0:00:00.423,0:00:05.309
Last year, I was living with[br]this indigenous family in India.

0:00:06.547,0:00:08.228
One afternoon,

0:00:08.252,0:00:10.680
the young son was eating,

0:00:10.704,0:00:15.805
and at the sight of me,[br]he quickly hid his curry behind his back.

0:00:16.694,0:00:21.278
It took a lot of persuasion to get him[br]to show me what he was eating.

0:00:21.994,0:00:25.345
It turned out to be moth larvae,

0:00:25.369,0:00:28.748
a traditional delicacy[br]with the Madia indigenous people.

0:00:29.364,0:00:30.575
I cried,

0:00:30.599,0:00:33.067
"Oh my God, you're eating these!

0:00:33.091,0:00:35.421
I hope there's a little left for me!"

0:00:36.466,0:00:38.928
I saw disbelief in the boy's eyes.

0:00:38.952,0:00:40.833
"You ... eat these?"

0:00:42.388,0:00:45.338
"I love these," I replied.

0:00:46.513,0:00:49.846
I could see he did not trust me one bit.

0:00:50.678,0:00:55.413
How could an urban, educated woman[br]like the same food as him?

0:00:56.562,0:01:00.277
Later, I broached the subject[br]with his father,

0:01:00.301,0:01:03.388
and it turned out to be[br]a mighty touchy affair.

0:01:04.793,0:01:06.831
He said things like,

0:01:06.855,0:01:10.190
"Oh, only this son of mine[br]likes to eat it.

0:01:10.214,0:01:13.084
We tell him, 'Give it up. It's bad.'

0:01:13.108,0:01:14.978
He doesn't listen, you see.

0:01:15.002,0:01:18.275
We gave up eating all this ages back."

0:01:19.763,0:01:21.831
"Why?" I asked.

0:01:22.752,0:01:25.126
"This is your traditional food.

0:01:26.108,0:01:28.700
It is available in your environment,

0:01:28.724,0:01:30.170
it is nutritious,

0:01:30.194,0:01:32.898
and -- I can vouch for it -- delicious.

0:01:33.584,0:01:35.554
Why is it wrong to eat it?"

0:01:36.768,0:01:38.437
The man fell silent.

0:01:39.360,0:01:40.529
I asked,

0:01:40.998,0:01:45.343
"Have you been told that your food is bad,

0:01:45.367,0:01:48.472
that to eat it is backward,

0:01:48.496,0:01:49.984
not civilized?"

0:01:51.960,0:01:53.683
He nodded silently.

0:01:55.069,0:02:01.209
This was one of the many, many times[br]in my work with indigenous people in India

0:02:01.233,0:02:03.537
that I witnessed shame around food,

0:02:04.545,0:02:08.171
shame that the food you love to eat,

0:02:08.195,0:02:11.372
the food that has been[br]eaten for generations,

0:02:11.396,0:02:13.416
is somehow inferior,

0:02:13.440,0:02:14.813
even subhuman.

0:02:16.008,0:02:21.152
And this shame is not limited[br]to out-of-the-way, icky foods

0:02:21.176,0:02:23.997
like insects or rats, maybe,

0:02:24.021,0:02:27.203
but extends to regular foods:

0:02:27.227,0:02:29.219
white vegetables,

0:02:29.243,0:02:32.035
mushrooms, flowers --

0:02:32.059,0:02:36.403
basically, anything that is foraged[br]rather than cultivated.

0:02:37.172,0:02:40.708
In indigenous India,[br]this shame is omnipresent.

0:02:41.946,0:02:43.700
Anything can trigger it.

0:02:44.308,0:02:49.194
One upper-caste vegetarian schoolmaster[br]gets appointed in a school,

0:02:49.218,0:02:53.666
within weeks, children are telling[br]their parents it's yucky to eat crabs

0:02:53.690,0:02:55.364
or sinful to eat meat.

0:02:56.202,0:03:00.272
A government nutrition program[br]serves fluffy white rice,

0:03:00.296,0:03:03.392
now no one wants to eat[br]red rice or millets.

0:03:03.984,0:03:08.798
A nonprofit reaches this village with[br]an ideal diet chart for pregnant women.

0:03:09.344,0:03:10.640
There you go.

0:03:10.664,0:03:13.015
All the expectant mothers are feeling sad

0:03:13.039,0:03:15.581
that they cannot afford apples and crepes.

0:03:16.009,0:03:19.219
And people just kind of forget the fruits

0:03:19.243,0:03:21.492
that can be picked off the forest floor.

0:03:22.611,0:03:23.999
Health workers,

0:03:25.086,0:03:27.206
religious missionaries,

0:03:27.230,0:03:29.668
random government employees

0:03:29.692,0:03:32.664
and even their own educated children

0:03:32.688,0:03:37.264
are literally shouting it down[br]at the indigenous people

0:03:37.288,0:03:40.562
that their food is not good enough,

0:03:40.586,0:03:42.238
not civilized enough.

0:03:43.480,0:03:46.024
And so food keeps disappearing,

0:03:46.972,0:03:48.519
a little bit at a time.

0:03:49.836,0:03:54.185
I'm wondering if you all[br]have ever considered

0:03:54.209,0:03:57.754
whether your communities would have[br]a similar history around food.

0:03:59.468,0:04:02.671
If you were to talk[br]to your 90-year-old grandmother,

0:04:03.587,0:04:07.493
would she talk about foods[br]that you have never seen or heard of?

0:04:08.631,0:04:11.390
Are you aware how much[br]of your community's food

0:04:11.414,0:04:13.280
is no longer available to you?

0:04:14.652,0:04:16.488
Local experts tell me

0:04:16.512,0:04:22.374
that the South African food economy[br]is now entirely based on imported foods.

0:04:23.493,0:04:25.637
Corn has become the staple,

0:04:25.661,0:04:31.635
while the local sorghum, millets,[br]bulbs and tubers are all gone.

0:04:32.384,0:04:35.406
So are the wild legumes and vegetables,

0:04:35.430,0:04:39.058
while people eat potatoes and onions,[br]cabbages and carrots.

0:04:39.921,0:04:41.771
In my country,

0:04:41.795,0:04:44.598
this loss of food is colossal.

0:04:45.077,0:04:49.144
Modern India is stuck with rice, wheat

0:04:49.168,0:04:51.352
and diabetes.

0:04:52.220,0:04:57.401
And we have totally forgotten foods[br]like huge varieties of tubers,

0:04:57.425,0:05:01.260
tree saps, fish, shellfish,

0:05:01.284,0:05:03.176
oil seeds,

0:05:03.200,0:05:07.285
mollusks, mushrooms, insects,

0:05:07.309,0:05:10.436
small, nonendangered animal meats,

0:05:10.460,0:05:14.629
all of which used to be available[br]right within our surroundings.

0:05:15.804,0:05:17.645
So where has this food gone?

0:05:18.630,0:05:21.719
Why are our modern food baskets so narrow?

0:05:22.895,0:05:29.044
We could talk about the complex[br]political economic and ecological reasons,

0:05:29.068,0:05:33.349
but I am here to talk about[br]this more human phenomenon of shame,

0:05:34.590,0:05:38.315
because shame is the crucial point

0:05:38.339,0:05:42.438
at which food actually[br]disappears off your plate.

0:05:43.444,0:05:44.900
What does shame do?

0:05:45.845,0:05:48.512
Shame makes you feel small,

0:05:48.536,0:05:50.071
sad,

0:05:50.095,0:05:51.317
not worthy,

0:05:51.341,0:05:52.715
subhuman.

0:05:53.543,0:05:57.549
Shame creates a cognitive dissonance.

0:05:58.115,0:05:59.906
It distorts food stories.

0:06:00.963,0:06:02.676
Let us take this example.

0:06:03.549,0:06:05.793
How would you like to have

0:06:06.742,0:06:08.945
a wonderful, versatile staple

0:06:09.817,0:06:13.113
that is available abundantly[br]in your environment?

0:06:13.137,0:06:15.298
All you have to do is gather it,

0:06:15.322,0:06:17.695
dry it, store it,

0:06:17.719,0:06:20.093
and you have it for your whole year

0:06:20.117,0:06:24.033
to cook as many different[br]kinds of dishes as you want with it.

0:06:24.701,0:06:28.516
India had just such a food,[br]called "mahua,"

0:06:28.540,0:06:29.981
this flower over there.

0:06:30.989,0:06:34.895
And I have been researching this food[br]for the past three years now.

0:06:35.651,0:06:40.230
It is known to be highly nutritious[br]in indigenous tradition

0:06:40.254,0:06:42.311
and in scientific knowledge.

0:06:43.130,0:06:44.997
For the indigenous,

0:06:45.021,0:06:49.398
it used to be a staple[br]for four to six months a year.

0:06:50.739,0:06:54.447
In many ways, it is very similar[br]to your local marula,

0:06:54.471,0:06:57.403
except that it is a flower, not a fruit.

0:06:58.236,0:07:00.169
Where the forests are rich,

0:07:00.193,0:07:03.548
people can still get enough to eat[br]for the whole year

0:07:03.572,0:07:05.441
and enough spare to sell.

0:07:06.292,0:07:11.273
I found 35 different dishes with mahua

0:07:11.297,0:07:13.971
that no one cooks anymore.

0:07:15.225,0:07:19.860
This food is no longer[br]even recognized as a food,

0:07:19.884,0:07:22.036
but as raw material for liquor.

0:07:23.162,0:07:25.830
You could be arrested[br]for having it in your house.

0:07:26.417,0:07:28.597
Reason? Shame.

0:07:29.211,0:07:32.646
I talked to indigenous people[br]all over India

0:07:32.670,0:07:35.211
about why mahua is no longer eaten.

0:07:35.701,0:07:38.173
And I got the exact same answer.

0:07:39.237,0:07:42.484
"Oh, we used to eat it[br]when we were dirt-poor and starving.

0:07:43.405,0:07:45.224
Why should we eat it now?

0:07:45.248,0:07:47.375
We have rice or wheat."

0:07:48.574,0:07:50.869
And almost in the same breath,

0:07:50.893,0:07:54.111
people also tell me[br]how nutritious mahua is.

0:07:54.835,0:07:58.500
There are always stories of elders[br]who used to eat mahua.

0:07:59.222,0:08:03.186
"This grandmother of ours,[br]she had 10 children,

0:08:03.210,0:08:07.543
and still she used to work so hard,[br]never tired, never sick."

0:08:08.896,0:08:13.584
The exact same dual narrative[br]every single where.

0:08:14.634,0:08:15.865
How come?

0:08:16.442,0:08:18.648
How does the same food

0:08:18.672,0:08:23.764
get to be seen as very nutritious[br]and a poverty food,

0:08:23.788,0:08:25.706
almost in the same sentence?

0:08:26.822,0:08:28.906
Same goes for other forest foods.

0:08:29.653,0:08:32.612
I have heard story[br]after heartrending story

0:08:32.636,0:08:35.528
of famine and starvation,

0:08:35.552,0:08:39.376
of people surviving on trash[br]foraged out of the forest,

0:08:40.455,0:08:42.001
because there was no food.

0:08:43.207,0:08:45.272
If I dig a little deeper,

0:08:45.296,0:08:49.029
it turns out the lack[br]was not of food per se

0:08:49.053,0:08:51.586
but of something respectable like rice.

0:08:52.396,0:08:54.061
I asked them,

0:08:54.085,0:08:57.838
"How did you learn[br]that your so-called trash is edible?

0:08:59.141,0:09:03.878
Who told you that certain[br]bitter tubers can be sweetened

0:09:03.902,0:09:06.213
by leaving them in a stream overnight?

0:09:07.380,0:09:10.395
Or how to take the meat[br]out of a snail shell?

0:09:10.419,0:09:12.869
Or how to set a trap for a wild rat?"

0:09:14.085,0:09:17.327
That is when they start[br]scratching their heads,

0:09:17.351,0:09:20.487
and they realize that they learned it[br]from their own elders,

0:09:21.347,0:09:27.265
that their ancestors had lived[br]and thrived on these foods for centuries

0:09:27.289,0:09:29.470
before rice came their way,

0:09:29.494,0:09:32.529
and were way healthier[br]than their own generation.

0:09:34.029,0:09:36.318
So this is how food works,

0:09:37.898,0:09:39.467
how shame works:

0:09:39.491,0:09:45.857
making food and food traditions disappear[br]from people's lives and memories

0:09:45.881,0:09:48.051
without their even realizing it.

0:09:49.971,0:09:52.914
So how do we undo this trend?

0:09:53.847,0:09:59.882
How do we reclaim our beautiful[br]and complex systems of natural food,

0:10:01.017,0:10:05.818
food given to us lovingly by Mother Earth[br]according to her own rhythm,

0:10:06.718,0:10:10.864
food prepared by our foremothers with joy

0:10:10.888,0:10:13.768
and are eaten by our forefathers[br]with gratitude,

0:10:14.786,0:10:19.487
food that is healthy, local, natural,

0:10:19.511,0:10:22.311
varied, delicious,

0:10:22.335,0:10:25.312
not requiring cultivation,

0:10:25.336,0:10:27.477
not damaging our ecology,

0:10:27.501,0:10:29.106
not costing a thing?

0:10:30.360,0:10:32.210
We all need this food,

0:10:32.234,0:10:35.338
and I don't think I have to tell you why.

0:10:36.489,0:10:40.093
I don't have to tell you[br]about the global health crisis,

0:10:40.117,0:10:42.659
climate change, water crisis,

0:10:42.683,0:10:44.023
soil fatigue,

0:10:44.047,0:10:46.039
collapsing agricultural systems,

0:10:46.063,0:10:47.218
all that.

0:10:48.040,0:10:52.333
But for me, equally important reasons[br]why we need these foods

0:10:52.357,0:10:54.139
are the deeply felt ones,

0:10:55.059,0:10:57.652
because food is so many things, you see.

0:10:58.355,0:11:02.072
Food is nourishment, comfort,

0:11:02.096,0:11:04.861
creativity, community,

0:11:04.885,0:11:08.610
pleasure, safety, identity

0:11:08.634,0:11:09.992
and so much more.

0:11:10.708,0:11:13.097
How we connect with our food

0:11:13.121,0:11:15.189
defines so much in our lives.

0:11:15.745,0:11:18.280
It defines how we connect with our bodies,

0:11:19.027,0:11:21.391
because our bodies are ultimately food.

0:11:22.192,0:11:25.759
It defines our basic sense of connection

0:11:25.783,0:11:27.326
with our existence.

0:11:28.464,0:11:31.501
We need these foods most today

0:11:31.525,0:11:35.376
to be able to redefine our space as humans

0:11:35.400,0:11:37.677
within the natural scheme of things.

0:11:38.507,0:11:41.169
And are we needing[br]such a redefinition today?

0:11:43.692,0:11:47.682
For me, the only real answer is love,

0:11:49.261,0:11:54.247
because love is the only thing[br]that counters shame.

0:11:55.571,0:12:00.499
And how do we bring more of this love[br]into our connections with our food?

0:12:02.285,0:12:06.065
For me, love is, in a big way,

0:12:06.089,0:12:09.857
about the willingness[br]to slow down,

0:12:10.826,0:12:14.193
to take the time to feel,

0:12:14.217,0:12:18.470
sense, listen, inquire.

0:12:19.704,0:12:22.188
It could be listening to our own bodies.

0:12:22.875,0:12:29.587
What do they need[br]beneath our food habits, beliefs

0:12:30.188,0:12:31.565
and addictions?

0:12:32.488,0:12:36.497
It could be taking time out[br]to examine those beliefs.

0:12:37.159,0:12:38.756
Where did they come from?

0:12:39.586,0:12:42.115
It could be going back into our childhood.

0:12:43.012,0:12:44.719
What foods did we love then,

0:12:45.577,0:12:47.107
and what has changed?

0:12:47.940,0:12:53.038
It could be spending[br]a quiet evening with an elder,

0:12:53.062,0:12:55.748
listening to their food memories,

0:12:55.772,0:12:58.697
maybe even helping them[br]cook something they love

0:12:58.721,0:13:00.162
and sharing a meal.

0:13:02.035,0:13:06.251
Love could be about remembering

0:13:06.275,0:13:08.433
that humanity is vast

0:13:08.457,0:13:10.279
and food choices differ.

0:13:11.018,0:13:14.782
It could be about showing[br]respect and curiosity

0:13:14.806,0:13:16.663
instead of censure

0:13:16.687,0:13:20.375
when we see somebody enjoying[br]a really unfamiliar food.

0:13:22.344,0:13:25.647
Love could be taking the time to inquire,

0:13:26.591,0:13:28.423
to dig up information,

0:13:28.447,0:13:30.326
reach out for connections.

0:13:31.233,0:13:34.598
It could even be[br]a quiet walk in the fynbos

0:13:35.485,0:13:39.969
to see if a certain plant[br]speaks up to you.

0:13:39.993,0:13:41.159
That happens.

0:13:41.183,0:13:42.793
They speak to me all the time.

0:13:44.940,0:13:46.493
And most of all,

0:13:46.517,0:13:51.271
love is to trust that[br]these little exploratory steps

0:13:51.295,0:13:54.812
have the potential to lead us[br]to something larger,

0:13:55.738,0:13:58.605
sometimes to really surprising answers.

0:13:59.756,0:14:02.981
An indigenous medicine woman once told me

0:14:03.005,0:14:06.454
that love is to walk on Mother Earth

0:14:06.478,0:14:08.859
as her most beloved child,

0:14:10.108,0:14:14.866
to trust that she values[br]an honest intention

0:14:14.890,0:14:17.044
and knows how to guide our steps.

0:14:17.808,0:14:19.882
I hope I have inspired you

0:14:19.906,0:14:23.453
to start reconnecting[br]with the food of your ancestors.

0:14:23.477,0:14:24.936
Thank you for listening.

0:14:24.960,0:14:27.141
(Applause)