegan labels will also accelerate the growth of the plant-based food industry. In July, Good Food Fund started recruiting enterprises and institutions from the food and catering industry to jointly promote the drafting of the first vegan/vegetarian label group standards in China. Discussion and communication have been carried out in some enterprises and institutions; we encourage those enterprises and institutions interested in participating to contact us.
| In September, we discuss "how to promote a healthy and sustainable diet in China" with the top experts in China |
Participants in the event included Shenggen FAN, Professor of the School of Economics and Management of China Agricultural University, former Director of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), global ambassador of Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU); CHEN Mengshan, member of the 13th CPPCC National Committee and director of the National Food and Nutrition Advisory Committee; ZHAO Wenhua, chief nutrition scientist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese CDC); CUI Shenghui, Research fellow, China Academy of Sciences’ Urban Environment Research Institute; Kevin Zhigang CHEN, professor of Zhejiang University; Jian Yi, founder and President of the Good Food Fund; Li FANG, China Country Director of the World Resources Institute.
Experts exchanged views on the relationship between healthy diets and sustainable diets. Jian Yi made a presentation on the extensive practices of the Good Food Fund in promoting sustainable eating in China since its inception, including the launch of the "Good Food Pledge", the Good Food Festival, and the "Edible China" project.
| During the National Day, "WET Food Market Transformation" Project Debuts at Beijing Design Week |
The connection between COVID-19 and food markets has sparked much controversy. As a vital link between food producers and consumers, food markets are an important part of the food supply chain and an integral part of people's lives. In English, the term "Wet Market" is used to refer to community food markets in Asia. The term "Wet Market" seems to be full of potential risks due to the COVID pandemic. In an effort to revolutionize the role of these markets, the Good Food Fund has launched the WET Market Reform Project. Here we explain WET in a new way: W\E\T corresponds to Well-being, Ecology and Transformation. In our vision, the food market should become the "Good Food Hub" of the future healthy and sustainable urban food system.
On September 23rd, the organizing committee of the Beijing Design Week held a special dialogue session for the Good Food Fund - "From the Field to the Market". Ouyang Huiyu, Food Policy Officer of the Good Food Fund, shared Good Food Fund's plans on the transformation of WET food markets. In addition, a Good Food Handbook for Revolutionizing WET Market, which is being prepared by GFF, will showcase the vision, design guidelines, and best practices of the WET Food Market and is scheduled to be officially launch at the Suzhou Design Week in early November.
Beijing Design Week is a large-scale annual cultural activity and international creative design event held in Beijing, hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China and the People's Government of Beijing Municipality since 2012, with over 5 million participants.
| The documentary film "Eating Plants" will be released next year |
“Eating Plants” is a documentary to be released next year. Jian Yi, founder of the Good Food Fund, has jointly produced the China episode of the film, directed by Australian documentary filmmaker Mick Mclntyre and is currently in the post-production stage. The documentary was shot in China, the US, Germany, the UK, Israel, and other countries. Each episode documents the rise of plant-based diets in one particular country. Jian Yi contributed to the film's production in China and post-production editing. The concept for Eating Plants was first conceived during the China Tour of the documentary film, Kangaroo, organized by the Good Food Fund in 2019. During this tour, director Mick Mclntyre was inspired by the people he met in China and started to plan a film on plant-based eating.
The title of the film Eating Plants was cleverly borrowed from the documentary Eating Animals, which was released a few years ago. Based on the book of the same name by Jonathan Foer, Eating Animals was produced by Hollywood actress Natalie Portman and directed by Christopher Quinn. Jian Yi also worked on the Chinese part of the film and appeared as an interviewee.
| The second round of volunteer recruitment is over, and the Good Food “Tribe” has more new members! |
On September 10, the second round of volunteer recruitment ended, which lasted for one month, and this time, more than a dozen outstanding young people became part of the Good Food Fund volunteer “tribe”. They come from a variety of backgrounds, including an international student studying nutrition at a Canadian university, a financial advisor to foreign companies who is passionate about eco-agriculture, and a Buddhist practitioner who has acquired the qualifications to become a yoga teacher at a young age. We look forward to working with and getting to know our volunteers in the months to come.
| It's official! We're hosting the 2020 Good Food Summit on October 28th and 29th, so save the date! |
The Good Food Summit, the annual conference of the Good Food Fund, has been held three times, in the cities of Yangzhou (2017), Chengdu (2018) and Suzhou (2019). The Good Food Summit is the first annual event in China to focus on food system transformation. It is also a space for food activists to share ideas, practices, and leadership.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's Good Food Summit will move to an online conference room (Zoom): a different platform with the same level of excitement.
This year's (online) Good Food Summit will hold a series of in-depth discussions around the "Transformation of Sustainable Food Systems”, a systemic transformation that requires the participation of all stakeholders from production to consumption. At this year's Good Food Summit, you will meet experts, scholars and senior industry representatives from all over the world, including (list expanding):
Dr. Zhou Jinfeng, Secretary General of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation; Mr. Victor Koo, founder of youku.com and board member of the Good Food Fund; Mia MacDonald, Founder of Brighter Green and board member of the Good Food Fund; Ms. Qiao Ling, Chairwoman of the Slow Food Great China; Mr. Wang Zhenyao, Founding President of the China Global Philanthropy Institute; Mr. Shenggen Fan, Former Director of IFRRI and Chief Academic Advisor of Good Food Summit; Dr. Gunhild A. Stordalen, Founder of the EAT Foundation; Prof. Walter Willett, former Chair of Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health; Sara Farley, Managing Director of Food Initiative, Rockefeller Foundation; Greg Drescher, Vice President of the Culinary Institute of America; Paul Littlefair, Head of International, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to animals; Rafi Taherian, Associate Vice President of Yale Hospitality, Yale University; Peggy Neu, President of Meatless Mondays; Edwina Hughes, Head of Engagement, The Cool Food Pledge; David Havelick, Sustainability Manager, Office for Sustainability, Harvard University; Anne Palmer, Program Director of Food Communication & Public Health, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, Johns Hopkins University; Olivier Ecker, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute;
Ms. Gao Si, China Country Director, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute; Ms. Xi Chunling, Vice Chairman & Secretary General, China Association for the Promotion of International Agricultural Cooperation; Ms. Li Bing, President/Director, Shanghai Green Oasis Public Service Development Center; Ms. Zhang Lanying, Honorary Secretary General, Slow Food China; Mr. Yifei Li, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, New York University, Shanghai; Ms. Nancy Zhou, 2020 Good Food Scholar, Founder of the Beijing vegan community; Ms. Han Han, Founder of the China Blue Sustainability Institute; Mr. Xue Ning, Project Officer, “Share Harvest”CSA; Mr. Yang Ming, Co-Founder of the MSC; Ms. Gao Ying, Head of China Food Programme, Ellen MacArthur Foundation; Mr. Zhao Zhonghua, China Chief Representative, World Animal Protection; Mr. Pan Yajun, General Secretary of the Vegetarian Committee, China Hospitality Association; Ms. Cui Xue, 2020 Good Food Fellow ; Mr. Zhang Min, 2020 Good Food Fellow and Partner of the First Farm; Ms. Zhang Jing, Founder of the Animal Dialogue; Ms. Li Qingyao, Editor-in-Chief of VegePlanet, Ms. Zhao, Founder of VegRadar; Ms. Kang Yanli, Brand Director of Hona Organic Business Department; Chef Peggy Chan, Founder of the Grassroots Initiatives and Hong Kong famous chef; Chef Li Yan, Champion Chef of Good Food Festival 2020; Ms. Doris (Peiying) Li, General Manager of the Good Food Institute; Mr. Zhao Zhong, Director of Gansu “Green Camel Bell” Environmental and Development Center.
Many of these leading Chinese and global scholars, practitioners, and advocates are giving a speech in China for the first time on food system transformation.
We will also release the first edition of the Good Food Report, a collaborative effort by 26 organizations to introduce to the public the best practices in China’s food system transformation over the past year. In addition, the Good Food Fund's “WET Market Reform Project” and the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation’s “Edible China - China Biodiversity Food Initiative” will be launched. The “2030 Pledge” will also be released.
Click here to watch the livestream on October 28 ( start from 9 am, Beijing time zone )
Click here to watch the livestream on October 29 ( start from 9 am, Beijing time zone )
| World Food Day, three more Good Food Dialogues were just aired! |
After recording the fourth Good Food dialogue with China Global Television Network (CGTN) in July, we have completed three new online dialogues together! Topics include: "Global Food Innovation", "Biodiversity and Agricultural support", "The Next Epidemics Outbreak and Dietary Choices".
The three dialogues have now been broadcast on CCTV and the videos can be found here:
Good Food Dialogue - World Food Day Special Programme – 1st
New ideas to help farmers: eating 30,000 plant ingredients, helping alleviate poverty and protect biodiversity
Zhou Jinfeng, Secretary General of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation;
Jian Yi, Founder and President of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation’s Good Food Fund;
Paul Newnham, Director of the SDG2 Advocacy Hub and co-founder of the Chefs’ Manifesto;
Stephan Weise, Managing Director, Asia, Biodiversity International;
Good Food Dialogue - World Food Day Special Programme – 2nd
The next global epidemic is already on our dinner plates?
Martin Bloem, Director of the Center for a Livable Future, Johns Hopkins University;
Shenggen Fan, Professor of the School of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, and former Director of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI);
Dr. Gunhild A. Stordalen, Founder of the EAT Foundation;
Joyce D 'Silva, former CEO of “Compassion in World Farming”;
Good Food Dialogue - World Food Day Special Programme - 3rd
Global Food Innovation Practice
Greg Drescher, Vice President of the Culinary Institute of America;
Peggy Chan, Hong Kong celebrity chef and founder of Grassroots Initiatives;
Rafi Taherian, Associate Vice President of the Yale Hospitality, Yale University;
Roy Steiner, Vice President of the Rockefeller Foundation.
| The 2nd Animal Welfare Science (China) Conference and the 2nd Quality and Welfare Egg China Summit |
The 2nd Animal Welfare Science (China) Conference and the 2nd Quality and Welfare Egg China Summit have been held from October 14 through 16 and attended by a number of distinguished guests including Mr. Shi Jianzhong, Head of the National Animal Husbandry Station; Mr. Sun Zhongchao, Deputy Secretary General of the China Animal Health and Food Safety Alliance; Mr. Paul Littlefair, Director of International Affairs of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), and Dr. Silvia Kreindel, Area Director of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Beijing.
| 2020 International Forum on Animal Welfare and Public Health and the National Conference on New and Exceptional Animal Welfare Products |
Consumers have higher and higher expectations for food safety, but they generally know less about animal welfare. Therefore, in order to improve the brand competitiveness of products with high animal welfare standards, promote the production and marketing of these products, meet the public demand for safe, high-quality, nutritious and healthy products, ensure the supply of these products, and promote the high-quality development of animal husbandry, China Association for the Promotion of International Agricultural Cooperation will hold the 2020 International Forum on Animal Welfare and Public Health and the National Conference on New and Exceptional Animal Welfare Products in Beijing on December 3, 2020.
Good Food Exclusive Interview：In the Face of Future Uncertainty: Inclusivity is the Answer
This article is a powerful complement to the Good Food Dialogue on July 11. As an internationally recognized authoritative researcher in the field of agricultural economy and public policy, Professor Shenggen Fan considers that the current pandemic is a time to urge all human beings to rethink "technical efficiency" and also provides an opportunity to enhance global inclusiveness. In the interview, Professor Fan says that there is no conflict between the global goal of mitigating climate change and the efforts to improve individual health, and that a plant-based diet can help achieve a win-win situation. In addition, Professor Fan also reminds us to pay attention to nutrition issues associated with monoculture grain production. Monoculture results not only in loss of farmland biodiversity, but can lead to poor nutrient quality of our food. At the end of the interview, Professor Fan says that he is very optimistic about the research on the transformation of the food system, and encourages Chinese young people to engage with others in developing countries about nutrition, health, and creating a sustainable food system.
Why is Chef a Seriously Undervalued Profession?
What do we usually remember: famous dishes or chefs? In China, chefs are usually hidden behind the scenes and rarely have a chance to speak. However, a group of chefs from around the world who care about the earth and human wellbeing have joined collectively to advocate for sustainable cooking.
This article introduces a well-known community of chefs who have formulated a "Chef Manifesto" based on the seventeen sustainable development goals of the United Nations.
From the incident of "College Student Stealing Take Out"
A while ago, a college student was continuously being caught stealing take out, which has become a hot topic in society. In this article, we focus on the fact that there are three billion people around the world who cannot afford a healthy meal. At the same time, there is a lot of food being wasted in the city. Most of the time, hunger is not because of lack of food, but uneven distribution of food. In the face of this situation, what kind of improvements can we make? The following four groups of excellent cases provide us with a model of reference.
A biodiversity project that everyone can participate in is...
Akkash, a 25-year-old food designer from India, became interested in the traditional Indian cuisine because of a report recommend by his colleagues. So he rummaged through the cookbooks his grandmother had left him and found that many ingredients in the recipes he had never heard of. Akkash's mother was familiar with them, but no longer uses them to cook. By visiting neighbors, he found that they too were not familiar with the ingredients used 50 years ago. This aroused Akkash's curiosity about why people no longer cook with those ingredients. And that's where his "Forgotten Food" project came from.
