What a Trip to Beijing Taught Me About Food and Power

By Leila Yow

Smallholder farms contribute one third of all the food consumed in high-income countries like the U.S., but smallholder farmers around the world often struggle to navigate a food system that is controlled by just a handful of large companies. Climate change, lack of access to land, and lack of sufficient policy support make the farmer’s job even harder. Earlier this month in Beijing, I had the opportunity to meet a smallholder farmer named Konkongu based in Beijing’s Pinggu District. He said that, despite the difficulties facing farmers in China, “I just want to plant some really healthy food.”

Before Konkongu became a farmer, he was a medical worker. At the age of 29, Konkongu decided to return to his family’s rented land to practice natural farming. Natural farming incorporates principles from organic farming but also has a distinct goal of “health” — healthy food grown with a healthy mindset, meant to build healthy communities. To Konkongu, natural farming is an Eastern practice and lifestyle as opposed to the Western construct of “organic certification.” But his vegetables are still certified organic and sold at the Beijing Farmer’s Market every Saturday and Sunday during the summer and fall months. That’s where I met Konkongu during my trip to Beijing.