Award-Winning: The Announcement of the Top 10 Finalists for the Food System Vision Prize and the Mama’s Kitchen Cooperation Seminar
On January 8th, 2021, Good Food Fund held a cooperation seminar on Mama’s Kitchen’s vision and future collaboration. Sara Farley, the Managing Director of the Rockefeller Foundation’s food team, officially announced that, after the 3-month acceleration and refinement stage, Good Food Fund’s project- Mama’s Kitchen-was selected as one of the top 10 Finalists for the “2050 Food System Vision Prize”! Ms. Farley also introduced the evaluation process and criteria of the 2050 Food System Vision Prize in detail. Winning the prize is no easier than winning an Oscar.
Mr. Yi Jian, the founder of the Good Food Fund, presented the expectation and vision of this project: making Mama’s kitchen a Good Food Hub available for every community and making Good Food Chef available for every family
The second part of the seminar was hosted by Ms. Jing Zhou, Chief Project Manager of the Good Food Fund. Following an introduction of the progress of Mama’s kitchen from September to December 2020, five guest speakers shared their insights on the prototype of Mama’s Kitchen. More than 10 participants shared their expectations and visions on Mama’s kitchen during the open floor discussion.
At the end of the Meeting, Mr. Yi Jian called for attention and participation towards the United Nations Food System Summit in 2021 and accumulated efforts for further development by connecting more people and resources to the greatest extent during the Summit. Part of the conference went on Baidu Live and received over 6000 real-time viewership. The recording of the seminar is available here.
Successfully Held: The first of a Series Seminars on Animal Welfares - the Ideas and Practices towards Animals in Chinese History and Culture
On January 12th, the Good Food Fund’s Animal Welfare Research team held its first online seminar. The seminar invited prestigious experts and scholars in the animal welfare space:
· Dr. Ping Mang, the Permanent Director of the Chinese Environmental Ethics Research Association.
· Dr. Yefang Qian, Professor at the School of Law and Politics of Zhejiang Sci-Tech University
· Dr. Peng Guo, Associate Professor at the School of Philosophy and Social Development of Shandong University
· Dr. Lihong Gao, Professor at the School of Law of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law
· Dr. Xipeng Wang, Director of the Vegetarian Health and Ecological Civilization Research Center of Tianjin Medical University
· Dr. Jianqiang Li, Associate Professor of East Asia Politics and International Relations at the University of Houston-Downtown
· Dr. Jingsong Jiang, Associate Professor of Science History at Tsinghua University. These experts and scholars guided our work in progress: China and Animal Welfare: Precedents of the Current Policy.
The experts provided valuable feedbacks and revision suggestions on the draft report produced by the GFF research team on the attitude towards animals in Chinese history and the current situation and policy recommendations of animal welfare in contemporary China.
Award-Winning: The Good Food Fund Won the 2020 Charity Project Award at the 10th China Charity Festival
On the 10th China Charity Festival held in Shanghai on January 28th & 29th, 2021, the Good Food Fund was awarded the 2020 Charity Project Award!
Established in 2011, China Charity Welfare Festival was the first festival in China that was jointly sponsored by mass media and named after “charity.” After ten years of exploration and practice, the charity festival has become the most influential event of the year in charity in China.
The Good Food Fund was founded in 2017 and has been committed to promoting a sustainable food system in China ever since. It has held 4 Good Food Summits, 2 New Year Menu Press Conferences, and a Good Food Designer Competition to promote the Good Food concept. It also initiated online programs like “A Brief History of My Food” writing camp and China-World Discussions & Good Food Dialogue program to inspire the audience to delve deeper into food issues. Last year, it launched the WET Market program and the Mama’s Kitchen program, which pushed for the paradigm shift of the food system with actionable projects.
The Good Food Fund is very grateful for being recognized by the China Charity Festival. We will continue to work hard to make Good Food available for more people and strive for a sustainable future for humankind.
Successfully Held: Episode 1 of the United Nations Food System Summit - China Talk
At 8:00 pm on February 2nd, episode 1 of the “United Nations Food System Summit - China Talk,” initiated by the Good Food Fund, was held online. This dialogue and the upcoming series of China Talk constitute an essential part of the United Nations Food System Summit. This first dialogue aimed to introduce the Summit’s progress to relevant sectors of China’s food system and the general public. At the same time, we will loo and present the existing practices that work well in China under the theme of “Transitioning to Sustainable Consumption Mode” in Action Track 2 of the Summit and contribute to the “Chinese solution” to the world.
In the first half of this “China Talk,” Dr. Martin Frick, Deputy Special Envoy of the United Nations Food System Summit, Dr. Gunhild Stordalen, Chairman of Action Track 2 of the Summit, and Founder and Executive Chairman of EAT, Dr. Francesco Branca, Director of Nutrition Department of World Health Organization, Dr. Jinfeng Zhou, Secretary-General of China Green Development Association, Mr. Yi Jian, Head of Food Environment Working Group of Action Track 2 of the Summit and Founder of Good Food Fund, Dr. Zhihong Wang, Liaison Representative of China and Action Track 2 of the Summit, and Deputy Director of Public Nutrition and Policy Standards Office of Nutrition and Health Institute of China CDC, Ms. Lana Weidgenant, Vice Chairman of Youth of Action Track 2 of the Summit, and Ms. Kaia Engesveen, Technical Officer of Food System Multisectoral Action of Nutrition Department of the World Health Organization, delivered keynote speeches respectively.
In the second half of the dialogue, Director Chen Zhao from the Children’s Development Center of China Development Research Foundation, Associate Professor Min Yang from the School of Public Health of Zhejiang University, and President Malcolm McKenzie from Keystone Academy in Beijing introduced three good practices in the field of school meals, which are Sunshine School Meal Data Platform, Intelligent Nutritional Canteen, and Ecological Eating Monday. Afterward, 34 guest participants were divided into three groups, and each had constructive communications and discussions around one of the three cases.
The participants come from different fields like public policy, academic research, school management, food education, business, social enterprises, United Nations agencies in China, international and local non-profit organizations, chefs, journalists, grassroots action takers, and youth advocates. They represent various stakeholders, contribute to the discussion with diverse perspectives and viewpoints, and recognize the complexity of challenges faced by practical cases and thus seek systematic solutions.
Established: the “China Action Hub” of the United Nations Food System Summit
In the first episode of the China Talk, the China Action Hub of the United Nations Food System Summit has been officially established. The China Action Hub will be a collaborative working mechanism of relevant institutions in China’s food system before and after the United Nations Food System Summit. It will work in the fields of policy innovation, youth action, and public advocacy.
The UNFSS-AT2 China Action Hub aims at connecting and empowering all sectors of the Chinese society and efforts in food system transformation to increase China’s participation and contribution in the United Nations Food System Summit. As a national action hub, the UNFSS-AT2 China Action Hub will become a transformational solution for other countries, especially developing countries, to learn from, and make the Summit truly a meeting for the public.
At present, the China Action Hub is collecting best practices in the food system transformation and will introduce the best practices to the public at the coming Fifth Good Food Summit. Click here for details.
Besides, GFF is recruiting interns to build the Action Hub with us. Click here for further recruitment information.
As the Chinese action Hub of the United Nations Food Summit, the Good Food Fund keeps track of the latest updates of the Food System Summit for Chinese readers. We have compiled some important meetings held by the United Nations in the first quarter of 2021, and the progress of the work of the Good Food Fund in China. Click here for more information.
Successfully Held: the Good Food and Biodiversity Seminar
On February 3rd, 2021, the Chatham House released its latest report, Food system impacts on biodiversity loss, which described the current loss of biodiversity in the world and its relationship with the food system. The loss of biodiversity in the world is accelerating. Today, the rate of extinction worldwide is several orders of magnitude higher than the average rate of that in the past 10 million years, and the global food system is the main driver for biodiversity loss.
After the report’s release, the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation and the World Farm Animal Welfare Association held an online seminar on “Good Food and Biodiversity,” which invited scholars and activists in China and abroad to delve deep into the report topic.
At the meeting, Mr. Zunguo Zhou, the Chief Representative of the World Farm Animal Welfare Association (CIWF) in China, introduced the projects carried out by CIWF. Mr. Yi Jian, Founder of the Good Food Fund, delivered a keynote speech on “Promoting Good Food and Protecting Biodiversity.” Mr. Yihong Li, Planning Director of the Good Food Fund, introduced the “Central Bank of Plant Kingdom” project. During the conference, the video released along with the “Food system impacts on biodiversity loss” report was played, and overseas experts were invited to go live to share their ideas and answer questions.
Download the Report：https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/2021-02/2021-02-03-food-system-biodiversity-loss-benton-et-al_0.pdf
English Training: Helping Chinese Chefs to Voice Themselves Better in the International Society
Although Chinese food culture has a long history and various cuisines, Chinese chefs are rarely seen internationally. Many factors contribute to this phenomenon, and the language barrier is one of them. For Chinese chefs, if they could smoothly communicate with foreign peers in English, they would gain more inspiration for their cooking and let the world learn more about China. The Good Food Fund has always hoped that the Chinese chefs can develop a global vision, demonstrate the chefs’ leadership with other colleagues globally, and push the world eating model towards sustainable diets.
Coincidently, in March, students taking the “Health and Food” course at Northeastern University are looking for community service opportunities. After discussions with their instructor, these students will be filming English tutorials for the chefs. This activity will last for a month. It will cover the English names of the commonly used ingredients and seasonings, self-introduction, and description of dishes in English. Real-time interactions and online tutorials will also in place.
The project is at its internal testing stage and is only open to chefs who have cooperated with the Good Food Fund before or the Good Food designers. We will be collecting their feedback for improvements and provide a more systematic language training service for Chinese chefs when there is a mature opportunity in the future.
Collaboration: Chef’s Pledge
2021 is a crucial year for the global food system to develop in a more sustainable and resilient direction. The United Nations Food System Summit (UNFSS), the Nutrition for Growth Initiative Summit (N4G), the United Nations Climate Summit (COP 26), and the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) will all be held as scheduled, which makes it the best opportunity for all action-takers that are concerned about food topics to speak out.
Therefore, the Chef’s Manifesto collaborates with the Good Food Fund, the World Association of Chefs’ Societies (WACS), the Chef Ann Foundation, Chefs 4 the Planet, Le Cordon Bleu, and Social Gastronomy to initiate the Chef’s Pledge together. The Chinese chefs are invited to participate in the Chef’s Pledge through the China Action Hub.
We designed a questionnaire to learn from the chefs’ opinions on the essential practices in the next ten years to ensure that everyone enjoys good food. According to the questionnaire results, we will promote the “Chef’s Pledge” and call on chefs to speak out and receive more attention in important international activities, and unite under sustainable food system advocates.
Newly Release: English Version of The Good Food Report
The Good Food Report consists of the achievements and results made through the 2020 Good Food Summit. It consolidates the explorations and practices done by over 20 pioneer organizations in sustainable food and serves as a reference for those interested in promoting good food. The English version of the Good Food Report is available on this website.
Mr. Yi Jian’s Past 3 Months: Activities that the Founder of the Good Food Fund Participated in the Past 3 Months
On January 16th, Mr. Yi Jian, the founder of Good Food Fund, was invited as a guest by the 706 Dali Living Room Salon to talk about the need for a food revolution under the context of the upcoming United Nations Food System Summit. On January 21st, Mr. Yi Jian attended the “Youth Promoting World Sustainable Development Forum” and commented on the special session on “Environmental Pollution and Ecological Environment.” On March 26th, Meituan officially released the “2021 Black Pearl Restaurant Guide” in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, and Mr. Jian was invited to discuss how to promote sustainable eating in the catering industry. It was the second cooperation between the Good Food Fund and Meituan after GFF participated in the compilation of the “Sustainable Catering Merchants Guide” for Meituan last year.
In terms of the United Nations Food System Summit - Action Track 2 (UNFSS - AT2), in January and March, Mr. Jian participated the first two online meetings of 2021, along with representatives coming from countries including China, Japan, Italy, Sweden, Brazil, Mexico, United States, and Argentina. On February 3rd, 2021, he participated in the first public forum; on March 12th, 2021, he participated in online meetings with CEOs and executives of international enterprises, where he introduced what the first action team has been working on. He also discussed transforming towards a sustainable food system with participants from institutes like the World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, United Nations of World Food Programme, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and International Fund for Agricultural Development.
Good Food Updates
Calling for Ideas on Names | Brainstorming Names for the Mom and Son Cows that will be Filmed in a Documentary
At the beginning of the Year of the Ox, Mr. Yi Jian, the founder of the Good Food Fund and an independent director, is preparing to continue working on his Chinese Zodiac documentary. He adopted two cows, a mother cow and her son cow, in Zhengjiazhuang, Eryuan County, Dali, and planned to spend a year recording their growth and living environment while exploring the cattle breeding industry.
It is said that when an animal has a name, people are less willing to eat it. Therefore, we would like to invite everyone to give a name to them by commenting under this article, which also introduces the story of the cows.
The Good Food Fund Will Participate in the 2021 Nanjing Peace City Forum, Jointly Established by UNESCO and the Nanjing Municipal Government
Nanjing has always been committed to being a city of peace , and holds Nanjing Peace Forum annually. The theme to this year’s Nanjing Peace Forum is “Peaceful Diet.” The Good Food Fund was invited by the Shenzhen Green Impact Consulting Company, to prepare the peace forum together with its Fifth Good Food Summit. On March 25th, Mr. Yi Jian and Ms. Bing Hou were invited to communicate with the Nanjing team on constructing a food system conducive to the peaceful coexistence between people and the world.
Good Food’s Original
The Good Food Fund was invited to host a “Town Hall” column of The Paper, one of China’s leading digital media outlets. The column is themed around “China under the Tip of the Tongue” and will produce 2~3 articles monthly to discuss food and sustainability. Since February, GFF has published five articles in this column:
Thoughts on Staying put during Spring Festival in the Pandemic
On the eve of the last Lunar New Year, the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading all over the country, and the travel ban was extended from Wuhan Province to the whole country. In the first half of 2020, we almost spent all of our time at home. A year later, the pandemic persists, and many people have to stay where they work (as opposed to their hometown) for the Lunar New Year.
Besides taking measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus, we made a reflection on the question: what should we learn from this over-year-long pandemic?
Senior People in Rural Areas who are Obsessed with Beverages
In the past 40 years, people’s living standards have dramatically improved with continued economic development. A large number of imported foods have entered villages and towns, significantly changing the locals’ eating structure and food sources. Many interesting phenomena are worth thinking about. For instance, it has been more common for senior people to be obsessed with snacks and beverages.
Why is it Getting Harder to Buy Cage-free Eggs in Rural Areas?
Rural area and cage-free eggs were once the two most closely related terms. With green mountains and clear water, crop fields and orchards, rural area has become the origin of eggs that are associated with the concepts of “green,” “ecologically friendly,” and “healthy.” However, in my hometown, the situation has been quietly changing.
The Next Pandemic might be Incubating in the Animal Farms
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought changes to our lives. At present, many countries begin to provide vaccination to the public, and people are looking forward to going back to normal as soon as possible. However, what is once considered “normal” might be the incubator for the next global pandemic.
Recent data released by the World Organization for Animal Health indicated that at least 75% of emerging diseases, such as H5N1 avian influenza and H1N1 swine flu, are originated from animals. Although there isn’t a conclusion on the exact origin of COVID-19, international institutions like Humane Society International have predicted that the next pandemic with strong infectivity and no antidote is likely to be incubating in animal farms. The story behind this warning dates back to the year 1928.
Changing the World with Food: Not Too Late to Start a Business at 72
At the beginning of the New Year in 2021, a 90-year-old man passed away in Manhattan, New York, USA. Eighteen years ago, he started a business and devoted himself to it until his death. He used his powerful imagination and action to change the world. This man was Sid Lerner, a legendary figure who was popular in the American advertising industry from 1960 to 1990, who was also the founder of Meatless Monday. This article is a commemorative article for Sid Lerner, written by Mr. Yi Jian, the founder of the Good Food Fund. In this article, you will be learning the background and development of the Meatless Monday movement.
