Around the world, indigenous food cultures disappear because of industrialized agriculture and a shifting, often Western-influenced concept of the ideal diet. Journalist and food researcher Aparna Pallavi makes an urgent case for preserving these cultures and shedding the stigma-laden attitudes that are driving them into extinction.

Fahad Al-Attiya's job is to maintain food security in Qatar, a country that has no water and imports 90 percent of its food.

Illuminating, funny and awe-inspiring talks to start off your day.

Biodiversity warrior Cary Fowler wants to save the world from agricultural collapse, one seed at a time.

Pamela Ronald studies the genes that make plants more resistant to disease and stress. In an eye-opening talk, she describes her decade-long quest to isolate a gene that allows rice to survive prolonged flooding. She shows how the genetic improvement of seeds saved the Hawaiian papaya crop in the 1990s — and makes the case that modern genetics i...

What do you do when the nearest market is millions of miles away and delivery isn't an option? In this fun and educational talk, biochemist Sarah Kessans explains how advances in genetic engineering can enable us to synthesize everything we need to eat in space -- and make it taste good.

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 ...

Co-creator of the philanthropic FEED bags, Ellen Gustafson says hunger and obesity are two sides of the same coin. In her talk, she launches The 30 Project -- a way to change how we farm and eat in the next 30 years, and solve the global food inequalities behind both epidemics.

I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity. The plan Over two billion people around the world are considered obese or overweight which can lead to chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, and more. Jamie Oliv...

Michael Pollan is the author of "The Omnivore’s Dilemma", in which he explains how our food not only affects our health but has far-reaching political, economic and environmental implications.

Most people presume that world hunger is caused by a lack of food. But Esther Ndichu, Humanitarian Supply Chain Director at UPS, argues that the real issue is logistics. She points out that farmers often struggle to get goods to market and that food often rots just miles from the neediest people. She explains that by fixing "the last mile" hunge...

Homaro Cantu and Ben Roche come from Moto, a Chicago restaurant that plays with new ways to cook and eat food. But beyond the fun and flavor-tripping, there's a serious intent: Can we use new food technology for good?

Rising carbon levels in the atmosphere can make plants grow faster, but there's another hidden consequence: they rob plants of the nutrients and vitamins we need to survive. In a talk about global food security, epidemiologist Kristie Ebi explores the potentially massive health consequences of this growing nutrition crisis -- and explores the st...

Britta Riley designs and builds urban farms and other participatory artworks that explore the city.

TED Studies, created in collaboration with Wiley, are curated video collections — supplemented by rich educational materials — for students, educators and self-guided learners. In Reworking the Western Diet, speakers examine how that diet — processed, high in refined sugars, and heavy in corn, soy, meat and dairy — is making us and the environme...

When you take a bite of a hot pepper, your body reacts as if your mouth is on fire -- because that's essentially what you've told your brain! Rose Eveleth details the science and history behind spicy foods, giving insights into why some people continue to pay the painful price for a little spice. [Directed by Flaming Medusa Studios Inc., narrate...

If you've been in a restaurant kitchen, you've seen how much food, water and energy can be wasted there. Chef Arthur Potts-Dawson shares his very personal vision for drastically reducing restaurant, and supermarket, waste -- creating recycling, composting, sustainable engines for good (and good food).

Our food systems have not been designed to adapt to major disruptions like climate change, says environmental journalist Amanda Little. In this eye-opening talk, she shows how the climate crisis could devastate our food supply -- and introduces us to the farmers, entrepreneurs and engineers who are radically rethinking what we grow and how we ea...

The path to better food is paved with data, says entrepreneur Erin Baumgartner. Drawing from her experience running a farm-to-table business, she outlines her plan to help create a healthier, zero-waste food system that values the quality and taste of small, local farm harvests over factory-farmed produce.

In a world that's wasting more food than ever before, why do one in nine people still go to bed hungry each night? Social entrepreneur Jasmine Crowe calls for a radical transformation to our fight to end global hunger -- challenging us to rethink our routine approaches to addressing food insecurity and sharing how we can use technology to gather...

Sure, we're looking beyond the planet to other worlds we may one day inhabit -- but a lot of this technology we've developed can be used for the good of the Earth, too.

What should a community do with its unused land? Plant food, of course. With energy and humor, Pam Warhurst tells at the TEDSalon the story of how she and a growing team of volunteers came together to turn plots of unused land into communal vegetable gardens, and to change the narrative of food in their community.

Economist Eleni Gabre-Madhin outlines her ambitious vision to found the first commodities market in Ethiopia. Her plan would create wealth, minimize risk for farmers and turn the world's largest recipient of food aid into a regional food basket.

Jamie Oliver is transforming the way we feed ourselves, and our children. The winner of the 2010 TED Prize, he's on a mission to teach every family about eating better and living healthier lives.

In this fiery and funny talk, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman weighs in on what's wrong with the way we eat now (too much meat, too few plants; too much fast food, too little home cooking), and why it's putting the entire planet at risk.

For many parents, 4:30 pm is crunch-time. Kids are running amok and the pressure is on to make a dinner that will satisfy the whole family. Through her own personal story, Einav Gefen, corporate Chef of Unilever, explains what we can do to make 4:30 a little less challenging and why convenience is not a dirty word.

Think twice when picking what pasta you want for dinner. The shape of your noodle makes a difference, explains Paola Antonelli, senior curator at The Museum of Modern Art.

Mohamed Hijri studies arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), seeking to understand the structure, evolution and reproduction of these organisms, which form a symbiotic relationship with plant roots.

Sara Menker quit a career in commodities trading to figure out how the global value chain of agriculture works. Her discoveries have led to some startling predictions: "We could have a tipping point in global food and agriculture if surging demand surpasses the agricultural system's structural capacity to produce food," she says. "People could s...

A powerful thinker and globe-trotting advisor on sustainability, Louise Fresco says it's time to think of food as a topic of social and economic importance on par with oil -- that responsible agriculture and food consumption are crucial to world stability.