Sustainable nutrition without thinking | Julian Däster | TEDxHWZ
Summary
TLDRThe speaker recounts her childhood growing up on an organic farm, being surrounded by fresh, sustainable food but taking it for granted. She argues that our industrialized food system is environmentally damaging and pushes for eating local, seasonal produce. Through examples like community supported agriculture, she shows how pre-selecting and directly connecting consumers to local farms can nudge people toward more sustainable diets. She concludes that consumers have power through their purchases to drive demand for small-scale, organic farms over industrial agriculture and leave future generations a healthy planet.
Takeaways
- 😱 Industrial agriculture and our food system have strongly negative impacts on the environment
- 😢 Only 6% of available agricultural land is used to grow fruits and vegetables
- 🍖 Our eating habits, especially high meat consumption, prevent an agricultural turnaround
- 🥗 Eating seasonal and local is key to sustainable nutrition
- 😕 Most food decisions in supermarkets are intuitive and impulsive
- 😐 Context influences our decisions - supermarkets could nudge us towards sustainability
- 🛒 Community supported agriculture simplifies choices and nudges sustainable consumption
- 😊 Cooperative producers and consumers enables organic, diverse agriculture
- 🌿 In South Korea, Hansalim cooperative feeds 1.5 million people sustainably
- 😀 As consumers, we have the power to drive the market towards sustainable local agriculture
Q & A
What was the speaker's childhood environment like in terms of access to fresh food?
-The speaker grew up on an organic farm situated in the middle of large vegetable fields, so she had very easy access to ultra-fresh vegetables and salad ingredients.
How much of the available agricultural land is used for growing fruits and vegetables versus animal farming?
-Only 6% of the available land is used for growing fruits and vegetables, while about two-thirds is used for animal farming.
What are two negative impacts of our current food system and industrial agriculture?
-Two negative impacts are: 1) Damage to soil, water and biodiversity, and 2) Inefficient use of available agricultural land.
How did the speaker start appreciating sustainable agriculture more as an adult?
-She started appreciating it more when her dad gifted her a basket of fresh seasonal vegetables for Christmas from his community supported agriculture co-op.
What is community-supported agriculture and how does it benefit producers and consumers?
-It's a cooperative model where consumers pay upfront for a 'subscription' to receive regular baskets of seasonal produce, benefitting consumers with fresh food and producers by ensuring demand.
What can supermarkets do to nudge consumers towards more sustainable choices?
-Simple ideas like clear labelling on seasonality and providing feedback on ecological footprint while shopping can positively influence consumer behavior.
How does the weekly vegetable basket subscription help simplify the speaker's lifestyle?
-The pre-selected basket of seasonal vegetables cuts down on food choices she has to make and variety helps her discover new recipes.
How widespread are community-supported agriculture models globally?
-There are over 1,500 such community farms in the U.S. alone. South Korea has thousands feeding 1.5 million people and a quarter of Japan's population participates.
What did Hansalim, the large South Korean sustainable produce organization, focus on?
-The main focus was producers taking responsibility for consumers' wellbeing and consumers taking responsibility for producers' livelihoods.
What specific call to action does the speaker make to the audience?
-She asks listeners to appreciate food origin more, search online for local producers to connect with, and support local small-scale sustainable farms.
Outlines
😊 Growing up on an organic farm
The author grew up on an organic farm surrounded by fresh vegetables. She played in the fields as a child and was able to eat the freshest produce, but took years to appreciate the concept of sustainable agriculture.
😕 The unsustainability of current food systems
Our current food system and eating habits negatively impact the environment and prevent agricultural sustainability. People lack willingness to eat sustainably due to valuing individual freedom over long-term climate goals.
😃 Community supported agriculture as a solution
The author joined a community supported agriculture program from her father which provides weekly, seasonal baskets of produce. This simplified and nudged her toward sustainable consumption without thinking about it.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡sustainable agriculture
💡industrial agriculture
💡community-supported agriculture
💡seasonal produce
💡nudges
💡food waste
💡organic
💡local food
💡consumer power
💡climate change
Highlights
Grew up on an organic farm with access to fresh, sustainable produce
Took years to appreciate the luxury and sustainability of that childhood access to food
Food system impacts cause 30% of ecological damage in Switzerland - it's the biggest driver
Only 6% of available farmland used for fruits and vegetables - most used for animal farming
Eating seasonal, local produce is key to sustainability but we've lost touch with seasonality
Supermarkets nudges lead to impulsive, unsustainable choices - 1/3 promotions not seasonal
Small environmental features can nudge people towards more sustainable behaviors
Got a vegetable basket gift from dad - reconnected me to community supported agriculture
Cooperative model - consumers pay upfront, get weekly seasonal baskets, share risks and rewards
Weekly baskets nudge me toward varied, sustainable choices - eating what I get
70+ similar cooperative farms now in Switzerland, over 1500 in the US
In South Korea, Hansalim co-op feeds 1.5 million sustainably - focus on cooperation over competition
In Japan, a quarter of population belongs to local consumer-producer initiatives
We need to invest in and connect with local, sustainable agriculture
As consumers we can drive the market toward sustainability through our choices
Transcripts
[Applause]
when i was a child
i never thought about food
despite being surrounded by food my
whole childhood our house
was situated in the middle of large
fields of vegetables
consisting of salads cucumbers tomatoes
and a lot more
friends from school always visited me
because there was so much to explore in
the surrounding
we observed the chicken
or the cows which we knew by name
or played hide and seek in the
cornfields
and when we were hungry
my father here on his tractor with my
brother and me always pulled up some
fresh carrots or radishes from the
ground we cleaned them with our jeans
and ate them right away
i grew up
on an organic farm
and it was amazing it was very natural
to get the freshest vegetables the best
salad you could ever imagine
but it took me years to appreciate the
great concept of sustainable agriculture
that my father had built up with a group
of pioneers 40 years ago
and to appreciate
or to realize the true luxury of that
time
that i ate what i got
sustainably
without thinking
it's a fact sustainable nutrition is key
to our environment
to see why let's look look at the take a
look at the current situation
our food system and industrial
agriculture
have strong negative impacts on soil
water and biodiversity
in switzerland
food-related impacts are adding up to
almost 30 percent of the ecological
damage
it's actually the biggest driver
and not only that
we don't make much productive use of the
available land
imagine
that worldwide an area the size of one
football field is available per
inhabitant for the production of food
of this
we only use a small part to grow fruits
and vegetables
only six percent
the largest part of the area about
two-thirds is used for animal farming
and the rest
is used for the production of grains
of which a large part is again
fed to animals
the way we use agricultural resources
and our eating habits
are preventing an agricultural
turnaround
so when it comes to tackling this crisis
food
is the missing link that can make or
break progress
besides reducing our meat consumption
eating seasonal and local vegetables and
fruit
can and would be a driver of
sustainability
but
do we even know these days when a fruit
or vegetable is seasonal or not
or when was the last time you bought
some eggplants or tomatoes
that are actually only in season between
june and october
despite it being so important to protect
our environment there is still a lack of
willingness to eat sustainably
and i get it it's hard to sacrifice
individual freedom for a long-term goal
like tackling climate change when we
often don't immediately see or feel the
consequences
isn't it strange that we would rather
jump into a raging river to save one
person's life than slightly change our
habits to save the livelihood of entire
generations
don't get me wrong habits can be great
they often simplify our lives
we can switch to autopilot mode where we
don't have to constantly evaluate our
decisions
in this mode however we are strongly
influenced by context and might
forget about our intentions
in the supermarket for example most
food-related decisions tend to be
intuitive and even impulsive
and even with my childhood experience on
the farm i experienced this supermarket
impulsiveness when i moved to study in
the city
i observed myself eating cucumbers
almost all year round and let price and
convenience steer my dietary plan
granted making the right decisions in a
non-supportive context like the ordinary
supermarket is hard
look at the significant higher prices of
organic food
or the beautiful exotic fruits from
overseas that are usually placed at the
entrance
did you know that up to every third
vegetable of fruit in promotion is not
seasonal
fortunately context can also have a
positive effect on people's behavior
let me show you an example a professor
once showed us during my psychological
studies and what really impacted my view
on human behavior
it's from a book by richard thaler and
from a other everyday situation
driving a car
this black and white picture shows a
bird's eye view of the lakeshore drive
it's a beautiful road in chicago
there is a dangerous s-curve
right downtown where people were
constantly losing control and lots of
deadly accidents were happening
so the city has painted white lines on
the road
and as you drive up to the most
dangerous part of the curve the lines
get closer together
which gives you the illusion that you're
speeding up
so you hit the brakes and you slow down
you've been nudged
psychological notches are small features
in the environment that catch our
intentions and influence our behavior
people are not generally bad but we are
social beings that can be positively or
negatively influenced by context
taking this chicago example to the
supermarket we could also be nudged to
its more sustainable consumption
for example by having simple and clear
labels that could give you the
information about seasonality
or by an immediate feedback on our
ecological footprint
similar to what chicago car drivers get
for their speed
but let's be realistic until the
supermarket environment changes to a
more supportive context
sustainable product will still often be
second choice
at least
that's how it was for me
until christmas
four years ago
when i was notched
by this basket of vegetables
as a christmas gift from my father
yes unfortunately not a playstation but
for me it was more than just a basket of
vegetables
it turned out to be the perfect notch to
start benefiting again from my father's
idea of sustainable farming
not as a sun
as a client
my father joined a group of pioneers in
1981 when they built the first concept
of community-supported agriculture
as a cooperative of producers and
consumers they started as two gardeners
growing vegetables for 80 families
the farm is close to the city
and vegetables aren't sold via
distributor but directly to the
cooperative members who invest in a
subscription they pay in advance
like you know it from newspaper
subscription
in return members get weekly a
surprising seasonal basket they can
collect from deposits across the city
and sometimes there is more sometimes
less
depending on the season
so producers and consumers take
responsibility
this way organic diverse agriculture is
possible without the risk of missing
demand of food waste
and over the past years the cooperative
has grown to 40 employees and 4 000
clients
it's a win-win-win
for the producers for the environment
for the consumers
as a loyal client to the subscription
i've been able to eat in a more varied
fashion again
and find my way back to tasty and
ecological produce
every week
i receive a basket
which defines my dietary plan
and that's the lesson i learned thanks
to community supported agriculture
if you want to change and consume more
sustainable food
it's not about eating what we want
but eating what we get
it's the pre-selection
of seasonal products
that simplifies my choices
and nudges me to more sustainable
consumption
and
it doesn't limit me
in fact it helps me eat more diversely
i find new recipes for the vegetables
that are in season i discover all
varieties are the colors and tastes i
never had tried before
i get excited by the first three
strawberries ripe tomatoes and crisp
salad of the season
and a nice side effect of eating more
plant-based is that i eat a lot less
meat
not only for the environment also for my
purse
also because of less food waste it puts
the price of healthy and pesticide-free
products
into perspective
i finally appreciate my food again
when i go to the supermarket to complete
my shopping list the basket helps my
shopping to be more mindful
and gives me a supportive frame
the setting of a weekly subscription of
a trusted producer
helps me eat sustainably
without thinking
by eating what i get
local and seasonal
and i'm not the only one
up to now already 70 other farms in
switzerland are community supported and
deliver the harvest directly to their
clients
in france there are more than 400 am up
as they are called there spread
throughout the country
in the u.s there are as many many as 1
500 community supported farms
but the ultimate proof that sustainable
nutrition can become a social habit with
the right environment
can be found in asia
in south korea
thousands of smallholders are organizing
an initiative called hansalim
they feed around 1.5 million people they
are reached throughout multiple
distribution cooperatives 220 organic
stores in the city and the
well-developed delivery system
hans alim is much more than a
distributor of organic and fair trade
products
the main idea is that the producer takes
responsibility for the life of the
consumer and the consumer takes
responsibility for the livelihood of the
producer
the cooperative is trying to build a
society where town and country men and
nature can coexist and develop together
most most important is the respect for
all living things from which follows the
appeal for cooperation
it's not about competition but about
community
and there's an equally impressive
example that sustainable nutrition is
not a utopia
a quarter of japan's population is
member of a tk a local producer consumer
initiative
most of them are small but with a total
of 127 million japanese you can imagine
the significance
as a child
i never thought about food
but we should all be aware of the
consequences of our behavior and how we
are affecting our planet
there are just too many of us for us to
afford anything else
if we want to leave our children and
grandchildren a healthy planet
each of us can be part of the solution
let's invest in the local agriculture
and connect with the producers
imagine a world where instead of endless
green wheat deserts or the endless farm
grasslands we would have small
sustainable farms
practicing organic agri-forestry
producing fruits vegetables chicken and
eggs
for the local community
instead of promoting industrial
agriculture with gigantic subsidies
our money should go to these farms so
that small-scale sustainable agriculture
becomes profitable again
as consumers
we have the power to drive the market to
locality and seasonality
we have it
in our hands
will you join me and make a first step
towards appreciating the origin of our
food
then start with a simple online search
for local agriculture
and you will be surprised how many
farmers nearby are happy to connect with
you
and support you in making the right
choices
online communities of local markets
subscription models and community
supported farms
are waiting for you to make the first
step
so next time
your grocery shopping
and mindlessly filling your shopping
basket
remember this basket here
it reminds us not to just eat what we
want
but to eat what we get
thank you
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