I attended my first TEDx event yesterday on the Future of Food.  The “x” means that it was independently organized TED event and in this case it was organized by the Hart House at University of Toronto.  TED is a nonprofit organization that got its start in 1984 with a conference that brought people together from three different worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED).   It has since expanded to focus more generally on “Ideas Worth Spreading” and it is quite likely that you’ve come across their TEDTalks videos.  TED created the TEDx program in the spirit of ideas with spreading to promote local, self-organized events that bring people together.  While the content is unique, there are common features including: the TED format of short, carefully prepared talks, demonstrations and performances that provoke conversations that matter, a minimum of two videos that are pre-recorded from the TEDTalks video series, and bias-free programming that lacks commercial, religious or political agendas.

The Future of Food event consisted of four talks and two recorded talks.  Five local experts shared their views on the food system in a series of four talks, 18 minutes each.  They weighed in on factors that need to be considered as we choose what foods to put into our shopping carts, like how we sow, grow, raise, reap, slaughter, transport, distribute, buy, share, cook, eat and dispose of food.  In summary, these are the “Ideas Worth Spreading” that I heard from last night.

Dan Donovan, Product Developer for Ontario’s Own: SMALL CHANGES EVERTHING

Dan opened summarizing some of the crazy changes that have happened in our food system over the past three-quarters century or so that has put pressure on small scale operations (none of them really a surprise from the rise of agro-business, to outsourcing food production to rock bottom pricing to standardization and mechanization).  Scale is linked to sustainability.  Dan discussed how small producers and processors are part of the community, you can get to know them and trust them and they have the interests of their community at heart.  And they can be supported by voting with your dollar: “every day is election day”.  It is easier to ask questions and get information about where our food comes from and if you don’t like it, then don’t buy it.  And while we may need to pay a bit more for food in the short term, it means in the long term we will have to pay less in other places (health care, job losses, etc.)

Jason Qu, Coordinator for the University of Toronto Campus Agriculture Program: EDUCATING FOOD

How schools are missing the tactile experiences of everyday life including food, is how Jason opened his talk.  He believes that food offers a hidden classroom that can connect students to their bodies, environment and community.  Jason drew on the examples of the community gardens and volunteer run kitchen at UofT to show how young people are participating in the local food movement.  Young people want to renegotiate their relationship with food, where consumers can turn into producers and participation can turn into engagement.

Lauren Baker, Director of Sustain Ontario: The Alliance for Healthy Food and Farming: GOOD FOOD GAP

The Good Food Gap is the policy space between the farms that are currently in crises because farmers can’t make a living and the consumers that are having a hard time making good food choices.  Through research done by Sustain Ontario, Lauren presented 10 Good Food Ideas to bridge this gap including: supporting growers of fresh fruits and vegetables, making more room for farmers in the system, especially smaller to mid-scale farmers that are discouraged with the current supply management system, farms as providers of ecological services, habitat and clean water, plant urban Ontario to grow up to 10% of our food in cities, foster school food and food literacy, community food centres that provide a range of food services rather than food banks, regional food clusters that focus on unique products, regions, people and environments, local food procurement starting with institutions, better link good food to good health, and plan for the future of food and farming.  The full report can be found here.

Jeffrey Crump & Bettina Schormann, Chefs and Slow Food Proponents:  ONE CHANGE

Best known as the authors of From Earth to Table (covered by my cookbook reading group), these two chefs offered a simple suggestion: to pick one change to make.  They then revealed their personal journey to local food leaders, starting with a chicken and the decision to buy whole fresh chickens for their restaurant.  While it meant they had to learn new skills such as how to butcher the birds and use them entirely, it led to lambs, then pigs, then cattle.  They found that buying whole animals means that their food dollars went directly to the farmer rather than spread through the supply chain.  They suggested something simple to start with.  And even that one choice will help support local farmers and businesses and help improve the humane treatment of animals, while you get to learn a new recipe or two, discover flavours, and feel good about the change.

All four live talks were recorded and will be posted to the TEDx YouTube Channel.  The two recorded talks also on the theme of Future of Food rounded out the evening and provided international perspectives.  Carolyn Steel discussed SITOPIA (Food Place), getting into history, urban planning and food systems in her discussion.  And Dan Barber talked about his love affairs with two fish, mixing his humour with a tale of navigating the industry of sustainable farmed fish.  These talks are already available to view as part of the TEDTalks video series and you can watch them for yourself.

Have you been to a TED event?  Do you have a favourite TEDTalk video?