What Is Alexis Nikole Nelson's Flavorful Field Guide to Foraging? | TED

TL;DR

Alexis Nikole Nelson's field guide explains how foraging can introduce people to wild vegan foods through appealing, unfamiliar dishes such as sweet and salty bull kelp chips. She defines foraging, describes purslane's nutrients, and notes that bull kelp averages 15.3 percent protein by weight. Read on for her practical approach to skeptical eaters and the advantages she identifies in sea vegetables.

Transcript

If a vegan falls in the forest ... (Laughter) And no one's there to hear them say, "I'm vegan!" (Laughter) Are they even really vegan? (Laughter) (Laughter and applause) I like to preface conversations about my dietary habits with jokes because brains love the ha-has and because sometimes you say the word "vegan" and people get a little afraid. The... Read More

Key Insights

• 🌱 Veganism is often met with skepticism and misconceptions, causing people to be hesitant to try vegan food.
• 🌿 The speaker is both a vegan and a wild food forager, highlighting their love for the planet and its inhabitants.
• 🍴 Foraging for wild food can provide free, nutritious options that are often healthier than store-bought produce.
• 🌊 Seaweed and sea vegetables are sustainable, future-minded food options, requiring minimal resources to grow.
• 💡 When introducing vegan dishes to skeptics, it's best to use dishes that are not pretending to be something else.
• 🌍 Explaining the unsustainability of current food practices can help encourage people to make more thoughtful choices.
• 🍽️ Introducing people to wild foods in their area fosters a connection to their food and promotes change without shame.
• 🧂 Not everyone will be open to trying vegan or wild foods, but some will be receptive and may make positive changes in their lives as a result.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is foraging?

Foraging is the art and science of identifying, collecting, and eating wild food. Nelson says anyone who has tried gathered dandelions or wood sorrel has already participated in foraging.

Q: Why does Alexis Nikole Nelson forage and follow a vegan diet?

Nelson says she is a forager and a vegan for much the same reason: her love of the planet and its inhabitants. She describes veganism as a diet completely free of animal products and also as the term for someone following that diet.

Q: When did Alexis Nikole Nelson become vegetarian and vegan?

Nelson asked to become vegetarian at age five after connecting cows in fields with the cows on her father's grill. Shortly after her 12th birthday, she gave up meat completely, then gave up eggs and dairy another 12 years later.

Q: What wild vegan snack does Alexis Nikole Nelson make in the TED Talk?

Nelson makes sweet and salty kelp chips, a Korean snack called Dasima Twigak. She uses bull kelp that she foraged in Vancouver and spritzes it with sunflower oil.

Q: How does Alexis Nikole Nelson introduce skeptical people to wild vegan food?

Her first tip is to serve a dish that is not pretending to be something else. Without a familiar version for comparison, skeptical eaters may have fewer prior associations or opinions about the food.

Q: Why does Alexis Nikole Nelson call seaweed a future-minded food?

She says seaweed and other sea vegetables require no fresh water, fertilizer, or land. They grow in salty seas while creating ecosystems and oxygen, and she presents them as an option amid runoff, water access, labor, and monoculturing problems in North American agriculture.

Q: How much protein does bull kelp contain?

Nelson says bull kelp contains an average of 15.3 percent protein by weight. She uses this fact to respond humorously to questions about where vegans get their protein.

Q: What nutritional benefits does Alexis Nikole Nelson attribute to purslane?

Nelson describes purslane, also called Verdolagas in Spanish-speaking parts of the Americas, as a summertime weed that grows from sidewalk cracks. She says it contains Omega-3s, iron, and vitamin C.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Definition: Foraging is the art and science of identifying, collecting, and eating wild food.

• Definition: Vegan describes both a diet completely free of animal products and a person who follows that diet.

• Who: Alexis Nikole Nelson is an outdoor educator, wild food forager, reluctant social media star, and vegan.

• When: Nelson gave up meat shortly after her 12th birthday, then gave up eggs and dairy another 12 years later.

• Tool: Nelson uses kitchen shears to cut bull kelp and sunflower oil to spritz it while making chips.

• Step 1: Choose a dish that is not pretending to be another food when serving skeptical eaters.

• Step 2: Reduce prior comparisons by offering food that eaters may have no memories or opinions about.

• Number: Bull kelp contains an average of 15.3 percent protein by weight.

• Compare: Seaweed requires no fresh water, fertilizer, or land, unlike resources associated with much modern agriculture.

• Definition: Dasima Twigak is the sweet and salty Korean kelp-chip snack Nelson makes with bull kelp foraged in Vancouver.