Delicious Evolution Food and Human Civilization

[Music]

so today i want to start by

going on a little journey um to the

origins of life

to try to put back the meaning of life

where it belongs right now we are

just checking in with the present we are

on a rock flying through space

at about 220 kilometers per second

around the sun the sun is an average

star

in an average galaxy in a massive

massive universe that we’re just barely

starting to understand

we are there we are that pale blue dot

floating in the immensity of space

that’s the truth

at some point in the history of our

universe

somewhere around four or five billion

years ago

this little blue planet

harboring life blue because it has water

in this matrix of life of water based in

water

there was a pool of nutrients energy

floating with atoms and molecules and

and energy lots of energy whether it was

thunder or wind right or the energy of

the earth itself

and at some point in this primordial

pool of

nutrients

a little cell became aware of its

environment

through a mechanism that could be very

similar to taste

a chemical sensing this

cell started receiving and capturing the

energy and the nutrients in its

environment

these cells started eating

food the meaning of food

the meaning of life are intimately

linked

life is really all about energy and

nutrients flowing in a matrix based in

water

that’s what it is that’s what we are

one of the first gastronomers and food

philosophers brian

said that the universe is nothing

without the things that live in it

and everything that lives eats this is

also the guy that said

tell me the way you eat and i will tell

you what kind of human you are

about 1.8 million years ago

we started harnessing fire

like prometheus in greek mythology we

took the fire from the gods and we

became

human this curious ape

a breed of apes started

having a fire at the center of their

homes and their communities

and that was fundamental for us

going from being animals and in nature

to creating

culture and becoming humans something

fundamental changed in our biology in

our bodies

with fire we were able to capture

the nutrients that were in our

environments and make it much more

efficient

to turn those nutrients in nature in

and and turn them into our consciousness

in turning into

power to fuel ourselves as individuals

but also

as communities our brains became bigger

our guts became smaller we started

having more time

to dance to tell stories to

sharpen our tools with that fire that we

had harnessed as well

we are cooking apes we are the only

animals think about it we are the only

animals that control fire

and also the only ones that cook their

food we are creatures

of the flame and i’m just gonna let you

think about what is our relationship

with fire nowadays

like your individual relationship with

fire fire at that time

was considered to be sacred it was

sustenance it was life

and then at some point we shifted from

being hunter-gatherers just trying to

get the best

of uh food and animals and hunting from

our environments by going to places

right we had to

go a long way we had to move with the

seasons and the rains

but at some point something changed and

civilization was born

here this archaeological site called

gobeklitep

this is only been a few years that we

actually discovered this and this

is incredibly transformational for how

we understand the birth of civilization

hence what it is

there’s a site that changed completely

what we understand what it means to be

human

goblin tepe is a place where 10 000

years ago

there was a settlement in that

settlement

at the center there was a temple

around this temple this is 2 000 years

before we think

agriculture was born around this temple

humans gathered

shared belief system imagine

our ancestors having control over fire

having a place to meet to celebrate to

exchange seeds

to tell stories to create culture to

start writing

you know starting to create ways in

which we could

remember the history this is really

where we started

what does this mean shared belief system

before agriculture that’s a game changer

we thought agriculture

had created the first cities and hence

the first institutions of power and

hence

the first villages and civilization as

we know it

but it was about a shared common belief

system

and then from there we started you know

the the following thousands of years

we started traveling uh further and

further away building bigger and bigger

structures being able to mobilize

our communities our families our tribes

to to lift up

heavier and heavier stones creating

things together and

as we see in the roman empire it was all

based on trade this was the emergence of

global trade and that is

you know we lived in a globalized world

now this is where it started

2000 years ago over 2000 years ago

and what were we changing we were

exchanging oysters salt

wine olive oil right and stories of

course

and that is also where money was created

200 years ago the cities started

changing

drastically and at an increasing speed

for the simple reason that we invented

the steam engine and that is where the

age of fossil fuels started

at the center of cities only 200 years

ago this means

maybe three four generations ago right

our great-grandfathers

lived in cities where like london and

new york at the center

there was food there were food markets

there was cattle animals

and cheese and eggs and vegetables and

all the things that we needed to fuel

the city

with the invention of the steam engine

we started growing very fast and this is

the fast world that we live in now

started

really exploding at that time

now today

november 2019 it does feel like this is

a turning point in the history of our

planet

it’s a turning point in our shared

history here as a human family

we are industrialized we have

industrialized nature

did you know that two-thirds of the

forests that were here two three hundred

years ago

two-thirds they’re gone we’ve cut it all

in order to grow more food

this is a recent paper that came in

showing the extent at which we are

covering

the surface of the ocean over 50 of the

surface of the ocean

today is being fished it’s being

extracted of its

of its food by the way did you know that

bluefin tuna from a conservation

standpoint

is under threat of

disappearing it is under threatened

there’s another species that is

threatened panda bears

you know panda bears are cute

eating bluefin tuna from a conservation

standpoint from an ethical standpoint is

like eating panda

the food waste paradox is that

we are producing more food than we need

right now

and about a third of the food that we

produce as a species

is going to waste one-third of all the

food

eight percent of global carbon emissions

is caused

by food waste according to the u.n eight

percent that is

two or three times more than all

aviation

food waste and of course there is the

side result of that

we are entering a new geological era the

anthropocene the age of humans

and we’re now seeing from space

an ocean like a whole continent of

plastic in the pacific

most of that plastic is related to food

consumption

all the plastic that you see in this

image or most of it was related to

someone eating something or drinking

something

that is our impact we are degrading

ecosystems as we were hearing earlier

at an increasing speed we are losing

life

for the first time in the history of the

planet we are losing life we’re not

creating more diversity we’re not

harboring more life we’re actually

burning our house and that is why i

think that

this year is there’s a big metamorphosis

happening

as a species there’s a big awakening

we are in crisis this is what’s

happening today

we’re just over consuming forgetting to

be grateful

forgetting that food is sacred that food

is life

let me tell you a little bit about how i

got here um

i started cooking as a chef working in

michelin star restaurants and really

trying to understand the arts and the

technique

of cooking but soon i realized that the

power of food was much more than just

nice fine dining restaurant and also

cooking mostly

if not only for privileged people

and then i realized that there was so

much more so i started

using food as a medium to communicate

ideas to communicate

messages to embed knowledge and wisdom

knowledge and wisdom that people would

put in their bodies

and literally embody food

is our most intimate connection to

nature

the most intimate connection that we

have with our planetary

orb i ended up doing research in

experimental psychology understanding

the senses

understanding the human mind how we make

up beauty and meaning

through our senses and i got really

interested into behavior change

how can we continue in this way just

eating our way out through the planet

and it’s actually delicious

evolution has been powered by

deliciousness by pleasure

so if we want to evolve from now we have

to use that pleasure

as a tool for change and it’s not

all it’s not all doom and gloom you know

we’re in a crisis yes but we’re also

alive and that’s beautiful to celebrate

and there are so many intelligent people

on our planet

there’s so much creativity there’s so

much power so much abundance of food

we have everything we need and more this

is the most comprehensive plan

to reverse climate change project

drawdown

out of the top 20 solutions eight

are directly connected to food number

three

reducing food waste number four

eating less animals eating more plants

and that is why in the past year feeling

this methamphosis feeling this huge

change i wanted to give

all the best i could and co-created with

about 150 people

through patreon a guide to conscious

eating

also asking my friends the ones that are

working in

in food that understand behavior change

the best people in our community

to help me design a guide to conscious

eating

so number one let’s eat real food

let’s connect with our farmers the

people that live in our country

let’s connect with the seasons with the

cycles of the planet

let’s be patient growing food let’s

let’s plant food in our homes if we can

let’s really connect with the reality of

food let’s touch the earth

did you know that uh

one of the leading causes of climate

change is actually animal agriculture

we think that it’s you know

transportation or construction or all

that

agriculture the food system is really at

the center of human civilization

scientists have shown all the evidence

you can imagine

showing that following a plant-rich diet

can really be a game changer

and it’s not about depriving ourselves

from the goodness of life

it’s not about stopping to eat animals

it’s about being very conscious of how

precious their life is

they are also family right we’re all

born in this primordial pool

3.8 billion years ago we need to respect

the animals we need to respect and

protect them

question question everything if you

think that a vegan diet

is all you need to do think again go

beyond the facts did you know that if

you eat

avocados from chile you are voting with

your money

to violate basic water rights

there are people that don’t have any

more water in the rivers

because of the global crave for avocado

so think again

question everything question even what

i’m saying right now if you like

something

if you are curious about something go

for yourself and find the information

reducing food waste it’s as simple as

that

imagine eight percent of global carbon

emissions could be reduced

by us just being much more reverent when

it comes to eating

not wasting everything not wasting

anything

about half of the food waste actually

happens in our refrigerators in our very

own plates

be mindful about that every day

what if our food

never touched plastic don’t get me wrong

plastic is an amazing

material and we need plastic but we need

to recycle it

and we need to be conscious that all our

food

at some point touches it and we can make

decisions

that don’t end up in landfills did you

know that landfills

when you have food waste in landfills

mixed with plastic with all the rest

produces methane which is a gas

20 times more potent a greenhouse gas 20

times

more potent than co2 and that’s our

landfills that’s our trash bin

be frugal food is medicine

let’s eat less quantity of better

quality ingredients it’s going to be

good for us

good for the planet food is a powerful

transformational tool imagine if we

taught

at schools all the kids all the new

generation

imagine if we all knew how to cook we

would raise the standards

of living of so many humans we would

raise the standards

of ethics in which in the way which we

exchange with nature and with farmers

there is a massive movement and we are

awakening this year we are

shifting to being the regeneration

homoregenesis the human species

that regenerates the the species that

creates life that lifts up life

earth guardians that’s what we are

that’s what we can be at least

eating is a political act don’t think

that going to the polls every four or

five years is the only way

you have to change things

every single day with the money you have

in your pocket

you are voting for a particular

organization of the food system you are

voting for a particular organization of

the planet

eating is a political act cooking is a

political act

we’re worried about bees right now let’s

support beekeepers we need more

beekeepers

they’re going to take care of having

more bees

i want to ask you what does food really

mean to you

if we are conscious right now if you are

hearing me if you are seeing me

it’s because there are electric pulses

going through your nervous system

stimulated by your senses by your body

platform to interact with reality

that energy came from your food that

energy

at some point was a plant that plant at

some point was harnessing solar energy

we are solar powered very much so think

about that

what does it mean to be conscious we

have

an amazing puzzle in the next decade to

reach the sustainable development goals

of 2030

we all need to act we all have the power

of changing

and it starts with us it starts with who

we are as

humans by the way we eat

and one day maybe we will be in the moon

very soon the first thing we’re going to

try to do is grow food

and if we go to mars the first thing

we’re going to try to do is terraform it

so we can grow food

food is the center of human civilization

it’s also

art it is also culture it’s history

it’s shared life it’s community

it is the source of some of our greatest

joys with our families

what about our planet we can become an

interplanetary species but what about

this

incredible orb of life that is our

responsibility now

the destiny of our species is in

everyone’s mouth

the positive evolution of us

and the planet depends on our diets

thank you so much