What's wrong with what we eat | Mark Bittman

Traducător: Robin Simion Corector: Laszlo Kereszturi

I write about food. I write about cooking.

Scriu despre mancare, scriu despre gastronomie.

I take it quite seriously,

Iau treaba asta in serios,

but I'm here to talk about something

dar sunt aici sa vorbesc despre ceva

that's become very important to me in the last year or two.

care a devenit foarte important pentru mine de unul sau doi ani incoace.

It is about food, but it's not about cooking, per se.

Este despre mancare, dar nu despre gastronomie in sine.

I'm going to start with this picture of a beautiful cow.

Incep cu aceasta fotografie a unei frumoase vaci.

I'm not a vegetarian -- this is the old Nixon line, right?

Nu sunt vegetarian - vorba lui Nixon, nu-i asa?

But I still think that this --

Cred, totusi, ca asta --

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

-- may be this year's version of this.

-- poate fi versiunea de anul asta a acestei imagini.

Now, that is only a little bit hyperbolic.

Si este doar un pic exagerat.

And why do I say it?

De ce spun asta?

Because only once before has the fate of individual people

Pentru ca o singura data, in trecut, soarta unor indivizi

and the fate of all of humanity

si soarta intregii umanitati

been so intertwined.

au fost atat de impletite.

There was the bomb, and there's now.

A avut bomba si avem prezentul.

And where we go from here is going to determine

Si ce facem de acum incolo va stabili

not only the quality and the length of our individual lives,

nu numai calitatea si durata vietii noastre individuale,

but whether, if we could see the Earth a century from now,

ci daca, daca am putea vedea Pamantul peste o suta de ani,

we'd recognize it.

l-am recunoaste.

It's a holocaust of a different kind,

Este un alt fel de Holocaust,

and hiding under our desks isn't going to help.

si nu o sa ne ajute la nimic daca ne ascundem sub masa.

Start with the notion that global warming

Porniti de la ideea ca incalzirea globala

is not only real, but dangerous.

nu e numai reala, ci si periculoasa.

Since every scientist in the world now believes this,

Din moment ce toti oamenii de stiinta cred,

and even President Bush has seen the light, or pretends to,

si chiar si presedintele Bush a vazut lumina, sau se preface,

we can take this is a given.

o putem lua ca pe un dat.

Then hear this, please.

Mare atentie, va rog!

After energy production, livestock is the second-highest contributor

Dupa industria energetica, bovinele sunt cel de-al doilea mare producator

to atmosphere-altering gases.

de gaze care altereaza atmosfera.

Nearly one-fifth of all greenhouse gas

Aproape o cincime dintre gazele cu efect de sera

is generated by livestock production --

este produsa de cresterea bovinelor ---

more than transportation.

mai mult decat mijloacele de transport.

Now, you can make all the jokes you want about cow farts,

Evident, puteti face cate glume vreti despre basinile vacilor,

but methane is 20 times more poisonous than CO2,

dar metanul este de 20 de ori mai otravitor decat dioxidul de carbon,

and it's not just methane.

si nu se opresc doar la metan.

Livestock is also one of the biggest culprits in land degradation,

Bovinele sunt vinovate si de degradarea solului,

air and water pollution, water shortages and loss of biodiversity.

de poluarea aerului si a apei, de deficitul de apa si de pierderea biodiversitatii.

There's more.

Si nu e totul.

Like half the antibiotics in this country

Cam jumatate dintre antibioticele din tara

are not administered to people, but to animals.

sunt administrate animalelor, nu oamenilor.

But lists like this become kind of numbing, so let me just say this:

Dar asemenea liste devin amortitoare, asa ca vreau sa va spun un lucru:

if you're a progressive,

daca sunteti progresisti,

if you're driving a Prius, or you're shopping green,

daca aveti masini ca Prius, sau daca faceti cumparaturi bio,

or you're looking for organic,

sau daca sunteti in cautare de mancare organica,

you should probably be a semi-vegetarian.

ar trebui, probabil, sa fiti semi-vegetarieni.

Now, I'm no more anti-cattle than I am anti-atom,

Nu sunt mai mult anti-vaci decat sunt anti-atomic,

but it's all in the way we use these things.

dar totul sta in modul de folosire.

There's another piece of the puzzle,

Inca o piesa din puzzle

which Ann Cooper talked about beautifully yesterday,

despre care Ann Cooper a vorbit ieri foarte frumos,

and one you already know.

o stiti deja.

There's no question, none, that so-called lifestyle diseases --

Nu e nicio indoiala - niciuna - ca asa-numitele boli ale stilului de viata --

diabetes, heart disease, stroke, some cancers --

diabet, boli de inima, accidente cerebrale, anumite canceruri --

are diseases that are far more prevalent here

sunt boli care sunt mai raspandite aici

than anywhere in the rest of the world.

decat oriunde in lume.

And that's the direct result of eating a Western diet.

Si asta ca rezultat direct al alimentatiei vestice.

Our demand for meat, dairy and refined carbohydrates --

Cererea noastra de carne, lactate si carbohidrati rafinati --

the world consumes one billion cans or bottles of Coke a day --

lumea consuma un miliard de cutii sau sticle de Cola pe zi --

our demand for these things, not our need, our want,

cererea noastra de astfel de produse, nu nevoia, dorinta --

drives us to consume way more calories than are good for us.

ne face sa consumam cu mult mai multe calorii decat este benefic.

And those calories are in foods that cause, not prevent, disease.

Si aceste calorii sunt in alimentele care cauzeaza, nu previn, bolile.

Now global warming was unforeseen.

Incalzirea globala a fost neprevazuta.

We didn't know that pollution did more than cause bad visibility.

Nu am stiut ca poluarea face mai mult decat vizibilitate proasta.

Maybe a few lung diseases here and there,

Poate cateva boli de plamani ici-colo,

but, you know, that's not such a big deal.

intelegeti, nu-i mare lucru.

The current health crisis, however,

Totusi, starea actuala de sanatate

is a little more the work of the evil empire.

e un pic si mai mult cauzata de imperiul malefic.

We were told, we were assured,

Ni s-a spus, am fost asigurati,

that the more meat and dairy and poultry we ate,

ca cu cat mancam mai multa carne si lactate,

the healthier we'd be.

cu atat mai sanatosi o sa fim.

No. Overconsumption of animals, and of course, junk food,

Nu. Consumul in exces de animale, si desigur, junk food,

is the problem, along with our paltry consumption of plants.

este problema, impreuna cu aportul neinsemnat de vegetale.

Now, there's no time to get into the benefits of eating plants here,

Nu este timp acum sa intram in beneficiile consumului de vegetale,

but the evidence is that plants -- and I want to make this clear --

dar este clar ca vorbim despre plante -- vreau sa fie clar --

it's not the ingredients in plants, it's the plants.

nu despre ingredientele din plante, despre plante.

It's not the beta-carotene, it's the carrot.

Nu despre beta-caroten ci despre morcov.

The evidence is very clear that plants promote health.

Este evident ca plantele sustin sanatatea.

This evidence is overwhelming at this point.

Dovezile sunt covarsitoare in momentul asta.

You eat more plants, you eat less other stuff, you live longer.

Mananci mai multe vegetale, mai putine alte chestii, traiesti mai mult.

Not bad.

Nu-i rau.

But back to animals and junk food.

Sa revenim la animale si la junk food.

What do they have in common?

Ce au in comun?

One: we don't need either of them for health.

Unu: nu avem nevoie de ele ca sa fim sanatosi.

We don't need animal products,

Nu avem nevoie de produse animale,

and we certainly don't need white bread or Coke.

si sigur nu avem nevoie de paine alba si de Cola.

Two: both have been marketed heavily,

Doi: amandoua au fost comercializate masiv

creating unnatural demand.

si au creat o cerere nenaturala.

We're not born craving Whoppers or Skittles.

Nu ne-am nascut poftind la Whoppers sau la Skittles.

Three: their production has been supported by government agencies

Trei: productia lor a fost sustinuta de agentii guvernamentale

at the expense of a more health- and Earth-friendly diet.

in detrimentul unei diete mai sanatoase si mai prietenoase cu Pamantul.

Now, let's imagine a parallel.

Sa ne imaginam o paralela.

Let's pretend that our government supported an oil-based economy,

Sa spunem ca guvernul nostru a sustinut o economie bazata pe petrol

while discouraging more sustainable forms of energy,

si a descurajat forme mai sustenabile de energie,

knowing all the while that the result would be

stiind tot timpul ca rezultatul va fi

pollution, war and rising costs.

poluare, razboi si costuri in crestere.

Incredible, isn't it?

Incredibil, nu-i asa?

Yet they do that.

Totusi o fac.

And they do this here. It's the same deal.

O fac si in cazul nostru. E aceeasi treaba.

The sad thing is, when it comes to diet,

E trist ca, atunci cand vorbim de alimentatie,

is that even when well-intentioned Feds

chiar si bine-intentionatele agentii guvernamentale

try to do right by us, they fail.

care incearca sa ne ajute, esueaza.

Either they're outvoted by puppets of agribusiness,

Fie ca sunt in minoritate fata de marionetele agricultorilor,

or they are puppets of agribusiness.

fie chiar sunt marionetele lor.

So, when the USDA finally acknowledged

Cand Ministerul Agriculturii a recunoscut, in sfarsit,

that it was plants, rather than animals, that made people healthy,

ca vegetalele, mai degraba decat animalele, mentin oamenii sanatosi,

they encouraged us, via their overly simplistic food pyramid,

ne-au incurajat, cu foarte simpla lor piramida a alimentatiei,

to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day,

sa mancam cinci portii de fructe si legume pe zi,

along with more carbs.

impreuna cu mai multi carbohidrati.

What they didn't tell us is that some carbs are better than others,

Ce nu ne-au spus este ca unii carbohidrati sunt mai buni decat altii.

and that plants and whole grains

Si ca plantele si cerealele integrale

should be supplanting eating junk food.

ar trebui sa inlocuiasca junk food-ul.

But industry lobbyists would never let that happen.

Dar cei care fac lobby pentru industrie au avut grija sa nu se intample asta.

And guess what?

Si stiti ceva?

Half the people who developed the food pyramid

Jumatate dintre cei care au dezvoltat piramida

have ties to agribusiness.

au legaturi cu agricultura.

So, instead of substituting plants for animals,

Si in loc sa inlocuim animalele cu vegetalele

our swollen appetites simply became larger,

apetiturile noastre exagerate au devenit si mai mari,

and the most dangerous aspects of them remained unchanged.

si cele mai periculoase aspecte ale lor au ramas neschimbate.

So-called low-fat diets, so-called low-carb diets --

Asa-numitele diete sarace in grasimi sau in carbohidrati -

these are not solutions.

nu astea sunt solutiile.

But with lots of intelligent people

Dar in timp ce o gramada de oameni destepti

focusing on whether food is organic or local,

se concentreaza sa vada daca mancarea este organica sau locala

or whether we're being nice to animals,

sau daca suntem draguti cu animalele,

the most important issues just aren't being addressed.

cele mai importante probleme sunt ignorate.

Now, don't get me wrong.

Nu ma intelegeti gresit.

I like animals,

Imi plac animalele,

and I don't think it's just fine to industrialize their production

si nu cred ca e in regula sa industrializam cresterea lor

and to churn them out like they were wrenches.

si sa profitam de ele ca de niste unelte.

But there's no way to treat animals well,

Dar nu ai cum sa te porti frumos cu ele

when you're killing 10 billion of them a year.

cand omori 10 miliarde pe an.

That's our number. 10 billion.

Asta e numarul nostru. 10 miliarde.

If you strung all of them --

Daca le insiri pe toate pe o sfoara -

chickens, cows, pigs and lambs -- to the moon,

pui, vaci, porci si oi - catre Luna,

they'd go there and back five times, there and back.

ar ajunge pana acolo si inapoi de cinci ori.

Now, my math's a little shaky, but this is pretty good,

Acum, matematica mea e cam subreda, dar e destul de precis ce va arat

and it depends whether a pig is four feet long or five feet long,

si depinde daca un porc are 1.2 sau 1.5 metri,

but you get the idea.

dar intelegeti ce vreau sa spun.

That's just the United States.

Si asta doar in Statele Unite.

And with our hyper-consumption of those animals

Si cu super-consumul nostru de animale

producing greenhouse gases and heart disease,

care produc gaze cu efect de sera si boli de inima,

kindness might just be a bit of a red herring.

a vorbi de bunatate este poate o pista falsa.

Let's get the numbers of the animals we're killing for eating down,

Haideti sa micsoram numarul animalelor ucise pentru mancare,

and then we'll worry about being nice to the ones that are left.

si atunci de-abia sa ne preocupam de cat de frumos ne purtam cu cele ramase.

Another red herring might be exemplified by the word "locavore,"

Alta pista falsa poate fi exemplificata prin cuvantul "locavore"

which was just named word of the year by the New Oxford American Dictionary.

care tocmai ce a fost numit Cuvantul Anului de catre Dictionarul American New Oxford.

Seriously.

Serios.

And locavore, for those of you who don't know,

Si locavor, pentru cei care nu stiu,

is someone who eats only locally grown food --

este cineva care mananca numai mancare produsa local.

which is fine if you live in California,

Care este ok daca esti in California,

but for the rest of us it's a bit of a sad joke.

dar pentru noi, restul, este o gluma proasta.

Between the official story -- the food pyramid --

Intre povestea oficiala - piramida alimentatiei -

and the hip locavore vision,

si viziunea locavor la moda,

you have two versions of how to improve our eating.

ai doua versiuni de imbunatatire a nutritiei.

(Laughter).

(Rasete)

They both get it wrong, though.

Ambele sunt gresite, totusi.

The first at least is populist, and the second is elitist.

Prima, macar e populista, si a doua este elitista.

How we got to this place is the history of food in the United States.

Cum am ajuns aici tine de istoria alimentatiei in Statele Unite.

And I'm going to go through that,

Si o sa trec prin ea,

at least the last hundred years or so, very quickly right now.

macar ultima suta de ani, foarte rapid.

A hundred years ago, guess what?

Acum o suta de ani, ce sa vezi?

Everyone was a locavore: even New York had pig farms nearby,

Toti erau locavori, chiar si New York-ul avea ferme de porci in apropiere

and shipping food all over the place was a ridiculous notion.

si transportul alimentelor peste tot tinea de ridicol.

Every family had a cook, usually a mom.

Fiecare familie avea un bucatar, de obicei o mama.

And those moms bought and prepared food.

Si acele mame cumparau si gateau mancarea.

It was like your romantic vision of Europe.

Era ca imaginea romantica a Europei.

Margarine didn't exist.

Margarina nu exista.

In fact, when margarine was invented,

Mai mult, cand margarina a fost inventata,

several states passed laws declaring that it had to be dyed pink,

mai multe state au facut legi care spuneau sa fie colorata roz,

so we'd all know that it was a fake.

pentru ca noi toti sa stim ca e un fals.

There was no snack food, and until the '20s,

Nu au existat snacks pana in anii '20,

until Clarence Birdseye came along, there was no frozen food.

si pana la Clarence Birdseye nu existau alimente congelate.

There were no restaurant chains.

Nu erau lanturi de restaurante.

There were neighborhood restaurants run by local people,

Erau restaurante de cartier ale oamenilor din zona,

but none of them would think to open another one.

dar nimeni nu se gandea sa-si mai deschida inca unul.

Eating ethnic was unheard of unless you were ethnic.

Mancai mancaruri straine doar daca erai strain.

And fancy food was entirely French.

Si mancarea extravaganta era in intregime frantuzeasca.

As an aside, those of you who remember

Ca o paranteza, cei care isi aduc aminte de

Dan Aykroyd in the 1970s doing Julia Child imitations

Dan Aykroyd in anii '70 imitand-o pe Julia Child

can see where he got the idea of stabbing himself from this fabulous slide.

isi pot da seama, din poza asta fabuloasa, de unde i-a venit ideea sa se injunghie.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

Back in those days, before even Julia,

Pe vremea aia, chiar inainte de Julia,

back in those days, there was no philosophy of food.

pe vremea aia nu era o filozofie a alimentatiei.

You just ate.

Doar mancai.

You didn't claim to be anything.

Nu sustineai ca esti in vreun fel.

There was no marketing. There were no national brands.

Nu era marketing. Nu erau produse nationale.

Vitamins had not been invented.

Vitaminele nu erau inventate.

There were no health claims, at least not federally sanctioned ones.

Nu erau atentionari medicale, cel putin nu unele impuse de autoritati.

Fats, carbs, proteins -- they weren't bad or good, they were food.

Grasimi, carbohidrati, proteine - nu erau rele sau bune, erau mancare.

You ate food.

Mancai mancare.

Hardly anything contained more than one ingredient,

Pe eticheta vedeai un ingredient,

because it was an ingredient.

pentru ca era un ingredient in sine.

The cornflake hadn't been invented.

Fulgii de porumb nu fusesera inventati.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

The Pop-Tart, the Pringle, Cheez Whiz, none of that stuff.

Pop-Tart, Pringles, Cheez Whiz - nimic nu exista.

Goldfish swam.

Pestisorii de acvariu inotau.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

It's hard to imagine. People grew food, and they ate food.

E greu de imaginat. Oamenii cultivau mancare si mancau mancarea.

And again, everyone ate local.

Si din nou, toata lumea manca local.

In New York, an orange was a common Christmas present,

In New York, o portocala era un cadou de Craciun obisnuit,

because it came all the way from Florida.

pentru ca venea tocmai din Florida.

From the '30s on, road systems expanded,

Incepand cu anii '30, sistemul de strazi s-a extins,

trucks took the place of railroads,

camioanele au luat locul cailor ferate,

fresh food began to travel more.

mancarea proaspata a inceput sa fie deplasata mai mult.

Oranges became common in New York.

Portocalele au inceput sa fie obisnuite la New York.

The South and West became agricultural hubs,

Sudul si vestul au devenit noduri agricole,

and in other parts of the country, suburbs took over farmland.

si in alte parti ale tarii suburbiile au luat locul fermelor.

The effects of this are well known. They are everywhere.

Urmarile acestor evenimente sunt stiute, sunt peste tot.

And the death of family farms is part of this puzzle,

Si disparitia fermelor de familie e o parte a acestui puzzle,

as is almost everything

cum aproape totul este,

from the demise of the real community

de la decesul comunitatii adevarate

to the challenge of finding a good tomato, even in summer.

la provocarea de a gasi o rosie buna, chiar si vara.

Eventually, California produced too much food to ship fresh,

Intr-un final, California a produs prea multa mancare pentru a fi transportata proaspata

so it became critical to market canned and frozen foods.

si a devenit esential sa comercializeze produse conservate sau inghetate.

Thus arrived convenience.

Asa a aparut comoditatea.

It was sold to proto-feminist housewives

Au fost vandute casnicelor protofeministe

as a way to cut down on housework.

ca o modalitate de a munci mai putin acasa.

Now, I know everybody over the age of, like 45 --

Acum stiu ca tuturor peste, sa zicem 45 de ani,

their mouths are watering at this point.

le ploua in gura in momentul asta.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

(Applause)

(Aplauze)

If we had a slide of Salisbury steak, even more so, right?

Si mai mult daca am fi avut o friptura Salisbury, nu?

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

But this may have cut down on housework,

Toate astea au facut munca mai usoara acasa

but it cut down on the variety of food we ate as well.

dar au redus varietatea de alimente pe care le mancam.

Many of us grew up never eating a fresh vegetable

Multi dintre noi au crescut fara sa manance o leguma proaspata,

except the occasional raw carrot or maybe an odd lettuce salad.

ocazional poate un morcov sau o salata ofilita.

I, for one -- and I'm not kidding --

Eu, de exemplu, si nu glumesc,

didn't eat real spinach or broccoli till I was 19.

nu am mancat spanac sau broccoli real pana la 19 ani.

Who needed it though? Meat was everywhere.

Si cui ii trebuia? Carne era peste tot.

What could be easier, more filling or healthier for your family

Ce putea fi mai usor, mai satios sau mai sanatos pentru familia ta

than broiling a steak?

decat o friptura la gratar?

But by then cattle were already raised unnaturally.

In momentul acela vacile erau deja crescute nenatural.

Rather than spending their lives eating grass,

In loc sa isi petreaca viata pascand iarba,

for which their stomachs were designed,

pentru care au fost concepute stomacurile lor,

they were forced to eat soy and corn.

au fost fortate sa manance soia si porumb.

They have trouble digesting those grains, of course,

Normal ca au avut porobleme in a digera cerealele,

but that wasn't a problem for producers.

dar asta nu era o problema pentru producatori.

New drugs kept them healthy.

Medicamente noi le tineau sanatoase.

Well, they kept them alive.

Ma rog, le tineau in viata.

Healthy was another story.

Sanatatea era o alta poveste.

Thanks to farm subsidies,

Multumita subventiilor pentru ferme

the fine collaboration between agribusiness and Congress,

si bunei colaborari dintre agricultori si Congres,

soy, corn and cattle became king.

soia, porumbul si vitele au devenit regi.

And chicken soon joined them on the throne.

Si puii li s-au alaturat pe tron in curand.

It was during this period that the cycle of

In perioada asta a inceput distrugerea

dietary and planetary destruction began,

ciclului alimentar si planetar,

the thing we're only realizing just now.

lucru de care ne dam seama de-abia acum.

Listen to this,

Fiti atenti:

between 1950 and 2000, the world's population doubled.

intre 1950 si 2000 s-a dublat populatia lumii.

Meat consumption increased five-fold.

Consumul de carne s-a marit de cinci ori.

Now, someone had to eat all that stuff, so we got fast food.

Si cum cineva trebuia sa manance toata carnea aia, am primit fast food.

And this took care of the situation resoundingly.

Care s-a ocupat foarte bine de problema.

Home cooking remained the norm, but its quality was down the tubes.

Mancarea gatita a ramas etalon, dar calitatea a scazut dramatic.

There were fewer meals with home-cooked breads, desserts and soups,

Erau mai putine mese cu paine, deserturi si supe facute in casa,

because all of them could be bought at any store.

pentru ca puteau fi cumparate din orice magazin.

Not that they were any good, but they were there.

Nu ca ar fi fost bune de ceva, dar erau acolo.

Most moms cooked like mine:

Majoritatea mamelor gateau ca a mea -

a piece of broiled meat, a quickly made salad with bottled dressing,

o bucata de friptura, o salata rapida cu sos la sticla,

canned soup, canned fruit salad.

supa la conserva si salata de fructe la conserva.

Maybe baked or mashed potatoes,

Poate cartofi piure sau la cuptor

or perhaps the stupidest food ever, Minute Rice.

sau poate cea mai proasta mancare - orezul la minut.

For dessert, store-bought ice cream or cookies.

La desert, inghetata sau prajituri de la magazin.

My mom is not here, so I can say this now.

Mama nu e aici si pot sa spun.

This kind of cooking drove me to learn how to cook for myself.

Modul asta de a gati m-a facut sa invat sa-mi gatesc.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

It wasn't all bad.

Nici nu era asa de rau.

By the '70s, forward-thinking people

In anii '70, oameni cu viziune

began to recognize the value of local ingredients.

au inceput sa recunoasca valoarea ingredientelor locale.

We tended gardens, we became interested in organic food,

Am facut gradini, am inceput sa fim interesati de mancarea organica,

we knew or we were vegetarians.

stiam sau eram vegetarieni.

We weren't all hippies, either.

Nu eram toti hippie.

Some of us were eating in good restaurants and learning how to cook well.

Unii dintre noi mancam in restaurante bune si invatam sa gatim bine.

Meanwhile, food production had become industrial. Industrial.

Intre timp, productia alimentara a devenit industrie. Industrie.

Perhaps because it was being produced rationally,

Poate pentru ca era produsa rational

as if it were plastic,

ca si plasticul,

food gained magical or poisonous powers, or both.

mancarea a dobandit puteri magice sau otravitoare, sau ambele.

Many people became fat-phobic.

Multi au devenit graso-fobici.

Others worshiped broccoli, as if it were God-like.

Altii venerau broccoli ca si cum era dumnezeiesc.

But mostly they didn't eat broccoli.

Dar cel mai des nu mancau broccoli.

Instead they were sold on yogurt,

In schimb o dadeau pe iaurt,

yogurt being almost as good as broccoli.

iaurtul fiind aproape la fel de bun ca broccoli.

Except, in reality, the way the industry sold yogurt

Cu diferenta ca, in realitate, modul industriei de a vinde iaurt

was to convert it to something much more akin to ice cream.

era sa-l transforme in ceva mai inrudit cu inghetata.

Similarly, let's look at a granola bar.

La fel, sa ne uitam la batoanele de cereale.

You think that that might be healthy food,

Credeti ca ar putea fi mancare sanatoasa,

but in fact, if you look at the ingredient list,

dar de fapt, daca va uitati la lista cu ingrediente

it's closer in form to a Snickers than it is to oatmeal.

e mai aproape de Snickers decat de cereale.

Sadly, it was at this time that the family dinner was put in a coma,

Din pacate, in perioada asta masa in familie a fost pusa in coma,

if not actually killed --

daca nu a fost chiar ucisa.

the beginning of the heyday of value-added food,

Era inceputul gloriei mancarurilor cu valoare adaugata

which contained as many soy and corn products

care contineau atit de multe produse de soia si porumb

as could be crammed into it.

cit de multe puteau fi inghesuie in ele.

Think of the frozen chicken nugget.

Ganditi-va la bucata inghetata de pui pane.

The chicken is fed corn, and then its meat is ground up,

Puii mananca porumb, dupa care carnea este tocata

and mixed with more corn products to add bulk and binder,

si amestecata cu mai multe produse din porumb pentru volum si sustinere,

and then it's fried in corn oil.

si apoi este prajita in ulei de porumb.

All you do is nuke it. What could be better?

Tot ce faci este sa distrugi carnea. Ce poate fi mai bun?

And zapped horribly, pathetically.

Si apoi incalzit la microunde, oribil, patetic.

By the '70s, home cooking was in such a sad state

In anii '70 gatitul mancarii era in asa hal

that the high fat and spice contents of foods

ca, concentratia mare de grasimi si condimente din mancare -

like McNuggets and Hot Pockets --

ca McNuggets si Hot Pockets -

and we all have our favorites, actually --

si toti avem un fel preferat, de fapt -

made this stuff more appealing than the bland things

au facut sa fie mai apetisante decat mancarea insipida

that people were serving at home.

pe care oamenii o serveau acasa.

At the same time, masses of women were entering the workforce,

In acelasi timp, multe femei intrau in campul muncii,

and cooking simply wasn't important enough

si gatitul nu era destul de important

for men to share the burden.

pentru barbati ca sa imparta povara.

So now, you've got your pizza nights, you've got your microwave nights,

Asa au aparut serile cu pizza, serile cu mancare la microunde,

you've got your grazing nights,

serile numai cu aperitive servite in fata televizorului,

you've got your fend-for-yourself nights and so on.

si serile "descurca-te singur" si asa mai departe.

Leading the way -- what's leading the way?

La putere - ce e la putere?

Meat, junk food, cheese:

Carne, junk food, branza.

the very stuff that will kill you.

Lucrurile care te omoara.

So, now we clamor for organic food.

Si acum facem galagie pentru mancare organica.

That's good.

E bine.

And as evidence that things can actually change,

Ca proba ca lucrurile chiar se pot schimba,

you can now find organic food in supermarkets,

se poate gasi mancare organica la supermarket,

and even in fast-food outlets.

si chiar la fast-food.

But organic food isn't the answer either,

Dar nu mancarea organica este raspunsul,

at least not the way it's currently defined.

cel putin nu asa cum e definita acum.

Let me pose you a question.

Sa va intreb ceva.

Can farm-raised salmon be organic,

Poate fi organic somonul crescut in ferme

when its feed has nothing to do with its natural diet,

cand ce mananca nu are nicio legatura cu alimentatia naturala,

even if the feed itself is supposedly organic, and the fish themselves

chiar daca ce i se da e probabil organic, si cand pestii insusi

are packed tightly in pens, swimming in their own filth?

sunt inghesuiti in tarcuri si inoata in propria lor murdarie?

And if that salmon's from Chile, and it's killed down there

Si somonul din Chile este omorat acolo

and then flown 5,000 miles, whatever,

si apoi adus cu avionul 8.000 de km

dumping how much carbon into the atmosphere?

lasand cat carbon in atmosfera?

I don't know.

Nu stiu.

Packed in Styrofoam, of course,

Ambalat in polistiren, desigur,

before landing somewhere in the United States,

inainte de a ateriza undeva in State

and then being trucked a few hundred more miles.

si apoi dus cu camionul inca niste sute de kilometri.

This may be organic in letter, but it's surely not organic in spirit.

Asta poate fi organic ad literam, dar nu este organic in spirit.

Now here is where we all meet.

Uite de ce ne-am intalnit.

The locavores, the organivores, the vegetarians,

Locavorii, organivorii, vegetarienii,

the vegans, the gourmets

veganii, gurmanzii

and those of us who are just plain interested in good food.

si toti aceia dintre noi care doar suntem interesati de mancarea buna.

Even though we've come to this from different points,

Chiar daca am ajuns la asta din puncte de vedere diferite,

we all have to act on our knowledge

trebuie sa actionam cu totii pe baza cunostintelor noastre

to change the way that everyone thinks about food.

de a schimba modul in care oamenii gandesc despre mancarea.

We need to start acting.

Trebuie sa incepem sa facem ceva.

And this is not only an issue of social justice, as Ann Cooper said --

Si nu e numai o chestiune de dreptate sociala, cum spune Ann Cooper -

and, of course, she's completely right --

si are, desigur, perfecta dreptate -

but it's also one of global survival.

ci este si o chestiune de supravietuire globala.

Which bring me full circle and points directly to the core issue,

Care ma aduce de unde am plecat si arata direct la problema principala:

the overproduction and overconsumption of meat and junk food.

super-productia si super-consumul de carne si junk food.

As I said, 18 percent of greenhouse gases

Cum am mai spus, 18 la suta din gazele cu efect de sera

are attributed to livestock production.

sunt atribuite productiei de carne de vita.

How much livestock do you need to produce this?

De cate bovine ai nevoie pentru a produce atat?

70 percent of the agricultural land on Earth,

70 la suta din terenul agricol de pe Pamant.

30 percent of the Earth's land surface is directly or indirectly devoted

30 la suta din suprafata terestra a Pamantului este direct sau indirect dedicata

to raising the animals we'll eat.

cresterii animalelor pe care le mancam.

And this amount is predicted to double in the next 40 years or so.

Si predictiile arata ca se va dubla in urmatorii 40 de ani.

And if the numbers coming in from China

Si daca cifrele sosite din China

are anything like what they look like now,

sunt apropiate de cele de acum,

it's not going to be 40 years.

nu vor fi 40 de ani.

There is no good reason for eating as much meat as we do.

Nu este un motiv plauzibil sa mancam atata carne ca acum.

And I say this as a man who has eaten a fair share of corned beef in his life.

Si spun asta ca un tip care a mancat o parte importanta de carne de vita in viata lui.

The most common argument is that we need nutrients --

Cel mai frecvent argument este ca avem nevoie de nutrienti -

even though we eat, on average, twice as much protein

chiar daca mancam, in medie, de doua ori mai multe proteine

as even the industry-obsessed USDA recommends.

decat ne recomanda obsedatul de industrie Minister al Agriculturii.

But listen: experts who are serious about disease reduction

Ascultati - experti care se ocupa serios de reducerea bolilor

recommend that adults eat just over half a pound of meat per week.

recomanda ca adultii sa manance cam 250 de grame de carne pe saptamana.

What do you think we eat per day? Half a pound.

Cat credeti ca mancam pe zi? Aproape 250 de grame.

But don't we need meat to be big and strong?

Dar avem nevoie de carne sa fim mari si puternici, nu-i asa?

Isn't meat eating essential to health?

Nu este consumul de carne esential sanatatii?

Won't a diet heavy in fruit and vegetables

Nu ne va transforma o dieta bogata in fructe si legume

turn us into godless, sissy, liberals?

in liberali pacatosi si cam timizi?

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

Some of us might think that would be a good thing.

Unii dintre noi ar putea crede ca asta ar fi un lucru bun.

But, no, even if we were all steroid-filled football players,

Dar, nu, chiar daca am fi sportivi plini de steroizi,

the answer is no.

raspunsul e nu.

In fact, there's no diet on Earth that meets

De fapt, nu exista nicio dieta pe pamant care sa implineasca

basic nutritional needs that won't promote growth,

nevoile alimentare de baza si care sa nu promoveze cresterea,

and many will make you much healthier than ours does.

si multe dintre ele va vor face mai sanatosi decat o fac ale noastre.

We don't eat animal products for sufficient nutrition,

Nu mancam produse animale pentru o alimentatie suficienta,

we eat them to have an odd form of malnutrition, and it's killing us.

le mancam pentru a dobandi o forma ciudata de malnutritie, si asta ne omoara.

To suggest that in the interests of personal and human health

Sugerez ca in interesul propriu si al sanatatii umane

Americans eat 50 percent less meat --

americanii sa manance cu 50 la suta mai putina carne -

it's not enough of a cut, but it's a start.

nu este o reducere suficienta, dar este un inceput.

It would seem absurd, but that's exactly what should happen,

Ar parea absurd, dar asta este exact ce ar trebui sa se intample,

and what progressive people, forward-thinking people

si pentru care progresistii si vizionarii

should be doing and advocating,

ar trebuie sa pledeze,

along with the corresponding increase in the consumption of plants.

impreuna cu cresterea corespunzatoare a consumului de vegetale.

I've been writing about food more or less omnivorously --

Am scris despre mancare mai mult sau mai putin omnivora -

one might say indiscriminately -- for about 30 years.

fara discriminare ati putea spune - de peste 30 de ani.

During that time, I've eaten

In tot acest timp am mancat

and recommended eating just about everything.

si am recomandat sa se manance cam orice.

I'll never stop eating animals, I'm sure,

Nu o sa ma opresc din a manca produse animale, sunt sigur,

but I do think that for the benefit of everyone,

dar cred ca, in beneficiul tuturor,

the time has come to stop raising them industrially

a venit timpul sa oprim cresterea lor industriala,

and stop eating them thoughtlessly.

si sa incetam sa le mancam fara discernamant.

Ann Cooper's right.

Ann Cooper are dreptate.

The USDA is not our ally here.

Ministerul Agriculturii nu este aliatul nostru in asta.

We have to take matters into our own hands,

Trebuie sa luam problema in propriile maini

not only by advocating for a better diet for everyone --

nu numai prin incurajarea unei mai bune diete pentru toata lumea -

and that's the hard part -- but by improving our own.

si asta e partea cea mai grea - dar si prin a ne imbunatati propria dieta.

And that happens to be quite easy.

Si asta nu e greu deloc.

Less meat, less junk, more plants.

Mai putina carne, mai putin junk food, mai multe vegetale.

It's a simple formula: eat food.

E simpla formula - mancati mancare.

Eat real food.

Mancati mancare reala.

We can continue to enjoy our food, and we continue to eat well,

Putem continua sa ne bucuram de mancarea noastra, si sa continuam sa mancam bine

and we can eat even better.

si putem sa mancam chiar mai bine.

We can continue the search for the ingredients we love,

Putem sa continuam cautarea ingredientelor preferate

and we can continue to spin yarns about our favorite meals.

si putem sa stam la povesti despre felurile noastre favorite.

We'll reduce not only calories, but our carbon footprint.

N-o sa reducem numai caloriile, ci si amprenta noastra de emisii de carbon.

We can make food more important, not less,

Putem face ca mancarea sa fie mai importanta, nu mai putin importanta,

and save ourselves by doing so.

si sa ne salvam in felul asta.

We have to choose that path.

Trebuie sa alegem aceasta cale.

Thank you.

Multumesc.