TEDx Talks - How I live abundantly through food rescue | Günes Seyfarth | TEDxTUWien
The speaker recounts her mother's courageous decision to leave a small Turkish village for Germany, despite societal expectations and lack of resources. This decision allowed her family to thrive in Germany. Inspired by her mother's advice to never fear and always educate herself, the speaker founded nine impact companies over 15 years, including a major food rescue business in Europe. This business saves over 20 tons of surplus food weekly, turning it into meals and educating thousands on food waste. She emphasizes the importance of reducing food waste for climate protection, as it affects the entire production chain. Additionally, she founded kindergartens and stresses the power of being a role model rather than dictating actions. Her personal achievements include learning to swim freestyle to complete a challenging swim across the Bosporus. She concludes with five life lessons: life is abundant, small steps lead to big changes, embrace fear, turn ideas into action, and love yourself.
Key Points:
- Life is full of possibilities; recognize and seize them.
- Small steps can lead to significant changes; embrace undeveloped skills.
- Fear should be embraced as it highlights areas needing more information.
- Turning ideas into action is crucial; regret comes from inaction.
- Self-love attracts positivity and success.
Details:
1. 🏡 A New Beginning: Leaving Home for Germany
- The woman, constrained by traditional gender roles in a Turkish village, seeks more than the expected path of becoming a wife and mother, highlighting systemic gender inequality in education and society.
- The arrival of a producer offering work in Germany presents a rare chance for change, demonstrating how external opportunities can transform personal circumstances and provide new pathways for women.
- Her decision to leave, based on an intrinsic desire for more despite limited information about Germany, underscores the importance of intuition and courage in making life-changing decisions.
- The societal norms in her village emphasize women's roles as caretakers, which intensifies her internal conflict between familial expectations and personal aspirations.
- Her journey represents a significant shift not only for herself but also challenges the societal norms of her community, potentially opening doors for other women in similar situations.
2. 🎓 Life Lessons from Mom
- At 17 years old, my mother made a courageous decision to move to Nuremberg, Germany, despite having no money or prior knowledge of the city.
- Her determination to follow her heart led to significant personal growth and the establishment of a new home for her family, including her children and grandchildren.
- She overcame numerous challenges, such as adapting to a new culture and language, which instilled a strong sense of resilience and adaptability.
- This bold move taught us the importance of taking risks and the potential rewards of stepping out of one's comfort zone.
3. 🍽️ Making an Impact: From Business to Food Rescue
- Founded nine impact companies in the last 15 years, emphasizing a strategic focus on change and sustainability.
- Currently leading the largest food rescue operation in Europe, which serves as a model for scalability and impact in the food sector.
- Successfully rescued over 20 tons of food, providing a tangible metric of the initiative's success and contribution to reducing food waste.
- The food rescue initiative exemplifies innovative solutions to environmental challenges, reinforcing the role of business in driving social change.
4. 🌍 The Importance of Reducing Food Waste
- Surplus food is transformed into meals sold in restaurants and catering services, highlighting a successful practical approach to reducing waste.
- Educational programs about food waste and its consequences reach over 3,000 students annually, effectively fostering awareness and promoting behavioral change.
- Public and political attention is raised, emphasizing the critical role of reducing food waste in climate protection, considered the top activity by drawdown.org.
- Food waste reduction is tackled throughout the production and transportation chain, involving farmers, producers, wholesalers, supermarkets, bakeries, restaurants, events, and households.
- Case studies from different regions illustrate diverse successful initiatives, such as community-based composting in urban areas and technology-driven waste tracking in supply chains.
5. ♻️ Personal Responsibility and Change
- Vienna households waste 237,000 units of food daily, highlighting the significant impact of food wastage on resources such as water, energy, and packaging.
- This wastage equates to approximately 8 grams per person per day, comparable to two pieces of toast or a spoonful of lunch, illustrating the small, everyday actions contributing to the larger problem.
- Emphasizes the importance of individual responsibility in reducing resource wastage by being mindful of small, everyday actions.
6. 👨👩👧👦 Inspiring the Next Generation
- Founded kindergartens for own children, now serving over 100 kids, named after German artists Carl Valentine and Leel Kad.
- The philosophy is that children, and by extension, students, teachers, colleagues, and family, will emulate behavior rather than be instructed, emphasizing the power of being a role model.
- The approach of being a role model rather than dictating actions has led to increased personal energy and project enthusiasm.
- Importance of understanding diverse perspectives on life (e.g., personal, familial) and integrating those into business models.
- Business plans often differ in reality from initial vision, presenting opportunities for learning and adaptation.
- Emphasizes learning through asking questions and listening to solutions, which drives innovation and novel business approaches.
- Specific example: The kindergartens incorporate artistic principles, inspired by the artists they are named after, to encourage creativity and expression among children.
- The role model philosophy is applied in both personal and professional settings, leading to a cohesive and authentic approach to leadership.
7. 🏊♀️ Personal Challenges and Triumphs
- Decided to undertake an Open Water Swim across the Bosporus at age 43 despite not knowing how to swim freestyle.
- Committed to training 5 to 6 days per week for 10 months to achieve this goal.
- Successfully completed an Intercontinental sea crossing of 6.5 kilometers across the Bosporus in 1 hour.
8. 🌟 Big Five Life Advices
- Life is abundant, and individuals are full of possibilities that need to be recognized.
- Small steps can lead to significant changes, and undeveloped skills should be embraced rather than seen as obstacles.
- Fear should be embraced as it helps identify areas lacking information and can be replaced with courage.
- Turning ideas into action is essential to avoid future regrets about missed opportunities.
- Self-love is crucial as it creates a reciprocal relationship with life, enhancing overall happiness.