Food for thought
Jamie Oliver’s TED Prize Speech
Our friend Kass Lazerow turned us on to Jamie Oliver’s award speech at the recent TED Conference. Oliver has started a movement in Britain and the United States to educate families about nutrition and cooking in an effort to fight the obesity epidemic. He’s visiting schools, grocery stores and family living rooms–literally and via his new TV show “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution”–to discuss the problem and teach simple steps to a healthier diet.
Oliver’s TED speech is worth watching because he identifies the slide of American eating habits from home cooked meals to fast food and outlines an approach for change. Schools are central to his plan–he advocates teaching cooking in class in addition to improving the meals served, especially important since many kids eat breakfast and lunch at school. Oliver shares powerful footage of his visits to classrooms where the lack of food knowledge is striking, and how simple programs like his work in West Virginia can make a big change in children’s health.
The TED Prize grants recipients a chance to pursue their wish to change the world. Oliver’s wish is to further his work with American families, schools and corporations to educate and change the way we eat. Oliver is an inspiring reminder for us to pay more attention and not succumb to the food industry–as he encourages, “America needs to stand up for better food!”
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