TEDxDirigo
Roger Doiron: My subversive (garden) plot
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A vegetable garden can do more than save you money -- it can save the world. In this talk, Roger Doiron shows how gardens can re-localize our food and feed our growing population.
Roger Doiron - Gardening activist
Roger Doiron wants everyone to plant a garden. He’s the founder of Kitchen Gardeners International, a network of home gardeners. Full bio
Roger Doiron wants everyone to plant a garden. He’s the founder of Kitchen Gardeners International, a network of home gardeners. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:07
So, my name is Roger Doiron,
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and I have a subversive plot.
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(Laughter)
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(Applause)
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It is so subversive, in fact,
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that it has the potential
to radically alter the balance of power,
to radically alter the balance of power,
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not only in our own country,
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but in the entire world.
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Now I realize, I'm sounding --
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(Laughter)
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a little bit like Dr. Evil now.
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I understand that.
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But trust me -- we have very,
very little in common.
very little in common.
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His plots are all about
destruction and secrecy,
destruction and secrecy,
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whereas my plots are about
creation and openness.
creation and openness.
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In fact, my plot can only work
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if I share it with as many
people as possible.
people as possible.
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So I'm going to share it with you now,
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but you have to promise me
you're going to share it in turn.
you're going to share it in turn.
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So here it is.
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Huh. That's not so good, is it?
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There's nothing particularly radical
or revolutionary about a patch of grass.
or revolutionary about a patch of grass.
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What starts to get interesting
is when we turn it into this.
is when we turn it into this.
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01:03
Now, I would like to suggest to you all
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that gardening is a subversive activity.
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(Laughter)
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Think about this:
food is a form of energy.
food is a form of energy.
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It's what our body runs on,
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but it's also a form of power.
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And when we encourage people
to grow some of their own food,
to grow some of their own food,
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we're encouraging them
to take power into their hands,
to take power into their hands,
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power over their diet,
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power over their health
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and some power over their pocketbooks.
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So I think that's quite subversive,
because we're also necessarily
because we're also necessarily
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talking about taking that power away
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from someone else,
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from other actors in society
that currently have power
that currently have power
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over food and health.
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You can think about
who those actors might be.
who those actors might be.
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I also look at gardening
as a sort of healthy gateway drug,
as a sort of healthy gateway drug,
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you might say, to other forms
of food freedom.
of food freedom.
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It's not long after you plant a garden
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that you start to say, "Hey,
I need to start to learn how to cook."
I need to start to learn how to cook."
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(Laughter)
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"You know, I might want
to look into food preservation
to look into food preservation
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or I might want to look up
where my local farmer's market
where my local farmer's market
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is located in my town."
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Now the other thing, of course,
with planting a garden,
with planting a garden,
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especially a garden
in front of a white house
in front of a white house
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and on a sunny south lawn,
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is you never know who you might influence.
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(Laughter)
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Now, I'm not exactly sure
what my white house garden's influence
what my white house garden's influence
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was on the First Lady's,
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but I can tell you this:
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she's had an enormous influence on me
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since planting hers.
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Now it hasn't been --
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(Laughter)
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it hasn't been in the area of fashion.
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I understand that she's just
in a completely different league there,
in a completely different league there,
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and I'm not even trying to compete.
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But she's really inspired me
to think much more boldly
to think much more boldly
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about the role that I want to have
in the garden movement.
in the garden movement.
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And so this is sort of
what I'm aspiring to here.
what I'm aspiring to here.
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(Laughter)
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Now, pretty modest, right?
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I like this picture.
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I think it sort of captures me well,
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not that I have any
divine connections whatsoever,
divine connections whatsoever,
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but I like my facial expression there,
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because, if I've got
a worried look on my face,
a worried look on my face,
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it's not simply because I've got
20 pounds of squash over my head,
20 pounds of squash over my head,
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but it's because I've got some
pretty heavy topics on my mind.
pretty heavy topics on my mind.
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And I want to share some of those
with you right now,
with you right now,
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starting off in the form of a very
short video I've produced for you,
short video I've produced for you,
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which is my best effort
to sum up the history of gastronomy
to sum up the history of gastronomy
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in about 15 seconds.
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("Also sprach Zarathustra" plays)
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(Laughter)
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So, here we are.
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(Applause)
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Now, that's a funny little clip,
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but it'd be even funnier
if it weren't so tragic
if it weren't so tragic
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and if it weren't so true.
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The reality is that we are in the midst
of an obesity epidemic,
of an obesity epidemic,
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and it's not simply
limited to our country.
limited to our country.
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It's spreading around the world right now.
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And in a sort of parallel universe,
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we're also seeing
that hunger is on the rise.
that hunger is on the rise.
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Over 900 million people
right now are affected by it.
right now are affected by it.
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That's three times the population
of the United States.
of the United States.
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But at the same time,
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world food prices are rising
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and world population is rising
and is set to reach 10 billion people
and is set to reach 10 billion people
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by the end of the century.
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Now, another thing about the population
is we know that it's increasing,
is we know that it's increasing,
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but a lot of us don't realize
that it's also changing.
that it's also changing.
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There's a fundamental shift taking place.
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As of 2007, we went from being
a primarily rural planet
a primarily rural planet
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to being a primarily urban one,
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and that has implications
for how we're going to feed these people,
for how we're going to feed these people,
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how we're going to get the food
to the people in the cities.
to the people in the cities.
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Now, I imagine that there are
some Stephen King fans
some Stephen King fans
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in the audience here,
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and I'm one of them.
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But I can tell you, I haven't read
anything scarier than this here,
anything scarier than this here,
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and that's this statistic:
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in order to keep up
with the growing population,
with the growing population,
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we're going to need to grow more food
over the course of the next 50 years
over the course of the next 50 years
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than we have grown over the course
of the past 10,000 years combined.
of the past 10,000 years combined.
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What makes this even more challenging
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is that we're going to need
to grow all this food with less,
to grow all this food with less,
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and when I say less,
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I mean a number of things.
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Less oil, for example.
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Most reputable geologists believe
that we've already reached
that we've already reached
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peak oil production in the world.
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Now, you might not think in terms
of oil and food as being linked,
of oil and food as being linked,
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but there's a very strong link, in fact.
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It takes 10 calories of fossil fuel energy
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in our highly industrialized food system
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in order to produce
one calorie of food energy.
one calorie of food energy.
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We'll also need to grow
more food with less water.
more food with less water.
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These three images come from three
very different parts of the planet,
very different parts of the planet,
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but they all tell the same story
of catastrophic drought.
of catastrophic drought.
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We'll also need to grow
more food with less farmland.
more food with less farmland.
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Here, the pressures differ
from one place to the next.
from one place to the next.
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In the Global South,
we're seeing desertification,
we're seeing desertification,
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whereas in the north,
we're seeing suburban sprawl.
we're seeing suburban sprawl.
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We'll also have to grow more food
with less climate stability
with less climate stability
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and less genetic diversity.
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Now, this is really important.
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We need our genetic varieties
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because they're a sort of insurance policy
against climate change.
against climate change.
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We heard earlier today
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"not putting all of our eggs
in one basket."
in one basket."
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Well, we shouldn't be doing
the same with our tomatoes, either.
the same with our tomatoes, either.
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We're also going to need
to grow more food with less time.
to grow more food with less time.
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Now here, I'm not simply talking
about the ticking time bomb
about the ticking time bomb
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that is the global population.
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I'm talking about
the amount of time we all have
the amount of time we all have
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in order to put
a decent meal on the table.
a decent meal on the table.
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And that "31" figure there
is not something arbitrary.
is not something arbitrary.
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That's the average amount of time
the American family spends
the American family spends
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preparing, eating and cleaning up
after meals per day.
after meals per day.
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31 minutes.
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So somewhere in there, we're going
to need to also fit in growing food.
to need to also fit in growing food.
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Alright?
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And I think we do need to do that,
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but that's also going to mean
that somewhere along the way,
that somewhere along the way,
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something's going to have to give.
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So it sort of leaves us feeling like this.
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(Laughter)
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You know?
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It's time to leave town
or even perhaps leave planets.
or even perhaps leave planets.
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But where do we go?
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Where do we go
when we only have one planet?
when we only have one planet?
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And where do we go
where the going gets tough?
where the going gets tough?
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Well, if we were to listen to a lot
of our political leaders over the years,
of our political leaders over the years,
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we would simply go shopping.
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Right?
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Because we have this unwavering belief,
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especially in American political culture,
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that we can shop our way
out of just about any problem.
out of just about any problem.
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But the reality is something different.
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We're not going to solve
our food problems and our health problems
our food problems and our health problems
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simply by switching from regular Coke
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to some future green iteration thereof.
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And although the large food companies
would like us to believe
would like us to believe
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that we can give our children
all of the vitamins, minerals
all of the vitamins, minerals
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and immunity-building
substances that they need
substances that they need
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without even leaving
the chocolatey cereal aisle --
the chocolatey cereal aisle --
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(Laughter)
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the truth is something quite different.
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Now, what's become
even more troublesome of late
even more troublesome of late
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is that even the foods
that ought to be healthy aren't always so,
that ought to be healthy aren't always so,
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and we're starting to lose confidence
in our food system, I think.
in our food system, I think.
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The bigger it becomes
and the more complex it becomes.
and the more complex it becomes.
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And we've seen this time and time again.
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This is an image
from the latest E. coli outbreak.
from the latest E. coli outbreak.
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In this case, it was in Europe,
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and we think it was started
with bean sprouts, of all things.
with bean sprouts, of all things.
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So we have this sort of
shopper's dilemma right now.
shopper's dilemma right now.
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We have all of these different foods --
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30,000 foods in the average
big-box grocery store --
big-box grocery store --
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but we have less confidence
in those foods,
in those foods,
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and we have less confidence in the actors
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that are putting those foods
on the shelves.
on the shelves.
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I think we need to redefine
what good food is.
what good food is.
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This is an interesting image
from Berlin, Germany,
from Berlin, Germany,
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where somebody started planting
shopping carts and leaving them around.
shopping carts and leaving them around.
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Those are potatoes, by the way.
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But in addition to redefining
what good food is,
what good food is,
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I think we need to redefine
our living spaces.
our living spaces.
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Instead of seeing this as a yard,
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we need to think of it more
as like a full-service greengrocer.
as like a full-service greengrocer.
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That's, in fact, my yard,
and that's how I look at it.
and that's how I look at it.
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That's what we transformed our yard into,
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and I think a really key
message is this one:
message is this one:
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gardens grow good food.
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And when I say good food,
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I mean a number of different things.
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I mean food that is safe,
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food that is healthy,
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food that is absolutely gorgeous
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and delicious.
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Another important message is this one:
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gardens grow healthy kids and families.
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Those happen to be my two youngest sons,
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and they look healthy
and they are healthy,
and they are healthy,
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and I think it has to do with the fact
that they grew up in gardens
that they grew up in gardens
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and they know where good food comes from.
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And in fact, they know how
to grow some of it themselves.
to grow some of it themselves.
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But in the current economy,
I think it's key to get this message out,
I think it's key to get this message out,
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that gardens also grow
important economic savings for families.
important economic savings for families.
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And you can pretty much
take my word on this one,
take my word on this one,
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because in addition to crunching
the vegetables a couple of years ago,
the vegetables a couple of years ago,
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my wife and I also crunched the numbers,
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and we found out that at the end,
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we had saved well over 2,000 dollars
by growing our own food.
by growing our own food.
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So you could be asking this question now:
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If gardens grow all of these great things,
how do we grow more gardens?
how do we grow more gardens?
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That's, in fact, the question
that my organization,
that my organization,
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Kitchen Gardens International,
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is both asking and answering.
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And our answer is essentially this one:
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we're going to need to leverage
the resources and power that we have,
the resources and power that we have,
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the gardens and gardeners that we have,
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in order to grow and inspire even more.
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And as I said before, you never know
who you might inspire.
who you might inspire.
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(Laughter)
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Now if this campaign was successful,
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I think it wasn't simply because we had
a visionary First Lady
a visionary First Lady
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taking up residence at the White House --
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that certainly was a major part of it --
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and it wasn't simply because we had
some celebrity chefs and authors
some celebrity chefs and authors
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saying this would be a good idea to do.
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I think it was ultimately made possible
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by the fact that there were
a lot of people who wanted it to happen.
a lot of people who wanted it to happen.
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There was a movement that made it happen.
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And my organization tried
to sort of channel some of that energy
to sort of channel some of that energy
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of the movement
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and direct it towards the White House.
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And we had a lot of luck
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in terms of getting our message
out there to the media.
out there to the media.
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We had a petition on Facebook,
110,000 signatures.
110,000 signatures.
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We had viral images and videos,
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and we did crazy things like
symbolically putting the White House lawn
symbolically putting the White House lawn
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up for sale on eBay.
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But we need to do even more,
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and what we're trying to do
in my organization
in my organization
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is to connect people online,
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but also to connect people in person.
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This is an image from a little
holiday we invented
holiday we invented
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called "World Kitchen Garden Day."
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12:11
It's at the end of August each year,
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12:13
and it's just about bringing
people together in gardens
people together in gardens
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to learn from one another,
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to experience a garden
as a community experience.
as a community experience.
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We also need to grow
the next generation of gardeners,
the next generation of gardeners,
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and we're doing that
in the United States and abroad.
in the United States and abroad.
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But there's still so much more
that needs to be done,
that needs to be done,
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and I think this slide sort of captures
where we need to go.
where we need to go.
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We need a road map,
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and I picked this slide for a reason.
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We've got a bike garden on the left
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and a map of the Netherlands on the right.
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I was in the Netherlands early this year
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and was absolutely amazed
by the amount of bikes on the road;
by the amount of bikes on the road;
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26 percent of all trips taken
in the Netherlands are by bicycle,
in the Netherlands are by bicycle,
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and it's gotten me thinking:
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How do we get that happening
in terms of food and gardens?
in terms of food and gardens?
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How would we get 26 percent of all produce
coming from backyard gardens?
coming from backyard gardens?
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That might sound like a lot,
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because we're probably at about
two percent at the most right now.
two percent at the most right now.
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But if you take into consideration
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that at the peak of the victory garden
movement last century,
movement last century,
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40 percent of all produce
was coming from gardens.
was coming from gardens.
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We can get there again.
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And I think this is a really good start.
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The White House garden
is certainly very inspirational.
is certainly very inspirational.
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That's actually sort of a snapshot
of what the garden looked like
of what the garden looked like
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when it was planted earlier this spring --
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lots of diversity, lots of healthy crops.
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However, this is not a good representation
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of our federal agriculture policy.
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(Laughter)
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If we were to take the model here,
the diagram of that particular garden,
the diagram of that particular garden,
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and sort of transpose it
onto our federal agriculture policy,
onto our federal agriculture policy,
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we'd get this:
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billions of billions of dollars
going to support
going to support
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just a handful of commodity crops
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with just that tiny little bit at the top
for fruits and vegetables.
for fruits and vegetables.
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This is scandalous. This is scandalous.
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We need to do something about this.
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I think one place we could start
is we could look at the tax code.
is we could look at the tax code.
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14:03
We're already using the tax code
to encourage green transport
to encourage green transport
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and green shelter.
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Why not green food?
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We're in the midst now of talking
about another stimulus package.
about another stimulus package.
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Why not a garden stimulus package?
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Why not?
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(Applause)
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In terms of other things
that we need to be doing,
that we need to be doing,
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we need to move down to the local level
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14:29
and we need to make sure
that gardens are legal.
that gardens are legal.
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This is an illegal garden.
At least it was.
At least it was.
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It's from Michigan earlier this year.
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It was planted by a woman,
a mother of four,
a mother of four,
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and she nearly faced
a 93-day jail sentence
a 93-day jail sentence
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because she planted it in her front yard.
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We still have laws from the 20th century.
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We need to bring our codes up
to the realities that we are facing now.
to the realities that we are facing now.
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We need to figure out also
new ways of getting people into gardens,
new ways of getting people into gardens,
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people who don't have yards.
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I think we also need to set
garden entrepreneurism free,
garden entrepreneurism free,
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and I'm happy to say, as a Mainer,
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that we are leading the way in this area.
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Earlier this year, a number of Maine towns
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passed local food sovereignty laws
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that allow town residents
to not only grow food
to not only grow food
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where they want to grow it
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but to also sell it
the way they want to sell it
the way they want to sell it
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15:21
and to the people they want to sell it to.
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I think that's an incentive.
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There are a lot of gardeners out there
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that would be interested in scaling up
their production if they could,
their production if they could,
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if they had a financial incentive.
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I also think that we need to examine
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the composition of the movement right now.
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(Laughter)
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If the movement were a 1960s beach flick,
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it would be "Where The Boys Aren't."
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(Laughter)
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So I'm going to take you to task, guys.
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It's not right and it's not fair
that the burden of this responsibility --
that the burden of this responsibility --
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15:53
feeding our country and the world --
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should be with the women.
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OK?
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(Applause)
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And I'm going to challenge the women
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to come up with really clever,
creative ways of getting guys
creative ways of getting guys
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into the gardens, too.
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(Laughter)
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Perhaps wearing a bathing suit?
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(Laughter)
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16:12
But beyond that, I think we need
to reexamine the infrastructure
to reexamine the infrastructure
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that we have in place for gardens.
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I think we need to create
new infrastructure.
new infrastructure.
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16:20
And this is one of the things
my organization is working on right now,
my organization is working on right now,
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sort of a local communications
infrastructure, very place-based,
infrastructure, very place-based,
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that allows people in the same area
to connect with one another
to connect with one another
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and to help each other out.
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I think we're lacking this
at the moment --
at the moment --
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(Laughter)
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but we can do it.
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The technology is certainly there.
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16:42
In addition to that, I think we need
another type of infrastructure.
another type of infrastructure.
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It would be good if we could
all get together.
all get together.
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16:47
I think if we've learned anything
through the TED experience,
through the TED experience,
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it's that there is power
when we bring people together,
when we bring people together,
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16:53
and I think we need to bring people
together at the local level as well.
together at the local level as well.
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And I think we can take some inspiration
from a previous movement,
from a previous movement,
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which was the grange movement,
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17:02
a rural movement which brought farmers
together in a single building
together in a single building
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to meet and to recreate
and learn how to become better farmers.
and learn how to become better farmers.
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I think we need a network
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17:11
of suburban granges now.
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I think one of the last
things that we need
things that we need
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is to not lose the fun of food.
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Food is at its best when it's delicious
but shared as part of a community,
but shared as part of a community,
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and I think that gardens can get
some of that community vibe back as well.
some of that community vibe back as well.
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So I'm going to leave with one last video,
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and I'm going to revisit the short video
that I showed you before,
that I showed you before,
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but I'm going to suggest
an alternative ending.
an alternative ending.
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And I think this ending
is well within our reach,
is well within our reach,
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but it's really going to require
that we all pull together.
that we all pull together.
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So here's the new history of gastronomy.
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("Also sprach Zarathustra" plays)
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(Applause)
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(Applause and cheers)
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Thank you very much.
Thank you all. Thank you.
Thank you all. Thank you.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Roger Doiron - Gardening activistRoger Doiron wants everyone to plant a garden. He’s the founder of Kitchen Gardeners International, a network of home gardeners.
Why you should listen
Roger Doiron is dedicated to helping individuals grow their own food. He is the founder of Kitchen Gardeners International -- a network of 20,000 individuals in 100 countries. In 2008, he started the "Eat the View" campaign, a successful bid to get the White House to plant a kitchen garden--which was planted (by none other the First Lady) in March, 2009.
Roger Doiron | Speaker | TED.com