Thin from Thin Ink
banner
thinink.bsky.social
Thin from Thin Ink
@thinink.bsky.social
Food Systems nut who also happens to be a foodie. Writes Thin Ink, Lead Reporter for Lighthouse Reports, co-founder of Kite Tales Myanmar, founder of Myanmar Now, & former correspondent with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Pinned
I’ve been wanting to do an issue on food systems in Palestine for a while. I also wanted to do it with somebody who's very much deep in the food culture, storytelling, & preservation issues. This week, I finally managed to do it with Vivien Sansour.

news.thin-ink.net/p/i-dont-see...
"I don't see Palestine as an isolated story"
On grief, land, and love in the struggle for Palestinian food and memory
news.thin-ink.net
Reposted by Thin from Thin Ink
Myanmar journalists in exile are "unable to escape the grim realities of the junta's brutality because their days are spent gathering news of the loss, grief, and despair back home" but downplay their trauma, writes our fellow from Kayin State.

kite-tales.org/en/article/w...
When telling the story involves absorbing the despair
kite-tales.org
November 11, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Reposted by Thin from Thin Ink
Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments:

One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
November 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
If anyone still doubts how connected our food and climate systems are, this week’s State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) report from the FAO is a reminder.

The 2025 edition focuses on land degradation after two years of emphasis on true cost accounting.

news.thin-ink.net/p/who-owns-t...
Who Owns The Farmland?
Updated data on farm sizes, land distribution, & food production
news.thin-ink.net
November 7, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by Thin from Thin Ink
thank you for all the support; the statement from our union is now live here with some more reporting.

now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.
November 3, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Yup, this week's title is a play on that famous saying. But my answer differs from the usual one, which is "one bite at a time".

This is because we're talking about a different elephant here: power in food systems, who has it, who doesn't, and how to tackle it.

news.thin-ink.net/p/how-to-eat...
How to Eat an Elephant
In big chomps...
news.thin-ink.net
October 31, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Read this and was absolutely gobsmacked by the contortions the writer went through to come to this conclusion.
In Opinion

Early in Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, “it was easy to assume that failure to learn his name reflected a failure to take him seriously,” John McWhorter writes. But “as a matter of pure linguistics, it would be surprising if people didn’t have trouble with the name Mamdani.”
Opinion | I Now Mispronounce You the Likely Next Mayor of New York City
A lot of people seem to trip over Zohran Mamdani’s name. The reason may not be as simple as it seems.
nyti.ms
October 31, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Reposted by Thin from Thin Ink
As Artie the Producer said about Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show, "The New York Times has hit rock bottom, broken through, and fallen down to some new bottom that I'm not aware of."
In Opinion

Early in Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, “it was easy to assume that failure to learn his name reflected a failure to take him seriously,” John McWhorter writes. But “as a matter of pure linguistics, it would be surprising if people didn’t have trouble with the name Mamdani.”
Opinion | I Now Mispronounce You the Likely Next Mayor of New York City
A lot of people seem to trip over Zohran Mamdani’s name. The reason may not be as simple as it seems.
nyti.ms
October 31, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Reposted by Thin from Thin Ink
I love this essay, so much great stuff in here - inspiration, yes, also the deep understanding that comes from years of in-depth reporting.
I'm changing gears for this issue: featuring a project & an analysis. Both are about building fairer, healthier & more sustainable food systems from the ground up. After some heavy issues, I needed inspiration & they did the trick. I hope it'll work for you too.

news.thin-ink.net/p/markets-me...
Markets, Meals, & the People Who Feed Us
From Bihar’s markets to global family farms, fixing food from the ground up
news.thin-ink.net
October 28, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Reposted by Thin from Thin Ink
😬Are our food systems globally a disaster?

"I’m not sure I would say disaster, but definitely broken," says investigative journalist @thinink.bsky.social.

Listen to her conversation with host Malka Older on
@issuesinst.bsky.social's podcast Not Now, But Soon.
Not Now, But Soon: The Food System is Rigged
Thin Lei Win discusses growing up in Myanmar, and how that has shaped how she sees the intersection between food, climate, and disasters.
issues.org
October 27, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Reposted by Thin from Thin Ink
If you want to hear more from @thinink.bsky.social, she joined me on the Not Now But Soon podcast to talk about food and fiction and how they intersect in the propaganda of authoritarian governments: issues.org/not-now-but-...
Not Now, But Soon: The Food System is Rigged
Thin Lei Win discusses growing up in Myanmar, and how that has shaped how she sees the intersection between food, climate, and disasters.
issues.org
October 28, 2025 at 7:46 AM
I'm changing gears for this issue: featuring a project & an analysis. Both are about building fairer, healthier & more sustainable food systems from the ground up. After some heavy issues, I needed inspiration & they did the trick. I hope it'll work for you too.

news.thin-ink.net/p/markets-me...
Markets, Meals, & the People Who Feed Us
From Bihar’s markets to global family farms, fixing food from the ground up
news.thin-ink.net
October 24, 2025 at 3:36 PM
"When I first discovered.. I was carrying twins.. our entire family was overjoyed. The early months were brutal with severe morning sickness: dizziness, vomiting, heart palpitations & inability to eat. But our family relied solely on my income, so taking a break from work was simply not an option."
A journalist from Mon State fled Myanmar to continue her passion but said she had to stop working or risk losing her pregnancy.

"The moment I left my job, our family's financial struggles returned. My father... began secretly collecting rubbish to make money."

kite-tales.org/en/article/b...
Breaking point
kite-tales.org
October 20, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Reposted by Thin from Thin Ink
PSA: we're aware that Signal is down for some people. This appears to be related to a major AWS outage. Stand by.
October 20, 2025 at 8:00 AM
This week, I revisited the ever-growing list of tabs I’ve added to my “Thin Ink” window. These tabs are for the avalanche of interesting stuff published over the past couple of months but which I’ve had to set aside because of that old chestnut: not enough time.

news.thin-ink.net/p/our-food-s...
Our Food Systems: Feeding on Junk & Inequality
A round-up of recent research & articles on who produces, who profits, and who pays.
news.thin-ink.net
October 17, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Reposted by Thin from Thin Ink
Friendly reminder that Tidal ($10.99) is now cheaper than Spotify ($11.99), delivers better audio quality, pays its artists 2x as much, and generally doesn't allow AI slop.

You can move your entire music library over in a matter of minutes.
October 15, 2025 at 5:46 PM
I'll be in Vienna next week to co-facilitate "Climate journalism in shrinking democratic spaces" workshop on Oct 24. It's an invite-only event, so if you're interested, please contact IPI.

Otherwise, drop me a line if you're in Vienna & want to chat about all things food systems (or Myanmar).
October 15, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Reposted by Thin from Thin Ink
Die tolle @thinink.bsky.social hat uns bei der Recherche beraten. Ihr Newsletter ist einer der besten, den ich zum Thema Ernährungssysteme kenne. bsky.app/profile/thin...
This week's issue is about a very timely cross-border investigation that illustrated the shortfalls of the current system in protecting a crucial asset of European agriculture: farm workers.

Full disclosure: I played a small role mentoring the team behind this.

news.thin-ink.net/p/how-europe...
How Europe’s Farm Subsidy Scheme Fails Workers
As lawmakers concentrate on meat bans, the CAP continues to bankroll exploitation in the fields
news.thin-ink.net
October 13, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Reposted by Thin from Thin Ink
October 12, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Reposted by Thin from Thin Ink
An exiled Myanmar journalist on funding cuts:
"Last year my newsroom secured money from the United States that meant I could finally begin planning to reunite with my mother. Then Donald Trump began slashing support for independent media & all my dreams unravelled."

kite-tales.org/en/article/b...
Between Exile and Conscription
kite-tales.org
October 12, 2025 at 9:01 AM
This week's issue is about a very timely cross-border investigation that illustrated the shortfalls of the current system in protecting a crucial asset of European agriculture: farm workers.

Full disclosure: I played a small role mentoring the team behind this.

news.thin-ink.net/p/how-europe...
How Europe’s Farm Subsidy Scheme Fails Workers
As lawmakers concentrate on meat bans, the CAP continues to bankroll exploitation in the fields
news.thin-ink.net
October 10, 2025 at 4:45 PM
In Jan 2019, a group of eminent scientists, unveiled, for the first time, an ‘ideal diet’ for both a healthy population & a sustainable food system. It recommended a doubling of consumption of nuts, fruits, vegetables & legumes, & a halving of meat & sugar intake.

news.thin-ink.net/p/the-planet...
The Planetary Health Diet, Revisited
The wealthiest 30% drive 70% of food-related environmental impacts. Can we change how we eat, farm, and share power?
news.thin-ink.net
October 3, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by Thin from Thin Ink
Listen to the latest episode of my new @issuesinst.bsky.social podcast, NOT NOW BUT SOON, in which I talk to @thinink.bsky.social about global food systems, the authoritarian takeover of Myanmar, and other disasters. Search "The Ongoing Transformation" wherever you get your podcasts!
Not Now, But Soon: The Food System is Rigged
Thin Lei Win discusses growing up in Myanmar, and how that has shaped how she sees the intersection between food, climate, and disasters.
issues.org
September 30, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by Thin from Thin Ink
It's not up on the website yet, but the new episode of my podcast, NOT NOW BUT SOON, is already up on spotify and probably other podcast platforms! In this edition, I talk to the amazing @thinink.bsky.social about the disasters including global food systems and the authoritarian takeover in Myanmar
Not Now, But Soon: The Food System is Rigged
open.spotify.com
September 30, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Reposted by Thin from Thin Ink
A Yangon journalist, who stayed on after the coup, wrote of feeling "like a trapped rat" & finally making the heartbreaking decision to leave her home.

"As the plane takes off, I look out the window. The sight tugs at my heart. This is the city I grew up in."

kite-tales.org/en/article/h...
September 28, 2025 at 7:51 AM
I’ve been wanting to do an issue on food systems in Palestine for a while. I also wanted to do it with somebody who's very much deep in the food culture, storytelling, & preservation issues. This week, I finally managed to do it with Vivien Sansour.

news.thin-ink.net/p/i-dont-see...
"I don't see Palestine as an isolated story"
On grief, land, and love in the struggle for Palestinian food and memory
news.thin-ink.net
September 26, 2025 at 3:40 PM