0 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:30,000 Dear viewer, these subtitles were generated by a machine via the service Trint and therefore are (very) buggy. If you are capable, please help us to create good quality subtitles: https://c3subtitles.de/talk/431 Thanks! 1 00:00:09,260 --> 00:00:10,669 I've got the second best title in the 2 00:00:10,670 --> 00:00:12,289 world, there's a guy who works in the 3 00:00:12,290 --> 00:00:13,549 Natural History Museum and he's the 4 00:00:13,550 --> 00:00:15,799 curator of Cockroaches 5 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:17,869 Have, but I get invited to more 6 00:00:17,870 --> 00:00:19,989 parties, say, hey, well, thanks 7 00:00:19,990 --> 00:00:22,069 for your for coming and 8 00:00:22,070 --> 00:00:23,719 for the opportunity to put our heads in 9 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:25,889 the same space around food 10 00:00:25,890 --> 00:00:26,749 and literature. 11 00:00:26,750 --> 00:00:28,849 And Agritech, thanks 12 00:00:28,850 --> 00:00:30,169 for the introduction. 13 00:00:30,170 --> 00:00:31,789 Yeah, I'm a literary critic and it's 14 00:00:31,790 --> 00:00:33,469 great to be able to bring literary 15 00:00:33,470 --> 00:00:35,539 criticism and technical ethics 16 00:00:35,540 --> 00:00:37,069 together of the Congress. 17 00:00:37,070 --> 00:00:39,019 And one of the things I've noticed about 18 00:00:39,020 --> 00:00:41,269 C3 events is that 19 00:00:41,270 --> 00:00:43,069 solutions often seem to present 20 00:00:43,070 --> 00:00:45,169 themselves at the intersections of 21 00:00:45,170 --> 00:00:47,179 different kinds of knowledge and 22 00:00:47,180 --> 00:00:48,180 practices. 23 00:00:49,250 --> 00:00:51,349 So I'm going to be talking about how the 24 00:00:51,350 --> 00:00:53,779 arts engage ethically and 25 00:00:53,780 --> 00:00:55,849 politically with the technovation 26 00:00:55,850 --> 00:00:57,979 of the food chain, the chain of 27 00:00:57,980 --> 00:01:00,229 flow of sustenance from 28 00:01:00,230 --> 00:01:03,049 field to dinner plate. 29 00:01:03,050 --> 00:01:04,818 Now, this is an interdisciplinary talk, 30 00:01:04,819 --> 00:01:06,919 but don't worry, I won't be claiming 31 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:08,989 quite that poems 32 00:01:08,990 --> 00:01:11,089 and paintings are, you know, sort 33 00:01:11,090 --> 00:01:13,519 of computational machines for working 34 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:15,259 out social policy, because I would be 35 00:01:15,260 --> 00:01:16,939 crazy. Right. 36 00:01:16,940 --> 00:01:19,609 But if I'm not willfully misunderstanding 37 00:01:19,610 --> 00:01:21,409 Yoshio's excellent talk on the 38 00:01:21,410 --> 00:01:23,629 computational universe, it 39 00:01:23,630 --> 00:01:25,369 seems that a likely candidate for the 40 00:01:25,370 --> 00:01:27,919 substrate of consciousness 41 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:29,869 is the nominal, you know, the realm of 42 00:01:29,870 --> 00:01:30,769 ideas. 43 00:01:30,770 --> 00:01:33,229 And that's precisely where art 44 00:01:33,230 --> 00:01:35,659 and literature lives. 45 00:01:35,660 --> 00:01:37,789 So, you know, it's it's the ideal place 46 00:01:37,790 --> 00:01:40,399 for a deep processing of of 47 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:42,679 ethical issues, the big issues 48 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:44,449 like food and tech. 49 00:01:44,450 --> 00:01:45,799 But I'm going to start with a general 50 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:47,209 point. 51 00:01:47,210 --> 00:01:49,669 In 1783, the 52 00:01:49,670 --> 00:01:52,299 English poet George Krab 53 00:01:52,300 --> 00:01:54,439 de D 54 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:57,379 described the brutal reality of 55 00:01:57,380 --> 00:02:00,199 of of equal access to food. 56 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:02,559 And this is how he put it, where plenty 57 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:03,649 smiles a lot. 58 00:02:03,650 --> 00:02:05,479 She smiles for few. 59 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:07,639 And those who taste not yet 60 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:10,279 behold her store are as the slaves 61 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:12,679 that dig the golden or the wealth around 62 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:15,019 them makes them W4. 63 00:02:15,020 --> 00:02:17,239 Maybe that sounds familiar because 64 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:19,639 if crab fell through a wormhole 65 00:02:19,640 --> 00:02:22,099 and arrived in the present day, it feel 66 00:02:22,100 --> 00:02:23,330 depressingly at home. 67 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:27,079 In 2014, almost a million 68 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,599 people in the UK were forced to rely 69 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:31,519 on food banks. 70 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:33,649 So it's amazing that while Agritech 71 00:02:33,650 --> 00:02:35,869 is bringing all kinds of awesome new 72 00:02:35,870 --> 00:02:38,299 capabilities online from synthetic 73 00:02:38,300 --> 00:02:40,399 food to sit Genex 74 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:42,469 and Agri Robots, 75 00:02:42,470 --> 00:02:44,959 an all party report concluded this month 76 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:47,479 that hunger now stalks 77 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:48,480 the UK. 78 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:50,929 Actually, there were more than enough 79 00:02:50,930 --> 00:02:53,029 calories to go around, but the 80 00:02:53,030 --> 00:02:55,459 equivalent of 50 million meals 81 00:02:55,460 --> 00:02:57,679 a month went not to the hungry, but 82 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,709 straight to landfill or the incinerator. 83 00:03:00,710 --> 00:03:02,329 Now we can talk about the regulations 84 00:03:02,330 --> 00:03:04,519 that compel supermarkets 85 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:05,479 to do this right. 86 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:07,609 And we can play with the 87 00:03:07,610 --> 00:03:09,469 idea of regs that might stop them from 88 00:03:09,470 --> 00:03:10,470 doing it. 89 00:03:10,910 --> 00:03:13,099 But actually, there is another 90 00:03:13,100 --> 00:03:15,559 layer of debate underneath that, 91 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:17,779 because what we seem to be witnessing are 92 00:03:17,780 --> 00:03:19,999 not just in Britain is the new 93 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:22,159 socialization of hunger, 94 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:24,829 hunger presented as the inevitable 95 00:03:24,830 --> 00:03:27,409 consequence of austerity, 96 00:03:27,410 --> 00:03:29,599 hunger that allows us to believe 97 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:31,699 in austerity, hunger 98 00:03:31,700 --> 00:03:34,819 as a as a deeply embedded subroutine 99 00:03:34,820 --> 00:03:36,409 of cultural capitalism. 100 00:03:37,670 --> 00:03:39,919 So where's Agritech in the equation? 101 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:41,569 Well, it seems to be where we're placing 102 00:03:41,570 --> 00:03:42,529 our faith. 103 00:03:42,530 --> 00:03:44,989 That's the European Parliament. 104 00:03:44,990 --> 00:03:46,819 The UN adopts a rather more 105 00:03:46,820 --> 00:03:49,009 conceptualized position seeing 106 00:03:49,010 --> 00:03:51,199 tech as the as the key 107 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:53,479 link between humans and nature. 108 00:03:55,190 --> 00:03:57,439 But what I and my co researchers, 109 00:03:57,440 --> 00:03:59,749 Jane Archer, also a literary critic, 110 00:03:59,750 --> 00:04:01,939 and Syd Thomas, a plant 111 00:04:01,940 --> 00:04:04,759 geneticist, suggest in our new book 112 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:07,129 is that art and literature already 113 00:04:07,130 --> 00:04:09,259 provides that deep processing 114 00:04:09,260 --> 00:04:11,989 link between humans and the biophysical 115 00:04:11,990 --> 00:04:13,189 world. 116 00:04:13,190 --> 00:04:15,679 Moreover, that art opens 117 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:17,929 a shared space of imagination 118 00:04:17,930 --> 00:04:20,119 that can be as radical as we need 119 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:21,120 it to be. 120 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:23,899 Food security. It's a deceptively 121 00:04:23,900 --> 00:04:26,119 simple term, but it's a dauntingly 122 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:28,639 complex problem and it encompasses 123 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:31,039 landownership, soil, climate, 124 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:33,349 climate change, markets, 125 00:04:33,350 --> 00:04:35,449 policies and any solution 126 00:04:35,450 --> 00:04:37,789 lies at the intersection of a number 127 00:04:37,790 --> 00:04:39,499 of disciplines. 128 00:04:39,500 --> 00:04:40,699 We've got to bring together food 129 00:04:40,700 --> 00:04:43,459 producers, scientists, agritech 130 00:04:43,460 --> 00:04:46,129 distributors, planners and 131 00:04:46,130 --> 00:04:48,589 we argue artists and writers. 132 00:04:49,910 --> 00:04:52,069 But first, we have to rescue 133 00:04:52,070 --> 00:04:53,569 some of our canonical authors from the 134 00:04:53,570 --> 00:04:55,709 heritage industry, authors who 135 00:04:55,710 --> 00:04:57,769 were once sharply critical of 136 00:04:57,770 --> 00:04:59,929 orthodox power have been 137 00:04:59,930 --> 00:05:02,299 repackaged as our national 138 00:05:02,300 --> 00:05:04,369 poets and painters and are given back 139 00:05:04,370 --> 00:05:06,739 to us in ways that make their art 140 00:05:06,740 --> 00:05:09,019 appear to support the codes 141 00:05:09,020 --> 00:05:11,449 and values of the dominant interests 142 00:05:11,450 --> 00:05:13,939 that they once challenged. 143 00:05:13,940 --> 00:05:15,679 So literary criticism can help us there 144 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:17,989 with our counter narratives, because 145 00:05:17,990 --> 00:05:20,119 the truth is, many of our best 146 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,339 known painters and writers, their 147 00:05:22,340 --> 00:05:25,129 relation to the politics of hunger 148 00:05:25,130 --> 00:05:27,379 to early forms of agricultural 149 00:05:27,380 --> 00:05:29,479 technology was a lot closer than 150 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:32,509 ours, and their experience is relevant 151 00:05:32,510 --> 00:05:34,639 to the big actions that we need to 152 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:36,889 define and take. 153 00:05:36,890 --> 00:05:39,769 Consider William Shakespeare. 154 00:05:39,770 --> 00:05:41,869 So last year we made the newspapers 155 00:05:41,870 --> 00:05:44,269 also in Germany with some research 156 00:05:44,270 --> 00:05:47,059 on Shakespeare's business dealings, 157 00:05:47,060 --> 00:05:49,609 and we argued these dealings informed 158 00:05:49,610 --> 00:05:51,679 Shakespeare's representation of 159 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:53,779 food and bio resources in the 160 00:05:53,780 --> 00:05:54,889 plays. 161 00:05:54,890 --> 00:05:57,169 And it upset a lot of people who were 162 00:05:57,170 --> 00:05:59,749 actually quite happy with 163 00:05:59,750 --> 00:06:01,939 their image of Shakespeare as a safe 164 00:06:01,940 --> 00:06:04,489 writer, somebody who wrote on the big 165 00:06:04,490 --> 00:06:06,679 abstract themes like love, 166 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:09,789 ambition and envy. 167 00:06:09,790 --> 00:06:11,959 In fact, that sanitized 168 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:14,029 PR version of Shakespeare 169 00:06:14,030 --> 00:06:16,449 began from an early stage. 170 00:06:16,450 --> 00:06:18,349 This is his funerary monument in 171 00:06:18,350 --> 00:06:20,869 Stratford, and it presents a familiar 172 00:06:20,870 --> 00:06:23,599 picture of a man of letters, 173 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:26,179 his arm poised pregnancy 174 00:06:26,180 --> 00:06:28,459 quill in hand above 175 00:06:28,460 --> 00:06:30,589 a velvet writing cushion, complete 176 00:06:30,590 --> 00:06:33,319 with golden tassels. 177 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:35,299 But actually, this isn't the original 178 00:06:35,300 --> 00:06:37,159 version of the monument. 179 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,069 It's an 18th century refurbish 180 00:06:40,070 --> 00:06:42,289 and it responds to Shakespeare's 181 00:06:42,290 --> 00:06:44,419 by then already developing a 182 00:06:44,420 --> 00:06:46,249 reputation as a national poet. 183 00:06:47,270 --> 00:06:49,249 Now, the original monument, which was 184 00:06:49,250 --> 00:06:50,959 commissioned by people who actually knew 185 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:53,239 Shakespeare, remembered a rather 186 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:55,339 different man, a grain 187 00:06:55,340 --> 00:06:58,069 merchant, a tax avoider, 188 00:06:58,070 --> 00:07:00,289 a tax dodger, a man who used 189 00:07:00,290 --> 00:07:02,809 the profits from his plays to 190 00:07:02,810 --> 00:07:05,689 invest in the grain markets, 191 00:07:05,690 --> 00:07:08,149 which at a time of famine, 192 00:07:08,150 --> 00:07:10,669 Shakespeare hoarded in that all important 193 00:07:10,670 --> 00:07:12,889 piece of agritech a barn, 194 00:07:14,510 --> 00:07:17,179 and he hoarded it there until 195 00:07:17,180 --> 00:07:19,939 the prices rose 196 00:07:19,940 --> 00:07:21,230 and he was prosecuted for it. 197 00:07:22,910 --> 00:07:23,910 Oops. 198 00:07:24,570 --> 00:07:26,629 For that, again, he 199 00:07:26,630 --> 00:07:27,649 was prosecuted for it. 200 00:07:28,730 --> 00:07:30,889 Now, in the original monument, the 201 00:07:30,890 --> 00:07:32,959 velvet writing cushion is a 202 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,329 sack of corn 203 00:07:35,330 --> 00:07:37,759 and those golden tassels 204 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:40,159 are actually roughly 205 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:42,229 tied as the barn roughly 206 00:07:42,230 --> 00:07:43,549 tied edges. 207 00:07:45,110 --> 00:07:47,299 So not tasseled, but roughly tied. 208 00:07:47,300 --> 00:07:48,979 And maybe it won't surprise you then to 209 00:07:48,980 --> 00:07:51,589 know that references to food prices 210 00:07:51,590 --> 00:07:53,989 and the societal impacts 211 00:07:53,990 --> 00:07:56,149 of in equal 212 00:07:56,150 --> 00:07:58,459 access to food 213 00:07:58,460 --> 00:08:00,659 abound in Shakespeare's plays. 214 00:08:00,660 --> 00:08:01,970 And we should take them seriously. 215 00:08:03,830 --> 00:08:05,449 But let's consider these themes first in 216 00:08:05,450 --> 00:08:08,029 a contemporary novel, Daniel Suarez 217 00:08:08,030 --> 00:08:09,649 is thriller Freedom TM. 218 00:08:09,650 --> 00:08:11,719 It was published in Germany as 219 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:13,909 Darknet, and I'm 220 00:08:13,910 --> 00:08:15,649 sure many of you will know it picks up a 221 00:08:15,650 --> 00:08:17,719 year after Suarez's first 222 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:19,789 novel, Deman, a year after 223 00:08:19,790 --> 00:08:21,859 Matthew Matthew Sobell, the 224 00:08:21,860 --> 00:08:23,399 mad hacker. 225 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:25,189 Was there any other kind? 226 00:08:25,190 --> 00:08:27,889 Has unleashed a bot on the world's 227 00:08:27,890 --> 00:08:30,169 multinationals, including a thinly 228 00:08:30,170 --> 00:08:32,119 veiled Monsanto. 229 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:34,819 And out of the chaos darknet communities 230 00:08:34,820 --> 00:08:37,219 have risen and in a key setpiece 231 00:08:37,220 --> 00:08:39,349 near the beginning, Suarez, who is 232 00:08:39,350 --> 00:08:41,509 of course a technology consultant, 233 00:08:41,510 --> 00:08:44,329 gives us a vision of a man, 234 00:08:44,330 --> 00:08:46,459 of a story, of a tech based food 235 00:08:46,460 --> 00:08:49,190 and energy independent society. 236 00:08:50,330 --> 00:08:52,159 So thanks to my daughter for making this 237 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:55,469 slide over the slide. 238 00:08:55,470 --> 00:08:57,619 So in it, farmer Fosun Hank 239 00:08:57,620 --> 00:08:59,689 Fosun shows us around one 240 00:08:59,690 --> 00:09:01,459 of the new darknet farms. 241 00:09:01,460 --> 00:09:04,159 And with a sweep of his arm, he describes 242 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:06,679 a green vista of tech led 243 00:09:06,680 --> 00:09:07,999 sustainability. 244 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:09,649 Phosphenes own daughter is glimpsed off 245 00:09:09,650 --> 00:09:12,289 to the left, instructing 246 00:09:12,290 --> 00:09:14,569 the newbies in high hybridization 247 00:09:14,570 --> 00:09:16,909 and genetics, while other darknet 248 00:09:16,910 --> 00:09:18,769 farm workers are out in the grass 249 00:09:18,770 --> 00:09:21,439 prairies, all with D space colleagues 250 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:23,359 floating above their heads visible to 251 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:25,939 anyone who's wearing dark glasses. 252 00:09:25,940 --> 00:09:27,080 So I read the passage out. 253 00:09:28,430 --> 00:09:30,679 Fosun turned into the farm's long 254 00:09:30,680 --> 00:09:32,569 gravel driveway. 255 00:09:32,570 --> 00:09:34,729 There was an ornate D space 3D object 256 00:09:34,730 --> 00:09:36,919 in the shape of a cornucopia bursting 257 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:39,019 with vegetables and fruits hanging above 258 00:09:39,020 --> 00:09:40,189 the entrance. 259 00:09:40,190 --> 00:09:42,919 He looked out to several acres of green. 260 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:44,599 We use a mix of crops and animals to 261 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:46,399 recharge fertility. 262 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:48,379 We're raising the animals on grass, not 263 00:09:48,380 --> 00:09:49,429 corn. 264 00:09:49,430 --> 00:09:51,289 It grows naturally here on the prairies, 265 00:09:51,290 --> 00:09:53,449 so it's turning solar power into 266 00:09:53,450 --> 00:09:56,539 beef. No fossil fuels necessary. 267 00:09:56,540 --> 00:09:58,759 It's all an integrated, sustainable 268 00:09:58,760 --> 00:09:59,760 system. 269 00:10:00,820 --> 00:10:03,459 So this is a nice and fairly standard 270 00:10:03,460 --> 00:10:04,669 topic vision. 271 00:10:04,670 --> 00:10:06,789 I'd like to live there right, right in 272 00:10:06,790 --> 00:10:09,249 that slide, but 273 00:10:09,250 --> 00:10:11,379 technology isn't the answer 274 00:10:11,380 --> 00:10:12,939 and the novel seems to know it's not the 275 00:10:12,940 --> 00:10:15,189 whole answer, because the dark side 276 00:10:15,190 --> 00:10:16,570 of deep space is 277 00:10:18,070 --> 00:10:19,719 the dark side of the fab labs. 278 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:22,059 And the the remote sensing is 279 00:10:22,060 --> 00:10:25,089 the anti-hero Loki Stormbreaker, 280 00:10:25,090 --> 00:10:27,369 whose lethal drone motorbikes 281 00:10:27,370 --> 00:10:29,919 eviscerate anybody who 282 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:30,940 opposes the vision. 283 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:34,149 So the tech in this apparently idyllic 284 00:10:34,150 --> 00:10:36,789 scene of sustainable community 285 00:10:36,790 --> 00:10:39,279 is half in sight and half 286 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:41,379 out, occupying entangled 287 00:10:41,380 --> 00:10:42,999 positions on two sides of an ethical 288 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:44,000 boundary. 289 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:47,049 Actually, Suarez's vision of 290 00:10:47,050 --> 00:10:49,269 a tech driven agrarian 291 00:10:49,270 --> 00:10:51,489 utopia isn't fanciful. 292 00:10:51,490 --> 00:10:53,409 Much of the text already with us or its 293 00:10:53,410 --> 00:10:55,869 emergent the last 20 years 294 00:10:55,870 --> 00:10:58,119 have seen incredible advances in 295 00:10:58,120 --> 00:10:59,409 synthetic biology. 296 00:10:59,410 --> 00:11:01,389 Think human bacteria, cheese, 297 00:11:02,530 --> 00:11:04,999 vertical farming, gene productivity, 298 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:07,149 geotech, new modeling techniques for 299 00:11:07,150 --> 00:11:09,549 phenotypes linked to sustainable 300 00:11:09,550 --> 00:11:11,859 animal productivity, drones 301 00:11:11,860 --> 00:11:14,889 that monitor nitrogen levels in fields, 302 00:11:14,890 --> 00:11:17,439 productive farming, agri informatics, 303 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:19,569 open source farms and 304 00:11:19,570 --> 00:11:20,589 Mittie. 305 00:11:20,590 --> 00:11:22,749 They have an open ag project which is 306 00:11:22,750 --> 00:11:24,849 working towards the creation of the 307 00:11:24,850 --> 00:11:27,939 Global Agricultural Information 308 00:11:27,940 --> 00:11:29,109 Commons. 309 00:11:29,110 --> 00:11:31,419 And there's some amazing research into 310 00:11:31,420 --> 00:11:32,420 agri robots 311 00:11:33,820 --> 00:11:36,159 at the European Agri Robots 312 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:38,379 Network, where Simon Blackmore's 313 00:11:38,380 --> 00:11:40,389 team is working and they're producing a 314 00:11:40,390 --> 00:11:43,179 new lightweight generation of 315 00:11:43,180 --> 00:11:46,029 robots that follow the contours of fields 316 00:11:46,030 --> 00:11:48,999 rather than forcing farmers to plant 317 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:50,829 in straight lines to suit all the 318 00:11:50,830 --> 00:11:51,799 machinery. 319 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:53,889 And these robots spray only the 320 00:11:53,890 --> 00:11:56,409 part of a field that actually infected 321 00:11:56,410 --> 00:11:59,439 with disease rather than the whole field. 322 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:01,689 My own university, in the wake of 323 00:12:01,690 --> 00:12:03,909 recent European food hygiene 324 00:12:03,910 --> 00:12:06,129 and fraud scandals such 325 00:12:06,130 --> 00:12:08,529 as horsemeat, has developed 326 00:12:08,530 --> 00:12:10,689 hyperspectral analysis techniques for 327 00:12:10,690 --> 00:12:13,029 detecting contamination of meat 328 00:12:13,030 --> 00:12:15,339 using fluorescent markers. 329 00:12:15,340 --> 00:12:17,709 Aberystwyth is also home to 330 00:12:17,710 --> 00:12:20,019 a major plant breeding and 331 00:12:20,020 --> 00:12:22,059 phenomics lab, kitted out with high 332 00:12:22,060 --> 00:12:24,669 resolution metabolomics technology, 333 00:12:24,670 --> 00:12:27,159 and that uses content plant phenotype 334 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:30,009 to design smart crop varieties 335 00:12:30,010 --> 00:12:31,989 that are more resilient to changing 336 00:12:31,990 --> 00:12:33,099 climate. 337 00:12:33,100 --> 00:12:35,169 So it's a brave new world 338 00:12:35,170 --> 00:12:37,299 of knowledge led development 339 00:12:37,300 --> 00:12:40,029 that should improve not only food safety 340 00:12:40,030 --> 00:12:41,799 but also access to food, 341 00:12:43,060 --> 00:12:45,279 but to return to Fosun farm. 342 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:47,469 Suarez's vision of a knowledge 343 00:12:47,470 --> 00:12:49,569 led sustainable future 344 00:12:49,570 --> 00:12:51,879 registers tremors of anxiety 345 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:53,979 precisely about the tech that supposed to 346 00:12:53,980 --> 00:12:55,239 sustain it. 347 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:57,429 And in that respect, the novel belongs 348 00:12:57,430 --> 00:12:59,649 to a long tradition of art 349 00:12:59,650 --> 00:13:01,839 and literature depicting scenes of 350 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:03,969 agricultural work and one 351 00:13:03,970 --> 00:13:05,019 of the best loved. 352 00:13:05,020 --> 00:13:07,149 The weird and we'd argue most 353 00:13:07,150 --> 00:13:09,699 misunderstood examples 354 00:13:09,700 --> 00:13:12,149 is John Constable's painting 355 00:13:12,150 --> 00:13:14,259 The Healing Again 356 00:13:14,260 --> 00:13:16,119 from 1821. 357 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:18,729 And it's a visual precursor to Suarez. 358 00:13:18,730 --> 00:13:20,799 The passage I just read out belongs in 359 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:21,800 this tradition. 360 00:13:22,900 --> 00:13:25,149 The Hay Wayne is one of the world's 361 00:13:25,150 --> 00:13:27,249 most recognizable paintings 362 00:13:27,250 --> 00:13:29,979 and seems to offer a calm 363 00:13:29,980 --> 00:13:31,689 representation, a comforting 364 00:13:31,690 --> 00:13:33,519 representation of abundance and 365 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:35,679 timelessness, and in many ways 366 00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:37,599 it's come to stand for the establishment. 367 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:40,119 And for that reason, it's been the target 368 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:42,309 of of subversion. 369 00:13:42,310 --> 00:13:44,949 In 1980, the artist Peter Kennard 370 00:13:44,950 --> 00:13:47,289 hacked it to make the hay wane 371 00:13:47,290 --> 00:13:49,599 with cruise missiles. 372 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:51,819 And a last year, a member 373 00:13:51,820 --> 00:13:53,679 of the British political group Fathers 374 00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:55,809 Four Justice glued a photo 375 00:13:55,810 --> 00:13:57,879 of his son pixellated there 376 00:13:57,880 --> 00:13:59,589 on the canvas. 377 00:13:59,590 --> 00:14:02,139 But ironically, we've lost the ability 378 00:14:02,140 --> 00:14:04,359 to perceive the paintings own 379 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:05,499 radical politics. 380 00:14:06,670 --> 00:14:07,809 So let's look more closely. 381 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:11,109 In the foreground is a piece of then 382 00:14:11,110 --> 00:14:13,329 contemporary agritech canon laden 383 00:14:13,330 --> 00:14:15,549 hay wagon, an example of how 384 00:14:15,550 --> 00:14:17,739 art delivers back to us in 385 00:14:17,740 --> 00:14:19,869 a material sense, a 386 00:14:19,870 --> 00:14:22,119 sense of how we fit into the human race 387 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:24,489 in the idiom of the technology 388 00:14:24,490 --> 00:14:26,859 of the time we find ourselves in angry 389 00:14:26,860 --> 00:14:28,899 robots. Now he wins then. 390 00:14:29,930 --> 00:14:32,599 But despite the paintings popularity, 391 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:34,759 it's every bit as radical as Suarez's 392 00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:36,739 novel, and it's making more or less 393 00:14:36,740 --> 00:14:37,879 exactly the same point 394 00:14:39,110 --> 00:14:41,509 because the hay wagon has a far more 395 00:14:41,510 --> 00:14:43,639 contentious counterpart 396 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:45,919 tech that's also just out of sight, but 397 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:48,439 definitely not out of mind. 398 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:50,539 And it's actually the key to the nexus 399 00:14:50,540 --> 00:14:52,969 of social, political and 400 00:14:52,970 --> 00:14:55,369 economic energy 401 00:14:55,370 --> 00:14:57,469 that's being coded into this famous 402 00:14:57,470 --> 00:14:58,470 canvas. 403 00:14:59,890 --> 00:15:01,269 Well, let's take a step back. 404 00:15:01,270 --> 00:15:02,709 The first thing we need to know is that 405 00:15:02,710 --> 00:15:04,839 the painter, John Constable, 406 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:06,939 was the son of a miller and a 407 00:15:06,940 --> 00:15:09,249 landowner, and it's his father's 408 00:15:09,250 --> 00:15:11,319 fields, his father's tech, 409 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:13,509 his father's workers that 410 00:15:13,510 --> 00:15:15,189 we see in the painting. 411 00:15:15,190 --> 00:15:17,379 And indeed, a cynic might say that the 412 00:15:17,380 --> 00:15:19,479 the role of public art on this scale 413 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:21,729 is is precisely to inculcate 414 00:15:21,730 --> 00:15:24,309 us into the values 415 00:15:24,310 --> 00:15:26,409 of a world of concentrated wealth 416 00:15:26,410 --> 00:15:29,199 and sharply demarcated 417 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:30,669 society. 418 00:15:30,670 --> 00:15:33,009 But leaving Constable's own politics 419 00:15:33,010 --> 00:15:35,139 aside for the moment, let's try to listen 420 00:15:35,140 --> 00:15:37,329 to what the paintings actually telling 421 00:15:37,330 --> 00:15:39,459 us. Let's produce a counter 422 00:15:39,460 --> 00:15:42,129 narrative, because almost everything 423 00:15:42,130 --> 00:15:44,469 we've been told to think 424 00:15:44,470 --> 00:15:47,079 about this idyllic scene and 425 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:48,549 everything we've been told by all those 426 00:15:48,550 --> 00:15:51,369 biscuit tin lids and mobile phone cases 427 00:15:51,370 --> 00:15:53,739 is actually wrong, starting 428 00:15:53,740 --> 00:15:56,109 with the paintings official catalog 429 00:15:56,110 --> 00:15:58,029 description, which tells us that the 430 00:15:58,030 --> 00:16:00,309 heroine is standing in the water. 431 00:16:01,780 --> 00:16:04,089 If the wagon stationary, it's not because 432 00:16:04,090 --> 00:16:06,309 it's been posed esthetically 433 00:16:06,310 --> 00:16:07,539 for us. 434 00:16:07,540 --> 00:16:09,159 If anything, it looks like it's become 435 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:11,919 stuck, perhaps in mud. 436 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:14,049 The river swollen from the rain that's 437 00:16:14,050 --> 00:16:17,079 already begun to fall further upstream. 438 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:19,179 Constable painted the highway 439 00:16:19,180 --> 00:16:21,459 in an unusually wet year, and 440 00:16:21,460 --> 00:16:23,229 it caused big problems for farmers in the 441 00:16:23,230 --> 00:16:25,539 region. And it drove down laborers 442 00:16:25,540 --> 00:16:27,969 wages, including the wages 443 00:16:27,970 --> 00:16:30,319 of everyone we see in that painting. 444 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:32,619 Now, the wagon should be going hell 445 00:16:32,620 --> 00:16:34,809 for leather as becomes clear once 446 00:16:34,810 --> 00:16:36,999 you realize there's not one 447 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:39,099 but two HEYNS. 448 00:16:39,100 --> 00:16:40,599 So the title of the painting is also a 449 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:41,709 little bit dodgy. 450 00:16:43,030 --> 00:16:44,169 There's a second one. It's off to the 451 00:16:44,170 --> 00:16:45,489 right. It's tiny. 452 00:16:45,490 --> 00:16:47,829 And while one is loading, the other 453 00:16:47,830 --> 00:16:48,969 is unloading. 454 00:16:48,970 --> 00:16:50,889 Because what Constable's depicting here 455 00:16:50,890 --> 00:16:53,229 is dynamic process, not 456 00:16:53,230 --> 00:16:54,719 a sentimental still life. 457 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:58,169 So we know where the wagons going. 458 00:16:58,170 --> 00:17:00,299 But where has it come from, where has it 459 00:17:00,300 --> 00:17:02,849 just unloaded its hay 460 00:17:02,850 --> 00:17:04,559 and the candidate that's usually offered 461 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:06,809 is Constable's Father's Watermill 462 00:17:06,810 --> 00:17:07,810 itself? 463 00:17:08,630 --> 00:17:10,699 But mills grind wheat 464 00:17:10,700 --> 00:17:12,618 and barley, they don't mill, hey, you 465 00:17:12,619 --> 00:17:14,719 can't mill, hey, 466 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:17,269 know, the piece of tech that's 467 00:17:17,270 --> 00:17:19,368 out of sight is behind 468 00:17:19,369 --> 00:17:21,078 Constable's easel? 469 00:17:21,079 --> 00:17:22,578 It's a barn. 470 00:17:22,579 --> 00:17:24,649 That's the tech the painting 471 00:17:24,650 --> 00:17:25,669 struggles with. 472 00:17:25,670 --> 00:17:27,649 It's the tech that adds value to the 473 00:17:27,650 --> 00:17:29,539 grass that's being harvested. 474 00:17:29,540 --> 00:17:31,729 The tech, which is Shakespeare knew, 475 00:17:31,730 --> 00:17:34,069 turns a crop into data, 476 00:17:34,070 --> 00:17:36,109 abstracting it from a field and from a 477 00:17:36,110 --> 00:17:38,719 local economy into the realms 478 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:40,969 of markets and price 479 00:17:40,970 --> 00:17:42,109 indexes. 480 00:17:42,110 --> 00:17:44,389 And it's the tech which for that very 481 00:17:44,390 --> 00:17:46,819 reason was the first thing to get burned 482 00:17:46,820 --> 00:17:49,099 down in times of food 483 00:17:49,100 --> 00:17:50,459 unrest. 484 00:17:50,460 --> 00:17:52,519 Basically, Constable's father is 485 00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:54,169 making a killing off the backs of those 486 00:17:54,170 --> 00:17:55,069 low paid haymakers. 487 00:17:55,070 --> 00:17:57,259 And Waggoner's, this painting isn't 488 00:17:57,260 --> 00:17:59,239 so much art, it's evidence. 489 00:18:00,370 --> 00:18:01,869 And those Waggoner's are doing their best 490 00:18:01,870 --> 00:18:04,239 to get going again for good reason, 491 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:06,069 they want to keep even their low paid 492 00:18:06,070 --> 00:18:08,349 jobs because while we may not have 493 00:18:08,350 --> 00:18:10,479 a low key stormbreaker, we do 494 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:12,519 have an approaching storm. 495 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:14,649 And as an agricultural journal from 496 00:18:14,650 --> 00:18:17,049 the period explains, 497 00:18:17,050 --> 00:18:18,729 it was the haymakers and Waggoner's 498 00:18:18,730 --> 00:18:21,219 responsibility to get the crop 499 00:18:21,220 --> 00:18:22,299 in dry. 500 00:18:23,590 --> 00:18:24,879 So this isn't a mythic field. 501 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:26,349 It's not timeless. 502 00:18:26,350 --> 00:18:28,539 It's not a patriotic image of 503 00:18:28,540 --> 00:18:30,699 old England with a sentimental, 504 00:18:30,700 --> 00:18:32,829 historically stranded piece 505 00:18:32,830 --> 00:18:35,049 of farm equipment in the foreground. 506 00:18:35,050 --> 00:18:37,239 Rather, the field and 507 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:39,789 constable's painting itself exists 508 00:18:39,790 --> 00:18:42,339 at the troubled intersection of agrarian 509 00:18:42,340 --> 00:18:44,559 market economics, social 510 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:46,899 ethics and Agritech 511 00:18:46,900 --> 00:18:48,400 Agritech that privileged 512 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:51,819 landowners while disenfranchizing 513 00:18:51,820 --> 00:18:54,759 workers and whole communities 514 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:57,369 because behind the unseen barn 515 00:18:57,370 --> 00:18:59,439 further back is a region of 516 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:01,509 England that was still recovering from 517 00:19:01,510 --> 00:19:03,609 violent food riots 518 00:19:03,610 --> 00:19:05,529 five years earlier, which had seen many 519 00:19:05,530 --> 00:19:08,439 Herrick's and barns burned down 520 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:10,539 to local agricultural workers were 521 00:19:10,540 --> 00:19:12,609 hanged and others were transported 522 00:19:12,610 --> 00:19:13,659 to Australia. 523 00:19:13,660 --> 00:19:16,089 And just one year later, in 1822, 524 00:19:16,090 --> 00:19:18,729 the region erupted again in so-called 525 00:19:18,730 --> 00:19:21,159 blood bread or blood riots. 526 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:23,439 And perhaps some of constable's 527 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:25,629 own workers were were involved 528 00:19:25,630 --> 00:19:27,849 in that direct action. 529 00:19:27,850 --> 00:19:30,039 So the longitudinal story then that 530 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:32,199 art and literature is telling us is 531 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:33,459 unambiguous. 532 00:19:33,460 --> 00:19:35,589 A dysfunctional food chain 533 00:19:35,590 --> 00:19:38,379 has only one outcome food unrest 534 00:19:38,380 --> 00:19:40,149 and in an age of information on a 535 00:19:40,150 --> 00:19:42,909 potentially massive scale. 536 00:19:42,910 --> 00:19:44,889 So, of course, then we're right to look 537 00:19:44,890 --> 00:19:46,959 to tech, to increase yields and 538 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:49,149 to reduce environmental impacts 539 00:19:49,150 --> 00:19:50,379 of agriculture. 540 00:19:50,380 --> 00:19:51,399 But if we're going to develop the 541 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:53,619 resilience we need as we attempt 542 00:19:53,620 --> 00:19:55,929 to manage the biophysical world 543 00:19:55,930 --> 00:19:57,609 in the in the difficult times that are 544 00:19:57,610 --> 00:19:59,799 surely coming, what William Gibson's 545 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:02,439 new novel, The Periphery, calls 546 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,109 with infinite irony, the jackpot, 547 00:20:05,110 --> 00:20:07,929 the simultaneous arrival of climate, 548 00:20:07,930 --> 00:20:10,299 capital and crop disaster. 549 00:20:10,300 --> 00:20:12,819 Then we need to expand our thinking 550 00:20:12,820 --> 00:20:15,939 about food systems into the imaginative 551 00:20:15,940 --> 00:20:18,129 world because the alternative isn't 552 00:20:18,130 --> 00:20:20,979 pretty and it's already happening. 553 00:20:20,980 --> 00:20:23,139 As Constable and his father knew 554 00:20:23,140 --> 00:20:25,749 only too well, the canonical response 555 00:20:25,750 --> 00:20:27,639 to hunger is the food. 556 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:28,899 Right. 557 00:20:28,900 --> 00:20:30,669 And the situation in the UK at the moment 558 00:20:30,670 --> 00:20:33,039 is particularly incendiary around 559 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:35,229 food banks, because as 560 00:20:35,230 --> 00:20:36,729 in Crabb's poem, which we saw at the 561 00:20:36,730 --> 00:20:39,039 beginning, at the same time as the 562 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:41,259 new underclass of the hungry 563 00:20:41,260 --> 00:20:43,419 is driven to charity handouts, 564 00:20:43,420 --> 00:20:45,969 it suffers the indignity of watching 565 00:20:45,970 --> 00:20:48,759 as the top few percent enjoy 566 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:51,369 what Thomas Piketty calls vertiginous 567 00:20:51,370 --> 00:20:52,659 growth. 568 00:20:52,660 --> 00:20:55,059 In 2012, London experienced 569 00:20:55,060 --> 00:20:57,879 a week of rioting in the media, 570 00:20:57,880 --> 00:20:59,179 almost without exception. 571 00:20:59,180 --> 00:21:01,239 Scandalously, the action was 572 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:03,309 presented as senseless 573 00:21:03,310 --> 00:21:05,499 violence by mindless thugs 574 00:21:05,500 --> 00:21:07,629 in pursuit of branded trainers 575 00:21:07,630 --> 00:21:09,819 and flat screen TVs. 576 00:21:09,820 --> 00:21:12,579 In fact, the first shop to be looted 577 00:21:12,580 --> 00:21:13,959 wasn't a TV warehouse. 578 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:16,179 It wasn't a designer bag outlet. 579 00:21:16,180 --> 00:21:19,089 It was the Clarance convenience store. 580 00:21:19,090 --> 00:21:21,279 And here you can see young men 581 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:22,989 clambering over the counter, chocolate 582 00:21:22,990 --> 00:21:25,629 bars and water bottles in their pockets. 583 00:21:25,630 --> 00:21:27,759 The London riots or uprising, as 584 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:29,829 some prefer to call them in its 585 00:21:29,830 --> 00:21:31,959 early stages, at least started out 586 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:33,369 as a traditional food riot. 587 00:21:34,830 --> 00:21:35,849 So moving to an end, though, 588 00:21:36,900 --> 00:21:38,999 the so-called food prices social 589 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:41,129 unrest hypothesis suggests that 590 00:21:41,130 --> 00:21:43,409 large scale discontent around the world 591 00:21:43,410 --> 00:21:46,139 can be mapped with chilling precision 592 00:21:46,140 --> 00:21:48,539 onto indexes of staples like 593 00:21:48,540 --> 00:21:49,949 rice and wheat. 594 00:21:49,950 --> 00:21:52,109 And the food price index 595 00:21:52,110 --> 00:21:54,719 measures the monthly charge 596 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:56,789 a change in international prices 597 00:21:56,790 --> 00:21:58,079 of a basket of food. 598 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:01,079 And basically, if that goes above 210, 599 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:03,209 you get riots across 600 00:22:03,210 --> 00:22:04,289 the world. 601 00:22:04,290 --> 00:22:06,509 Now, this includes crowd action 602 00:22:06,510 --> 00:22:08,879 with obvious food connections like the 603 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:11,519 the 2008 Mexican tortilla 604 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:12,839 riots. 605 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:15,149 But the 2011 Arab Spring 606 00:22:15,150 --> 00:22:17,489 and the 2013 Gezi Park 607 00:22:17,490 --> 00:22:19,619 protests also map neatly 608 00:22:19,620 --> 00:22:21,869 onto these spikes and prices 609 00:22:21,870 --> 00:22:24,119 of staples and commodities are projected 610 00:22:24,120 --> 00:22:26,279 by the fans own figures to rise 611 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:28,679 by 40 percent over the coming decade. 612 00:22:29,820 --> 00:22:32,039 So to conclude then, we're not 613 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:34,139 facing a food crisis 614 00:22:34,140 --> 00:22:35,939 for the first time and we're not facing 615 00:22:35,940 --> 00:22:36,989 it alone. 616 00:22:36,990 --> 00:22:39,779 Literature and art has processed 617 00:22:39,780 --> 00:22:42,389 many such moments of emergency, 618 00:22:42,390 --> 00:22:44,459 examining food crisis in deep, 619 00:22:44,460 --> 00:22:47,039 imaginative space from Shakespeare's 620 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:50,069 play Coriolanus, where Rome's 621 00:22:50,070 --> 00:22:51,539 corn supplies are withheld from the 622 00:22:51,540 --> 00:22:53,639 plebeians much as Shakespeare 623 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:56,609 withheld corn in the Stratford area 624 00:22:56,610 --> 00:22:58,739 to Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games 625 00:22:58,740 --> 00:22:59,849 trilogy. 626 00:22:59,850 --> 00:23:01,140 And let's end with The Hunger Games. 627 00:23:02,380 --> 00:23:04,479 Katniss Everdeen, 628 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:05,979 the figurehead of rebellion against the 629 00:23:05,980 --> 00:23:08,169 repressive state, remarks 630 00:23:08,170 --> 00:23:10,779 it must be very fragile if a handful 631 00:23:10,780 --> 00:23:13,119 of berries can bring it down. 632 00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:15,369 But the fact is, political 633 00:23:15,370 --> 00:23:16,989 and power systems have often been 634 00:23:16,990 --> 00:23:19,449 challenged or overturned 635 00:23:19,450 --> 00:23:21,519 by the decision to eat or not 636 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:22,899 to eat. 637 00:23:22,900 --> 00:23:23,900 Thank you for listening. 638 00:23:37,170 --> 00:23:38,999 Great, let's start with a question from 639 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:40,000 the Internet. 640 00:23:41,850 --> 00:23:43,649 No, so sorry. 641 00:23:43,650 --> 00:23:45,359 That was amazing, the little guy. 642 00:23:48,750 --> 00:23:50,909 Thank you. Very interesting. 643 00:23:50,910 --> 00:23:53,039 I would like to ask you, are 644 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:54,899 you going to do some research in the 645 00:23:54,900 --> 00:23:57,449 prehistory of food production 646 00:23:57,450 --> 00:23:59,119 and food consumption? 647 00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:00,120 Hmm. 648 00:24:00,750 --> 00:24:02,789 Well, we our project goes back 649 00:24:03,930 --> 00:24:06,419 to thirteen eighty something to Chaucer. 650 00:24:06,420 --> 00:24:08,249 That's where we started. 651 00:24:08,250 --> 00:24:09,599 We're looking at the Canterbury Tales as 652 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:11,879 a game of food. Basically, 653 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:13,529 once you start looking in canonical art, 654 00:24:13,530 --> 00:24:15,719 which I guess we've we've been taught to 655 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:17,849 assume is safe and comforting, you 656 00:24:17,850 --> 00:24:19,319 start to see all sorts of interesting 657 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:20,320 things. 658 00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:22,529 But I should say the reason why we're 659 00:24:22,530 --> 00:24:24,239 doing it and why actually going back to 660 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:26,699 prehistory would be really interesting 661 00:24:26,700 --> 00:24:28,859 is because before we can start putting 662 00:24:28,860 --> 00:24:30,959 into effect the kind of benefits that we 663 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:32,999 can expect from Agritech, you know, we 664 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:34,469 need to change headspace. 665 00:24:34,470 --> 00:24:36,839 And I think Zheglov is absolutely 666 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:38,969 right. When he criticizes Thomas 667 00:24:38,970 --> 00:24:41,339 Marchetti's capitalism of the 21st 668 00:24:41,340 --> 00:24:43,619 century, he says it's utopian, 669 00:24:43,620 --> 00:24:45,809 it's utopian to say that the the 670 00:24:45,810 --> 00:24:48,269 solution to the problem of wealth 671 00:24:48,270 --> 00:24:50,639 outgrowing economic output 672 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:52,799 is simply to redefine 673 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:54,569 the ratios of distribution. 674 00:24:54,570 --> 00:24:56,639 You know, sort of the rich pay more tax 675 00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:58,859 and the and the poor get more benefits, 676 00:24:58,860 --> 00:25:00,839 because if you do that, capital simply 677 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:03,209 moves or you get other knock on effects 678 00:25:03,210 --> 00:25:05,819 that inevitably ends up privileging 679 00:25:05,820 --> 00:25:07,019 wealth. 680 00:25:07,020 --> 00:25:08,969 So the real challenge, as you says, is 681 00:25:08,970 --> 00:25:10,139 that you have to change. 682 00:25:10,140 --> 00:25:12,599 You have to create the right conditions 683 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:14,849 that enable you to enact things like, 684 00:25:14,850 --> 00:25:16,919 say, you know, taxing wealth 685 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:18,689 at 80 percent. 686 00:25:18,690 --> 00:25:20,159 And literary criticism can be a really 687 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:21,629 powerful tool in bringing about those 688 00:25:21,630 --> 00:25:22,979 conditions. And I think the further we 689 00:25:22,980 --> 00:25:25,139 push the analysis back, the richer 690 00:25:25,140 --> 00:25:26,159 the data is going to become. 691 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:27,160 So thanks for the question. 692 00:25:30,370 --> 00:25:32,019 Yes, thank you. 693 00:25:32,020 --> 00:25:34,089 Beautiful talk, and since I'm writing a 694 00:25:34,090 --> 00:25:36,219 book, a book on violence, 695 00:25:36,220 --> 00:25:37,680 of course, curious on 696 00:25:38,770 --> 00:25:41,409 if you can help me with two questions. 697 00:25:41,410 --> 00:25:43,449 First of all, how old are bonds? 698 00:25:43,450 --> 00:25:44,469 When do they appear? 699 00:25:46,390 --> 00:25:47,829 And that leads me to the second question, 700 00:25:47,830 --> 00:25:50,229 because the way you depicted bonds 701 00:25:50,230 --> 00:25:51,789 here is that they are sort of like an 702 00:25:51,790 --> 00:25:53,289 intermediary space between the 703 00:25:53,290 --> 00:25:55,089 agricultural world and the market. 704 00:25:55,090 --> 00:25:57,159 So that would make them pretty moderate, 705 00:25:57,160 --> 00:25:58,160 right? 706 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:00,369 In my view. 707 00:26:00,370 --> 00:26:02,529 I always thought the bond is 708 00:26:02,530 --> 00:26:04,809 different from the warehouse is 709 00:26:04,810 --> 00:26:06,999 not really something like a warehouse, 710 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:09,309 which is intermediate intermediary space 711 00:26:09,310 --> 00:26:11,229 where the market comes to a stop until, 712 00:26:11,230 --> 00:26:13,359 you know, some demand calls for the 713 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:14,829 good to be called out and so forth. 714 00:26:16,090 --> 00:26:18,219 So I wonder, what's your take on 715 00:26:18,220 --> 00:26:20,379 on on the position of the bond in this? 716 00:26:20,380 --> 00:26:22,569 You know, longer history of capitalism 717 00:26:22,570 --> 00:26:23,319 is. 718 00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:24,519 Oh, it's a great question. 719 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:26,979 And again, a sort of it's a question with 720 00:26:26,980 --> 00:26:28,719 sort of a long detuned or momentum. 721 00:26:30,310 --> 00:26:32,649 OK, so I think, you know, you're you're 722 00:26:32,650 --> 00:26:34,539 decent on rising bond from warehouse, and 723 00:26:34,540 --> 00:26:35,679 you're right to do that. The bond 724 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:37,509 occupies a different position in social 725 00:26:37,510 --> 00:26:38,679 space. 726 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:40,209 And I guess we think of warehouses, don't 727 00:26:40,210 --> 00:26:43,419 we, as more to do with imports 728 00:26:43,420 --> 00:26:44,650 and exports, maybe. 729 00:26:46,900 --> 00:26:48,849 Yeah, I mean, great, we need to do that. 730 00:26:48,850 --> 00:26:51,069 I mean, we we haven't actually 731 00:26:51,070 --> 00:26:53,469 focused the entire study on 732 00:26:53,470 --> 00:26:55,899 on on the physical space of the barn, 733 00:26:55,900 --> 00:26:58,059 but more of the barn, as I say 734 00:26:58,060 --> 00:26:59,829 conceptually, is that mediating point 735 00:26:59,830 --> 00:27:02,439 between markets and communities. 736 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:03,440 Yeah. Thanks for the. 737 00:27:15,340 --> 00:27:16,419 Thank you. 738 00:27:16,420 --> 00:27:17,420 And 739 00:27:19,070 --> 00:27:20,529 I have a question, I will try to 740 00:27:20,530 --> 00:27:21,530 articulate it well. 741 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:24,160 Probably fail, but 742 00:27:26,140 --> 00:27:28,509 with Shakespeare's time and 743 00:27:28,510 --> 00:27:29,950 then the time of the painting 744 00:27:31,780 --> 00:27:34,629 and compared to 745 00:27:34,630 --> 00:27:35,630 the status quo, 746 00:27:38,770 --> 00:27:41,019 that layer of people between 747 00:27:41,020 --> 00:27:43,099 an aristocracy and 748 00:27:43,100 --> 00:27:45,549 the nobility and 749 00:27:45,550 --> 00:27:47,410 basically indentured serfs 750 00:27:49,660 --> 00:27:51,849 was a difference in perception of 751 00:27:51,850 --> 00:27:54,219 how close or how far. 752 00:27:55,220 --> 00:27:58,319 They were to this abyss 753 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:00,499 and where 754 00:28:00,500 --> 00:28:01,700 would you be reading? 755 00:28:02,870 --> 00:28:04,429 Where would you be reading for 756 00:28:04,430 --> 00:28:07,159 expressions of this in contemporary 757 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:08,160 literature? 758 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:12,259 OK, yeah, so it's not a good question. 759 00:28:12,260 --> 00:28:14,059 In the position of the surf is 760 00:28:14,060 --> 00:28:15,739 interesting and it interests me. 761 00:28:15,740 --> 00:28:17,569 I think the German word is Buli bagenal. 762 00:28:17,570 --> 00:28:18,769 Right. So 763 00:28:20,060 --> 00:28:22,159 the there was a bishop in the 764 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:23,929 18th century who joked that the only 765 00:28:23,930 --> 00:28:25,759 thing a surfer possesses is a hungry 766 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:26,779 belly. 767 00:28:26,780 --> 00:28:28,369 You know, it's a sick joke. 768 00:28:28,370 --> 00:28:30,139 It's a terrible joke. And I think in part 769 00:28:30,140 --> 00:28:31,849 valances. A question, how close were 770 00:28:31,850 --> 00:28:32,960 serfs to the abyss? 771 00:28:33,980 --> 00:28:36,319 Yeah, they were right on it, clinging 772 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:38,570 on by their fingers at particular points. 773 00:28:41,620 --> 00:28:43,869 Yeah, yeah, 774 00:28:43,870 --> 00:28:46,089 that's that's my answer to that 775 00:28:46,090 --> 00:28:47,609 very close, yeah. 776 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:51,239 Yeah, I'm sorry, that's got to be it. 777 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:53,409 Yes, signal from the back. 778 00:28:53,410 --> 00:28:55,509 No, no, no. We just sorry that 779 00:28:55,510 --> 00:28:56,489 wasn't aimed at you at all. 780 00:28:56,490 --> 00:28:58,569 Um, I'm so grateful for you to 781 00:28:58,570 --> 00:28:59,559 have you here. 782 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:02,049 And, um, well, let's 783 00:29:02,050 --> 00:29:03,549 have a big applause again. 784 00:29:03,550 --> 00:29:05,589 And thank you so much for.