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The New Organic China

Posted: 01/15/2013 8:26 am

We ate a lot of tofu in China. Mirra had just emerged from two weeks of eating only miso in Japan, so it was time to get serious about vegetables. Inspired by tofu being way better in China, we set out to learn how to make it. Along the way we met the young woman behind Kunming's only organic restaurant.

After years of food scandals across China, Ms. Yang is part of an effort to bring healthy and organic food to Kunming, a city in the Yunnan Province of China. But beyond finding an alternative to the scary mass production of modern China, her story is an inspiration. After graduating from University and working in business for a number of years, she found herself frustrated by the rat race. She wanted to go back and farm with her parents by turning their conventional soy bean operation into an organic farm. Instead, she started a restaurant and bought her family's newly organic produce to supply the changing demands of the urban population. Her entrepreneurship, delicious food and ethical and inspiring way of life could lead to a new food movement in China.

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Video created in partnership with Intrepid Travel

 

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We ate a lot of tofu in China. Mirra had just emerged from two weeks of eating only miso in Japan, so it was time to get serious about vegetables. Inspired by tofu being way better in China, we set ou...
We ate a lot of tofu in China. Mirra had just emerged from two weeks of eating only miso in Japan, so it was time to get serious about vegetables. Inspired by tofu being way better in China, we set ou...
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Glennfrog
Rainbow thrower
10:09 PM on 01/22/2013
That's great news. It's always good when more people go organic.
01:39 PM on 01/16/2013
Sohbet
Chat
Bursa Forum
12:06 PM on 01/16/2013
This will be very interesting: at this point, many herbal health products coming into California are so polluted with lead and other heavy metals that they are required to be labeled with Prop. 65 warning labels at point of sale. Very ironic and sad. China's air, water and soil are suffering severe damages with extremely dirty industrial growth, which may doom any attempts to have a truly 'organic' food base, no less a healthy one.

Adding to these impacts of pollution is that USGS has found significant levels of acid rain, estrogenics and other hormone disruptors, heavy metals and other contaminants crossing the Pacific Ocean and being deposited on our West Coast soils and water. Globalization, including the quest for cheap manufacturing and goods, is coming home to roost, and it isn't good. As our Moms always told us, 'clean up your own mess!'
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HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Daniel Klein
03:13 PM on 01/16/2013
we do need to. all are responsible
02:34 PM on 01/15/2013
China...what a mess. When the Olympic Games happened there they had to dredge the sea to rid the algae buildup. The air in Beijing is totally polluted...people can't breathe - literally- They have to hand pollenate plants with feathers for those plants whose pollenators are gone. Organic?...yeah, right. A start? Maybe...
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HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Daniel Klein
10:20 PM on 01/15/2013
there is a long ways to go.
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01:31 PM on 01/15/2013
Also, where else in China did you visit? Was "organic" becoming a more common word in China? Did you see many (or any) other restaurants promoting it?
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HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Daniel Klein
02:33 PM on 01/15/2013
we visited Yunnan Province, Beijing, Hong Kong and various spots outside those areas. there was a lot of concern around food safety, but not a lot "organic" speak
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01:29 PM on 01/15/2013
This is such a beautiful video. I was curious about the limestone -- Ive never heard of using that in cooking before. Is there something else I could use to make tofu?
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HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Daniel Klein
02:32 PM on 01/15/2013
yeah, you can use lemon juice, bath salts and gypsum
09:04 AM on 01/15/2013
Enjoyed the Daniel Klein article about his travels in China and finding Organic Soy products there. With increased genetic modifying of soybean crops, discovering sources of Organic Soy is more important than ever. I always look for the USDA Certified Organic stamp on the label of products I buy.
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HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Daniel Klein
11:11 AM on 01/15/2013
thanks Mary.