Know your food, change the world|Hiroyuki Takahashi|TEDxTohoku
-
0:27 - 0:32This is the front page
of yesterday's morning newspaper. -
0:32 - 0:36According to the news,
the price of rice plunged this year -
0:36 - 0:40and rice farmers are facing
great difficulties. -
0:40 - 0:44Akita rice was sold at 8,400 yen,
-
0:44 - 0:492,800 yen cheaper than last year,
-
0:49 - 0:51and rice farmers are crying out in pain.
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0:52 - 0:58What do you think
when you hear about this news? -
0:58 - 1:04You may think: "Oh, that's too bad.
It must be hard for the rice farmers." -
1:04 - 1:10However, once you've finished
reading this newspaper -
1:10 - 1:14you will probably forget about this news.
-
1:17 - 1:23These farmers who make
our daily rice are struggling. -
1:23 - 1:25It can't be dismissed as irrelevant to us.
-
1:25 - 1:29But why don't we care enough?
-
1:30 - 1:36It's because we don't know
these farmers in person. -
1:36 - 1:40If you have a farmer you know in person,
-
1:40 - 1:44this news probably wouldn't seem
as irrelevant anymore. -
1:44 - 1:49The relationship with others
fosters empathy. -
1:51 - 1:57Here in Japan, consumers and producers
are divided by a big distribution system. -
1:57 - 2:01The information that we consumers
can get about the food we eat are -
2:01 - 2:05its price, looks, taste, calories, etc.
-
2:05 - 2:08These are all information for consumers.
-
2:08 - 2:12Of course, these are important
in selecting food, -
2:12 - 2:15but something essential is missing.
-
2:15 - 2:20It is the actual people who are working
behind the scenes of our food. -
2:22 - 2:28How many producers do you know in person
-
2:28 - 2:31among the food you eat every day?
-
2:32 - 2:36Many of you may not know a single person.
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2:38 - 2:41Now that we have lost empathy,
-
2:41 - 2:44Japan's primary industry
is in a dire situation. -
2:44 - 2:51In 1970, just before I was born,
there were 10.25 million rice farmers. -
2:51 - 2:55This has sharply declined to 2.6 million,
-
2:55 - 3:00and 75% of them are 60 years or older.
-
3:00 - 3:06There are only 170,000 young farmers
who are 40 years or younger. -
3:07 - 3:13As for fishermen,
there were 570,000 in 1970. -
3:13 - 3:19Now there are only 170,000.
The majority are 60 years or older. -
3:19 - 3:23There are only 20,000
of those who are 40 years or younger. -
3:23 - 3:29In 10 years, in 20 years,
who will be making our food? -
3:30 - 3:34Now you must probably be thinking:
-
3:34 - 3:39"We must do something
about our primary industry." -
3:39 - 3:44Still, right after you leave this venue,
-
3:44 - 3:48that feeling will probably fade away.
-
3:49 - 3:55What we crucially lack is empathy.
-
3:55 - 4:00We need to think of this issue
as directly linked to our lives. -
4:01 - 4:06In order to rebuild our primary industry,
-
4:06 - 4:10we must get to know the people
who work behind the scenes of our food, -
4:10 - 4:16connect with them,
and enhance our empathy. -
4:17 - 4:20And so I came up with this,
-
4:20 - 4:24"Tohoku Taberu Magazine,"
a monthly magazine that comes with food. -
4:24 - 4:28We feature producers
in the Tohoku region every month, -
4:28 - 4:34and we enclose the food they produce
and send them to the readers. -
4:34 - 4:36Usually in food delivery service,
-
4:36 - 4:39we receive boxes packed with vegetables,
-
4:39 - 4:42along with just a single piece of paper
introducing the producer. -
4:42 - 4:45We do the opposite.
-
4:45 - 4:49That piece of paper that shows
the life of the producer, -
4:49 - 4:51that is our main service.
-
4:51 - 4:56The food is just a supplement
to the magazine. -
4:56 - 5:02One year has passed since we've started,
and now we have 1400 readers. -
5:02 - 5:08First of all, by reading the pages,
the readers get to know the producers, -
5:08 - 5:10and then they cook and eat the food.
-
5:10 - 5:12That's not the end.
-
5:12 - 5:19We connected the producers
and the readers through Facebook group. -
5:19 - 5:23Then, they began to actively communicate.
-
5:23 - 5:27The readers found out for the first time
who was making the food they eat. -
5:27 - 5:30Many readers posted pictures with recipes
-
5:30 - 5:36showing how they cooked the food
with their son, for example, -
5:36 - 5:38and conveyed their gratitude,
-
5:38 - 5:42"Thank you." "I was impressed."
"I enjoyed it." -
5:42 - 5:47They thanked the producers everyday.
-
5:47 - 5:49For the producers, until now,
-
5:49 - 5:51their last task
was to distribute the food. -
5:51 - 5:55But once they saw
how happy the readers were everyday, -
5:55 - 6:00they became even more motivated
to make something more delicious. -
6:00 - 6:02Moreover,
-
6:03 - 6:06not only do we have
online interactions over SNS, -
6:06 - 6:10but we are also hosting events
inviting the producers to Tokyo, -
6:10 - 6:14or inviting readers to visit the farms,
-
6:14 - 6:17to experience the actual process
of delivering the food. -
6:17 - 6:20So we are hosting
experience-oriented events as well, -
6:20 - 6:26and offering these series of events
as a package every month. -
6:26 - 6:32With these experiences,
the readers empathized more and more. -
6:33 - 6:38Recently, there was a good example
where this empathy led to action. -
6:38 - 6:40In our issue last October,
-
6:40 - 6:44we featured Mr. Kosei Kikuchi,
a rice farmer in Akita prefecture. -
6:47 - 6:53By using a unique farming method
of not plowing the rice fields, -
6:53 - 6:57he makes rice that is friendly
to both nature and human. -
6:57 - 7:00But due to the prolonged rain this year,
-
7:00 - 7:04the rice field became muddy
in the harvesting season. -
7:04 - 7:08and the combine harvester
didn't work in the mud. -
7:08 - 7:12Even with the help of his wife
and two small children, -
7:12 - 7:18not even 1/10 of the usual crop
could be harvested. -
7:18 - 7:23He used Facebook
to post his painful situation -
7:23 - 7:27and sent out an SOS call
to the reader's group of Taberu Magazine. -
7:27 - 7:32Then, nearly 200 people,
including readers, -
7:32 - 7:36came all the way to Akita prefecture,
-
7:36 - 7:40went into the rice fields by barefoot,
and harvested together by hand. -
7:41 - 7:48This baseball field-sized rice field
of about one hectare, -
7:49 - 7:53is to be reaped, all by human hand.
-
7:54 - 8:01The readers and the producers
are becoming like a family. -
8:02 - 8:07By knowing who is behind
the scenes of our food, -
8:07 - 8:12they felt that this farmer's suffering
was connected to themselves, -
8:12 - 8:16and pushed themselves
ahead to visit the site. -
8:17 - 8:22Today, as human relationships
grow weaker and weaker, -
8:22 - 8:28I see future in a community that connects
those who eat and those who make. -
8:29 - 8:33Throughout this whole year,
we have made this community. -
8:33 - 8:37The fishermen and farmers are up front.
-
8:37 - 8:41The readers are at the back.
Look at these smiles. -
8:41 - 8:44Not only the producers,
-
8:44 - 8:49but the consumers are also
becoming happier and happier. -
8:51 - 8:56The readers that helped
the rice farmer in Akita -
8:56 - 8:59came back to the cities looking refreshed.
-
8:59 - 9:05By learning about the food
that support our lives, -
9:05 - 9:10where the food was made,
and how the producers made them, -
9:10 - 9:14readers say their lives become richer.
-
9:14 - 9:21Through my work on Taberu Magazine,
I have connected consumers and producers. -
9:21 - 9:23I have also realized something.
-
9:23 - 9:27In this world, where consumers
and producers are divided, -
9:27 - 9:31it was not only the producers
who were lost. -
9:31 - 9:37Consumers were not happy,
and their lives did not feel rich. -
9:37 - 9:41By removing this barrier
between these two, -
9:41 - 9:44and by interacting with each other,
-
9:44 - 9:49they can exchange their spirits
and their energy. -
9:49 - 9:52That is what I learned from them.
-
9:53 - 9:58Now, we are living
in a fully developed consumer society. -
9:59 - 10:03With this single smartphone,
you can huddle in your room, -
10:03 - 10:06buy anything you want,
and lead your life. -
10:06 - 10:10However, there are no ups and downs
nor hardship of life. -
10:10 - 10:13The nature that grows food,
-
10:13 - 10:16or the producers
who devote their time and effort, -
10:16 - 10:19they are lost out of our sight.
-
10:19 - 10:22In this complete consumer society,
-
10:22 - 10:27with prediction, control,
order, and justice, -
10:27 - 10:32we may have lost the joy of life,
or what it feels like to live, -
10:32 - 10:36without realizing we had lost them.
-
10:38 - 10:45I wanted to overturn that small,
narrow-minded world. -
10:46 - 10:50I wanted to open a crack
in this consumer society. -
10:50 - 10:55I realized how to do it
by Taberu Magazine. -
10:55 - 10:59I'd like to share this method
with you today. -
11:00 - 11:05You don't have to migrate
to rural areas and become a producer. -
11:05 - 11:08You can still do it
while living in the city. -
11:08 - 11:11That is to move away from the poor,
replaceable relation -
11:11 - 11:16between money and food,
-
11:16 - 11:21and return to the rich,
irreplaceable relation -
11:21 - 11:23between consumers and producers.
-
11:23 - 11:27The act of eating
can be revived as a circuit, -
11:27 - 11:31allowing you to connect with others,
-
11:31 - 11:35or to the vast, unknown world.
-
11:35 - 11:42Through the circuit,
although it may be very small, -
11:42 - 11:49I'd like to make a creative space
in this consumer society. -
11:50 - 11:53From this space, we are going to regain
-
11:53 - 11:58the power to live, the joy of life,
the feeling of life, and imagination. -
11:58 - 12:01We humans are now
locked inside a small world. -
12:01 - 12:07We must unleash our intrinsic potential
and spirit to the future. -
12:07 - 12:10What lies ahead of that is, I believe,
-
12:10 - 12:14a new frontier where we feel joy of life.
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12:14 - 12:18In Japan, where we live now,
-
12:18 - 12:24our lives are not feeling joy,
but feeling uncomfortable. -
12:24 - 12:27Why are we in this situation?
-
12:27 - 12:29This is what I think.
-
12:29 - 12:32It is because our mind
and body have lost balance. -
12:32 - 12:37We all may have become big-headed.
-
12:37 - 12:41This consumer society
was created from our minds. -
12:41 - 12:43In contrast,
-
12:43 - 12:47there is something we cannot create
no matter how hard we think. -
12:47 - 12:50That is nature.
-
12:50 - 12:54We originally came from nature,
-
12:54 - 12:58so we feel comfortable
being in touch with nature. -
12:58 - 13:02But the consumer society
has completely excluded nature. -
13:02 - 13:06In a sense, our body
is originally nature itself, -
13:06 - 13:11as this cannot be created by human hand.
-
13:11 - 13:15So when we feel comfortable,
or beautiful, or impressed, -
13:15 - 13:21we feel those feelings
not by our mind but by our body. -
13:21 - 13:25At times, even this nature
of our body and feelings -
13:25 - 13:31are deprived of by this consumer society.
-
13:31 - 13:35The same is true of Japan.
-
13:35 - 13:41There must be some part
where we can balance our body and mind. -
13:41 - 13:43Once we lose this balance,
-
13:43 - 13:46we feel uncomfortable.
-
13:46 - 13:48The relation between body and mind
-
13:48 - 13:52is similar to that of urban
and rural areas in Japan. -
13:52 - 13:55Things are increasingly
concentrated in Tokyo, -
13:55 - 13:58and rural areas are
on the verge of extinction. -
13:58 - 14:03After the war, the eldest son
remained in the rural areas. -
14:03 - 14:08The younger brothers migrated,
and made our large cities today. -
14:08 - 14:12The urban and the rural areas
were connected by blood. -
14:12 - 14:16That is why everyone returns
to their hometown on Bon holidays. -
14:16 - 14:19However, in 20 to 30 years,
-
14:19 - 14:23the so-called holiday traffic congestion
is said to become vanished. -
14:23 - 14:28It means that a large number of people
will be born and raised in cities -
14:28 - 14:31and will not have a hometown.
-
14:31 - 14:35This will decisively separate
the urban and rural areas. -
14:35 - 14:38A large number of people
-
14:38 - 14:43will be confined in the consumer society,
-
14:43 - 14:47not feeling the joy of life.
-
14:47 - 14:50Living creatures have evolved
-
14:50 - 14:54by adapting to the changing environment
-
14:54 - 14:56that threatened their survival.
-
14:58 - 15:03Japan has led the modernization
of our consumerist society, -
15:03 - 15:06and our lives lost joy.
-
15:06 - 15:12We may be at the forefront
of human evolution. -
15:12 - 15:14This evolution means
-
15:14 - 15:18balancing the mind and body,
urban and rural areas, -
15:18 - 15:23and furthermore, to balance
developed and developing countries. -
15:23 - 15:26This will be an extraordinary challenge.
-
15:32 - 15:37In the 1970s, we saw
the rise of personal computers. -
15:37 - 15:39It was an era
when information was a luxury. -
15:39 - 15:41People were uplifted in those days.
-
15:41 - 15:46You could access worldwide information
from wherever you were. -
15:46 - 15:49Then, someone turned that big box
into something portable and convenient. -
15:49 - 15:52That was Steve Jobs.
-
15:52 - 15:54The iPhone is an extension of that.
-
15:54 - 16:00However, we have already cultivated
this world of mind, inside this box, -
16:00 - 16:04and information is no longer a luxury.
-
16:04 - 16:08Rather, in this world's most-advanced
consumer society, -
16:08 - 16:12the relationship with others
and feeling of life -
16:12 - 16:14are becoming our luxury.
-
16:14 - 16:18This relationship and feeling of life
-
16:18 - 16:23cannot be bought on your iPhone
while staying inside your room. -
16:23 - 16:29It is something you create on your own,
with the producers, out in the nature. -
16:29 - 16:34That is going to be the new frontier
where we feel joy of life. -
16:34 - 16:39This frontier can no longer
be cultivated by any genius. -
16:39 - 16:44It must be cultivated together
by those who eat and those who make. -
16:44 - 16:49I'm sure a new hometown
will be awaiting us there. -
16:50 - 16:57This "Apple" enriched
our mind and knowledge. -
16:58 - 17:03On the other hand, if we connect to this,
-
17:03 - 17:10this apple, the real food
that supports our lives, -
17:10 - 17:16this can enrich our heart,
and make our lives shine again. -
17:17 - 17:22In order to realize that,
I'd like to wisely use this Apple as well. -
17:22 - 17:26It's the fusion of the mind and body,
-
17:26 - 17:30the urban and rural.
-
17:33 - 17:40Please remember that each one of you
have the power to change the world -
17:40 - 17:45from the simple action of eating.
-
17:46 - 17:49Know your food, change the world.
-
17:49 - 17:50Now everyone,
-
17:50 - 17:53why don't we enjoy
the forefront of evolution -
17:53 - 17:56and embark on a journey
to change the world? -
18:00 - 18:01Thank you.
-
18:01 - 18:03(Applause)
- Title:
- Know your food, change the world|Hiroyuki Takahashi|TEDxTohoku
- Description:
-
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.
Who makes your daily food, from where, with what feelings? In this consumer society, where consumers and producers, urban and rural areas are divided, Mr. Takahashi tries to open a crack in this world, aiming to help Japan's primary industry from crisis. What is his activity, "Tohoku Taberu Magazine" all about? - Video Language:
- Japanese
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 18:14
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for 世なおしは、食なおし|高橋博之|TEDxTohoku | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for 世なおしは、食なおし|高橋博之|TEDxTohoku | ||
Denise RQ approved English subtitles for 世なおしは、食なおし|高橋博之|TEDxTohoku | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for 世なおしは、食なおし|高橋博之|TEDxTohoku | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for 世なおしは、食なおし|高橋博之|TEDxTohoku | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for 世なおしは、食なおし|高橋博之|TEDxTohoku | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for 世なおしは、食なおし|高橋博之|TEDxTohoku | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for 世なおしは、食なおし|高橋博之|TEDxTohoku |