I watched a great TED presentation today at lunch by architect Carolyn Steel—except she wasn’t talking about steel skyscrapers, she was talking about food. More specifically, Steel examines how food has shaped our cities over the course of civil history.
It gets really interesting when she also shows us the moment in time when the relationship (begun 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent) changed irrevocably. Funny how a little thing like the steam engine altered the course of civil history within a decade (maybe less).
As summer appears on the horizon (or, if you live in the Pacific Northwest, spring appears on the horizon) and its bounty begins to flood our farmers’ markets, it’s important to remember just how important they were to our survival for so long—and, if Carolyn Steel is right, how critical they are for the future. Enjoy!
