Shiology is an emerging interdisciplinary knowledge system that holistically studies human "eat + food" affairs. It centres on the needs and perspectives of eaters, prioritising survival, health, social harmony, and sustainability, while examining interactions between eaters, food supply chains, and global governance structures.
Unlike traditional disciplines such as agronomy (focused on food production), food science (emphasizing processing and safety), or fragmented food policies and food systems approaches (often siloed across nutrition, agriculture, and environment), Shiology integrates these into a unified, eater-centric framework. It addresses root causes of interconnected crises—like hunger, malnutrition, waste, and ecological impacts—by revealing objective laws of "shiance" (human food acquisition and utilisation) and advocating holistic governance to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Promoted through the biennial World Shiology Forum and supported by research centres (e.g., at Renmin University of China and the University of Pisa), Shiology has gained recognition as a public knowledge system for systemic food challenges.
Shiology places a great importance on food education with policies inspired by Shiology implementing greater food education in schools, from cooking lessons to eating etiquette.
Creation and background Shiology was established from scratch by Liu Guangwei, founder and director-general of the World Shiology Forum, in February 2019. “Shiology” is a combination of the Chinese pinyin “shi” and English suffix “-ology”. The character “shi” in Chinese has two meanings including the verb "eat", as well as the noun "food".
The 4th World Shiology Forum concluded, in the Hainan Initiative, that, “We need a new knowledge system - shiology - that covers all the 'eat and food' issues related to the SDGs, to comprehensively recognise the issues and holistically govern them, setting the eaters at the centre of the approach, and thus promote the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,"
Shiance Shiance is a coined term formed by combining the pinyin “shi” (eat+food) with the suffix "-ance".”Shiology Experts Gather to Discuss the Development of an Independent Knowledge System of Shiology”. Renmin University of China. Retrieved 2022-9-19. As a new term in Shiology, it refers to any human activity related to food acquisition, utilization and the consequential outcomes of the activity.LiuGuangwei (2025). Shiology (English Edition). Joint Publishing (H.K.) Co., Ltd. P17. Shiance includes not only eating, drinking, survival, health, but also food planting, breeding, cooking, fermentation. It further covers the maintenance of food order involved in the law, economy, administration, education, and other fields.Zhou Li (2023). “Independent Knowledge System of Shiology and Holistic Governance of Shiance — Liu Guangwei’s Special Column on Shiology”. Journal of Shanxi Agricultural University (Social Science Edition). 22(01):1-6.
"Shiance" encompasses not just Eatance but includes fields of food acquisition, eaters’ needs, and Shiance order.LiuGuang-wei. 2024.”Basic Terms in Shiology——Revealing the Connotation and Extension of the Core Concept of Shiance Cognition”. Journal of Northeast Agricultural University(English Edition). 31(04):85-96.
The Shiance triangle defines the domain of Shiance, encompassing interactions among the food ecosystem, the Shiance behaviour system, and the food converting system.LiuGuangwei (2025). Shiology (English Edition). Joint Publishing (H.K.) Co., Ltd. P25-26. The essential connection among these systems is that Shiance behavior system acquires food from the food ecosystem and then supplies it to the food converting system. After the food converting system utilizes the food, waste and human remains are returned to the food system.Idid, P27.
Shiance development From June 25 to 26, 2019, the Third World Shiology Forum was held on Awaji Island, Japan. During the forum, the Awaji Island Declaration was released, establishing the “Four Major Shiance Consensus,” and marking the emergence of the term “Shiance.”
In 2020, the second edition of Shiology was published. It argues that human food-related issues are highly complex, like a tangled web that has persisted for centuries and presents a systematic framework of “Shiance-related problems”.
On May 22, 2024, the paper Shiology Terminology: Revealing the Connotation and Extension of Core Concepts in Shiance Cognition was first published online, elaborating on 33 key terms related to Shiance.
Shiance is fundamental to human survival and a prerequisite for sustainable development. Human history suggests that Shiance dates back more than 5.5 million years, long preceding the emergence of civilization. "An Introduction to Shiology" (2023). Journal of Northeast Agricultural University(English Edition). 30 (3): 1–18 – via https://www.cnki.net/
Eatance Eatance is a coined term formed by combining “eat” with the suffix -ance. As a basic term in Shiology, it refers to human phenomena and activities related to ingesting food, including eating, drinking, and taking medicine.
Eatance practice is divided into three stages: pre- eating, during- eating, and post-eating.“Basic Terms in Shiology——Revealing the Connotation and Extension of the Core Concept of Shiance Cognition”,CNKI
• Pre-eating stage, follows the “three assessments”: assessing physical needs, identifying food types, and considering seasonal conditions.ibid • During-eating stage, follows the “seven pairings”: quantity, variety, frequency, temperature, speed, sequence, and the balance between raw and cooked foods.idid • Post-eating stage, implements the “two evaluations”: monitoring excretion and observing bodily responses.
The entire process is visually presented through the “Dial-Based Dietary Guide” (also referred to as the “Dial-Based Eating Guide”).
Eating affects health in five ways: (1) constituting the body, (2) satisfying hunger, (3) preventing disease, (4) treating disease, and (5) causing disease.
There are five Eatance principles: body-driven food transformation, body–food coupling, food-induced disease, food as therapy, and five-sense aesthetic principles.“Principles of Shiology——Revealing the Basic Rules of Human Shiance”.2023. CNKI
Eatology Eatology is a coined term formed by combining “eat” with the suffix -ology. It is a knowledge system that explores and reveals the objective relationship between eating practices and human health and longevity.
It studies how to achieve health and longevity through proper eating, effective nourishment, and solutions to eating-related problems. It also examines the connections and laws governing food intake, disease treatment, and physical health, and serves as a knowledge system to improve food utilization efficiency.“Shiology System—to Establish Inclusion and Juxtaposition Relationships Within Shiance”. (2024). Journal of Northeast Agricultural University(English Edition). 31（03）
This discipline categorizes eating functions into three types: nourishing, regulating, and therapeutic, corresponding respectively to maintaining health, correcting suboptimal states, and treating diseases.Liu Guangwei.2025. Shiology. Joint Publishing (H.K.)Co., Ltd. P54.
Eatology is a third-level sub-discipline under Shiology and falls into the category of eater’s need.
The system comprises five secondary subfields: methodology of eating, aesthetics of eating, pathology of eating, therapeutic eating of biased substances, and therapeutic eating of synthetic substances.
The core theories of Eatology possess three key characteristics: universality, practicality, and sustainability.“Principles of Shiology--Revealing the Basic Rules of Human Shiance”. Disciplinary Service Platform of Xi'an University of Technology.
Eatology has three fundamental tasks: to extend individual lifespan, to promote the evolution of global order, and to sustain the continuation of the species.“Launch Event for Shiology (Second Edition) and Shiology Terminology (Hardcover Edition) to Be Held Soon”. China Food News.Retrieved 2020-5-5.
World Shiology Forum The World Shiology Forum (WSF) is an international conference that brings together global experts in food science and agriculture from five key sectors: 1) policymakers, 2) academia, 3) industry, 4) finance and foundations, and 5) both mainstream and social media.
Shiology aligns closely with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Because of this, Shiology Founder Mr. Liu Guangwei was invited to give a presentation in 2019 to the United Nations Headquarters.
With the World Shiology Forum formerly known as The World Eatology Forum, five forums and one summit have been successfully held in Beijing (China), Osaka (Japan), Istanbul (Turkey), and Hainan (China) . The most recent forum was hosted in Haikou, Hainan from 28 to 31 October 2025. The next World Shiology Forum is expected to be hosted in 2027, but the location and date have yet to be announced.
Each World Shiology Forum Covers a different shiance topic.
+ World Eatology/ Shiology Forums & World Eatology Summits Forum Host City, Country Host Date Topic 1st World Food Forum Beijing, People's Republic of China 21–24 May 2017 “The Belt and Road, Food Leads the Way” issued with Yiyin Initiative 2nd World Food Forum Beijing, People's Republic of China 20–22 May 2018 “Food Production and Utilisation” 3rd Wold Shiology Forum Osaka, Japan 24–26 June 2019 “SDGs and Food Issues” issued with Awaji Island Declaration 3rd World Eatology Summit Istanbul, Turkey 18–19 December 2020 “Eatology-With A Multidimensional Approach Holistically Solve Food Issues” issued with Istanbul Declaration of Eatology 4th World Shiology Forum Haikou, People's Republic of China 10–11 October 2023 “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” issued with Hainan Initiative 5th World Shiology Forum Haikou, People's Republic of China 28–31 October 2025 “A Holistic Approach to Addressing Food System Challenges through Shiology”
The 3rd World Shiology Forum The 3rd World Shiology Forum – Turkey Summit was held in Istanbul,Turkey with the theme “Eatology-With A Multidimensional Approach Holistically Solve Food Issues.” The forum released its outcome document, the Istanbul Declaration of Eatology.
The 4th World Shiology Forum Over 100 participants from 43 countries had the honor of receiving a written message from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, reinforcing the forum's truly global reach."The Message by UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the 4th World Shiology Forum". World Shiology Forum. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
The 4th WSF was primarily academically focused, aiming to establish global recognition and consensus around Shiology's potential. The theme for this forum was “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” and the Hainan Initiative was issued.
The 5th World Shiology Forum The 5th World Shiology Forum was successfully held from 28 to 31 October 2025 in Hainan (China), under the theme, “A Holistic Approach to Addressing Food System Challenges through Shiology”. The forum brought together over 300 on-site participants, including representatives from the United Nations and its affiliated agencies, along with delegates from 55 countries. The event also attracted coverage from both international and domestic social media outlets.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres sent a written message to the forum, in which he wrote “we must act together to create food systems that sustain both people and planet. The holistic principles of Shiology can help light the way.”
Within the 5th WSF, the Global Food Systems and SDGs Report 2025 was officially launched and formally presented to the United Nations representative. The report was developed with contributions from more than 100 collaborators, serving as co-authors representing the UN Member States.