We’re having TED talk fever here in the office and want to share another of our favorite talks with you. Dan Barber transported us to Spain in order to explore a beautiful example of a sustainable food ecosystem: the Veta La Palma ecological watershed and aquaculture facility.

Dan’s mantra is that “we need a radically new conception of agriculture…one in which the food actually tastes good!” Dan’s point is that by creating healthy, vital conditions with which to grow food, this food ultimately tastes much better than conventionally produced food.

He tours us through Veta La Palma, an ecological watershed that presents a new model for sustainable aquaculture. The system at Veta La Palma teaches us many things:

1. Always leave things better than you found them. The water in Veta La Palma is so rich in phytoplankton and algae that the water that runs through this fish farm is actually cleaner when it flows out.

2. Farmers should be in the business of relationships, not mass production. Miguel, the purveyor of Veta La Palma considers himself a master of relationships. Every day, he facilitates the complex relationship in the Veta La Palma ecosystem and how they work together to create a rich, dense and complex ecosystem.

3. Judge success by the predators that feed on a crop. The pink herons that amass on Veta La Palma feed off of the multitude of fish there. This relationship is actually considered a positive attribute that stimulates the ecosystem. Some fish are lost, but the natural system is ultimately strengthened. We are reminded that nature is a very complex system that must be treated with intelligence and finesse. (Compare this with the philosophy that has guided pesticide use through the last 100 years or so.)

Dan then poses the age-old question: How do we feed the world? We need to first learn how to feed ourselves with healthy, vibrant food. Then, we can create the conditions for every community to feed itself. This thought echoes Jamie Oliver’s effort in many ways (see previous post): we need a lasting and sustainable demand to facilitate the larger, critical shift in agricultural strategy. If people begin to take interest in their own health by learning what they put in their bodies and where it comes from, then we will ultimately catalyze the health of our planet.

Now the question is how quickly can we make all this happen? (We’re working on it!)