If you have the privilege to choose what you eat and who you buy it from,
your dollars are political capital.
Do you know who your choices are supporting?
Small businesses or meat packing plants?
Local producers or factory farmers?
People in Hong Kong are thinking about the political power of their food
and their banding together around one urgent cause.
PROTEST FOOD
(Laurel) What are you making now?
(Mandy) A Japanese cheese omelet.
We need eggs, sweet corn, and cheese.
So add oil in first.
(Laurel) Wow, that's a lot of oil.
(Mandy) Yes, but don't worry. It won't be oily afterward.
(Laurel) Oh, so you've got to roll it.
(Mandy) Yes.
(Laurel) Amber Foods is a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant
that opened on an infamous day
in the history of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement--
The anniversary of the first big police crackdown.
- Then we add another layer. - It really smells good.
Yes.
Hot!
- Mmmm. - Okay?
It's really good!
It's very creamy like a--
It's kind of sweet-- Did you put sugar in there?
- Yes. - Okay.
It's very light and airy,
and the cheese adds a nice bit of umami.
Everyone who works here is a protester,
including Mandy.
She's a chef-in-training and didn't even know how to cook
before she started here.
(Mandy) My family and I have different political views
because of the democracy movement.
We don't have a good relationship, and I wouldn't ask them for money.
Sometimes I'd go home after a day [of protesting] on the streets,
[my dad would] keep yelling at me, so I'd just hide in my room.
(Laurel) In Hong Kong, yellow is the chosen color
of the pro-democracy movement.
Last year, protesters hoisted yellow umbrellas
and don yellow hard hats
to protect themselves against pepper spray and tear gas shells.
Yellow has now become shorthand
for whether an individual or establishment supports the protests.
Blue stands for the other side.
The police who crackdown
and of course, China,
which passed a National Security Law this year (2020)
that basically criminalized dissent.
Between COVID-19 and the sweeping new law,
street protests have become scarce.
(Lauren) The drink's name in English is "Stand With Hong Kong"
but ka you literally means "add oil".
But in Cantonese, it's sort of this cheer that is very commonly heard
and throughout the protest it's become a rallying cry.
By having a drink called that,
they're giving people the excuse to actually say it multiple times a day.
Amber Foods isn't the only protest restaurant.
It's part of the so-called The Yellow Economic Circle,
a network of businesses that consider every bite and every dollar spent
an opportunity to resist.
Growing the yellow economy is all about linking up
yellow customers with yellow shops.
That's where Matt Lau steps in.
The pickeat.hk app lets customers order
from yellow restaurants in other districts of the city.
Lau delivers for free.
(Lau) Step one is to log on to this website
to choose and order your food.
Then, you'll have to decide the pick-up spot.
Who are your customers?
Surprisingly, they're mostly 40 to 50 years old.
(Laurel) Lau's business is his form of protest
and he's betting that other Hong Kongers will help it grow.
But for now, his service is helping yellow restaurants
more than his own bottom line.
(Lau) In my opinion,
the neutral [restaurants] are siding with the government.
The reason is that those shops would like to have revenue
from both political sides.
Even though I'm losing money, I'm willing to help.
I believe there are still voices that call me stupid or dumb.
On the contrary, I think I'm being smart.
It's because I'm smart that I want to help others.
Hello!
(Laurel) Chinese government would prefer businesses care about profits.
The city is in a historic recession
and China has accused yellow businesses of trying to quote, "kidnap its economy."
But Hong Kong relies on China for its food.
90% of Hong Kong's food is imported
and most of that comes from the mainland.
Less than 5% of the territory is devoted to farming.
One of the few farms is run by Wong Yu Wing.
(Wong) Do you want to pick some together just a little?
(Laurel) Sure.
(Wong) So just use your hands to snap it like this.
You see the big ones, just snap it like this.
Yes, should be enough for a meal.
(Laurel) Demand for Wong's organic produce
has gone through the roof since the protests
and a pandemic that's raised the price of food from China.
Why are young people saying,
"If you want to support Hong Kong, then support this farm?"
Primarily because, deep down in their hearts,
Hong Kongers view Hong Kong and mainland China
as two distinct entities.
If your fresh water and food are being controlled,
how many days can you last?
(Laurel) Tours from the city even come help out on Saturdays
when the other workers get a day off.
Pretty clever having your paying customers do your weeding for you, I must say.
The water is boiling.
Let me put the vegetables in.
The freshest taste.
When we eat vegetables here at the farm,
we just pick them straight from the fields and try them here.
We don't put salt and oil on them, so they're very light.
They're ready after about two to three minutes.
(Laurel) Though his small organic farm
may seem removed from the city and its problems,
to him it's all connected.
(Laurel) Do you think Hong Kong is a good environment now?
(Wong) Now it's like a messy farm full of weeds and infestation.
You need to use so much effort to take care of it
and slowly sort everything out.
You have to rectify it, in order to continue producing,
in order to have a sustainable agricultural industry.