Translator: Cristine Molina Reviewer: Rhonda Jacobs
So today I'd like to tell you about a simple idea
that could change the way we eat.
It looks like this.
It's a piece of paper with a distinctive maple-like scent.
That scent indicates that the paper is active.
What does it mean for a piece of paper to be active?
It means that if you put this sheet
into a refrigerator drawer, a carton, or a bag,
filled with different fruits and vegetables,
that produce will last for two to four times longer.
Anyone who's ever opened a fridge to find moldy strawberries
or a bag of soggy spinach
knows how frustrating and expensive food spoilage can be.
But this paper is not only for use by consumers like you and me.
Because it's so low-tech and inexpensive,
it can actually be used by large-scale growers and producers,
as well as in the developing world.
Today, 1.6 billion people live without access to refrigeration.
And despite all the technology we have,
25% of the world's food supply is lost to spoilage.
This small sheet of paper could significantly reduce spoilage
and the massive energy and resource costs associated with it.
It all started here in my grandmother's kitchen.
About ten years after this picture was taken,
I was visiting my grandmother in India
and I accidentally drank some tap water while brushing my teeth.
I started to panic,
but my grandmother quickly whipped up some spices and herbs into a solution
and said, "Oh, just drink this, and you'll be fine."
I was very skeptical when I looked at this murky brown mixture,
but I drank it, and I didn't get sick.
I then began to wonder if and how it might have actually worked.
So when I got home to the US I decided to do some simple experiments.
And I actually ended up finding that some of the spices in the mixture
were able to stop the growth of common bacteria and fungus
that I found around my kitchen.
Then, I went grocery shopping with my mom one day
and she asked me to pick out a box of strawberries.
But I kept getting frustrated, because I couldn't find a single box
that didn't seem to have even a few strawberries that hadn't gone bad.
So I thought, "I wonder what would happen
if I started dipping strawberries in my mixture.
Would they perhaps last longer?"
I tried it, and the results were unbelievable.
I went out and got many fruits and vegetables,
and again, it really worked.
And so, to make a long story short,
after several years I developed FreshPaper.
FreshPaper is infused only with edible, organic, botanical extracts.
And because of its paper format it can be used on the entire journey
from when food is first harvested until it arrives on your plate.
And because it's biodegradable and compostable,
it can make our entire food system more sustainable.
So, in 2010 we founded Fenugreen.
And Fenugreen just started out as a simple project,
to learn more about our food system
and to see how FreshPaper might be able to help.
The name is derived from one of the active ingredients.
Some of you may know it,
it's a spice used in Mediterranean and Indian cooking: fenugreek.
And so we just handmade a batch of FreshPaper
and started going to farmers markets
and street fairs, and just talking to people.
We didn't really know much about the food system
or really even what we were doing at the time,
but a local store, Harvest Co-op, took a leap of faith and signed us on.
And then several other Boston stores followed as well.
But at this point, we still didn't know if people would know
how to use FreshPaper or how they would react.
So we just put it out there, and then we waited.
And then something amazing happened.
People started reaching out to us, calling us, emailing us,
flagging us in grocery store parking lots, all to start sharing their stories.
We started to hear things like,
"FreshPaper makes it possible for me to eat local,
to eat organic, to eat my entire CSA share."
And also we started to hear,
(Laughter)
best of all, we started to hear people saying,
"FreshPaper makes it possible for me to eat fresh fruits and vegetables
on a regular basis."
And that was incredibly inspiring for us,
because we realized that in our own small way,
with our small sheet of paper,
we were having an impact on the food system.
And so we started to think bigger.
And today, our mission is "Fresh for All."
And we're striving towards a world
in which access to fresh fruits and vegetables
is not limited by distribution systems and cold chains,
one in which everyone from farmers to food banks can use FreshPaper
to not only make our food system more sustainable,
but more accessible.
Today, I often wonder what would have happened
if I hadn't drunk my grandmother's solution.
What if I had dismissed it as being too simplistic?
But I think I've come to realize that FreshPaper is powerful.
It can be used in so many different ways in different parts of the world
precisely because it is so simple.
(Applause)