One of the key points that I took away from this Ted Talk is that nothing about our food system is simple – it is a complicated web with many different factors that cause people to have vastly different experiences and relationships with food. Because of this, everyone’s relationship with food is individualized, which can be tricky to navigate when making generalizations about certain communities. I agree that racism is a huge issue in our food system, especially it seems like in the United States. Watching this Ted Talk made me realize that I have never seen a farmer that is a person of color depicted in any sort of media. Typically, whenever a farmer is depicted in a movie or show, they are a white man, even though that is not even historically accurate. It is a really good point that enslaved people in the 1700s and 1800s were hugely important to the creation and success of the United States as a country.
I definitely agree with the idea that food impacts basically every aspect of our lives – from how we socialize with people to where we decide to live. I personally have noticed that food has a big impact on my mental health – I feel much happier, less stressed, and more grounded when I make a point to eat whole foods that are as minimally processed as possible. It’s funny because everyone eats food, but I feel like not many people actually stop and think about what they are eating. Where did their food come from, who grew and processed their food, what nutrients are in their food, and how does it affect them? I would be curious to learn about ways people/organizations are raising basic awareness about our food system.