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Around the world, Indigenous food cultures vanish because of industrialized agriculture and a shifting, Western-influenced concept of the ideal diet. Food researcher Aparna Pallavi explores why once-essential culinary traditions disappear from people’s lives and memories almost without notice — and serves up a subtle solution to revitalize our connection to the foods we eat.
The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You’re welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a Media Request here:
Spoken Word Fiji
July 22, 2020 at 9:44 pm
i loved this talk so much ….
manihot
July 22, 2020 at 9:47 pm
The fact is, you want to feed a huge country with billions of people, you will have to feed them with “standardized” industrially produced food, or you will never get enough for everyone.
Lisa Hinton
July 22, 2020 at 11:12 pm
Not true. Right in the talk, she mentions just the one flower being abundant enough to feed the household for 4 to 6 months per year, plus have enough left over to sell. The fact is, there is food all around all of us all the time. We are just so used to going to the grocery store, and buying the same 20 items over and over and over.
Aimee Perhach
July 22, 2020 at 9:49 pm
Eat meat. Problem solved.
Tom Warlitner
July 22, 2020 at 9:56 pm
Stop judging civilized countries. If “forest foods” were preferable we’d all be eating them.
Sara Majd Faridi
July 22, 2020 at 9:58 pm
WOW! This is wonderful! Thank you!
Xander D
July 22, 2020 at 10:01 pm
Raw Any Meat
Angel Kingsley
July 22, 2020 at 10:03 pm
I have no idea. Thanks colonization and Slavery 😘
-
July 22, 2020 at 10:14 pm
extremely insightful, beautiful and all around a good message.
Haptic A
July 22, 2020 at 10:42 pm
Moringa, peanut butter, cowpeas, red meats and the occasional roasted spicy grasshoppers 😋
I’m West African
SPV TimoH
July 22, 2020 at 10:52 pm
In here Finland it’s sadhi bear… O deir me i’mean bier! Boos alholod’s…) I’st not My cup of Tea
Kav604
July 22, 2020 at 10:58 pm
The microphone makes it seem like she’s missing teeth. 😕
Wild Edibles
July 22, 2020 at 11:36 pm
Better than McDonald
We are learning and loving to forage bring back nutrition
Many important food preparation and identifying is lost these days
We foraged chanterelle mushrooms and they are worth $20/lb im glad they are a delicacy
We need to learn more about foraging
Michigan USA/Singapore S.E.Asia
July 22, 2020 at 11:40 pm
White rice, white bread, pork , white sugar etc are harmful
Wild Edibles
July 22, 2020 at 11:44 pm
Yes foods that grow easily without much work is great
I just pulled out lots of mallows because they grow so well
Im going to pickle the seeds but it takes a lot of work
Lots of tiny preparation its hard when we work so hard but do we need to work all day?
Mikerbike x
July 22, 2020 at 11:44 pm
Cornbread and beans, rabbits and a few squirrels, supplemented by apples from the tree and some things from the garden. There were hogs, some of which roamed the woods. For fun, sassafras tea and honey. Water from the spring. Okay, they bought coffee which they boiled on the wood fired kitchen stove. No one went hungry.
Danielle
July 22, 2020 at 11:45 pm
Our foods and our bodies have been colonized as well as our land of course. Reconnecting is much needed beautiful talk 💜
Wild Edibles
July 22, 2020 at 11:45 pm
That was beautiful:)
DBTdad
July 22, 2020 at 11:56 pm
My southern American ancestors ate possum, rabbit, squirrel, shad fish, souse meat and organ meats not because it tasted good….but cause they were poor and starving. Black eyed peas and turnip greens were considered live stock feed by the Union Army and were not taken or burned after civil war battles and fed the defeated southerners. We still eat greens and black eyed peas each new years day per tradition.
Tanglay Audio
July 23, 2020 at 12:06 am
wow so many big thanks for sharing.
artbasss
July 23, 2020 at 12:16 am
What food? Any.
captain nemo
July 23, 2020 at 12:25 am
Dik
Startup Funding Event Global
July 23, 2020 at 1:04 am
A lot of food culture is gone because of people wanting fast food. But I believe that the true foodies still appreciate the traditions of cooking.
Pablo César Méndez
July 23, 2020 at 1:05 am
Gosh, love that intro 😍
GIL
July 23, 2020 at 1:19 am
I think if it tastes good no one will turn it away no matter what social construct denounces it. It’s easier to refuse food that was eaten for survival and tasted bad, bland or abundant yet nutritious than food that tasted good even though it was less nutritious and still abundant. Also taste wins out when cost isnt an issue. When cost is an issue you eat what you can afford. Her dilemma is strange to me. If healthier food is available and affordable why choose an abundant unhealthy option? Simply because of class discrimination?
Maxim Fabio
July 23, 2020 at 1:25 am
Raw carnivore
harshit singh
July 23, 2020 at 10:15 am
Today I vow to catch a 🐀 rat and roast and savour.
Marc Phlip
July 23, 2020 at 11:05 am
This is the same process everywhere in the world, when people get more wealthy they want to eat different food, more convenient, more tasty, etc This is a big trend/topic in most western countries as well
Khalida Shaheen
July 23, 2020 at 11:31 am
Roti, saalan
I’m Pakistani
generic username 420
July 23, 2020 at 11:39 am
recommended to me, recommended to you
Abo-Hasnaa-Eltaib أبو حسناء الطيب
July 23, 2020 at 12:12 pm
You’ll become a billionaire💪|No one can make you feel inferior without your consent…
Yes I can
Football players’ success comes from motivation
Do you sometimes feel bad?Are people mean to you?
Are you afraid of taking risks and doing what makes you really happy,
so you often agree with other people’s opinions just for the sake of compatibility?
Thomas O
July 23, 2020 at 12:40 pm
If one has access to plenty of plants, then It is disgraceful to eat living things
Insatiable Woman
July 23, 2020 at 1:02 pm
like, guy 🍨 💫 🐌 🌎
S Nair
July 23, 2020 at 1:52 pm
Thank you for sharing…
Sagar Tandon
July 23, 2020 at 1:57 pm
I don’t think it’s correct to meat and I am not Brahmin. We as humans are conscious enough to not eat sentient beings and we should expose more and more indigenous people to the ethics and morality behind not eating meat. Just because our ancestors eat meat doesn’t mean it’s going to be good. Our ancestors didn’t have TED talks either, so here you go!
Jool005
July 23, 2020 at 2:06 pm
Wonderfully presented, valuable information. Thank you Aparna.
bhargavasharma c s
July 23, 2020 at 2:18 pm
Soft converter
Priyasha Ray
July 23, 2020 at 2:25 pm
Let’s face it food culture is driven by the food Industry. Modern society want to eat out of a packet.
MADARA UCHIHA
July 23, 2020 at 3:09 pm
This hindu relgion people always have scientific reason for there culture , food everything on how a human must live and respect earth.
But sad that todays generation is going towards western fast foods and other snackeries.
Abass 54
July 23, 2020 at 4:00 pm
How to deal with shame is a big concern for every kin.
Noukz
July 23, 2020 at 5:41 pm
Most people in the world, used to be impoverished in the previous century, or at least at the begining of it. Now when they can earn more money, they desire foods that weren’t available to them, but only to the higher classes, and they shunt away the traditional foods. I’ve seen this in every single country that I’ve visited and lived at.
Muhammad Ahmad
July 23, 2020 at 6:06 pm
No one
Me: listens the video in 2X
Dynight
July 23, 2020 at 6:23 pm
This is an amazing talk about socially acceptable foods and edible plants. Admittedly, after I bought a home two years ago, I hadn’t made the time to really tend to our lawn (aside from cutting it) and gardens. One day, I noticed mock strawberries, hiding under some thicker foliage. And it got me wondering about all the so called “weeds” that I had let overtaken some of my gardens and found homes in any turned soil. So, I researched them by googling most of their leaf descriptions (with the word “weed,” of course), and realized that there is so much waste of perfectly good, nutritious food, for the sake of barely useful grass! Next year, I can’t wait to harvest some dandelions for their leaves, the heads to make some jelly (after the bees have had their early spring fill!) and the roots to roast and make a decaf coffee alternative. I’m also looking forward to growing some of my own food. Stay curious, and connect with nature!
Arun Giduturi
July 23, 2020 at 8:04 pm
The reality is that this is not just happening with food in India. Same applies to languages, rituals, traditions, religions, beliefs and lot more. Sad.
Karlchen Müller
July 23, 2020 at 8:26 pm
For Germany i can only think of eating the whole animal including intestines, eating way less animal products – and more seasonal vegetables which for sure came in a larger variety. E.g. More beets in winter time, local spices (i hope there are any…). But I am sure there must be things in the forests that are edible and basically no one knows it anymore. Any ideas?
Ashita Bisht
July 23, 2020 at 9:27 pm
Very true it has even changed the farming patterns. Like back in our grandparents time people grew linseed but now only rice and wheat.
Bee
July 23, 2020 at 10:25 pm
Which food is she talking about?
MrLoobu
July 23, 2020 at 11:11 pm
I think my ancestors were all Cannibals.
MrLoobu
July 23, 2020 at 11:18 pm
Im pretty sure in our lifetimes we will be eating each other. The industrial food system is very centralized, unhealthy, and precarious considering climate change. By 2050 most of us will be starving, with very little chance we can affect major change on a social level at this point.
Threw The Looking Glass
July 24, 2020 at 12:23 am
yes… fallow your cravings
vulcanfeline
July 24, 2020 at 1:02 am
i have no clue what my genetic ancestors ate, but the people who long ago lived where i live now ate deer, moose, fish, rabbit, bear, blueberries, bearberries, wild rice, used bullrush roots for flour, wild parsnips, lily bulbs, chewed spruce sap as gum, and had many utility and medicinal plants. i think there may be 2 people around that still know all the edible plants but they’re very old 🙁
sankara narayanan
July 24, 2020 at 3:16 am
Thanks a lot
Vinicius Rodrigues
July 24, 2020 at 3:46 am
i can’t believe people watch this for real
Ghanem Humaid
July 24, 2020 at 5:27 am
eat what Arabs eat. our food is relatively healthy compared to the rest of the world and fast food dependency
Melissa Rains
July 24, 2020 at 5:40 am
Very interesting. Sometimes I listen and nothing is really said. This was very insightful and worth hearing! Well done.
Keshav jha
July 24, 2020 at 7:18 am
Eye opening speech, being ashamed and having no ground knowledge of our own local resources whether food or house building material. we are ending up as slave in the name of development.
How fast the business men and market policy infested inferiority complex in people’s mind and getting advantage and growing their own business. It’s really challenging our intellect.
Ex: When I see packaged milk and products are bought in village, aashirvad aata, colgate and teeth brush, packaged oil, pickles,popcorn, spices, fishes from other state ,local fruits even wheat and rice as well etc. Omg It’s quite disturbing and forcing me to think what kind of education are we getting even we can’t differentiate what’s will be good for us for longer run.
People started giving up all those resources which were handy to the people back then and now looking at industries much distant from his place just in the name of having no enough time.
Completely lie we get enough time to think but we think about which is not in our reach like political issue and all irrelevant information and talk.
Thank you Madam for awakening !!!
Devajyoti panda
July 24, 2020 at 9:16 am
I completely disagree with her.During early man days they used to subsist on anything they could find raw meat,raw vegetables right,but then they discovered fire and they found out the joy of cooked meat and everything changed,our palette carved for cooked food hence we evolved.Similarly during childhood we used to eat anything and everything, even dirt ,stone and we learnt hard way which could be eaten or not and as we grew up our tastes changed and we liked some kind of food better than others.Yes sometimes we go back to the food we ate during just for sentimentality reason but we can’t eat them forever when there are much tasty,much colourful,better smelling food around the horizon.I want that satisfaction,and improved happy mood which I get from tasty food,and who says tasty food are not nutritious,don’t equate refined food with junk.I mean to say that if the indigenous food which we used to eat could be made a 5 star dish I am all for it,but till them I don’t want to destroy my pallette by eating foods which I have grown out of.
Joeffison Andrade
July 24, 2020 at 9:27 am
In Brazil we have many fruits in a state which aren’t popular in other states. I hope they’ll never be forgotten.
Mintu Parajuli
July 24, 2020 at 9:50 am
Madam not only food represent you, your cloth and believe systems also…
Carla Castiajo
July 24, 2020 at 10:40 am
Well i never think, but that is true.
Markus Wolf
July 24, 2020 at 10:45 am
My grandpa was from Yugoslavia. One time when I was a kid at his house, I saw him eating head cheese (made from goat brain). When I told my dad about it later, he said, “Don’t worry. That tradition will die with him.” My wife would be eating horse meat. Neither of us are ready to reconnect with the lost food of our ancestors.
IndianWildlifeClub
July 24, 2020 at 10:53 am
Thought this event by CSE will be in keeping with the theme of this talk
Jithin James
July 24, 2020 at 1:07 pm
This is what I tell about cows, but none of the calfs lesson…. If a non-vegetarian stop eating cows, it’s not because of shame but fear of political rowdies… If this political situation previle in the future, I could certify u that food menu in india will narrow to its extrime….
I-deal
July 24, 2020 at 3:25 pm
So what about bats? at least we’re gonna have to run a test.
jai sree ram prasad
July 24, 2020 at 4:08 pm
Mahua ki roti is yummy , we biharis are eating even today …do try it really yummy
Aaron Wright
July 24, 2020 at 4:30 pm
None of you are commenting on a moth larvea? A MOTH LARVEA!!!!!
Paul Hopper
July 24, 2020 at 5:04 pm
Wonderful 🙏
HYPN0 Toad
July 24, 2020 at 7:08 pm
Haven’t listened yet but I’m interested.
I have a theory that it may be healthy to eat what your parents ate and what you ate growing up.
In moderation of course.
Gaasuba Meskhenet
July 25, 2020 at 12:02 pm
I’ve been only increasingly upset that I can’t effectively forage my local area. I can only recognize wild carrots and pawpaws
ജോസഫ് Athul
July 25, 2020 at 12:06 pm
Food is love. ♥️
Trainable Monkey
July 25, 2020 at 1:35 pm
What if mahua was marketed as a “superfood” like acai?
KARTHIKEYAN A
July 25, 2020 at 3:39 pm
SHAME…feeling shame will just gain you LOSS…
KARTHIKEYAN A
July 25, 2020 at 3:45 pm
Inspired with the explanation on FOOD and LOVE..
Mhmood Ali
July 25, 2020 at 6:53 pm
Hi Ted will I just wanted to thank you for all your efforts
Thank you Ted
noor jafar
July 25, 2020 at 7:39 pm
بس انه عربي اهنا😲😱
Malte Christensen
July 26, 2020 at 7:52 am
As long as you don’t go overboard and unleash vira on the world. Not all food is good for humankind
S E
July 27, 2020 at 12:28 pm
This is the concept of Satmya in Ayurveda
Karen Kueter
July 27, 2020 at 5:07 pm
Very good points made here. I think the answer is to notice what is being done in the creative areas of food and foster that a bit more to incorporate these forgotten foods. You can’t just tell people to all of a sudden change back. Not when they want to go forward. So let them go forward by introducing them to “new” foods prepared in a different way. The argument should be that we all should be getting our nutrition from as many sources as we can because that’s how the body thrives.