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We should feed the world more than just rice and beans | Andie Pinga | TEDxPhillipsAcademyAndover

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    So, when I was a kid,
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    I would spend every summer
    in the Philippines.
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    And every morning,
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    my grandmother would wake me
    and my brother up super early
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    to go eat breakfast at McDonald's.
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    And at McDonald's, I was hooked onto
    their breakfast longganisa they served,
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    which is sort of like
    a Filipino sweet sausage.
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    Before my merienda, or afternoon snack,
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    my grandmother would order me two bowls
    of my beloved creamy macaroni soup.
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    Obviously, I had an unhealthy
    appetite for McDonald's.
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    Filipino eating habits seem to reflect
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    this fast-food style of eating
    excessive amounts of salt, sugar, and fat.
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    So, it's not really a big surprise
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    when three of the four leading causes
    of death in the Philippines -
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    heart disease, stroke, and diabetes -
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    are all related to poor nutrition.
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    The Philippines lost 2.8 billion pesos
    in 2006 just because of poor nutrition.
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    And just after 10 years,
    this economic loss doubled.
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    But in other parts of the country
    and in the world,
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    the problem isn't too much
    the poor quality of diet,
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    but the lack of food.
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    Hunger is at a critical stage
    in the world today.
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    Before I was interested in this topic,
    I thought, like so many others,
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    that our first priority should just be
    to feed a child until they aren't hungry.
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    I was wrong.
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    If you look at the bigger picture
    of a child's life,
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    you can see that it's extremely important
    to satisfy that child with a quality diet
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    at the same time when addressing hunger.
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    What do I mean by quality diets?
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    I mean safe, diverse,
    nutritious foods all year round
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    to feed and sustain brain power
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    because nutrition has a direct link
    to brain development.
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    The way you think, act,
    your eventual intelligence,
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    this can all decrease
    due to poor nutrition early in childhood.
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    And a child's long-term health
    is also impaired.
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    When they are an adult,
    their health will decline earlier.
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    So, the lack of diverse,
    nutritious foods, undernutrition,
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    is both a cause
    and consequence of poverty.
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    Let me give you an example.
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    Imagine a five-year-old girl
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    who lives on some remote farm
    in a developing country.
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    She also might as well
    be living in a big city.
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    Her family doesn't have enough food,
    much less an adequate diet.
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    She will be cognitively impaired.
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    She will not reach
    her full potential height.
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    Therefore, she will not reach
    her full human potential.
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    And when she grows up,
    her income and her harvest are limited
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    because of these disadvantages
    she had earlier on in life.
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    She will not be able to afford
    basic healthcare,
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    and she will not be able to provide
    education and the proper nutritious diet
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    for her children.
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    So, her children will also become
    cognitively impaired and stunted,
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    and they will not reach
    their full human potential.
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    The future of our world depends
    on these young girls and their children
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    and on those future generations.
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    But malnutrition isn't one
    of those third-world problems.
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    It's here in the United States, too.
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    In one of the most developed
    countries in the world,
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    our children are overfed
    and undernourished.
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    One in three American children
    are overweight or obese.
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    And overnutrition
    is just as bad as undernutrition.
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    I could have easily been
    one of those overweight children
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    the way I devoured and craved
    McDonald's as a child.
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    Fortunately, I only visited
    the Philippines in the summer.
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    For the rest of the year,
    I lived in Hanoi, Vietnam.
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    And in Hanoi, there were no McDonald's.
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    I was surrounded by working farms,
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    and the Vietnamese culture
    emphasise a balance in living,
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    including in their diet.
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    Leaving Vietnam and moving to Vermont,
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    I was further surrounded
    by this culture of healthy living.
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    There are so many farms in Vermont,
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    and in school, I was able
    to go to those farms,
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    see how my food was grown,
    and learn how to prepare balanced meals.
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    My teachers emphasised
    fresh, organic, local food in my diet.
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    And just last October,
    I went to a conference in Iowa,
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    and there I was able to meet
    amazing people
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    who travel to these developing countries
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    and work with the local communities
    in developing countries
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    to help push this nutrition agenda.
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    So, I learned how to care about my food
    at this conference, right?
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    But most of the people in the world
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    don't know or don't care
    about what is needed by the body.
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    And most don't even know
    where their next meal is coming from.
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    What does the future of our world hold
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    when a third of the world population
    does not reach their full human potential?
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    The Philippines alone
    lost about five billion pesos
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    just because of poor nutrition.
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    That's a lot of money.
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    So, I say, our generation's mission
    statement is to solve hunger better.
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    A nutrition-focused approach
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    builds a generation capable
    of rising out of the cycle of poverty.
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    It builds a smarter, stronger,
    and more stable workforce.
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    So, if there's one thing I want you guys
    to take away from my talk, it's this:
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    A child needs food to survive
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    or requires a diverse,
    nutritious diet to thrive.
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    Hunger and obesity both have one solution.
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    Quality meals should be
    both available and consumed.
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    So, you might ask,
    What can I do to ensure this?
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    Well first, be conscious of what you eat.
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    You may have heard this a million times,
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    but healthy choices
    can only bring you benefits.
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    Second, look at what others
    in your community eat.
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    Influence your family, friends, the person
    behind you in line at the cafeteria
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    to choose more nutritious items.
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    And third, do something about the rest
    of the world who doesn't have enough food.
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    You can easily join multiple organisations
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    and learn to care
    about the millions of children
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    that go to bed hungry every single night.
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    And finally, when you solve hunger,
    you solve it better.
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    When you donate rice, beans,
    or some canned food,
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    you are giving sustenance.
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    But when you give them a quality meal,
    you are giving them opportunities
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    and ultimately, investing
    in the future of our world.
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    Our generation can ensure
    that we leave our world in capable hands
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    through better diets.
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    Our mission is nutrition.
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    Thank you.
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    (Applause)
Title:
We should feed the world more than just rice and beans | Andie Pinga | TEDxPhillipsAcademyAndover
Description:

Andie Pinga has seen different forms of malnutrition manifest itself in Vietnam, the Philippines, and the United States. As hunger reaches a critical stage in the world today, it is important to recognise the importance of feeding the mind as well as feeding the belly. To 'solve hunger better', our generation must invest in the future by feeding our children quality diets with more nutritious foods.

Andie Pinga is a sophomore at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

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Video Language:
English
Team:
closed TED
Project:
TEDxTalks
Duration:
06:53

English subtitles

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