Monday, October 5

a relevent yet vexing ted talk

In today's ted talk, Carolyn Steel describes in brief the history of the problem: how are cities fed?
she points out grandly vague problems with the relationship between food and post industrial urban centers. especially horrible is suburbia, which she sets forth as the archetype for western living/eating and criticizes with hyperbolized blanket statements.

i found this lecture profoundly irritating because she criticizes a current state of affairs that everyone in the ted lecture room understands full well, but does nothing to address what could be done. instead, she tries to rouse our excitement with a rebranding of the word utopia.

She ends her lecture by juxtaposing a city with an industrial grain field that is then replaced by trees. i have no idea what she means with this image, as her words are rather vague. is she urging us to return to the forrest? to swing though the canopy in search of fruit?

Steel presents nothing resemblant of a concrete suggestion as to how we might improve the current situation. rather she seems to be arguing for a return to the past urban/food dynamics, or some exteamly vague neo-utopic idealism.

- Ben K

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