0:00:27.459,0:00:32.441
This is the front page[br]of yesterday's morning newspaper.

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According to the news,[br]the price of rice plunged this year

0:00:35.736,0:00:39.519
and rice farmers are facing[br]great difficulties.

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Akita rice was sold at 8,400 yen,

0:00:43.715,0:00:48.534
2,800 yen cheaper than last year,

0:00:48.535,0:00:51.095
and rice farmers are crying out in pain.

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What do you think[br]when you hear about this news?

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You may think: "Oh, that's too bad.[br]It must be hard for the rice farmers."

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However, once you've finished[br]reading this newspaper

0:01:09.951,0:01:14.272
you will probably forget about this news.

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These farmers who make[br]our daily rice are struggling.

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It can't be dismissed as irrelevant to us.

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But why don't we care enough?

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It's because we don't know[br]these farmers in person.

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If you have a farmer you know in person,

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this news probably wouldn't seem[br]as irrelevant anymore.

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The relationship with others[br]fosters empathy.

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Here in Japan, consumers and producers[br]are divided by a big distribution system.

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The information that we consumers[br]can get about the food we eat are

0:02:00.849,0:02:05.435
its price, looks, taste, calories, etc.

0:02:05.436,0:02:08.162
These are all information for consumers.

0:02:08.163,0:02:12.234
Of course, these are important[br]in selecting food,

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but something essential is missing.

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It is the actual people who are working[br]behind the scenes of our food.

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How many producers do you know in person

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among the food you eat every day?

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Many of you may not know a single person.

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Now that we have lost empathy,

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Japan's primary industry[br]is in a dire situation.

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In 1970, just before I was born,[br]there were 10.25 million rice farmers.

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This has sharply declined to 2.6 million,

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and 75% of them are 60 years or older.

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There are only 170,000 young farmers[br]who are 40 years or younger.

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As for fishermen,[br]there were 570,000 in 1970.

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Now there are only 170,000.[br]The majority are 60 years or older.

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There are only 20,000[br]of those who are 40 years or younger.

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In 10 years, in 20 years,[br]who will be making our food?

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Now you must probably be thinking:

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"We must do something[br]about our primary industry."

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Still, right after you leave this venue,

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that feeling will probably fade away.

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What we crucially lack is empathy.

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We need to think of this issue[br]as directly linked to our lives.

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In order to rebuild our primary industry,

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we must get to know the people[br]who work behind the scenes of our food,

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connect with them,[br]and enhance our empathy.

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And so I came up with this,

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"Tohoku Taberu Magazine,"[br]a monthly magazine that comes with food.

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We feature producers[br]in the Tohoku region every month,

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and we enclose the food they produce[br]and send them to the readers.

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Usually in food delivery service,

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we receive boxes packed with vegetables,

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along with just a single piece of paper[br]introducing the producer.

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We do the opposite.

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That piece of paper that shows[br]the life of the producer,

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that is our main service.

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The food is just a supplement[br]to the magazine.

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One year has passed since we've started,[br]and now we have 1400 readers.

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First of all, by reading the pages,[br]the readers get to know the producers,

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and then they cook and eat the food.

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That's not the end.

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We connected the producers[br]and the readers through Facebook group.

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Then, they began to actively communicate.

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The readers found out for the first time[br]who was making the food they eat.

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Many readers posted pictures with recipes

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showing how they cooked the food[br]with their son, for example,

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and conveyed their gratitude,

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"Thank you." "I was impressed."[br]"I enjoyed it."

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They thanked the producers everyday.

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For the producers, until now,

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their last task[br]was to distribute the food.

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But once they saw[br]how happy the readers were everyday,

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they became even more motivated[br]to make something more delicious.

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Moreover,

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not only do we have[br]online interactions over SNS,

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but we are also hosting events[br]inviting the producers to Tokyo,

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or inviting readers to visit the farms,

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to experience the actual process[br]of delivering the food.

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So we are hosting[br]experience-oriented events as well,

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and offering these series of events[br]as a package every month.

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With these experiences,[br]the readers empathized more and more.

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Recently, there was a good example[br]where this empathy led to action.

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In our issue last October,

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we featured Mr. Kosei Kikuchi,[br]a rice farmer in Akita prefecture.

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By using a unique farming method[br]of not plowing the rice fields,

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he makes rice that is friendly[br]to both nature and human.

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But due to the prolonged rain this year,

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the rice field became muddy[br]in the harvesting season.

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and the combine harvester[br]didn't work in the mud.

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Even with the help of his wife[br]and two small children,

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not even 1/10 of the usual crop[br]could be harvested.

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He used Facebook[br]to post his painful situation

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and sent out an SOS call[br]to the reader's group of Taberu Magazine.

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Then, nearly 200 people,[br]including readers,

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came all the way to Akita prefecture,

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went into the rice fields by barefoot,[br]and harvested together by hand.

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This baseball field-sized rice field[br]of about one hectare,

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is to be reaped, all by human hand.

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The readers and the producers[br]are becoming like a family.

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By knowing who is behind[br]the scenes of our food,

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they felt that this farmer's suffering[br]was connected to themselves,

0:08:11.793,0:08:15.636
and pushed themselves[br]ahead to visit the site.

0:08:16.726,0:08:22.397
Today, as human relationships[br]grow weaker and weaker,

0:08:22.398,0:08:27.903
I see future in a community that connects[br]those who eat and those who make.

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Throughout this whole year,[br]we have made this community.

0:08:33.279,0:08:37.235
The fishermen and farmers are up front.

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The readers are at the back.[br]Look at these smiles.

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Not only the producers,

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but the consumers are also[br]becoming happier and happier.

0:08:50.696,0:08:55.741
The readers that helped[br]the rice farmer in Akita

0:08:55.742,0:08:59.413
came back to the cities looking refreshed.

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By learning about the food[br]that support our lives,

0:09:04.546,0:09:10.229
where the food was made,[br]and how the producers made them,

0:09:10.230,0:09:14.021
readers say their lives become richer.

0:09:14.022,0:09:20.751
Through my work on Taberu Magazine,[br]I have connected consumers and producers.

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I have also realized something.

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In this world, where consumers[br]and producers are divided,

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it was not only the producers[br]who were lost.

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Consumers were not happy,[br]and their lives did not feel rich.

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By removing this barrier[br]between these two,

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and by interacting with each other,

0:09:43.514,0:09:48.501
they can exchange their spirits[br]and their energy.

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That is what I learned from them.

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Now, we are living[br]in a fully developed consumer society.

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With this single smartphone,[br]you can huddle in your room,

0:10:03.187,0:10:06.275
buy anything you want,[br]and lead your life.

0:10:06.276,0:10:10.418
However, there are no ups and downs[br]nor hardship of life.

0:10:10.419,0:10:12.708
The nature that grows food,

0:10:12.709,0:10:16.268
or the producers[br]who devote their time and effort,

0:10:16.269,0:10:18.908
they are lost out of our sight.

0:10:18.909,0:10:21.904
In this complete consumer society,

0:10:21.905,0:10:27.162
with prediction, control,[br]order, and justice,

0:10:27.163,0:10:31.794
we may have lost the joy of life,[br]or what it feels like to live,

0:10:31.795,0:10:36.327
without realizing we had lost them.

0:10:37.887,0:10:44.921
I wanted to overturn that small,[br]narrow-minded world.

0:10:45.531,0:10:50.255
I wanted to open a crack[br]in this consumer society.

0:10:50.256,0:10:55.273
I realized how to do it[br]by Taberu Magazine.

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I'd like to share this method[br]with you today.

0:10:59.500,0:11:04.541
You don't have to migrate[br]to rural areas and become a producer.

0:11:04.542,0:11:07.733
You can still do it[br]while living in the city.

0:11:07.734,0:11:11.306
That is to move away from the poor,[br]replaceable relation

0:11:11.307,0:11:15.909
between money and food,

0:11:15.910,0:11:20.512
and return to the rich,[br]irreplaceable relation

0:11:20.513,0:11:23.415
between consumers and producers.

0:11:23.416,0:11:27.169
The act of eating[br]can be revived as a circuit,

0:11:27.170,0:11:31.427
allowing you to connect with others,

0:11:31.428,0:11:35.070
or to the vast, unknown world.

0:11:35.071,0:11:41.796
Through the circuit,[br]although it may be very small,

0:11:41.797,0:11:48.895
I'd like to make a creative space[br]in this consumer society.

0:11:49.835,0:11:52.706
From this space, we are going to regain

0:11:52.707,0:11:57.918
the power to live, the joy of life,[br]the feeling of life, and imagination.

0:11:57.919,0:12:01.225
We humans are now[br]locked inside a small world.

0:12:01.226,0:12:06.845
We must unleash our intrinsic potential[br]and spirit to the future.

0:12:06.846,0:12:10.492
What lies ahead of that is, I believe,

0:12:10.493,0:12:14.459
a new frontier where we feel joy of life.

0:12:14.460,0:12:18.268
In Japan, where we live now,

0:12:18.269,0:12:23.885
our lives are not feeling joy,[br]but feeling uncomfortable.

0:12:23.886,0:12:26.952
Why are we in this situation?

0:12:26.953,0:12:29.298
This is what I think.

0:12:29.299,0:12:32.043
It is because our mind[br]and body have lost balance.

0:12:32.044,0:12:36.752
We all may have become big-headed.

0:12:36.753,0:12:41.250
This consumer society[br]was created from our minds.

0:12:41.251,0:12:42.515
In contrast,

0:12:42.516,0:12:46.990
there is something we cannot create[br]no matter how hard we think.

0:12:46.991,0:12:50.215
That is nature.

0:12:50.216,0:12:53.551
We originally came from nature,

0:12:53.552,0:12:57.978
so we feel comfortable[br]being in touch with nature.

0:12:57.979,0:13:02.472
But the consumer society[br]has completely excluded nature.

0:13:02.473,0:13:06.081
In a sense, our body[br]is originally nature itself,

0:13:06.082,0:13:10.522
as this cannot be created by human hand.

0:13:10.523,0:13:15.297
So when we feel comfortable,[br]or beautiful, or impressed,

0:13:15.298,0:13:20.822
we feel those feelings[br]not by our mind but by our body.

0:13:20.823,0:13:24.976
At times, even this nature[br]of our body and feelings

0:13:24.977,0:13:31.063
are deprived of by this consumer society.

0:13:31.064,0:13:35.239
The same is true of Japan.

0:13:35.240,0:13:40.507
There must be some part[br]where we can balance our body and mind.

0:13:40.508,0:13:43.465
Once we lose this balance,

0:13:43.466,0:13:45.741
we feel uncomfortable.

0:13:45.742,0:13:47.953
The relation between body and mind

0:13:47.954,0:13:51.773
is similar to that of urban[br]and rural areas in Japan.

0:13:51.774,0:13:55.049
Things are increasingly[br]concentrated in Tokyo,

0:13:55.050,0:13:58.049
and rural areas are[br]on the verge of extinction.

0:13:58.050,0:14:03.333
After the war, the eldest son[br]remained in the rural areas.

0:14:03.334,0:14:08.239
The younger brothers migrated,[br]and made our large cities today.

0:14:08.240,0:14:12.356
The urban and the rural areas[br]were connected by blood.

0:14:12.375,0:14:16.334
That is why everyone returns[br]to their hometown on Bon holidays.

0:14:16.335,0:14:19.085
However, in 20 to 30 years,

0:14:19.086,0:14:23.303
the so-called holiday traffic congestion[br]is said to become vanished.

0:14:23.304,0:14:27.516
It means that a large number of people[br]will be born and raised in cities

0:14:27.517,0:14:30.734
and will not have a hometown.

0:14:30.735,0:14:35.336
This will decisively separate[br]the urban and rural areas.

0:14:35.337,0:14:38.335
A large number of people

0:14:38.336,0:14:43.185
will be confined in the consumer society,

0:14:43.186,0:14:47.014
not feeling the joy of life.

0:14:47.015,0:14:49.541
Living creatures have evolved

0:14:49.542,0:14:53.746
by adapting to the changing environment

0:14:53.747,0:14:56.267
that threatened their survival.

0:14:58.077,0:15:02.652
Japan has led the modernization[br]of our consumerist society,

0:15:02.653,0:15:05.833
and our lives lost joy.

0:15:05.834,0:15:11.895
We may be at the forefront[br]of human evolution.

0:15:11.896,0:15:14.465
This evolution means

0:15:14.466,0:15:17.815
balancing the mind and body,[br]urban and rural areas,

0:15:17.816,0:15:22.515
and furthermore, to balance[br]developed and developing countries.

0:15:22.516,0:15:26.377
This will be an extraordinary challenge.

0:15:31.528,0:15:36.678
In the 1970s, we saw[br]the rise of personal computers.

0:15:36.679,0:15:39.389
It was an era[br]when information was a luxury.

0:15:39.390,0:15:41.430
People were uplifted in those days.

0:15:41.431,0:15:45.819
You could access worldwide information[br]from wherever you were.

0:15:45.820,0:15:49.281
Then, someone turned that big box[br]into something portable and convenient.

0:15:49.282,0:15:51.501
That was Steve Jobs.

0:15:51.502,0:15:54.235
The iPhone is an extension of that.

0:15:54.236,0:15:59.567
However, we have already cultivated[br]this world of mind, inside this box,

0:15:59.568,0:16:03.753
and information is no longer a luxury.

0:16:03.754,0:16:07.910
Rather, in this world's most-advanced[br]consumer society,

0:16:07.911,0:16:11.528
the relationship with others[br]and feeling of life

0:16:11.529,0:16:13.556
are becoming our luxury.

0:16:13.557,0:16:17.566
This relationship and feeling of life

0:16:17.567,0:16:23.479
cannot be bought on your iPhone[br]while staying inside your room.

0:16:23.480,0:16:28.729
It is something you create on your own,[br]with the producers, out in the nature.

0:16:28.730,0:16:34.244
That is going to be the new frontier[br]where we feel joy of life.

0:16:34.245,0:16:39.495
This frontier can no longer[br]be cultivated by any genius.

0:16:39.496,0:16:43.581
It must be cultivated together[br]by those who eat and those who make.

0:16:43.582,0:16:48.971
I'm sure a new hometown[br]will be awaiting us there.

0:16:50.431,0:16:57.353
This "Apple" enriched[br]our mind and knowledge.

0:16:58.273,0:17:02.781
On the other hand, if we connect to this,

0:17:03.261,0:17:10.464
this apple, the real food[br]that supports our lives,

0:17:10.464,0:17:16.480
this can enrich our heart,[br]and make our lives shine again.

0:17:17.079,0:17:22.079
In order to realize that,[br]I'd like to wisely use this Apple as well.

0:17:22.080,0:17:26.266
It's the fusion of the mind and body,

0:17:26.267,0:17:29.527
the urban and rural.

0:17:33.197,0:17:39.696
Please remember that each one of you[br]have the power to change the world

0:17:39.697,0:17:44.747
from the simple action of eating.

0:17:45.987,0:17:48.752
Know your food, change the world.

0:17:48.753,0:17:50.486
Now everyone,

0:17:50.487,0:17:52.707
why don't we enjoy[br]the forefront of evolution

0:17:52.708,0:17:56.263
and embark on a journey[br]to change the world?

0:17:59.753,0:18:01.184
Thank you.

0:18:01.185,0:18:02.685
(Applause)