Comments on: Q&A with Chef Dan Barber: Can organic farming feed the world?

By: organic maca root powder

organic maca root powder — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 08:25:19 +0000

Good article, you put all the information about the organic food which is very helpful & give detail information about the organic farming.

By: SHERRI ATLAS

SHERRI ATLAS — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 00:31:26 +0000

Dan, I so enjoy your perspective and am enlightened by your talent. I just made the cumin crusted carrot cutlet with (grass fed) icelandic leg of lamb steak and apricot orange reduction.
It was yum! I also did it gluten free ( which I am) and it was delicious
No guilt here, ( I am from the same tribe) and after losing my husband 5 years ago while on a trip to Napa ( he had everything, high blood pressure, cholestrol, and predisposition to diabetes), I don’t let guilt into my orbit.
Continue with all you great work and integrity. I would love to come to your restaurant the next time I am in New York.
Thanks for your recipe
Best,
Sherri Atlas

By: Sustainable Farming | Growing the Classroom

Sustainable Farming | Growing the Classroom — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 08:58:35 +0000

[...] http://blog.ted.com/2010/03/17/qa_with_chef_da/ [...]

By: Mike McCabe

Mike McCabe — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:30:38 +0000

Sweetwater Organic Farm is definitely progressive and interesting, but how can it come close to the scene where Mr. Barber talks about the pink flamingos in this video:
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/dan_barber_how_i_fell_in_love_with_a_fish.html

By: Ernst Koepke

Ernst Koepke — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 07:24:05 +0000

Hallo friends, organic farming is the oldest way of farming – why did it change? It was not able to feed all humans everywhere. To want to change the whole world into this typ of food production, let the experts start in regions that are not favoured by good climate and healthy eaters that can afford higher food prices. Let these scientist do organic farming in the Sandhills of Nebraska – to stay in the country, and where wealthy customers can afford “organic food” – not speaking of many countries in say Africa, where “organic waste” to fertilize the soil is not “waste” at all, but food for animals and or heating material.
Thus, before “being forced to enter a new system” – think worldwide of locally availbale potentials. There is an UN-Organization for Agriculture, FAO, ask them about their views.
Good luck, Ernst Koepke, Germany

By: Hala Chaoui

Hala Chaoui — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:11:02 +0000

It’s so true, conventional agriculture have been over exploiting water, mined phosphorous, and NPK salts destroyed microbial activity in the soil. A soil has to be biological active to be porous (necessary for plant roots to breath), and fertile on a long term. Without the aggregation that occurs because of exudates from microbes, the soil becomes dust and erodes. This not too mention pesticide resistance in pests due to pesticide-tolerant GMO, which allowed farmers to over-use pesticides. Of course there’s also the non-target carcinogenic effects of pesticides. It’s a pyramid scam because agriculture operates today as if fresh water, soil and phosphorous were in unlimited supply while they are not.

According to a 21 years study by Mader, published in Science (2001), organic farming on the other hand uses natural resources efficiently and obtains plant nutrients from recycled organic matter (a renewable resource). It’s wonder Chef Dan Barber is annoyed with the question “can organic farming feed the world”, it’s the only thing that can save the world. Like many agricultural engineers I try to clear the misconception that organic farming needs to be low tech. With other researchers, I published a paper and a website to demonstrate the technologies designed for organic farming, and what drives their design:

http://asae.frymulti.com/abstract.asp?aid=25354&t=2
http://www.bioagengineering.net

I am also developing appliances to recycle kitchen waste into urban organic gardens: http://www.urbanfarmsorganic.com

By: magda rittenhouse

magda rittenhouse — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

A lot of good food for thought (:>). One more point to consider: as more and more farmers all over the globe are forced to migrate into cities (and there are quite a few interesting TED talks on the issue) we are being told it is inevitable, because small, family farms are inefficient. Well, maybe most of them are not able to produce much beyond a few cobs of corn (or bowls of rice), just enought to feed their own family. It may seem that large, mechanized farms make more sense… Yet, thinking how many of those farmers end up unemployed, in squatter cities, totally dependent on handouts and international aid (Haiti is a very good example), perhaps we should rethink efficient? And factor sustainable into this equation?

By: Allison Hunt

Allison Hunt — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

This is SO good! I’m going to Stone Barn farms this weekend. CanNOT wait.

By: Maria Popova

Maria Popova — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Great interview, June. Dan’s talk was one of my top three (http://is.gd/9hiNP) this year.

I was, however, surprised that he didn’t mention Will Allen’s (who by the way should absolutely be a TED speaker) Sweetwater Organic farm in Milwakee http://is.gd/aMw2S arguably the most progressive sustainable fish farm in terms of its holistic approach to health in the broadest sense human, food and ecosystem. If Dan Barber is the Michael Pollan of fish farming, then Sweetwater should’ve been the Polyface Farm of his talk.

I’d love to see Barber publish a more sophisticated guide to choosing seafood in a sustainable way. I know Seafood Watch (http://is.gd/aMwh6) has one, but I suspect Barber would have a lot of insight to add.

By: Stephan Fassmann

Stephan Fassmann — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Food is a big concern in many ways, but I recently ran across the permaculture technique that is amazing. Look up the Devaes family and see how they are produce 75% of their food on 1/10 acre in the middle of the city.
It basically layers food producing plants, from roots underground to trees forming a canopy. It is amazing stuff it creates a food forest in your backyard. Producing food most of the year.