A TED talk is like a bowl of ice cream. No matter what you top it with – a powerpoint, humor, or a sexy accent, it’s always amazing. Call me a nerd, but I could watch them forever.
As it turns out, there are a plethora of TED talks about food. Seeing as it’s summer and we could all use some mildly-educational shows to binge on, I’ve compiled a comprehensive list of every single TED talk revolving around food. They’ll make you sound smart during awkward small talk at internships and family reunions. Happy watching.
The Case for Engineering Our Food
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GMOs are, according to plant geneticist Pamela Ronald, the future of our food. Fun fact: Ronald’s married to an organic farmer. Talk about the most unlikely love story ever.
Choice, Happiness, and Spaghetti Sauce
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Malcolm Gladwell tells a wonderful tale about spaghetti sauce and pepsi and pickles. It’s like a bedtime story on TED talk steroids.
Cooking As Alchemy
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Chicago-based chefs Homaro Cantu and Ben Roche are revolutionizing the way we prepare and eat food. They’ve got all the bells and whistles: edible pictures of sushi, carrot cake nitrogen balloons, desserts that look like ballpark nachos, and bleeding veggie burgers. This is “mind ripping” stuff.
Cooking as Never Seen Before
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Nathan Myhrvold, author of Modernist Cuisine, explains what goes into creating the stunning pictures in his book. They’ll put your foodstagrams to shame.
A Garden in my Apartment
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Basically, Britta Riley, the founder of Window Farms, is the ultimate master of DIY home gardens.
The Global Food Scandal
Freeganism is the name of the game for Tristam Stuart. Watch him drop some seriously shocking facts, then pull them out to use on your picky friends when they throw out their perfectly edible leftovers.
A Guerilla Gardener in South Central LA
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Ron Finley is fighting food deserts with sidewalk gardens in Los Angeles. He’s my new hero.
How I Fell in Love with a Fish
Photo by Emily Waples
Dan Barber, chef and co-owner of Blue Hill, is the ultimate investigator of sustainable fish. Watch him tell his fishy love story, beginning at Veta La Palma, with deadpan humor and shockingly accurate observations.
How Pig Parts Make the World Turn
Photo by Christin Urso
Christien Meindertsma sheds light on the scary afterlife of a pig. Swine is in everything, from toothpaste and wine to bread and bullets.
How to Live to be 100+
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A NatGeo explorer and writer explains the Five Blue Zones, revealing the “secret” behind living a century (hint: it takes more than an apple a day).
The Hungry Farmer – My Moment of Great Disruption
“Looking into the eyes of someone dying of hunger becomes a disease of the soul.”
The Hunt for General Tso
Photo by Teodora Maftei
Ever wondered about the origin of the fortune cookie? Or of Chinese-American food in general? Watch and learn.
The Killer American Diet that’s Sweeping the Planet
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“Made in America” isn’t always awesome.
A Plant’s-Eye View
Photo by Gabby Phi
Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma will make you question your existence on this planet. All of nature is basically trolling us.
A Plea for Bees
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Everything you’ll ever need to know about bees and colony collapse. Excuse me while I go start my own hive.
Save the Oceans, Feed the World!
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I hope you like seafood because according to Jackie Savitz, fish are the future to feeding the ever-growing world population.
Sustainable Seafood? Let’s Get Smart
Photo by Grégoire Durand
Fish seem like a common theme when it comes to fixing our food system.
Teach Every Child About Food
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Jamie Oliver is basically synonymous with the health food movement. He’s like a male, British Michelle Obama. And he knows his sh*t.
We Need to Feed the Whole World
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Louise Fresco ditched the standard formula: clicker + powerpoint = TED talk and went straight to baking bread, which is apparently something frat guys do.
What’s Wrong with Our Food System
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The speaker, Birke Baeher, proves there’s hope for the future. An eleven-year-old with a southern accent, he knows more about our food system than anyone, except maybe Michael Pollen. I feel inferior.
Why I’m a Weekday Vegetarian
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Graham Hill presents a pretty good solution to (half) convert the meat-lovers to vegetarianism. Hey, you still get to eat burgers on the weekend.
Why Not Eat Insects?
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There are 6 million species of bugs on this planet. Yum, protein.
What’s Wrong with School Lunches
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Mystery meatloaf and hot dogs that bounce aren’t normal, right?
What’s Wrong with What We Eat
According to TED talks, everything.