0:00:13.088,0:00:15.070 All right. The world's a mess. 0:00:15.070,0:00:16.537 (Laughter) 0:00:16.537,0:00:18.186 Climate change. 0:00:18.186,0:00:19.669 Farmlands turning to desert. 0:00:19.669,0:00:22.038 Depletion of our water resources. 0:00:22.038,0:00:24.970 Chronic disease and obesity everywhere. 0:00:24.970,0:00:27.073 Social injustice, violence, poverty. 0:00:27.073,0:00:29.026 Learning gaps in kids. 0:00:29.026,0:00:31.540 Threats to national security. 0:00:31.540,0:00:32.950 Oy. 0:00:32.950,0:00:33.990 (Laughter) 0:00:33.990,0:00:36.606 It's enough to make you[br]just give up and feel hopeless. 0:00:36.606,0:00:42.816 But there is something[br]that you do every single day 0:00:42.816,0:00:47.155 that can radically change all of that. 0:00:48.189,0:00:49.637 You eat. 0:00:51.055,0:00:55.014 You see, I've been connecting the dots[br]as a doctor for 30 years, 0:00:55.014,0:00:57.686 treating thousands of patients. 0:00:58.025,0:01:00.753 And I've been able to use a powerful tool 0:01:00.753,0:01:06.175 to prevent, treat and reverse[br]most chronic disease, 0:01:06.175,0:01:08.580 and it's nothing I learned[br]about in medical school, 0:01:08.580,0:01:11.302 and you can't find it in a pharmacy. 0:01:11.302,0:01:12.302 [A new drug] 0:01:12.302,0:01:13.805 It's food. 0:01:14.967,0:01:19.450 Now, food has the power[br]to cure or to kill. 0:01:19.450,0:01:23.696 And it's the nexus where everything[br]that matters comes together. 0:01:24.106,0:01:30.753 Most of us believe that what we eat[br]is just about personal choice, 0:01:31.554,0:01:33.151 that if you're sick and fat, 0:01:33.151,0:01:35.437 it's because of bad habits[br]or lack of willpower, 0:01:35.437,0:01:38.486 that it's sort of your fault[br]you're fat and sick. 0:01:38.486,0:01:41.343 It's what the government[br]and the food industry tells us. 0:01:41.343,0:01:43.186 It's all about moderation, 0:01:43.186,0:01:45.638 about more exercise,[br]about personal responsibility. 0:01:45.638,0:01:47.782 There are no good and bad calories. 0:01:47.782,0:01:52.169 But what if I gave you a Big Gulp,[br]which has 46 teaspoons of sugar, 0:01:52.169,0:01:55.985 or 21 cups of broccoli,[br]which has 35 grams of fiber - 0:01:55.985,0:01:57.985 same calories - 0:01:57.985,0:02:00.142 are they going to effect you the same? 0:02:00.832,0:02:04.502 No, they change your hormones,[br]your brain chemistry, your metabolism. 0:02:04.502,0:02:06.486 They're very, very different, 0:02:06.486,0:02:08.861 and yet the party line 0:02:09.321,0:02:13.134 from doctors, scientists, nutritionists,[br]the government, the food industry 0:02:13.134,0:02:16.669 is that they're exactly the same;[br]there's no difference. 0:02:16.669,0:02:17.981 Eat less, exercise more. 0:02:17.981,0:02:20.010 How's that working out for all of you? 0:02:20.010,0:02:22.672 Right? Not so good. 0:02:23.502,0:02:28.235 And so in a world of misinformation, 0:02:28.235,0:02:31.051 in a world of marketing, 0:02:31.051,0:02:34.284 the whole concept of personal choice[br]is a little more complicated, 0:02:34.284,0:02:38.466 and I began to really understand this[br]when I met this young man, Brady, 0:02:38.466,0:02:40.416 as part of the movie "Fed Up," 0:02:40.416,0:02:43.632 about the food industry's role[br]in the obesity epidemic. 0:02:43.632,0:02:46.300 I went down to Easley,[br]South Carolina - small town. 0:02:46.300,0:02:49.277 One of the worst food deserts in America. 0:02:49.597,0:02:50.927 Visited his family of five, 0:02:50.927,0:02:53.443 who lived in a trailer[br]on food stamps and disability. 0:02:53.443,0:02:54.631 All sick, morbidly obese. 0:02:54.631,0:02:57.785 The father had type 2 diabetes,[br]on dialysis at 42, 0:02:57.785,0:03:00.702 couldn't get a new kidney[br]because he couldn't lose the weight. 0:03:00.702,0:03:02.386 They were desperate to lose weight, 0:03:02.386,0:03:04.377 doing all the right things, they thought: 0:03:04.377,0:03:06.778 eating a low-fat diet,[br]having diet this, diet that. 0:03:06.778,0:03:08.893 So I went to their trailer, 0:03:08.893,0:03:11.532 and I took out all the food[br]from their cupboards. 0:03:11.532,0:03:12.948 We looked at the packages. 0:03:12.948,0:03:14.672 I covered over the front of the box. 0:03:14.672,0:03:17.881 I said, "Can you tell me what this is?" 0:03:17.881,0:03:21.552 And they couldn't tell[br]if it was a Pop-Tart or a corn dog. 0:03:21.982,0:03:23.582 You know what this is? 0:03:23.962,0:03:25.362 Anybody? 0:03:26.402,0:03:27.553 It's a Twinkie. 0:03:27.553,0:03:28.614 (Laughter) 0:03:28.614,0:03:31.575 It's not food. It's a food-like substance. 0:03:31.575,0:03:32.998 (Laughter) 0:03:34.567,0:03:37.863 So we know what this is. It's just food. 0:03:37.863,0:03:43.739 It doesn't have a label, ingredient list[br]or a Nutrition Facts on it, right? 0:03:44.589,0:03:49.880 And so I so simply cooked[br]a meal with them, of real food, 0:03:49.880,0:03:52.092 and they loved it, surprisingly. 0:03:52.092,0:03:53.673 I said, "You can do this." 0:03:53.673,0:03:56.493 I gave them a guide on how[br]to eat well for less, a cookbook. 0:03:56.493,0:03:58.827 They lost 200 pounds[br]in the first year, together. 0:03:58.827,0:04:00.197 The father got a new kidney. 0:04:00.197,0:04:03.026 Brady lost 50 pounds, and then[br]he went to work at Bojangles' 0:04:03.026,0:04:05.381 because it's the only place[br]to work down there. 0:04:05.381,0:04:08.930 And he said, "It's like sending[br]an alcoholic to work in a bar." 0:04:08.930,0:04:10.595 (Laughter) 0:04:10.595,0:04:12.669 And he gained the weight back. 0:04:13.229,0:04:15.028 And then some. 0:04:15.178,0:04:19.111 And finally, he got his act together,[br]and he lost 140 pounds, 0:04:19.111,0:04:21.918 and last week I got[br]an email from him, saying, "Hey." 0:04:21.918,0:04:23.429 (Applause) 0:04:25.668,0:04:27.192 I got an email from him, saying, 0:04:27.192,0:04:30.686 "Hey, can you write me a letter[br]of recommendation for medical school?" 0:04:31.096,0:04:33.329 So what I learned from Brady, 0:04:33.329,0:04:34.525 what I learned from Brady 0:04:34.525,0:04:39.915 was that in a world[br]where supermarkets are food carnivals 0:04:39.915,0:04:42.961 filled with biologically addictive foods, 0:04:43.861,0:04:46.084 it's not about personal choice. 0:04:46.084,0:04:49.811 It's about fixing the food environment. 0:04:49.811,0:04:51.244 So I began to wonder, 0:04:51.244,0:04:55.112 like, what is the impact[br]of our food on our world, right? 0:04:55.112,0:04:58.228 I began to think about it[br]and wondered, "What's going on?" 0:04:58.228,0:04:59.524 So let me take on a journey 0:04:59.524,0:05:02.699 from the field to the fork[br]to the hospital to Congress and beyond. 0:05:02.699,0:05:04.638 We know chronic disease is epidemic. 0:05:04.638,0:05:06.543 One in two of us have a chronic disease. 0:05:06.543,0:05:10.726 One in two Americans[br]has prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. 0:05:10.726,0:05:12.460 70% of us are overweight. 0:05:12.460,0:05:14.960 And it's crippling our economy. 0:05:14.960,0:05:18.354 Medicare and Medicaid are buckling[br]under the weight of chronic disease. 0:05:18.354,0:05:19.384 In 20 years, 0:05:19.384,0:05:22.343 it's estimated that it will comprise[br]our entire federal budget. 0:05:22.343,0:05:26.778 And it's global: $47 trillion[br]will be spent globally, across the world, 0:05:26.778,0:05:30.309 fighting chronic disease[br]that's mostly diet driven. 0:05:30.309,0:05:32.574 And we have tremendous loss[br]of productivity: 0:05:32.574,0:05:35.573 2 trillion a year from[br]what I call "FLC syndrome." 0:05:35.573,0:05:36.975 You know what that is? 0:05:36.975,0:05:38.706 That's when you feel like crap. 0:05:38.706,0:05:40.068 (Laughter) 0:05:40.068,0:05:41.786 And we have achievement gaps in kids 0:05:41.786,0:05:44.675 who go to school on Doritos[br]and Flamin' Hot Chips and soda. 0:05:44.675,0:05:47.740 Of course they can't focus or learn[br]or succeed or go to college. 0:05:47.740,0:05:49.575 We have analysis 0:05:49.575,0:05:55.524 that food has enormous impact[br]on the brain and mood and behavior. 0:05:56.008,0:06:00.488 And the studies in prisons -[br]violent crime in prisons and prisoners 0:06:00.488,0:06:04.408 goes down by 56%[br]if you feed them a healthy diet 0:06:04.408,0:06:07.389 and 80% if you give them a multivitamin. 0:06:07.389,0:06:09.300 What are the implications of that? 0:06:09.300,0:06:12.224 And we've usurped the food systems[br]of many poor communities, 0:06:12.224,0:06:14.272 the Native Americans especially. 0:06:14.272,0:06:17.040 We took away their food system,[br]gave them commodities: 0:06:17.040,0:06:19.373 sugar, flour, shortening. 0:06:19.373,0:06:20.770 And there's a word for people 0:06:20.770,0:06:23.173 who on the reservations[br]eat those commodity foods. 0:06:23.173,0:06:25.699 It's called "commod bod." 0:06:25.959,0:06:30.857 I remember going on a rafting trip[br]last summer with a Hopi elder, Hopi chief. 0:06:31.577,0:06:34.230 And he had terrible diabetes,[br]massively overweight. 0:06:34.230,0:06:35.422 He was so sick. 0:06:35.422,0:06:37.389 I said, "You can fix this." 0:06:37.389,0:06:38.958 He said, "What do I have to do?" 0:06:38.958,0:06:41.823 I said, "You have to give up[br]sugar and flour and starch." 0:06:41.823,0:06:43.686 He says, "Well, what are we going to do 0:06:43.686,0:06:46.239 with our traditional[br]Hopi ceremonial foods?" 0:06:46.239,0:06:47.755 I'm like, "What foods?" 0:06:47.755,0:06:50.473 He says, "Cookies, cakes and pies." 0:06:50.473,0:06:51.472 (Laughter) 0:06:51.472,0:06:55.338 And I thought to myself, those are not[br]his traditional ceremonial foods. 0:06:55.338,0:06:56.456 (Laughter) 0:06:56.456,0:06:59.722 So not only are those problems real, 0:06:59.722,0:07:01.873 but we have, now, in analysis, 0:07:01.873,0:07:05.571 that our food system as a whole,[br]collectively all the aspects of it, 0:07:05.571,0:07:07.757 is the number one driver[br]of climate change, 0:07:07.757,0:07:10.205 more than the energy sector, 0:07:10.205,0:07:13.536 and that the way we farm[br]depletes our soils. 0:07:13.536,0:07:16.737 We mine the soils; we deplete[br]our aquifers and water resources. 0:07:16.737,0:07:18.508 It's estimated that maybe in 50 years 0:07:18.508,0:07:21.950 we're going to have[br]no water or soil left to feed us. 0:07:22.590,0:07:27.221 So I began to question:[br]what is going on here? 0:07:27.221,0:07:30.937 If this is the food system,[br]and it creates the food we have, 0:07:30.937,0:07:34.269 then how did we get here? 0:07:34.269,0:07:36.845 The heart of the matter is this: 0:07:37.355,0:07:40.002 our food system is not designed 0:07:40.002,0:07:42.050 to create healthy people[br]or a healthy world. 0:07:42.050,0:07:45.402 It's designed to maximize profits. 0:07:45.402,0:07:49.435 So what are the policies[br]that drive our food system? 0:07:49.435,0:07:51.466 How do we rethink what we're doing? 0:07:51.466,0:07:55.452 Well, our subsidies, for example,[br]are for commodities - 0:07:55.452,0:07:56.885 wheat, corn and soy - 0:07:56.885,0:07:59.019 that get turned into processed food. 0:07:59.019,0:08:01.208 It's 60% of our calories in America, 0:08:01.208,0:08:04.571 and those who consume[br]the most of those calories 0:08:04.751,0:08:07.398 are the sickest and the fattest. 0:08:07.768,0:08:13.599 And those foods are then turned[br]into processed food, 0:08:13.599,0:08:16.013 which then we pay for[br]with our Food Stamp Program. 0:08:16.013,0:08:18.953 $85 billion a year, and most of that[br]is for junk food - 0:08:18.953,0:08:22.384 $7 billion alone is for soda. 0:08:22.384,0:08:27.198 That's 20 billion servings a year[br]we give to the poor with food stamps. 0:08:27.198,0:08:29.204 Our food labels are so confusing 0:08:29.204,0:08:31.481 you need a PhD in nutrition[br]to figure it out, 0:08:31.481,0:08:32.731 and even then, good luck. 0:08:32.731,0:08:34.682 You know, we have food marketing to kids, 0:08:34.682,0:08:37.686 where they see 6,000 ads for junk food[br]every year on television. 0:08:37.686,0:08:40.415 It's unrestricted and probably[br]much more on social media. 0:08:40.415,0:08:43.550 We know the average two-year-old[br]can go in a grocery store 0:08:43.550,0:08:47.567 and name brand-name products[br]before they can barely walk or talk. 0:08:48.067,0:08:51.115 And we have dietary guidelines[br]that are so confusing 0:08:51.115,0:08:54.318 because they're corrupted[br]by food-industry influence 0:08:54.318,0:08:56.634 and by ignoring huge amounts[br]of relevant science. 0:08:56.634,0:09:00.653 And this was from a report[br]from the National Academy of Sciences. 0:09:00.983,0:09:06.422 So clearly, these policies[br]are not working to serve us, right? 0:09:06.422,0:09:09.966 The reason is money, money in politics. 0:09:09.966,0:09:14.265 We have half a billion dollars spent[br]by 600 lobbyists on the farm bill, 0:09:14.265,0:09:16.082 which is essentially our food bill. 0:09:16.082,0:09:20.208 We have nutrition science[br]being corrupted by the food industry, 0:09:20.208,0:09:22.498 which funds much of our nutrition science. 0:09:22.498,0:09:26.098 If a nutrition science study[br]is funded by a food corporation, 0:09:26.098,0:09:30.480 it's 8 to 50 times more likely[br]to show benefit for that food. 0:09:30.480,0:09:33.408 For example, if a food company[br]studies artificial sweeteners, 0:09:33.408,0:09:35.832 99% of the time, it's fine. 0:09:35.832,0:09:40.756 If independent scientists study it,[br]99% of the time, it's not fine. 0:09:41.006,0:09:43.004 And then our public health organizations - 0:09:43.004,0:09:46.729 the American Heart Association,[br]Diabetic Association, Cancer Association, 0:09:46.729,0:09:49.581 even the Academy of Nutrition Dietetics - 0:09:49.581,0:09:52.327 40% of their revenue[br]comes from the food industry. 0:09:52.327,0:09:55.330 How can we trust what they say? 0:09:55.330,0:09:59.147 Of course, there's this wonderful effort[br]of corporate social responsibility, 0:09:59.147,0:10:01.829 where Coca-Cola funds NAACP, 0:10:02.424,0:10:04.279 of course, and the Hispanic Federation. 0:10:04.279,0:10:06.682 Of course they're going[br]to oppose the soda tax. 0:10:06.682,0:10:10.163 They have the consumer front groups,[br]like the Center for Consumer Freedom, 0:10:10.163,0:10:11.622 which says obesity is a hoax. 0:10:11.622,0:10:14.579 Well, go to WalMart[br]or Costco, look around. 0:10:15.699,0:10:16.708 Amazing. 0:10:16.708,0:10:18.915 And the American Council[br]on Science and Health, 0:10:18.915,0:10:19.915 (Laughs) 0:10:19.915,0:10:24.211 which is basically telling us[br]that pesticides and smoking is okay. 0:10:24.211,0:10:27.977 I went to show the movie "Fed Up"[br]at the King Center, 0:10:27.977,0:10:29.694 and it was all set up. 0:10:29.694,0:10:31.075 Bernice King was all into it. 0:10:31.075,0:10:33.501 Got a call the day before -[br]we can't show the movie. 0:10:33.501,0:10:36.385 Why? King Center's funded by Coke. 0:10:36.385,0:10:37.562 Martin Luther King says, 0:10:37.562,0:10:38.658 "Our lives begin to end 0:10:38.658,0:10:41.878 the day we become silent[br]about things that matter." 0:10:41.878,0:10:45.945 And of course, since their products[br]are getting less and less popular here, 0:10:45.945,0:10:47.457 they're going around the world, 0:10:47.457,0:10:49.908 and now China and India[br]are one and two in diabetes: 0:10:49.908,0:10:52.417 80% of the world's diabetics[br]in the developing world. 0:10:52.417,0:10:57.889 So if businesses are beholden[br]to their shareholders only, 0:10:58.699,0:11:02.562 then they don't prioritize[br]the suffering of millions of people. 0:11:02.562,0:11:08.577 We allow them to privatize profits[br]and socialize the costs 0:11:08.577,0:11:12.427 and put profits ahead[br]of public good and public health. 0:11:12.427,0:11:17.193 What if all the externalities[br]in our food system 0:11:17.193,0:11:18.893 were embedded in the price of food? 0:11:18.893,0:11:21.059 How much would a can of soda cost? 0:11:21.059,0:11:22.583 $100? 0:11:22.583,0:11:25.307 What if the impact on health,[br]the environment, the economy 0:11:25.307,0:11:26.510 were all included? 0:11:26.510,0:11:29.123 What would a cost of[br]factory farm meat be for a pound? 0:11:29.123,0:11:30.770 $1,000? 0:11:31.211,0:11:34.643 We can no longer ignore 0:11:35.343,0:11:39.275 the impact and the consequences[br]of our food system 0:11:39.275,0:11:41.752 on everything that matters. 0:11:42.142,0:11:44.594 We cannot do that any longer. 0:11:45.964,0:11:47.808 And we have to rethink this. 0:11:47.808,0:11:52.997 And the good news is there are efforts[br]happening around the world to change this. 0:11:52.997,0:11:54.894 Paul Hawken has estimated 0:11:54.894,0:11:59.157 that if we change all the aspects[br]of our food system in the right way, 0:11:59.157,0:12:01.778 that we could draw down carbon[br]to pre-industrial times, 0:12:01.778,0:12:03.407 like regenerative agriculture. 0:12:03.407,0:12:06.700 We have health systems, like Geisinger,[br]paying for food pharmacies, 0:12:06.700,0:12:09.772 giving diabetics $2,400 a year in food 0:12:09.772,0:12:13.243 and reducing healthcare costs by 80%. 0:12:13.883,0:12:18.381 We have countries, like Chile, being brave[br]and going up against the food industry 0:12:18.381,0:12:21.505 with 18% soda tax. 0:12:21.505,0:12:26.288 They've eliminated food marketing[br]on TV, radio, in print, in movie theaters. 0:12:26.288,0:12:28.585 They put warning labels,[br]like on cigarette boxes, 0:12:28.585,0:12:29.813 on the front of cereals, 0:12:29.813,0:12:31.945 and they've gotten rid[br]of cartoon characters. 0:12:31.945,0:12:34.440 They've killed Tony the Tiger. 0:12:34.440,0:12:36.506 (Laughter) 0:12:36.506,0:12:41.100 So there are some things we cannot change, 0:12:41.100,0:12:42.428 but this we change. 0:12:42.428,0:12:46.571 We vote three times a day with our fork. 0:12:47.001,0:12:49.765 What we do to our bodies,[br]we do to the planet. 0:12:49.905,0:12:52.897 What we do to the planet,[br]we do to our bodies. 0:12:53.437,0:12:59.437 It's time that we step up and speak[br]and act about things that matter, 0:12:59.437,0:13:02.014 and food matters most. 0:13:02.014,0:13:03.305 Thank you. 0:13:03.305,0:13:05.004 (Applause)