In this ted talk Pierre Thiam talked about fonio or po meaning seed of the universe. [3:47] it was deemed great enough for ancient pharaohs to take it to the afterlife with them [3; 40]. The reason that Thiam learned about this grain is because he had a dream. An American dream. He had be a chef in New York for part of his life. And he wanted that life to have meaning. And for his life to have meaning he wanted to give back to the place where he worked [New York] and the place he came from, Africa specifically Senegal. To kill two birds with one stone he as a chef decided to do something about the hunger problem in Africa, while using that solution to feed people in New York too. In doing so Thiam re discovered fonio. This is a super grain that is like the potatoes of the desert. It can grow in a vast variety of climates with little care needed and it is still very nutritious. The problem Thiam has with accomplishing his dream is something he went over in his speech. There is three main problems he must overcome
The first is the ideal that west is best. In lots of African states the ideal that products made by the west is better than their own is putting a bias against his dream. If he was to westernize this super grain it would get more attention. The second problem he has is with the grain its self. It as an arduous task to turn fonio in to an edible substance. But is a problem already half solved. There is a mechanized way to produce fonio. The second half has to deal with international food standers. It is hard for Thiam to meet these standers so that he is able to westernize fonio. If the bottle neck on food standers was made slightly wider Thiam could westernize the grain in turn drawing attention to it and putting it on plates around Africa. The third problem also has to deal with production. There is not one fonio mill on this earth. If one was to be made in Africa and run by the natives in their own states not only would it help solve the food problem but it would also help solve the migrant problem. The migrant problem comes from a lack of food and jobs. Both cold be solved by the mass production of fonio. Thiam explains that "Because of desertification and lack of job prospects, much of kedougou's young population has left. They chose the deadly path of migration, in search of "better" opportunities." All of which are problems the Thiam believes can be solved by his vision (American dream) which is to mass produce fonio. Thiam even states that desertification can be slowed down if not sloped which in turn will help the climate problem. All from the seed of the universe, fonio. This was by far one of my favorite speeches. Thiam is doing everything he can to accomplish his American dream. What’s even better than that? His dream is to better the world not just himself. Thiam uses ethos when describing himself as a professional cook. So it is made quite obvious that when talking about grains he is in his expertise. All the statistics given out in his speech represents logos. Not only that but he stated many facts about fonio itself. Pathos was not something heavily used. The one exception is when he is talking about the migration of the youths through the desert and in make shift canoes in hopes of reaching Spain or Europe. It was indirect pathos. Thiam himself got a little "choked up" when talking about it. By that I mean that he changed his tone and it was clear that this specific subject made him very sad. But for that reason I love this speech even more. Mainly because it shows how much what he is talking about means to him? One question I would love to ask Thiam is what your plans are for the future if you do get a fonio mill up and bring the youth and jobs back. Then after you aver completed all of your goals for making fonio global, what comes next? His American value of, selflessness, the desire to help those in need, perseverance, and intelligence shine in this speech. He had a problem he wanted to solve so that he could help them. And in the American fashion Thiam educated himself and preceded to do the right thing. Because of him I sure America has a bright future ahead. I am glad I got to learn about the struggles his home countries people are going through and what he is doing to help them. With the information I gathered from Thiam great speech I learned there is a way to help the hungry Africans and there is something I can do to help. Promote fonio's widespread distribution and share the knowledge I have gained with my peers. https://www.ted.com/talks/pierre_thiam_a_forgotten_ancient_grain_that_could_help_africa_prosper |