‘The destiny of nations
depends on the manner in
which they feed themselves.’
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
Our work
Food for thought – Hong Kong
We are driven by the intriguing question of what is the future of Hong Kong, since our city has zero food security and can only be sustained by other countries feeding us.
This means the life span of our city is linked to the longevity of our food sources, which depends on an attentive food culture that understands the importance of healthy farming.
Geographical isolation, however, has made it more difficult for our society to appreciate the need for an agricultural or ecological consciousness in gastronomy.
As a result, we have become a haven for the most unsustainable and unethical foods, which may fulfil our commercial and appetitive desires now, but what about in the long term?
Imagine the economic and social disorder that could occur if one of our major supplying countries has an ecological or biohazard calamity that prevents access to their foods.
By continuing to be passive eaters – that is, to be uncritical and unmindful of how our meals impact the health of our food resources, such as soil, water, biodiversity and farmers – we not only undermine our health but also the life span of our city.
Each of us can become an active participant in agriculture.
Quite simply, by choosing what we eat and how we eat, we can help build a more positive and prosperous outlook for Hong Kong.
Think of your food choices as investments in our future.
Our grassroots journey
Brave thinkers in agriculture
The passion we have for the integrity and future of Hong Kong’s food culture led us to embark on a worldwide journey to discover what is happening to our food.
We learned how the spread of industrial monoculture in farming is having a devastating affect on soil, water resources, biodiversity, nutrition and climate – to list a few.
We are now facing the greatest challenge in humankind: the dual dilemma of an ever-growing global population and diminishing natural resources for the farming of food.
So is there any hope for a sustainable future?
Well, our journey has taken us to some of the last remaining wilderness regions in the world, allowing us to see first hand the heartening possibilities between farming and conservation.
We have also discovered that in local fields across the world a quiet revolution is taking place, as people seek a return to small-scale, locally adapted, regenerative farming practices.
We’ve met family farmers and agrarian innovators who have enlightened us about the different ways of growing healthy and tasty food, while improving the land’s capacity for self-renewal.
These brave thinkers are developing unique systems of stewardship, and reviving rural community networks to reconnect people with local food, farmers and nature.
Listening to their stories, we came to realise that the essence of good farming is not just about food, it’s also about the cultivation of relationships that enrich life in the widest sense.
With this in mind, we continue to trek to the furthest corners of the world to seek out these ecological visionaries – and show you how they are sowing the seeds of change.
A new conversation about food
“The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.”
Masanobu Fukuoka
At the heart of what we do are our films and photographic essays, documenting the lives of our farmers and bringing to light the empowering potential of their stories.
Our particular focus is on those who have formed extraordinary relationships with nature, farming with the wild, saving primitive breeds and regenerating degraded ecosystems.
We want to celebrate their individuality, independence and, importantly, their diversity, so that we can keep alive these alternative ways of thinking about nature and farming sustainably for our needs.
Further, their ingenuity relates to more than food production; it embodies a wide constellation of hopes, sentiments and ideas for improving all aspects of life.
Soil restoration, reversing climate change, food sovereignty and saving biodiversity are some of the invaluable ways these farmers are enabling a sustainable human presence on this planet.
By amplifying their voice, we give new visibility to a world that extols the beauty, diversity and importance of rural and natural life, so people can make connections between eating and the relationships that sustains us.
Perhaps those we most need to reach are the chefs of Hong Kong, for they are the face and voice of cuisine, and have a profound impact on how we experience our food.
We hope our stories can be a powerful motivator for chefs to forge relationships with the living land and explore the exciting possibilities of cuisine through the lens of ecology and culture.
Join us in inspiring a new enlightened way of cooking and eating that is rich in meaning and purpose, for the good of our health, our world’s farmlands and our city’s future.
A reverence for life starts with thoughtful food.