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Talk11 min

The food that fertilizes itself

Giles E.D. Oldroyd · TED

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About

Could the key to a sustainable food system already be growing in the world’s farms? Plant scientist Giles E.D. Oldroyd explores how a special quirk of soybean plants allows them to naturally partner with networks of fungi and bacteria to access essential nutrients in the air and soil — eliminating the need for synthetic fertilizers. He shows how harnessing these microscopic powerhouses could help scientists rewire crops to make their own fertilizer, reducing pollution, increasing yields and improving livelihoods for smallholder farmers.

The talk

  1. The food that fertilizes itself 11 min · TED's player

Credits and licence

Institution
TED
Department
TED Countdown Dilemma Series: Food
Speaker
Giles E.D. Oldroyd
Year
2024
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Subjects
Biology, Earth and environment
Source
TED
Licence
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, as TED states it. Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions. TED's terms
Attribution
TED Talks are licensed by TED under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International and are shown here in TED's own player, as TED's usage policy asks.
Who can watch
TED gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Tweens profiles and older, judged from what the source says about it. How courses are placed