Seeds - The Buried Beginnings of Food: Simran Sethi at TEDxManhattan

The buried foundations of food and future-food are slowly disappearing. Environmental journalist Simran Sethi takes us beneath our plates to explore the erosion of what we grow and eat. Through an exploration of agricultural biodiversity, seed monocultures and consolidation, and the small-scale farmers who continue to grow much of the world's food, Simran explains what we all can do to ensure the security and sovereignty of our seed and food. Named one of the top ten "eco-heroes" of the planet by the UK's Independent and lauded as the "environmental messenger" by Vanity Fair, Simran Sethi is an award-winning journalist, strategist and educator. She is the founder and curator of the website Metamorphose, an interdisciplinary exploration of the personal and cultural dimensions of transformation. Simran is the contributing author of "Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy," winner of the bronze 2008 Axiom Award for Best Business Ethics Book. She has written about sustainability for Huffington Post, Metropolis Magazine, Oprah.com and the Guggenheim Museum. Simran is the former environmental correspondent for NBC News and was a featured guest on NPR and programs including the "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "Today Show." She has spoken about the intersection of food and culture in Italy, Turkey, France and throughout the United States. She has presented at institutions ranging from the Commonwealth Club to Cornell University; keynoted conferences including the 140 Character Conference, the Green Business Conference and the North American Association For Environmental Education conference; and moderated panels for the White House sustainability symposium GreenGov and Clinton Global Initiative University. Simran is committed to a redefinition of environmentalism that includes voices from urban centers and rural communities. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)