[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.00,0:00:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How do you feed a city?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.00,0:00:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's one of the great questions of our time.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.00,0:00:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yet it's one that's rarely asked.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.00,0:00:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We take it for granted that if we go into a shop
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.00,0:00:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or restaurant, or indeed into this theater's foyer in about an hour's time,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.00,0:00:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there is going to be food there waiting for us,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.00,0:00:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,having magically come from somewhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.00,0:00:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But when you think that every day for a city the size of London,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.00,0:00:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,enough food has to be produced,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.00,0:00:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,transported, bought and sold,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.00,0:00:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cooked, eaten, disposed of,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.00,0:00:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that something similar has to happen every day
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.00,0:00:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for every city on earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.00,0:00:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's remarkable that cities get fed at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.00,0:00:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We live in places like this as if
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.00,0:00:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're the most natural things in the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.00,0:00:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,forgetting that because we're animals
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.00,0:00:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that we need to eat,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.00,0:00:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we're actually as dependent on the natural world
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.00,0:00:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as our ancient ancestors were.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.00,0:00:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And as more of us move into cities,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.00,0:01:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more of that natural world is being
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.00,0:01:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,transformed into extraordinary landscapes like the one behind me --
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.00,0:01:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's soybean fields in Mato Grosso in Brazil --
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.00,0:01:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in order to feed us.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.00,0:01:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are extraordinary landscapes,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.00,0:01:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but few of us ever get to see them.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.00,0:01:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And increasingly these landscapes
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.00,0:01:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are not just feeding us either.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.00,0:01:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As more of us move into cities,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.00,0:01:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more of us are eating meat,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.00,0:01:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that a third of the annual grain crop globally
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.00,0:01:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,now gets fed to animals
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.00,0:01:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rather than to us human animals.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.00,0:01:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And given that it takes three times as much grain --
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.00,0:01:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,actually ten times as much grain --
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.00,0:01:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to feed a human if it's passed through an animal first,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.00,0:01:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's not a very efficient way of feeding us.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.00,0:01:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's an escalating problem too.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.00,0:01:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By 2050, it's estimated that twice the number
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.00,0:01:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of us are going to be living in cities.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.00,0:01:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's also estimated that there is going to be twice as much
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.00,0:01:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,meat and dairy consumed.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.00,0:02:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So meat and urbanism are rising hand in hand.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.00,0:02:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that's going to pose an enormous problem.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.00,0:02:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Six billion hungry carnivores to feed,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.00,0:02:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by 2050.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.00,0:02:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's a big problem. And actually if we carry on as we are,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.00,0:02:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's a problem we're very unlikely to be able to solve.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.00,0:02:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nineteen million hectares of rainforest are lost every year
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.00,0:02:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to create new arable land.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.00,0:02:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Although at the same time we're losing an equivalent amount
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.00,0:02:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of existing arables to salinization and erosion.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.00,0:02:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're very hungry for fossil fuels too.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.00,0:02:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It takes about 10 calories to produce every calorie
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.00,0:02:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of food that we consume in the West.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.00,0:02:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And even though there is food that we are producing at great cost,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.00,0:02:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we don't actually value it.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.00,0:02:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Half the food produced in the USA is currently thrown away.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.00,0:02:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And to end all of this, at the end of this long process,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.00,0:02:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we're not even managing to feed the planet properly.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.00,0:02:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A billion of us are obese, while a further billion starve.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.00,0:03:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,None of it makes very much sense.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.00,0:03:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when you think that 80 percent of global trade in food now
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.00,0:03:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is controlled by just five multinational corporations,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.00,0:03:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's a grim picture.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.00,0:03:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As we're moving into cities, the world is also embracing a Western diet.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.00,0:03:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if we look to the future,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.00,0:03:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's an unsustainable diet.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.00,0:03:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So how did we get here?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.00,0:03:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And more importantly, what are we going to do about it?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.00,0:03:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, to answer the slightly easier question first,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.00,0:03:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about 10,000 years ago, I would say,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.00,0:03:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the beginning of this process
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.00,0:03:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the ancient Near East,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:33.00,0:03:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,known as the Fertile Crescent.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.00,0:03:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because, as you can see, it was crescent shaped.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.00,0:03:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it was also fertile.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.00,0:03:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it was here, about 10,000 years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.00,0:03:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that two extraordinary inventions,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.00,0:03:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,agriculture and urbanism, happened
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.00,0:03:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,roughly in the same place and at the same time.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.00,0:03:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is no accident,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.00,0:03:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because agriculture and cities are bound together. They need each other.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.00,0:03:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because it was discovery of grain
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.00,0:04:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by our ancient ancestors for the first time
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.00,0:04:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that produced a food source that was large enough
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.00,0:04:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and stable enough to support permanent settlements.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.00,0:04:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if we look at what those settlements were like,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.00,0:04:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we see they were compact.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.00,0:04:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were surrounded by productive farm land
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.00,0:04:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and dominated by large temple complexes
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.00,0:04:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like this one at Ur,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.00,0:04:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that were, in fact, effectively,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.00,0:04:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,spiritualized, central food distribution centers.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.00,0:04:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because it was the temples that organized the harvest,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.00,0:04:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,gathered in the grain, offered it to the gods,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.00,0:04:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then offered the grain that the gods didn't eat back to the people.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.00,0:04:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, if you like,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.00,0:04:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the whole spiritual and physical life of these cities
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.00,0:04:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was dominated by the grain and the harvest
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.00,0:04:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that sustained them.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.00,0:04:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in fact, that's true of every ancient city.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.00,0:04:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But of course not all of them were that small.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.00,0:04:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Famously, Rome had about a million citizens
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.00,0:04:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the first century A.D.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.00,0:04:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So how did a city like this feed itself?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.00,0:05:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The answer is what I call "ancient food miles."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.00,0:05:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Basically, Rome had access to the sea,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.00,0:05:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which made it possible for it to import food from a very long way away.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.00,0:05:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the only way it was possible to do this in the ancient world,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:09.00,0:05:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it was very difficult to transport food over roads,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.00,0:05:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which were rough.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.00,0:05:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the food obviously went off very quickly.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.00,0:05:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So Rome effectively waged war
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.00,0:05:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on places like Carthage and Egypt
Dialogue: 0,0:05:21.00,0:05:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just to get its paws on their grain reserves.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.00,0:05:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, in fact, you could say that the expansion of the Empire
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.00,0:05:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was really sort of one long, drawn out
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.00,0:05:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,militarized shopping spree, really.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.00,0:05:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.00,0:05:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact -- I love the fact, I just have to mention this:
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.00,0:05:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Rome in fact used to import oysters from London,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.00,0:05:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at one stage. I think that's extraordinary.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:40.00,0:05:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So Rome shaped its hinterland
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.00,0:05:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through its appetite.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.00,0:05:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the interesting thing is that the other thing also
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.00,0:05:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,happened in the pre-industrial world.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.00,0:05:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If we look at a map of London in the 17th century,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.00,0:05:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can see that its grain, which is coming in from the Thames,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.00,0:05:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,along the bottom of this map.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.00,0:06:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the grain markets were to the south of the city.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:00.00,0:06:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the roads leading up from them
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.00,0:06:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to Cheapside, which was the main market,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.00,0:06:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were also grain markets.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.00,0:06:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if you look at the name of one of those streets,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:08.00,0:06:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Bread Street, you can tell
Dialogue: 0,0:06:11.00,0:06:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what was going on there 300 years ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.00,0:06:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the same of course was true for fish.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.00,0:06:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fish was, of course, coming in by river as well. Same thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.00,0:06:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And of course Billingsgate, famously, was London's fish market,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:22.00,0:06:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,operating on-site here until the mid-1980s.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.00,0:06:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which is extraordinary, really, when you think about it.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.00,0:06:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everybody else was wandering around
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.00,0:06:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with mobile phones that looked like bricks
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.00,0:06:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sort of smelly fish happening down on the port.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.00,0:06:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is another thing about food in cities:
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.00,0:06:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Once its roots into the city are established,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.00,0:06:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they very rarely move.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.00,0:06:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Meat is a very different story
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.00,0:06:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because, of course, animals could walk into the city.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:47.00,0:06:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So much of London's meat
Dialogue: 0,0:06:49.00,0:06:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was coming from the northwest,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.00,0:06:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from Scotland and Wales.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.00,0:06:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it was coming in, and arriving at the city at the northwest,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.00,0:06:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is why Smithfield,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.00,0:07:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,London's very famous meat market, was located up there.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.00,0:07:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Poultry was coming in from East Anglia and so on, to the northeast.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.00,0:07:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I feel a bit like a weather woman doing this. Anyway,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.00,0:07:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so the birds were coming in
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.00,0:07:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with their feet protected with little canvas shoes.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:13.00,0:07:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then when they hit the eastern end
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.00,0:07:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of Cheapside, that's where they were sold,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.00,0:07:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is why it's called Poultry.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.00,0:07:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, in fact, if you look at the map of any city
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.00,0:07:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,built before the industrial age,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.00,0:07:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can trace food coming in to it.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.00,0:07:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can actually see how it was physically shaped by food,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.00,0:07:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,both by reading the names of the streets, which give you a lot of clues.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.00,0:07:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Friday Street, in a previous life,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.00,0:07:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is where you went to buy your fish on a Friday.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:38.00,0:07:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But also you have to imagine it full of food.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:40.00,0:07:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because the streets and the public spaces
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.00,0:07:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were the only places where food was bought and sold.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.00,0:07:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if we look at an image of Smithfield in 1830
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.00,0:07:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can see that it would have been very difficult to live in a city like this
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.00,0:07:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and be unaware of where your food came from.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:54.00,0:07:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, if you were having Sunday lunch,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:56.00,0:07:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the chances were it was mooing or bleating outside your window
Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.00,0:08:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about three days earlier.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.00,0:08:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this was obviously an organic city,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:03.00,0:08:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,part of an organic cycle.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.00,0:08:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then 10 years later everything changed.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:09.00,0:08:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is an image of the Great Western in 1840.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:12.00,0:08:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And as you can see, some of the earliest train passengers
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.00,0:08:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were pigs and sheep.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.00,0:08:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So all of a sudden, these animals are no longer walking into market.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:20.00,0:08:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're being slaughtered out of sight and mind,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:22.00,0:08:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,somewhere in the countryside.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:24.00,0:08:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they're coming into the city by rail.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:26.00,0:08:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this changes everything.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:29.00,0:08:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To start off with, it makes it possible
Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.00,0:08:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the first time to grow cities,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.00,0:08:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,really any size and shape, in any place.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.00,0:08:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Cities used to be constrained by geography;
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.00,0:08:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they used to have to get their food through very difficult physical means.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:41.00,0:08:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All of a sudden they are effectively emancipated from geography.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:45.00,0:08:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And as you can see from these maps of London,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:48.00,0:08:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the 90 years after the trains came,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:50.00,0:08:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it goes from being a little blob that was quite easy to feed
Dialogue: 0,0:08:54.00,0:08:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by animals coming in on foot, and so on,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:56.00,0:08:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to a large splurge,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:58.00,0:09:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that would be very, very difficult to feed with anybody on foot,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:01.00,0:09:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,either animals or people.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:04.00,0:09:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And of course that was just the beginning. After the trains came cars,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:07.00,0:09:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and really this marks the end of this process.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:11.00,0:09:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the final emancipation of the city
Dialogue: 0,0:09:13.00,0:09:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from any apparent relationship with nature at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:16.00,0:09:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is the kind of city that's devoid of smell,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.00,0:09:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,devoid of mess, certainly devoid of people,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:21.00,0:09:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because nobody would have dreamed of walking in such a landscape.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:24.00,0:09:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, what they did to get food was they got in their cars,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.00,0:09:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,drove to a box somewhere on the outskirts,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:30.00,0:09:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,came back with a week's worth of shopping,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:32.00,0:09:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and wondered what on earth to do with it.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:34.00,0:09:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this really is the moment when our relationship,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:37.00,0:09:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,both with food and cities, changes completely.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:40.00,0:09:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here we have food -- that used to be the center,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:43.00,0:09:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the social core of the city -- at the periphery.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:46.00,0:09:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It used to be a social event, buying and selling food.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.00,0:09:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now it's anonymous.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:50.00,0:09:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We used to cook; now we just add water,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:52.00,0:09:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or a little bit of an egg if you're making a cake or something.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:57.00,0:10:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We don't smell food to see if it's okay to eat.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:01.00,0:10:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We just read the back of a label on a packet.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:04.00,0:10:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we don't value food. We don't trust it.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:07.00,0:10:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So instead of trusting it, we fear it.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.00,0:10:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And instead of valuing it, we throw it away.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:13.00,0:10:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the great ironies of modern food systems
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.00,0:10:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that they've made the very thing they promised
Dialogue: 0,0:10:18.00,0:10:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to make easier much harder.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:20.00,0:10:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By making it possible to build cities anywhere and any place,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:24.00,0:10:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they've actually distanced us from our most important relationship,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:28.00,0:10:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is that of us and nature.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:31.00,0:10:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And also they've made us dependent on systems that only they can deliver,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:34.00,0:10:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that, as we've seen, are unsustainable.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:36.00,0:10:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what are we going to do about that?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:39.00,0:10:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not a new question.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:41.00,0:10:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,500 years ago it's what Thomas More was asking himself.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:45.00,0:10:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the frontispiece of his book "Utopia."
Dialogue: 0,0:10:48.00,0:10:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it was a series of semi-independent city-states,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:51.00,0:10:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if that sounds remotely familiar,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:53.00,0:10:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a day's walk from one another where everyone was basically farming-mad,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:56.00,0:10:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and grew vegetables in their back gardens,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:58.00,0:11:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and ate communal meals together, and so on.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.00,0:11:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I think you could argue that
Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.00,0:11:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,food is a fundamental ordering principle of Utopia,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:05.00,0:11:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even though More never framed it that way.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:08.00,0:11:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And here is another very famous "Utopian" vision,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:11.00,0:11:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that of Ebenezer Howard, "The Garden City."
Dialogue: 0,0:11:13.00,0:11:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Same idea: series of semi-independent city-states,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:16.00,0:11:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,little blobs of metropolitan stuff with arable land around,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:20.00,0:11:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,joined to one another by railway.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:22.00,0:11:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And again, food could be said to be
Dialogue: 0,0:11:24.00,0:11:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the ordering principle of his vision.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:27.00,0:11:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It even got built, but nothing to do with
Dialogue: 0,0:11:29.00,0:11:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this vision that Howard had.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:31.00,0:11:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that is the problem with these Utopian ideas,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:34.00,0:11:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that they are Utopian.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:36.00,0:11:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Utopia was actually a word that Thomas Moore used deliberately.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:39.00,0:11:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a kind of joke, because it's got a double derivation from the Greek.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:43.00,0:11:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It can either mean a good place, or no place.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:45.00,0:11:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because it's an ideal. It's an imaginary thing. We can't have it.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:49.00,0:11:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I think, as a conceptual tool
Dialogue: 0,0:11:51.00,0:11:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for thinking about the very deep problem of human dwelling,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:54.00,0:11:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that makes it not much use.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:56.00,0:11:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I've come up with an alternative,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:59.00,0:12:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is Sitopia, from the ancient Greek,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:02.00,0:12:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"sitos" for food, and "topos" for place.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:04.00,0:12:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I believe we already live in Sitopia.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:06.00,0:12:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We live in a world shaped by food,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:09.00,0:12:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and if we realize that, we can use food as a really powerful tool --
Dialogue: 0,0:12:12.00,0:12:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a conceptual tool, design tool, to shape the world differently.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:16.00,0:12:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So if we were to do that, what might Sitopia look like?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:21.00,0:12:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well I think it looks a bit like this.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:23.00,0:12:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have to use this slide. It's just the look on the face of the dog.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:25.00,0:12:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But anyway, this is -- (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:12:28.00,0:12:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's food at the center of life,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:30.00,0:12:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the center of family life, being celebrated,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:32.00,0:12:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,being enjoyed, people taking time for it.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:34.00,0:12:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is where food should be in our society.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:37.00,0:12:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But you can't have scenes like this unless you have people like this.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:42.00,0:12:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By the way, these can be men as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:44.00,0:12:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's people who think about food,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:47.00,0:12:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who think ahead, who plan,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:49.00,0:12:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who can stare at a pile of raw vegetables
Dialogue: 0,0:12:51.00,0:12:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and actually recognize them.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:53.00,0:12:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We need these people. We're part of a network.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:56.00,0:12:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because without these kinds of people we can't have places like this.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:59.00,0:13:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here, I deliberately chose this because it is a man buying a vegetable.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:02.00,0:13:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But networks, markets where food is being grown locally.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:06.00,0:13:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's common. It's fresh.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:08.00,0:13:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's part of the social life of the city.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:10.00,0:13:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because without that, you can't have this kind of place,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:13.00,0:13:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,food that is grown locally and also is part of the landscape,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:16.00,0:13:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and is not just a zero-sum commodity
Dialogue: 0,0:13:18.00,0:13:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,off in some unseen hell-hole.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:20.00,0:13:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Cows with a view.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:22.00,0:13:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Steaming piles of humus.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:24.00,0:13:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is basically bringing the whole thing together.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:27.00,0:13:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is a community project
Dialogue: 0,0:13:29.00,0:13:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I visited recently in Toronto.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:31.00,0:13:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a greenhouse, where kids get told
Dialogue: 0,0:13:33.00,0:13:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all about food and growing their own food.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:36.00,0:13:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here is a plant called Kevin, or maybe it's a
Dialogue: 0,0:13:39.00,0:13:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,plant belonging to a kid called Kevin. I don't know.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:41.00,0:13:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But anyway, these kinds of projects
Dialogue: 0,0:13:44.00,0:13:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are trying to reconnect us with nature is extremely important.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:48.00,0:13:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So Sitopia, for me, is really a way of seeing.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:50.00,0:13:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's basically recognizing that Sitopia
Dialogue: 0,0:13:54.00,0:13:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,already exists in little pockets everywhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:56.00,0:13:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The trick is to join them up,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:58.00,0:14:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to use food as a way of seeing.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:01.00,0:14:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if we do that, we're going to stop seeing cities
Dialogue: 0,0:14:04.00,0:14:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as big, metropolitan, unproductive blobs, like this.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:07.00,0:14:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're going to see them more like this,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:09.00,0:14:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as part of the productive, organic framework
Dialogue: 0,0:14:12.00,0:14:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of which they are inevitably a part,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:14.00,0:14:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,symbiotically connected.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:16.00,0:14:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But of course, that's not a great image either,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:18.00,0:14:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because we need not to be producing food like this anymore.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:21.00,0:14:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We need to be thinking more about permaculture,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:23.00,0:14:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is why I think this image just
Dialogue: 0,0:14:25.00,0:14:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sums up for me the kind of thinking we need to be doing.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:27.00,0:14:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a re-conceptualization
Dialogue: 0,0:14:29.00,0:14:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the way food shapes our lives.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:32.00,0:14:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The best image I know of this is from 650 years ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:35.00,0:14:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's Ambrogio Lorenzetti's "Allegory of Good Government."
Dialogue: 0,0:14:38.00,0:14:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's about the relationship between the city and the countryside.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:41.00,0:14:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I think the message of this is very clear.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:44.00,0:14:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If the city looks after the country,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:46.00,0:14:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the country will look after the city.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:48.00,0:14:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I want us to ask now,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:50.00,0:14:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what would Ambrogio Lorenzetti paint
Dialogue: 0,0:14:53.00,0:14:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if he painted this image today?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:55.00,0:14:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What would an allegory of good government look like today?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:58.00,0:15:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because I think it's an urgent question.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:00.00,0:15:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's one we have to ask,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:02.00,0:15:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we have to start answering.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:04.00,0:15:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We know we are what we eat.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:07.00,0:15:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We need to realize that the world is also what we eat.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:09.00,0:15:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But if we take that idea, we can use food
Dialogue: 0,0:15:11.00,0:15:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a really powerful tool to shape the world better.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:15.00,0:15:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you very much.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:17.00,0:15:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)