Did you know you have functioning neurons in your intestines -- about a hundred million of them? Food scientist Heribert Watzke tells us about the "hidden brain" in our gut and the surprising things it makes us feel.

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...

Author A.J. Jacobs shows how the coffee cup lid was perfectly designed to give you a full sensory experience while drinking. This video was inspired by the original work of Louise Harpman and Scott Specht and their book "Coffee Lids: Peel, Pinch, Pucker, Puncture."

Author Jennifer 8. Lee explains how the chopstick spread from the East to the West -- and was designed to give you the perfect bite.

Birke Baehr wants us to know how our food is made, where it comes from, and what's in it. At age 11, he's planning a career as an organic farmer.

Vishal Vaid and his band explore a traditional South Asian musical form in this mesmerizing improv performance. Sit back and let his music transport you.

Deepen your understanding of Reworking the Western Diet with these carefully crafted educational exercises that let you get the most out of this TED Studies subject. Activity 1 There's not one universally accepted definition of "sustainable consumption." Based on what you've learned in Reworking the Western Diet, how would you define the term? W...

With fascinating research and hilarious anecdotes, neuroscientist Camilla Arndal Andersen takes us into the lab where she studies people's sense of taste via brain scans. She reveals surprising insights about the way our brains subconsciously experience food -- and shows how this data could help us eat healthier without sacrificing taste.

The bacteria in our guts can break down food the body can't digest, produce important nutrients, regulate the immune system, and protect against harmful germs. And while we can't control all the factors that go into maintaining a healthy gut microbiome, we can manipulate the balance of our microbes by paying attention to what we eat. Shilpa Rave...

Society has a set of stories it tells itself about who refugees are and what they look like, says documentarian and TED Fellow Feras Fayyad. With his films, he's on a mission to separate the facts about refugees from fiction, as a form of resistance -- for himself, his daughter and the millions of other Syrian refugees across the world. A harrow...

Our food choices are affecting our planet: Food production accounts for a staggering one-third of greenhouse gas emissions. To reduce this toll, we need to develop food literacy, understanding how our diets impact our health and our environments, says plant-based chef Peggy Chan. She explains how better food literacy — whether you're a food-indu...

While sugar is easy to spot in candy, soft drinks and ice cream, it also hides out in foods you might not expect -- including peanut butter, pasta sauce and even bologna! Robert Lustig decodes confusing labels and sugar's many aliases to help determine just how much of that sweet carbohydrate makes its way into our diets. [Directed by The Tremen...

Dan Barber is a chef and a scholar -- relentlessly pursuing the stories and reasons behind the foods we grow and eat.

We're heading for a world population of 10 billion people -- but what will we all eat? Lisa Dyson rediscovered an idea developed by NASA in the 1960s for deep-space travel, and it could be a key to reinventing how we grow food.

Have you ever considered crickets, houseflies or grasshoppers for a dinner menu? In this fun and easily digestible talk, science educator Renata di Tullio makes a case for bugs as nutritious and sustainable food sources.

Jennifer 8. Lee reports on culture and city life.

Sam Kass's work connects nutrition and education in an effort to make sure future generations thrive.

The wheat, corn and rice we grow today may not thrive in a future threatened by climate change. Cary Fowler takes us inside the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a vast treasury buried within a frozen mountain in Norway, that stores a diverse group of food-crop seeds ... for whatever tomorrow may bring.

Can the mind be manipulated to love a food we loathe? The evidence from fruit flies is compelling, and perhaps surprising. Our tag team of neuroscientists attempts to change a fly's preference for fruit over vegetables simply by shining a light on their brain.

Our generation is the first in history with enough resources to eradicate hunger worldwide. Josette Sheeran, the former head of the UN World Food Programme, shares a plan.

In this sobering talk, health writer Maryn McKenna explains how the use of antibiotics in food production transformed modern agriculture and the way the world eats -- but not for the overall better. With stories highlighting the success of activists, policymakers and the general public to reform production practices, McKenna stresses one key poi...

A vegetable garden can do more than save you money -- it can save the world. In this talk, Roger Doiron shows how gardens can re-localize our food and feed our growing population.

Ron Finley grows a nourishing food culture in South Central L.A.’s food desert by planting the seeds and tools for healthy eating.

About this video: "When you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, it’s all-consuming. You can’t focus on anything else." Moved by the round-the-block lines he witnessed while working at a food shelter for a school community service project, 16 year-old Kiran Sridhar founded the "shared economy" platform Waste No Food which connects lef...

The fruits and vegetables we buy from the grocery story have been bred to grow bigger and faster — but at the cost of flavor and nutrition, says John C. Trimble, co-founder of Foodscaping Utah. Instead of wasting precious water to maintain the grass in our yards, he suggests we "foodscape" them instead. Not only will our produce taste better, bu...

Master breadmaker Peter Reinhart is also a teacher, author and theologian. Through his lectures and numerous cookbooks, he channels the science of baking into deep, spiritual lessons -- and dispels stale myths about the nature (and flavor) of good, wholesome bread.

Written by the educators who created Reworking the Western Diet, a brief look at the key facts, tough questions and big ideas in their field. Begin this TED Study with a fascinating read that gives context and clarity to the material. Sweet and salty, meaty and mega-sized: Introducing the Western diet If you live in a Western culture, chances ar...

After watching the collection of talks on Reworking the Western Diet, read a thoughtful recap of the major points in this TED Study, and learn where experts believe things are headed. The speakers in Reworking the Western Diet serve up lots of big questions, many of which don't (yet) come with easy answers. What's the future of food? Can we tran...

What is genomics? How will it affect our lives? In this intriguing primer on the genomics revolution, entrepreneur Barry Schuler says we can at least expect healthier, tastier food. He suggests we start with the pinot noir grape, to build better wines.

What if you could eat chicken nuggets without harming a chicken? It's possible through "cellular agriculture," says Isha Datar. In a talk about cutting-edge science, she explains how this new means of food production makes it possible to eat meat without the negative consequences of industrial farming -- and how it could fundamentally change our...