TED2007
Michael Pollan: A plant's-eye view
Michael Pollan ne invită să privim lumea din perspectiva unei plante
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Ce-ar fi dacă conștiința umana nu ar fi inceputul si sfarsitul Darwinismului? Daca suntem doar niste pioni in jocul de strategie al porumbului in incercarea lui de a domina Pamantul? Scriitorul Michael Pollan ne invita sa privim lumea din perspectiva unei plante.
Michael Pollan - Environmental writer
Michael Pollan is the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, in which he explains how our food not only affects our health but has far-reaching political, economic, and environmental implications. His new book is In Defense of Food. Full bio
Michael Pollan is the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, in which he explains how our food not only affects our health but has far-reaching political, economic, and environmental implications. His new book is In Defense of Food. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:18
It's a simple idea about nature.
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Este o idee simpla despre natura
00:20
I want to say a word for nature
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si vreau sa spun ceva despre natura
00:22
because we haven't talked that much about it the last couple days.
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pentru ca nu am vorbit prea mult despre ea in ultimele zile.
00:24
I want to say a word for the soil and the bees and the plants and the animals,
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Vreau sa spun un cuvant despre sol si despre albine si plante si animale.
00:29
and tell you about a tool, a very simple tool that I have found.
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Si sa va spun despre o unealta, o foarte simpla unealta pe care am gasit-o.
00:34
Although it's really nothing more than a literary conceit; it's not a technology.
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Desi nu este altceva decat o pretentiozitate literara -nu este o tehnologie-
00:39
It's very powerful for, I think, changing our relationship to the natural world
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este foarte puternica pentru, cred, modul in care schimba relatia noastra cu natura
00:45
and to the other species on whom we depend.
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si cu celelalte specii de care depindem.
00:48
And that tool is very simply, as Chris suggested,
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Si aceasta unealta este, foarte simplu, asa cum a sugerat Chris,
00:51
looking at us and the world from the plants' or the animals' point of view.
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modul in care ne privim si privim lumea din perspectiva plantelor si animalelor.
00:56
It's not my idea, other people have hit on it,
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Aceasta nu este o idee proprie, alti oameni au mai utilizat-o,
01:00
but I've tried to take it to some new places.
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dar am incercat sa o dezvolt.
01:04
Let me tell you where I got it.
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Dati-mi voie sa va spun de unde mi-a venit.
01:06
Like a lot of my ideas, like a lot of the tools I use,
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Precum multe din ideile mele, precum multe din instrumentele pe care le folosesc,
01:09
I found it in the garden; I'm a very devoted gardener.
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am gasit-o in gradina. Sunt un gradinar foarte devotat.
01:13
And there was a day about seven years ago: I was planting potatoes,
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Si intr-o zi, aproximativ acum sapte ani, plantam cartofi.
01:17
it was the first week of May --
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Era prima zi din Mai.
01:19
this is New England, when the apple trees are just vibrating with bloom;
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Eram in New England, in perioada in care merii vibrau de floare.
01:24
they're just white clouds above.
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Sunt ca niste nori albi deasupra.
01:26
I was here, planting my chunks,
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Eram acolo, plantand,
01:29
cutting up potatoes and planting it,
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taind cartofii si plantandu-i.
01:31
and the bees were working on this tree;
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Si albinele lucrau in acest pom.
01:34
bumblebees, just making this thing vibrate.
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Bondarii zumzaiau, facand totul sa vibreze
01:36
And one of the things I really like about gardening
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Si unul din lucrurile care imi plac cu adevarat la gradinarit
01:39
is that it doesn't take all your concentration,
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este faptul ca nu cere concentrare totala.
01:42
you really can't get hurt -- it's not like woodworking --
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Nu ai cum sa te ranesti. Este ca si lucratul in lemn.
01:44
and you have plenty of kind of mental space for speculation.
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Si poti--ai suficient de mult spatiu mental pentru speculatie.
01:48
And the question I asked myself that afternoon in the garden,
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Si intrebarea pe care mi-am pus-o in acea dupa-masa in gradina a fost--
01:52
working alongside that bumblebee,
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in timp ce lucram cot la cot cu bondarii--
01:55
was: what did I and that bumblebee have in common?
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"Ce avem noi in comun?"
01:59
How was our role in this garden similar and different?
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"Cum era rolul nostru in gradina similar si diferit?"
02:03
And I realized we actually had quite a bit in common:
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Si am realizat ca de fapt aveam chiar multe lucruri in comun.
02:05
both of us were disseminating the genes of one species and not another,
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Amandoi diseminam genele unei specii sau a alteia.
02:11
and both of us -- probably, if I can imagine the bee's point of view --
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Si amandoi, probabil, daca va puteti imagina perspectiva unei albine,
02:16
thought we were calling the shots.
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credeam ca noi suntem singurii in control.
02:18
I had decided what kind of potato I wanted to plant --
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Eu decisesem ce fel de cartof vroiam sa plantez.
02:22
I had picked my Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn, or whatever it was --
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Alesesem un Yukon Gold sau un Yellow Finn, ma rog, ce era.
02:26
and I had summoned those genes from a seed catalog across the country,
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Adunasem acele gene dintr-un catalog de seminte luat de prin tara,
02:31
brought it, and I was planting it.
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le-am cumparat si le plantam.
02:33
And that bee, no doubt, assumed that it had decided,
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Si albina, fara nici un dubiu, presupunea ca decisese
02:37
"I'm going for that apple tree, I'm going for that blossom,
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"Am sa merg la acel mar, la acea inflorescenta,
02:40
I'm going to get the nectar and I'm going to leave."
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Am sa merg sa iau nectarul si am sa plec.
02:43
We have a grammar that suggests that's who we are;
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Avem o gramatica ce ne sugereaza ca asta suntem,
02:48
that we are sovereign subjects in nature, the bee as well as me.
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ca suntem subiecti suverani in natura, albina, le fel ca si eu.
02:53
I plant the potatoes, I weed the garden, I domesticate the species.
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Plantez cartofii, curat gradina de buruieni, imblanzesc animale.
02:59
But that day, it occurred to me:
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Dar in acea zi, mi-am pus urmatoarea intrebare,
03:01
what if that grammar is nothing more than a self-serving conceit?
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ce-ar fi daca gramatica nu este altceva decat o metafora elaborata care se serveste pe sine insasi?
03:04
Because, of course, the bee thinks he's in charge or she's in charge,
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Pentru ca, bineninteles, albina crede ca ea are controlul.
03:08
but we know better.
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Si--noi intelegem mai bine cum stau lucrurile.
03:10
We know that what's going on between the bee and that flower
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Stim ca ceea ce se intampla intre albina si acea floare
03:14
is that bee has been cleverly manipulated by that flower.
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este faptul ca albina este manipulata foarte abil de catre acea floare.
03:18
And when I say manipulated, I'm talking about in a Darwinian sense, right?
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Si cand spun ca este manipulata, ma refer la intelegerea Darwiniana, nu?
03:21
I mean it has evolved a very specific set of traits --
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Adica, si-a dezvoltat un foarte specific set de caracteristici--
03:24
color, scent, flavor, pattern -- that has lured that bee in.
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culoare, parfum, gust, forma--care au atras albina
03:29
And the bee has been cleverly fooled into taking the nectar,
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Si albina a fost abil momita sa ia nectarul,
03:33
and also picking up some powder on its leg,
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si sa ia ceva "praf" pe piciorul ei,
03:36
and going off to the next blossom.
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si sa il transporte la urmatoarea inflorescenta.
03:38
The bee is not calling the shots.
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Albina nu este in control.
03:41
And I realized then, I wasn't either.
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Si mi-am dat seama ca nici eu nu eram.
03:43
I had been seduced by that potato and not another
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Fusesem sedus de acel cartof, si nu de altul,
03:46
into planting its -- into spreading its genes, giving it a little bit more habitat.
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sa il plantez-- sa ii raspandesc genele, dandu-i putin mai mult habitat.
03:51
And that's when I got the idea, which was, "Well, what would happen
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Si asa mi-a venit idea, si anume, ce-ar fi -- ce s-ar intampla
03:55
if we kind of looked at us from this point of view of these other species who are working on us?"
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daca ne-am uita la noi din punctul de vedere al altor specii care ne conduc?
03:58
And agriculture suddenly appeared to me not as an invention, not as a human technology,
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Si dintr-o data agricultura mi-a aparut nu ca o inventie, nu ca o tehnologie umana,
04:03
but as a co-evolutionary development
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cu sa si o dezvoltare co-evolutionara
04:05
in which a group of very clever species, mostly edible grasses, had exploited us,
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in care un grup de specii extrem de inteligente, majoritatea ierburi comestibile, ne-au exploatat
04:11
figured out how to get us to basically deforest the world.
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si si-au dat seama cum pot ele de fapt sa ne faca pe noi sa defrisam padurile.
04:16
The competition of grasses, right?
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Competitia ierburilor, nu?
04:19
And suddenly everything looked different.
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Si dintr-o data, totul arata diferit.
04:21
And suddenly mowing the lawn that day was a completely different experience.
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Si dintr-o data, tunsul ierbii in acea zi a fost o experienta total diferita.
04:25
I had thought always -- and in fact, had written this in my first book;
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Am crezut intotdeauna, de fapt am si scris asta in prima mea carte--
04:28
this was a book about gardening --
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si acea carte a fost despre gradinarit--
04:29
that lawns were nature under culture's boot,
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ca pajistile erau natura sub cizma civilizatiei.
04:34
that they were totalitarian landscapes,
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Ca erau peisaje totalitare.
04:36
and that when we mowed them we were cruelly suppressing the species
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Si atunci cand le tundeam le suprimam crud speciile
04:40
and never letting it set seed or die or have sex.
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si ca nu le dadeam voie sa dea samanta, sa moara sau sa se inmulteasca.
04:44
And that's what the lawn was.
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Si asta era pajistea din fata casei.
04:46
But then I realized, "No, this is exactly what the grasses want us to do.
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Dar apoi mi-am dat seama ca "Nu, asta este exact ceea ce ierburile vor ca noi sa facem.
04:50
I'm a dupe. I'm a dupe of the lawns, whose goal in life is to outcompete the trees,
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Sunt victima unui truc. Sunt manipulat de catre pajisti al caror scop este sa depaseasca numarul copacilor,
04:57
who they compete with for sunlight."
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cu care se afla in competitie- cu care se afla in rivalitate pentru soare."
05:00
And so by getting us to mow the lawn, we keep the trees from coming back,
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Asa ca lasandu-ne sa le tundem, pajistile se protejeaza de aparitia copacilor,
05:04
which in New England happens very, very quickly.
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ceea ce in New England se intampla foarte, foarte repede.
05:07
So I started looking at things this way
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Asa ca am inceput sa privesc lucrurile din aceasta perspectiva,
05:10
and wrote a whole book about it called "The Botany of Desire."
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si am scris o carte intreaga pe care am numit-o "Botanica Dorintei."
05:12
And I realized that in the same way you can look at a flower
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Si am realizat ca in acelasi fel in care ne uitam la o floare
05:16
and deduce all sorts of interesting things about the taste and the desires of bees --
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si deducem tot felul de lucruri interesante despre gusturile si dorintele albinelor,
05:21
that they like sweetness, that they like this color and not that color, that they like symmetry --
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ca lor le place dulceata si ca le place aceasta culoare si nu cealalta, ca le place aceasta simetrie.
05:27
what could we find out about ourselves by doing the same thing?
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ce am putea afla despre noi facand acelasi lucru?
05:30
That a certain kind of potato, a certain kind of drug,
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Ca un anume soi de cartof, un anumit tip de medicament,
05:33
a sativa-indica Cannabis cross has something to say about us.
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un hibrid de cannabis stativa-indica spune ceva despre noi.
05:39
And that, wouldn't this be kind of an interesting way to look at the world?
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Si asta-nu ar fi un mod interesant de a privi lumea?
05:44
Now, the test of any idea -- I said it was a literary conceit --
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Acum, piatra de incercare a oricarei idei-- am spus ca era o pretetiozitate literara--
05:48
is what does it get us?
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este, ce ne ofera?
05:51
And when you're talking about nature, which is really my subject as a writer,
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Si cand vorbesti despre natura, care este de fapt subiectul meu ca si scriitor,
05:55
how does it meet the Aldo Leopold test?
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cum--intruneste conditiile testului lui Aldo Leopold?
05:58
Which is, does it make us better citizens of the biotic community?
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Care pleaca de la intrebarea: "ne face acest lucru niste cetateni mai buni ai unei comunitati biotice?"
06:02
Get us to do things that leads to the support and perpetuation of the biota,
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ce ne impinge sa face lucruri care conduc spre suportul si perpetuarea biotei,
06:09
rather than its destruction?
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spre deosebire de distrugerea ei?
06:10
And I would submit that this idea does this.
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Si asa vrea sa afirm ca aceasta idee face acest lucru.
06:12
So, let me go through what you gain when you look at the world this way,
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Dati-mi deci voie sa trec in revista avantajele felului de a privi lumea din aceasta perspectiva,
06:15
besides some entertaining insights about human desire.
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spre deosebire de, stiu si eu, perspective amuzante cu privire la dorintele omului.
06:20
As an intellectual matter, looking at the world from other species' points of view
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Ca un subiect intelectual, a privi lumea din perspectiva altor specii
06:27
helps us deal with this weird anomaly,
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ne ajuta sa facem fata acestei anormalitati,
06:30
which is -- and this is in the realm of intellectual history --
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care este-- si asta este de domeniul istoriei intelectuale--
06:34
which is that we have this Darwinian revolution 150 years ago ...
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faptul ca am avut aceasta revolutie Darwiniana acum 150 de ani--
06:39
Ugh. Mini-Me. (Laughter)
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Ugh. Eu, in varianta mai mica--
06:44
We have this intellectual, this Darwinian revolution in which, thanks to Darwin,
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avem aceasta revolutie Darwiniana, prin care, multumita lui Darwin,
06:50
we figured out we are just one species among many;
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am reusit sa intelegem ca suntem doar o specie intre multe altele.
06:52
evolution is working on us the same way it's working on all the others;
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Evolutia actioneaza asupra noastra in acelasi fel in care actioneaza asupra tuturor celorlalte specii.
06:56
we are acted upon as well as acting;
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Actioneaza asupra noastra, si noi la randul nostru suntem agentii ei.
06:58
we are really in the fiber, the fabric of life.
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Suntem chiar in fibra, in textura vietii.
07:02
But the weird thing is, we have not absorbed this lesson 150 years later;
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Dar cu toate acestea, nu am absorbit aceasta lectie dupa 150 de ani.
07:06
none of us really believes this.
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Nici unul din noi nu crede cu adevarat acest lucru.
07:08
We are still Cartesians -- the children of Descartes --
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Suntem inca Cartezieni--copii lui Descartes--
07:13
who believe that subjectivity, consciousness, sets us apart;
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care cred ca subiectivitatea si constiinta ne aseaza intr-o postura diferita.
07:18
that the world is divided into subjects and objects;
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Si ca lumea e divizata intre subecti si obiecte.
07:21
that there is nature on one side, culture on another.
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Ca exista natura pe de o parte si cultura pe de alta.
07:24
As soon as you start seeing things from the plant's point of view or the animal's point of view,
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Imediat ce incepi sa vezi lucrurile din perspectiva unei plante sau a unui animal,
07:29
you realize that the real literary conceit is that --
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realizezi ca adevarata improvizatie literara este aceasta.
07:33
is the idea that nature is opposed to culture,
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Si anume--ideea ca natura si cultura sunt concepte opuse.
07:37
the idea that consciousness is everything --
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Ideea ca doar constiinta conteaza.
07:41
and that's another very important thing it does.
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Si acesta este un alt lucru demn de retinut.
07:44
Looking at the world from other species' points of view
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Privind lumea din perspecitva unei plante
07:47
is a cure for the disease of human self-importance.
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reprezinta o cura pentru bolnavicioasa nevoie de auto-importanta a speciei umane.
07:51
You suddenly realize that consciousness --
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Iti dai seama imediat ca constiinta,
07:56
which we value and we consider
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pe care o pretuim si o consideram, stiti si voi, cununa--
08:00
the crowning achievement of nature,
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incunuarea realizarilor naturii,
08:02
human consciousness -- is really just another set of tools for getting along in the world.
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constiinta umana este de fapt doar un alt set de unelte care ne permite sa ne intelegem in lume.
08:07
And it's kind of natural that we would think it was the best tool.
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Si e intr-un fel normal sa credem ca este cel mai bun instrument.
08:11
But, you know, there's a comedian who said,
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Dar, stiti si voi---vorba comediantului,
08:13
"Well, who's telling me that consciousness is so good and so important?
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"Deci, cine imi spune ca aceasta constiinta este un lucru bun si atat de important?
08:17
Well, consciousness."
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Pai, constiinta."
08:19
So when you look at the plants, you realize that there are other tools
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Deci cand te uiti la plante, realizezi ca esti unealta lor,
08:23
and they're just as interesting.
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si ca ele sunt la fel de interesante.
08:25
I'll give you two examples, also from the garden:
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Am sa va dau doua exemple, de asemenea din gradina.
08:29
lima beans. You know what a lima bean does when it's attacked by spider mites?
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Fasolea Lima. Stiti ce face o fasole lima cand este atacata de paianjenii acarieni?
08:34
It releases this volatile chemical that goes out into the world
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Produce acest miros care ajuns in natura
08:37
and summons another species of mite
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atrage alta specie de acarieni
08:40
that comes in and attacks the spider mite, defending the lima bean.
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care ataca paianjenii acarieni si apara fasolea lima.
08:44
So what plants have -- while we have consciousness, tool making, language,
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Deci ceea ce plantele au, asta in timp ce noi avem constiinta, capacitatea de crea unelte, limbaj,
08:50
they have biochemistry.
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ele au biochimie.
08:52
And they have perfected that to a degree far beyond what we can imagine.
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Si ele si-au perfectat-o intr-o masura greu de imaginat pentru noi.
08:57
Their complexity, their sophistication, is something to really marvel at,
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Si complexitatea lor, rafinamentul lor este ceva demn de admiratie.
09:02
and I think it's really the scandal of the Human Genome Project.
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Si cred ca este chiar scandalul proiectului "Genomul Uman."
09:04
You know, we went into it thinking, 40,000 or 50,000 human genes
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Stiti, am inceput proiectul crezand ca exista 40, 50.000 de gene umane.
09:09
and we came out with only 23,000.
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Si la sfarsitul proiectului am gasit abia 23.000.
09:13
Just to give you grounds for comparison, rice: 35,000 genes.
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Doar ca sa va dau cativa termeni de comparatie, orezul: 35.000 de gene.
09:21
So who's the more sophisticated species?
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Deci cine este cea mai sofisticata specie?
09:24
Well, we're all equally sophisticated.
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Suntem toti la fel de sofisticati.
09:25
We've been evolving just as long,
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Am evoluat--impreuna cu alte specii,
09:28
just along different paths.
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doar ca pe drumuri diferite.
09:31
So, cure for self-importance, way to sort of make us feel the Darwinian idea.
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Asa incat, e o cura pentru vanitate, un mod de a ne face sa simtim ideea lui Darwin.
09:39
And that's really what I do as a writer, as a storyteller,
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Si tocmai acest lucru il fac si eu ca si autor si povestitor,
09:42
is try to make people feel what we know and tell stories that actually
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este sa incerc sa fac oamenii sa rezoneze cu noi in ceea ce stim si sa spunem povesti care ne fac--
09:49
help us think ecologically.
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ne ajuta sa gandim ecologic.
09:50
Now, the other use of this is practical.
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Acum, cealalta intrebuintare este practica.
09:52
And I'm going to take you to a farm right now,
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Si am sa vorbesc-- am sa va duc la o ferma.
09:54
because I used this idea to develop my understanding of the food system
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Pentru ca am folosit aceasta idee sa dezvolt o intelegere proprie a sistemului de hrana.
09:58
and what I learned, in fact, is that we are all, now, being manipulated by corn.
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si ceea ce am invatat, de fapt, este ca noi toti, chiar acum, suntem manipulati de porumb.
10:03
And the talk you heard about ethanol earlier today,
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Si prezentarea pe care ati auzit-o mai devreme despre ethanol
10:08
to me, is the final triumph of corn over good sense. (Laughter) (Applause)
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reprezinta pentru mine, triumful final al porumbului asupra bunui simt. (Rasete)
10:13
It is part of corn's scheme for world domination.
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Este parte din--(Aplauze) planul porumbului de a domina lumea.
10:21
(Laughter)
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(Rasete)
10:22
And you will see, the amount of corn planted this year will be up dramatically from last year
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Si veti vedea cum cantitatea de porumb plantata anul acesta va creste dramatic fata de anul trecut,
10:26
and there will be that much more habitat
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si ca va exista mai mult habitat,
10:28
because we've decided ethanol is going to help us.
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pentru ca ne-am decis ca ethanolul o sa ne ajute.
10:30
So it helped me understand industrial agriculture,
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Asa incat--dar dati-mi voie--acest lucru m-a ajutat sa inteleg agricultura industriala,
10:34
which of course is a Cartesian system.
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care, bineinteles, este un sistem Cartezian.
10:36
It's based on this idea that we bend other species to our will
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Este bazat pe ideea ca putem sa maniputam speciile la comanda,
10:39
and that we are in charge, and that we create these factories
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si ca noi suntem in control si ca am creat aceste fabrici,
10:42
and we have these technological inputs and we get the food out of it
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si ca avem aceste inputuri tehnologice, si ca putem obtine hrana cu ajutorul lor,
10:45
or the fuel or whatever we want.
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sau combustibil, sau orice ne dorim.
10:48
Let me take you to a very different kind of farm.
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Dati-mi voie sa va duc la o ferma total diferita.
10:50
This is a farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
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Este ferma in valea Shenandoah, statul Virginia.
10:53
I went looking for a farm where these ideas
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Am cautat o ferma in care aceste idei
10:56
about looking at things from the species' point of view are actually implemented,
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despre cum am privi lucrurile din perspectiva unei plante erau intr-adevar implementate.
11:00
and I found it in a man. The farmer's name is Joel Salatin.
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Si am gasit acest lucru intr-un fermier, pe numele sau Joel Salatin,
11:02
And I spent a week as an apprentice on his farm,
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cu care am petrecut o saptamana ca si invatacel la ferma lui.
11:05
and I took away from this some of the most hopeful news about our relationship to nature
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Si am luat cu mine unele din cele mai utile noutati despre relatia noastra cu natura
11:11
that I've ever come across in 25 years of writing about nature.
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pe care le-am intalnit in 25 de ani de scris despre natura.
11:14
And that is this:
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Si iat-o.
11:15
the farm is called Polyface, which means ...
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Ferma se numeste "Polyface." Ceea ce inseamna--
11:18
the idea is he's got six different species of animals, as well as some plants,
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ideea este ca exista sase specii diferite de animale, precum si niste plante,
11:22
growing in this very elaborate symbiotic arrangement.
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care cresc in aceasta extrem de elaborata si simbiotica aranjare.
11:25
It's permaculture, those of you who know a little bit about this,
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Este permacultura, pentru cei dintre dumneavoastra care cunosc cate ceva despre acest subiect,
11:27
such that the cows and the pigs and the sheep and the turkeys and the ...
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astfel incat vacile si porcii, si oile si curcanii si--
11:35
what else does he have?
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ce altceva, ce altceva mai are?
11:37
All the six different species -- rabbits, actually --
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Toate cele sase specii diferite--iepurii, de fapt--
11:39
are all performing ecological services for one another,
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toate creaza servicii ecologice pentru celelalte,
11:42
such that the manure of one is the lunch for the other
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astfel incat balegarul unuia, era hrana celuilalt
11:45
and they take care of pests for one another.
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si se deparazitau unii pe ceilalti.
11:47
It's a very elaborate and beautiful dance,
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Si nu pot--este un dans frumos si foarte elaborat
11:50
but I'm going to just give you a close-up on one piece of it,
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dar am sa va ofer un close-up.
11:53
and that is the relationship between his cattle and his chickens, his laying hens.
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Si el se refera la relatia dintre bovinele si pasarile lui de curte, gainile ouatoare.
11:59
And I'll show you, if you take this approach, what you get, OK?
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Si am sa va arat, ce se intampla daca incercam aceasta metoda, ok?
12:04
And this is a lot more than growing food, as you'll see;
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Si veti vedea ca are de-a face cu mai mult decat cu producerea hranei.
12:06
this is a different way to think about nature
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Acesta este un mod diferit de a percepe natura
12:08
and a way to get away from the zero-sum notion,
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si un mod de a ne diferentia de notiunea de suma nula care--
12:12
the Cartesian idea that either nature's winning or we're winning,
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ideea Carteziana ca ori natura, ori noi castigam
12:15
and that for us to get what we want, nature is diminished.
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si acesta, pentru ca noi sa obtinem ceea ce ne dorim, diminuam natura.
12:19
So, one day, cattle in a pen.
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Astfel, intr-o zi, bovinele sa stea intr-un ocol.
12:21
The only technology involved here is this cheap electric fencing:
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Singura tehnologie folosita aici este un gard ieftin electric,
12:24
relatively new, hooked to a car battery;
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relativ nou, legat la o baterie de masina.
12:26
even I could carry a quarter-acre paddock, set it up in 15 minutes.
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Chiar si eu puteam sa acopar un ocol de un sfert de acru, sa il asamblez in 15 minute.
12:30
Cows graze one day. They move, OK?
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Bovinele pasc si apoi se muta, ok?
12:34
They graze everything down, intensive grazing.
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pasc totul, intensiv.
12:36
He waits three days,
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Fermierul asteapta trei zile.
12:38
and then we towed in something called the Eggmobile.
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si apoi aduce ceva numit "eggmobile."
12:41
The Eggmobile is a very rickety contraption --
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Eggmobilul este inventie foarte fragila.
12:44
it looks like a prairie schooner made out of boards --
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Arata ca si o barca din placi aflata in preerie,
12:47
but it houses 350 chickens.
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dar adaposteste 350 de pui.
12:49
He tows this into the paddock three days later and opens the gangplank,
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Aduce eggmobilul in ocol dupa trei zile si deschide rampa,
12:55
turns them down, and 350 hens come streaming down the gangplank --
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le da drumul si 350 de gaini se napustesc afara--
12:59
clucking, gossiping as chickens will --
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cotcodacind, asa cum fac gainile.
13:01
and they make a beeline for the cow patties.
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Si ele se aseaza in linie pentru a manca din balegarul lasat de bovine.
13:06
And what they're doing is very interesting:
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Si ceea ce fac este extrem de interesant.
13:08
they're digging through the cow patties
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Scurma prin balegar
13:10
for the maggots, the grubs, the larvae of flies.
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pentru viermi, si larve de muste.
13:14
And the reason he's waited three days
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Si motivul pentru care fermierul a asteptat trei zile
13:16
is because he knows that on the fourth day or the fifth day, those larvae will hatch
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este pentru ca stie ca in a patra sau a cincea zi, acele larve vor face oua
13:21
and he'll have a huge fly problem.
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si va avea o problema imensa cu mustele.
13:23
But he waits that long to grow them as big and juicy and tasty as he can
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Dar asteapta atat de mult ca acele larve sa creasca suficient de mari si de gustoase
13:29
because they are the chickens' favorite form of protein.
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pentru ca ele sunt sursa preferata de proteine a puilor.
13:32
So the chickens do their kind of little breakdance
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Astfel incat puii danseaza un dans al lor
13:34
and they're pushing around the manure to get at the grubs,
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si scurma in jurul balegarului sa ajunga la larve,
13:38
and in the process they're spreading the manure out.
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si in acest proces, se imprastie balegarul.
13:41
Very useful second ecosystem service.
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Foarte folositor. Serviciu pentru ecosistem la mana a doua.
13:45
And third, while they're in this paddock
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Si trei, in timp ce gainile se afla in ocol,
13:48
they are, of course, defecating madly
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la randul lor produc gainat
13:51
and their very nitrogenous manure is fertilizing this field.
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si nitrogenul din el fertilizeaza pamantul.
13:57
They then move out to the next one,
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Apoi se muta la urmatorul ocol,
13:59
and in the course of just a few weeks, the grass just enters this blaze of growth.
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si in decursul a cateva saptamani iarba poate sa rasara din nou.
14:07
And within four or five weeks, he can do it again.
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Si in cursul a patru sau cinci saptamani, fermierul poate repeta procesul.
14:09
He can graze again, he can cut, he can bring in another species,
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Poate sa duca animalele la pascut, poate sa opreasca procesul, poate sa aduca alta specie
14:12
like the lambs, or he can make hay for the winter.
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cum ar fi mieii, sau poate sa pregateasca fanul pentru iarna.
14:17
Now, I want you to just look really close up onto what's happened there.
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Acum, va rog sa priviti cu mare atentie la ceea ce se intampla aici.
14:21
So, it's a very productive system.
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Este un sistem extrem de productiv.
14:22
And what I need to tell you is that on 100 acres
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Si ceea ce vreau sa va spun este ca pe 100 de acri
14:24
he gets 40,000 pounds of beef; 30,000 pounds of pork; 25,000 dozen eggs;
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fermierul produce 40,000 de pounds de carne de vita, 30,000 de pounds de carne de porc si 25,000 de oua.
14:29
20,000 broilers; 1,000 turkeys; 1,000 rabbits --
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20.000 de pui pentru rotisor, 1,000 de curcani, 1,000 de ieprui--
14:32
an immense amount of food.
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o cantitate imensa de hrana.
14:34
You know, you hear, "Can organic feed the world?"
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Stiti, auzim adesea "Poate mancarea organica sa hraneasca lumea?"
14:36
Well, look how much food you can produce on 100 acres if you do this kind of ...
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Priviti cata mancare se poate produce pe o suprafata de 100 de acri, daca faci o astfel de agricultura--
14:41
again, give each species what it wants,
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si, din nou, oferim fiecarei specii ceea ce are nevoie.
14:44
let it realize its desires, its physiological distinctiveness.
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Ii indeplinim dorintele si ii permitem sa aiba diferente fiziologice.
14:48
Put that in play.
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Pune-ti aceasta in practica.
14:50
But look at it from the point of view of the grass, now.
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Dar sa privim aceasta din nou din perspectiva ierbii.
14:53
What happens to the grass when you do this?
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Ce se intampla cu iarba cand facem acest lucru?
14:55
When a ruminant grazes grass, the grass is cut from this height to this height,
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Cand un animal ierbivor paste, iarba este taiata de la aceasta inaltime la aceasta inaltime.
15:01
and it immediately does something very interesting.
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Si imediat se intampla ceva foarte interesant.
15:03
Any one of you who gardens knows that there is something called the root-shoot ratio,
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Oricare dintre voi care se pricepe la gradinarit stie ca exista un raport intre radacina si tulpina.
15:07
and plants need to keep the root mass
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Si ca plantele trebuie sa pastreze o masa radacinoasa
15:11
in some rough balance with the leaf mass to be happy.
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in aproximativ aceeasi masura ca si masa ierboasa pentru a fi sanatoase.
15:14
So when they lose a lot of leaf mass, they shed roots;
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Asa ca atunci cand pierd multa masa ierboasa, incep sa isi piarda radacinile.
15:18
they kind of cauterize them and the roots die.
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Se cauterizeaza si mor.
15:21
And the species in the soil go to work
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Si speciile din sol incep sa lucreze,
15:24
basically chewing through those roots, decomposing them --
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si practic rod acele radacini, le descompun--
15:28
the earthworms, the fungi, the bacteria -- and the result is new soil.
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viermii, fungusul, bacteriile--si rezultatul este un sol nou.
15:34
This is how soil is created.
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Asa se creeaza solul.
15:37
It's created from the bottom up.
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Se creeaza de jos in sus.
15:38
This is how the prairies were built,
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Si asa au fost create preeriile,
15:40
the relationship between bison and grasses.
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si relatia dintre bizoni si ierburi.
15:43
And what I realized when I understood this --
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Si ceea ce am realizat cand am inteles acest fenomen--
15:46
and if you ask Joel Salatin what he is, he'll tell you he's not a chicken farmer,
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si daca il intrebati pe Joel Salatin ce se considera el a fi, va va spune ca nu este fermier de pasari,
15:50
he's not a sheep farmer, he's not a cattle rancher; he's a grass farmer,
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si nici fermier de oi, si nici crescator de bovine, este un fermier al ierbii,
15:55
because grass is really the keystone species of such a system --
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pentru ca iarba este cea care intr-adevar, este piatra de temeile a unui astfel de sistem--
15:59
is that, if you think about it, this completely contradicts the tragic idea of nature we hold in our heads,
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si daca stam sa ne gandim, acest lucru contrazice complet ideea tragica despre natura pe care o avem in mintea noastra
16:08
which is that for us to get what we want, nature is diminished.
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si anume ca pentru a obtine ceea ce ne dorim de la ea, trebuie sa o diminuam.
16:14
More for us, less for nature.
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Mai mult pentru noi, mai putin pentru natura.
16:16
Here, all this food comes off this farm, and at the end of the season
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Aici, toata aceasta mancare vine de la aceasta ferma, si la sfarsitul sezonului
16:21
there is actually more soil, more fertility and more biodiversity.
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avem in realitate mai mult sol, mai multa fertilitate si mai multa biodiversitate.
16:28
It's a remarkably hopeful thing to do.
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Este un lucru cu adevarat remarcabil de infaptuit.
16:31
There are a lot of farmers doing this today.
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Exista o multime de fermieri care fac acest lucru azi
16:33
This is well beyond organic agriculture,
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Aceasta metoda depasteste agricultura organica,
16:36
which is still a Cartesian system, more or less.
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care este inca, mai mult sau mai putin, un sistem Cartezian.
16:39
And what it tells you is that if you begin to take account of other species,
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Si ceea ce ne spune este faptul ca daca incepem sa luam in considerare celelalte specii,
16:45
take account of the soil, that even with nothing more than this perspectival idea
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sa luam in considerare solul, care chiar si cu nimic mai mult decat cu aceasta idee de perspectiva
16:52
-- because there is no technology involved here except for those fences,
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-- pentru ca nu exista nici o tehnologie implicata aici cu exceptia acelor garduri,
16:56
which are so cheap they could be all over Africa in no time --
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care ar putea sa fie, stiti si voi, sunt atat de ieftine ca ar putea fi implementate si in Africa cat ai clipi--
17:01
that we can take the food we need from the Earth
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ca puteti, putem sa ne luam hrana pe care o avem nevoie din pamant
17:05
and actually heal the Earth in the process.
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si in acelasi timp sa il vindecam in timpul procesului.
17:10
This is a way to reanimate the world,
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Acesta este un mod de a reinsufleti lumea.
17:12
and that's what's so exciting about this perspective.
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Si acesta este motivul pentru care perspectiva aceasta este atat de excitanta.
17:14
When we really begin to feel Darwin's insights in our bones,
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Cand incepem sa simtim cu adevarat perspectiva lui Darwim in esenta noastra,
17:18
the things we can do with nothing more than these ideas
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lucrurile pe care le putem face doar cu ajutorul acestor idei
17:23
are something to be very hopeful about.
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sunt extrem de incurajatoare.
17:25
Thank you very much.
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Va multumesc foarte mult.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Michael Pollan - Environmental writerMichael Pollan is the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, in which he explains how our food not only affects our health but has far-reaching political, economic, and environmental implications. His new book is In Defense of Food.
Why you should listen
Few writers approach their subjects with the rigor, passion and perspective that's typical of Michael Pollan. Whereas most humans think we are Darwin's most accomplished species, Pollan convincingly argues that plants — even our own front lawns — have evolved to use us as much as we use them.
The author and New York Times Magazine contributor is, as Newsweek asserts, “an uncommonly graceful explainer of natural science,” for his investigative stories about food, agriculture, and the environment. His most recent book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, was named one of the top ten nonfiction titles of 2006.
As the director of the Knight Program in Science and Environmental Journalism at UC Berkeley, Pollan is cultivating the next generation of green reporters.
Michael Pollan | Speaker | TED.com