The future of good food in China | Matilda Ho

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

I was six when I had the first chance to learn what patience means.

我在六歲時第一次學到耐心的意義。

My grandmother gave me a magic box as a birthday present,

我祖母送我一個魔術盒 做為生日禮物，

which neither of us knew would become a gift for life.

我們都沒料到 它會變成人生的禮物。

I became obsessed with magic,

我迷上了魔術，

and at 20, I became an amateur dove magician.

二十歲時，我成了業餘鴿子魔術師。

This act of magic requires that I train my doves

為要表演這種魔術，

to sit and wait inside my clothing.

我得訓練鴿子待在我的衣服裡等著。

As a young magician, I was always in a rush to make them appear,

當我還是個年輕魔術師時， 總是急著要變牠們出來，

but my teacher told me

但是老師告訴我，

the secret to the success of this magical act

這魔術表演成功的秘訣，

is to make my doves appear only after they've waited patiently

在於一定要讓鴿子 待在禮服裡耐心等候之後，

才讓牠們出現。

in my tuxedo.

It has to be a mindful kind of patience,

必須是種經心式的耐心，

the kind that took me some years to master.

我花了好幾年才精通這種耐心。

When life took me to Shanghai seven years ago,

七年前，命運帶我到了上海，

the mindful patience I learned became almost impossible to practice.

我學到的經心式耐心幾乎不管用。

In China, where everyone and everything is in a hurry,

在中國，所有人事物都很急促，

you need to outperform over 1.3 billion other people

你得要勝過其他 13 億人

to build a better life.

才能打造更好的人生。

You hack the system, bend the rules,

你要駭入系統、篡改規則、

circumvent the boundaries.

規避界線。

It is the same when it comes to food ...

在食物方面也一樣，

except that when it comes to food,

差別只在於，在食物方面，

impatience can have dire consequences.

沒有耐心會帶來很悲慘的後果。

In the haste to grow more, sell more,

因為急著要種更多、賣更多，

4,000 years of agriculture in a country of rich natural resources

四千年的農業，在這個 天然資源豐富的國家裡，

is spoiled by the overuse of chemicals and pesticides.

被化學物質和農藥的濫用給糟蹋了。

In 2016, the Chinese government revealed

2016 年，中國政府揭露，

half a million food safety violations in just nine months.

短短的九個月裡就有五十萬件 違反食物安全的案件。

Alarmingly, one in every four diabetics in the world

令人憂慮的是 世界上每四位糖尿病患者，

now comes from China.

就有一位是中國人。

The stories around food

關於食物的真相

are scary and somewhat overwhelming,

很駭人，且勢不可擋，

and I told myself it's time to bring a mindful patience into the impatience.

我告訴自己，該是把經心式耐心 帶入這些沒耐心的事物中的時候了。

When I say mindful patience,

我說的經心式耐心，

I don't mean the ability to wait.

並不是指能夠等，

I mean knowing how to act while waiting.

而是知道在等待時如何行事。

And so, while I wait for the day

所以，當我在等待

永續食物系統在中國成真的 那一天到來時，

when a sustainable food system becomes a reality in China,

I launched one of China's first online farmers market

我推出一個中國首發的 線上農夫市場，

to bring local, organically grown produce to families.

把在地有機種植的農產品帶入家庭。

When we went live, 18 months ago,

我們在十八個月前上線，

the food we could sell then was somewhat dismal.

當時能販售的食物有點讓人沮喪，

We had no fruit and hardly any meat to sell,

我們沒有水果，也幾乎沒有肉可賣，

as none that was sent to the lab passed our zero tolerance test

因為它們都無法通過 實驗室的零容忍檢測，

towards pesticides, chemicals, antibiotics and hormones.

檢測的內容包括農藥、 化學物質、抗生素、賀爾蒙。

I told our very anxious employees

我告訴我們極焦慮的員工，

that we would not give up until we've met every local farmer in China.

在還沒見到每個中國農夫之前， 我們不會放棄。

Today, we supply 240 types of produce

現在，我們供應 240 種農產品，

from 57 local farmers.

來自 57 位在地的農夫。

After almost one year of searching,

經過幾乎一年的尋找，

we finally found chemical-free bananas

我們終於找到了 完全不含化學物質的香蕉，

grown in the backyards of villagers on Hainan Island.

種在海南島村民家的後院裡。

And only two hours away from Shanghai,

在離上海只有兩小時的地方，

on an island that even Google Maps does not have coordinates for,

在一座連 Google 地圖 都沒有標示的小島上，

we found a place where cows eat grass

我們發現一處，

那裡養的牛在藍天下 自由自在地吃草及漫遊。

and roam free under the blue sky.

We also work hard on logistics.

我們也投很多心力於物流。

We deliver our customers' orders in as fast as three hours

用電動車，遞送客戶訂的貨 可以快到只需三個小時；

on electric vehicles,

and we use biodegradable, reusable boxes

我們用能被生物分解、 可再使用的盒子，

to minimize our environmental footprint.

來把我們的環境足跡減到最少。

I have no doubt that our offerings will continue to grow,

我毫不懷疑，我們的 出售物會持續成長，

but it will take time,

但那需要時間，

and I know a lot more people are needed to shape the future of good food.

我知道需要很多人才有可能 形成一個有好食物的未來。

So last year, I founded China's first food tech accelerator and VC platform

所以我在去年成立了中國第一個 食物技術加速器以及創投平台，

to help start-ups to shape the future of good food

來協助新公司創造有好食物的未來，

the way they want,

用它們想用的方式，

be that through using edible insects as a more sustainable source of protein

不論是使用可食用昆蟲 做為蛋白質的永續來源，

or using essential oils to keep food fresh for longer.

或是用精油來拉長食物的保鮮期。

So, you may still ask:

你可能還是會問：

Why are you trying to build a sustainable food system

為什麼你嘗試建立的永續食物系統，

by driving a patient movement

用的是推動耐心的方式，

in a country where it's almost a crime to take it slow?

而且是在一個視進展緩慢 幾乎是種罪行的國家呢？

Because, for me,

因為對我而言，

the real secret to success is patience --

真正的成功秘訣是耐心，

a mindful kind of patience

經心式的耐心，

that requires knowing how to act while waiting,

需要知道在等待時如何行事，

the kind of patience I learned with my grandmother's magic box.

也就是我從祖母的魔術盒 所學到的那種耐心。

After all, we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors.

畢竟，我們並不是從 我們的祖先那裡繼承地球的。

We borrow it from our children.

我們是從我們的孩子那裡借來的。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）