Back to the kitchen| Bela Gil | TEDxLaçadorSalon
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0:04 - 0:06Good evening.
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0:07 - 0:12I've always really liked eating,
but I was never really into cooking. -
0:12 - 0:18When I was little, I loved watching
my granny cook and work in the kitchen. -
0:18 - 0:23She was in charge of Christmas dinner,
New Year's and Easter. -
0:23 - 0:26She made all with so much love and care.
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0:28 - 0:31My brother was the one who liked
to go hands-on with her. -
0:31 - 0:34Even today, she still asks me
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0:34 - 0:38how, when and why
did I end up in the kitchen? -
0:38 - 0:41And that's the answer
I want to give you today. -
0:41 - 0:45Because if something can change
the future of eating habits, -
0:45 - 0:46that's cooking.
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0:47 - 0:51As a teenager, precisely at 14,
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0:51 - 0:53I began to do yoga.
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0:53 - 0:55And yoga changed me.
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0:55 - 0:57It completely changed my life.
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0:57 - 1:01It changed my vision of the world,
it changed my diet, -
1:01 - 1:06and with that I realized
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1:06 - 1:10that food has power,
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1:10 - 1:11so to speak.
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1:11 - 1:17I also decided to study
eating philosophies -
1:17 - 1:23that used food as forms of prevention,
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1:23 - 1:25healing, and disease treatment,
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1:25 - 1:27even as kinds of medicine.
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1:28 - 1:35So I decided to study a little
about Ayurveda and macrobiotics. -
1:35 - 1:38These philosophies
brought back something in me -
1:38 - 1:44that I think modern times
have taken from many of us young people, -
1:44 - 1:48which is care, zeal,
and respect for nature. -
1:49 - 1:54So, I decided that we could change the way
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1:54 - 2:01we build the food system
through eating habits. -
2:03 - 2:09I believe one of the side effects
of modern times -
2:09 - 2:12is humans getting distant from nature,
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2:12 - 2:16the distance between urban and rural life.
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2:16 - 2:20I believe that if we bring
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2:20 - 2:25a little of rural life to the city,
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2:25 - 2:29we can strengthen the bonds
between man and nature. -
2:29 - 2:32For example, by planting urban gardens.
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2:32 - 2:37It's a way to reconnect with nature.
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2:39 - 2:42Some years later, when I was 18,
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2:42 - 2:46I lived abroad, and there
I learned how to cook. -
2:46 - 2:50I fell in love with the art of culinary,
I fell in love with the kitchen, -
2:50 - 2:57and I realized we could use food
and eating habits as a tool, -
2:57 - 3:01not only to improve the quality
of life in terms of health -
3:01 - 3:06but also to use it as as tool
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3:07 - 3:12in political, economic,
social, and environmental terms, -
3:12 - 3:18and then manage
to restructure the food system, -
3:19 - 3:22change the diet dynamics
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3:22 - 3:27and the production, distribution,
and food consumption processes. -
3:28 - 3:34I'll give you an example
of the meat production process. -
3:35 - 3:39There are two principles
that conduct the meat production -
3:39 - 3:41at an industrial scale:
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3:41 - 3:44quantity and speed.
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3:44 - 3:50The more you produce
and the cheaper it gets, -
3:50 - 3:52the worse the quality,
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3:52 - 3:57and the cost is higher
for our health and environment. -
3:57 - 3:59In terms of speed,
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3:59 - 4:02the animal cycle
is artificially accelerated, -
4:02 - 4:06the animal life cycle
is artificially accelerated, -
4:06 - 4:13and it starts growing
and producing in such a way -
4:14 - 4:17that at some point
their bodies can't take it anymore, -
4:17 - 4:22and it drastically decreases
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4:22 - 4:24its life quality,
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4:24 - 4:28its health and lifetime.
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4:28 - 4:32I believe that we can and must change
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4:32 - 4:37this food system.
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4:37 - 4:40The other day I was at the supermarket,
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4:40 - 4:43and I noticed that a pound of chicken
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4:43 - 4:45was cheaper than a pound of tomatoes.
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4:45 - 4:47And I said, "How can that be?"
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4:47 - 4:48This is very complex.
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4:50 - 4:52How can it cost so little
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4:52 - 4:57to raise an animal
from birth to slaughter? -
4:57 - 4:59I couldn't understand that.
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4:59 - 5:02In terms of vegetables and greens,
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5:02 - 5:07the industrial scale production process
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5:07 - 5:14is also very harmful to our lives,
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5:14 - 5:15our health, and to the environment
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5:15 - 5:22because, today, Brazil is the biggest
agrochemical consumer in the world. -
5:22 - 5:26Each Brazilian consumes around
11 pounds of agrochemicals per year. -
5:27 - 5:30It's a steep amount.
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5:31 - 5:37And people know
the hazards of agrochemicals, -
5:37 - 5:44but they still put up with this abuse
of usage and consumption. -
5:45 - 5:46And I wondered why.
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5:46 - 5:53But the answer is that our current society
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5:53 - 5:56has twisted values.
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5:56 - 5:58Our values are twisted.
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5:58 - 6:03Why does someone worry
about not buying fake perfume -
6:03 - 6:07because they worry
about some allergic reaction, -
6:07 - 6:09as they don't know its origin,
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6:09 - 6:12they don't know what sort
of chemicals are in the bottle, -
6:13 - 6:17and they don't care about eating
intoxicated vegetables? -
6:18 - 6:19Why is that?
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6:20 - 6:26I wondered about this and realized
that this is the change of values. -
6:26 - 6:32We need to teach people
to value organic products, -
6:32 - 6:37because when you buy
organic lettuce, for example, -
6:37 - 6:43you're not only investing in your health
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6:43 - 6:45but also paying
for the producer's well-being, -
6:45 - 6:49which is something
people don't usually think of, -
6:49 - 6:55they don't know that behind that lettuce
is someone who cares for it with love -
6:55 - 6:57and brought that lettuce to you.
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6:57 - 7:00So we pay for the producer's well-being,
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7:00 - 7:04we invest in our health,
and we respect nature. -
7:05 - 7:10I think that's why I fell in love
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7:10 - 7:15with cooking and nutrition.
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7:16 - 7:20In terms of distribution,
it's not efficient either. -
7:21 - 7:25I think you know we produce a lot of food.
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7:25 - 7:31One third of the food we produce
is simply wasted, thrown out. -
7:32 - 7:38And we ask ourselves
why so many people are still starving. -
7:38 - 7:41The reason is bad distribution policy.
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7:41 - 7:43We have to rethink that.
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7:44 - 7:48In consumption terms,
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7:48 - 7:52the way we consume food
today is frightening. -
7:52 - 7:55My grandma is from São Paulo,
and she lives there. -
7:55 - 7:59If I dropped her in the middle
of Paulista Avenue, -
8:00 - 8:03I'm sure she would be really scared
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8:03 - 8:07seeing all those executives,
or those people in a hurry, -
8:07 - 8:10walking along the street,
talking on their cell phones, -
8:10 - 8:12swallowing a slice of pizza -
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8:12 - 8:18because chewing is something
people also think is a waste of time, -
8:18 - 8:21but it's actually very important.
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8:21 - 8:25Anyway, she would freak out
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8:25 - 8:28because she doesn't see that as a meal,
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8:28 - 8:31as a way to nurture and feed oneself.
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8:35 - 8:39Fast food is made for this purpose,
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8:39 - 8:42so we can eat while doing something else,
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8:42 - 8:46talking on the phone, typing, watching TV.
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8:46 - 8:50This makes us lose
our notion of satiation. -
8:50 - 8:52We make room for gluttony,
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8:52 - 8:57which is very harmful to our health.
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8:57 - 9:03So, we need to rethink
the way we consume food. -
9:04 - 9:10These snacks, biscuits, and so on
also have a lot of chemical additives, -
9:10 - 9:16and too much salt, fat, and sugar,
which is the addictive trio. -
9:16 - 9:23Flavor enhancers end up
destroying our sense of taste, -
9:23 - 9:28they degenerate our nervous system
and create addiction, -
9:28 - 9:32not only physical but also mental,
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9:32 - 9:36psychological,
and physiological addiction. -
9:36 - 9:41That is, excessive industrialized products
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9:41 - 9:42are very harmful.
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9:42 - 9:46I don't even call them food.
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9:46 - 9:49To me, they are fake food,
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9:49 - 9:54because you may feel full eating them,
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9:54 - 9:57but they won't nurture or feed you.
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9:58 - 10:03And who still makes popcorn in a pan?
Pan popcorn instead of microwave? -
10:03 - 10:06Look! Half and half. (Laughter)
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10:06 - 10:12Who still makes cakes
instead of buying mixtures? -
10:12 - 10:15Oh! Also half and half. (Laughter)
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10:16 - 10:23These two questions
may seem a little harmless -
10:23 - 10:27and not mean anything,
but actually they mean a lot. -
10:27 - 10:32By just switching from pan popcorn
to microwave popcorn, -
10:32 - 10:35you're already harming your health,
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10:35 - 10:38because you're consuming chemicals
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10:38 - 10:43that you surely wouldn't add
to your pan popcorn, -
10:43 - 10:49and you're also polluting
with the microwave popcorn packaging. -
10:49 - 10:54It's an extra packaging that could
be less trash in the world. -
10:54 - 10:58I think the excessive consumption
of industrialized products -
10:58 - 11:01is really harmful.
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11:05 - 11:09To sum up
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11:09 - 11:13this food production issue,
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11:13 - 11:19I think this food dynamics,
this food system -
11:19 - 11:21is not healthy at all.
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11:21 - 11:24It's not working.
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11:24 - 11:27And we have to change.
But how can we change? -
11:28 - 11:32The main answer
is going back to the kitchen. -
11:33 - 11:39Cooking is synonym of art,
culture, leisure, health. -
11:39 - 11:46Cooking brings independence,
self-knowledge, autonomy, -
11:46 - 11:49safety, freedom.
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11:49 - 11:52Cooking is life's fundamental art.
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11:53 - 11:56If we don't cook,
someone will do it for us. -
11:57 - 11:59I hope it's not the industry.
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12:00 - 12:05Because the industry doesn't cook,
it simply processes food. -
12:05 - 12:09If you let the industry feed you,
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12:10 - 12:14it'll choose what to give you for dinner:
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12:14 - 12:18frozen lasagna, French fries,
burgers, hot dogs. -
12:19 - 12:20How about pizza?
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12:21 - 12:23Give us delivery pizza
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12:23 - 12:25because we can't even make
pizza anymore! -
12:26 - 12:29I believe that we...
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12:31 - 12:35Oh, no! Wait! Where's rice and beans?
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12:35 - 12:42The everyday rice and beans
that filled up our stomachs and souls? -
12:42 - 12:44I think a lot of people
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12:44 - 12:48who are not interested in
or fond of cooking -
12:48 - 12:52must think it's a lot of work,
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12:53 - 12:55not practical, and a waste of time.
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12:55 - 12:58But if you leave the beans
soaking overnight, -
12:58 - 13:04in the morning, in 20 minutes you'll have
them ready in the pressure cooker. -
13:04 - 13:06Or you just take one day to make beans
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13:06 - 13:09and freeze them for the week.
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13:09 - 13:13Along with fresh rice
that you make in 20 or 30 minutes -
13:13 - 13:17and vegetables that you have prewashed
and cut up in the fridge -
13:17 - 13:18when you came back from the market,
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13:18 - 13:22you have a whole meal ready
in half an hour. -
13:23 - 13:29It might be the same time
you would wait for a pizza, -
13:30 - 13:32from the pizza delivery.
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13:33 - 13:37So, I think we must change
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13:38 - 13:41the way we see cooking,
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13:41 - 13:43the way we see the act of cooking.
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13:43 - 13:46Everybody can and must cook:
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13:46 - 13:53men, women, boys, girls,
kids, adults, the elderly. -
13:53 - 13:58There's no age, sex, or gender.
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13:58 - 14:02Everybody can cook. Everybody should cook.
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14:02 - 14:08By changing education, teaching kids,
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14:08 - 14:13taking kids to the market to choose
the vegetables they'll have for dinner, -
14:13 - 14:18having kids peel potatoes, do the dishes,
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14:18 - 14:20simple day-to-day things,
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14:20 - 14:23we can build a better future.
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14:23 - 14:27These kids will grow up
with a holistic view of the world. -
14:27 - 14:30They'll know where the food comes from,
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14:30 - 14:33because many people think it comes
from the supermarket shelf. -
14:34 - 14:41Kids will grow up independent
of the food industry -
14:41 - 14:42because they will learn to cook.
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14:42 - 14:47They will grow up independent
of the pharmaceutical industry -
14:47 - 14:50because they will be less sick,
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14:50 - 14:53growing up and eating
homemade food, healthy food. -
14:54 - 14:59I believe we have to change
the food dynamics. -
14:59 - 15:03We have to change
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15:06 - 15:10how we value food.
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15:10 - 15:16We have to value food more,
value the act of eating and cooking. -
15:16 - 15:21Education isn't just saying
"please," "thank you," and "excuse me." -
15:21 - 15:25Education doesn't mean
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15:25 - 15:28seeing a hospital as synonym of health.
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15:30 - 15:36I think having life quality,
a healthy lifestyle, and a healthy diet, -
15:36 - 15:40so that we need fewer hospitals -
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15:40 - 15:42that is education.
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15:43 - 15:45It's education and prevention.
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15:45 - 15:49So, the future of food
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15:50 - 15:52will decide the future of humanity.
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15:53 - 15:58Cooking and choosing food well
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15:58 - 16:03are choices we can make
to make a better world. -
16:03 - 16:04Thank you.
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16:04 - 16:07(Applause)
- Title:
- Back to the kitchen| Bela Gil | TEDxLaçadorSalon
- Description:
-
Bela Gil talks about the food production chain from a cook's point of view. She defends that we are used to practical but not so healthy industrialized products and that we should start cooking again so that the industry doesn't choose our menu anymore.
Bela Gil is a culinary specialist and TV presenter with a degree in Natural Culinary from the Natural Gourmet Institute and in Food Science from Hunter College.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using TED's conference format but is independently oganized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx.
- Video Language:
- Portuguese, Brazilian
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 16:13
Theresa Ranft approved English subtitles for De volta para o fogão | Bela Gil | TEDxLaçadorSalon | ||
Theresa Ranft edited English subtitles for De volta para o fogão | Bela Gil | TEDxLaçadorSalon | ||
Theresa Ranft edited English subtitles for De volta para o fogão | Bela Gil | TEDxLaçadorSalon | ||
Theresa Ranft edited English subtitles for De volta para o fogão | Bela Gil | TEDxLaçadorSalon | ||
Theresa Ranft edited English subtitles for De volta para o fogão | Bela Gil | TEDxLaçadorSalon | ||
Theresa Ranft edited English subtitles for De volta para o fogão | Bela Gil | TEDxLaçadorSalon | ||
Claudia Sander accepted English subtitles for De volta para o fogão | Bela Gil | TEDxLaçadorSalon | ||
Claudia Sander edited English subtitles for De volta para o fogão | Bela Gil | TEDxLaçadorSalon |