
TED’s Nicole Ng and David Biello present session 4 of the TED Countdown 2024 Dilemma Series: The future of food, at the TED World Theater in New York City on June 6, 2024. (Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED)
Session 4 of the TED Countdown 2024 Dilemma series everything revolved around coalition building. Four speakers discussed how we can bring together the world’s brightest minds and ideas to rethink how we support farms, feed the youngest generations, and work together across apparent divisions.
The event: TED Countdown 2024 Dilemma Series: The Future of Food, presented by TEDs David Biello And Nicole Ng
When and where: June 6, 2024 at the TED World Theater in New York City
Speakers: Anthony Myint, June Jo Lee, Gerardo Reyes Chávez, Jon Esformes
The conversations in short:

Anthony Myint speaks during session 4 of TED Countdown 2024 Dilemma Series: The future of food, at the TED World Theater in New York City on June 6, 2024. (Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED)
The transition to regenerative agriculture is essential but expensive – and farmers do not have the resources to do it alone. Chef and co-founder of Zero Foodprint Anthony Myint offers a plan that allows everyone to be part of the solution: with just a few extra cents for every food purchase from partner companies, we can raise millions for the farms that need it. “Almost all of us can afford to make this change, and the truth is, we can’t afford not to make this change,” Myint says.

June Jo Lee speaks during session 4 of TED Countdown 2024 Dilemma Series: The future of food, at the TED World Theater in New York City on June 6, 2024. (Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED)
Exploring the deep meaning behind what we eat, food ethnographer June Jo Lee reveals how our “modern hunger,” or deep desires for self-improvement and connection, influence every bite. She deciphers Gen Z’s spicy, rich and complex relationship with food – and what it means for the future of gastronomy.

Jon Esformes and Gerardo Reyes Chávez during session 4 of TED Countdown 2024 Dilemma Series: The future of food, at the TED World Theater in New York City on June 6, 2024. (Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED)
Agricultural work is hot, hard and dangerous work. To protect workers from deadly heat and exploitation in the workplace, farm worker Gerardo Reyes Chavez and business manager Jon Esformes work together to help advance the human rights enforcement program Fair Food Program (FFP). Their collaborative model is a blueprint for creating more modern, humane working conditions for the world’s workers.

Participants speak at the town hall during session 4 of the TED Countdown 2024 Dilemma Series: The future of food, at the TED World Theater in New York City on June 6, 2024. (Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED)
At the end of the session, attendees were invited to reflect on the two-day event, sharing what ideas they will bring to the table and how they see the state of food with new eyes.