In collaboration with FoodTalk | Hangzhou, China

As part of our Food Innovation Global Mission in 2018, along with FoodTalk, a China-based forum exploring the relationship between food, people, and culture, we hosted a thoughtful, youth-led conversation on food waste.

Held at an international school in Hangzhou, the session invited children aged 9–11 years to reflect on the issue of waste in their homes, kitchens, and dining tables — offering a rare, insightful glimpse into how younger generations perceive, inherit, and negotiate food values.

Project Focus:

• A personalised tea-tasting session, curated for each child, creating a warm, reflective space for conversation.

• Asking a simple, disarming question:
  “What do your parents say when you waste food?”

• Encouraging the children to illustrate and write about their feelings, memories, and experiences around food waste at home.

• Uncovering cultural teachings, family customs, and personal reflections around food frugality in Chinese and multicultural households.

This experience reinforced the importance of starting conversations about sustainability and cultural values early, and using food as a gateway for intergenerational dialogue. It also offered a valuable, cross-cultural perspective on how food waste is managed, moralised, and felt in Asian family cultures — through both humour and discipline.