Have a minute to think about taste?

OK, it's actually 12 minutes. But a worthwhile 12 minutes, I think.

With all the TedX talks going on around the country at the moment, including Charlotte's Ted last week, I stumbled across a video from last year's TedX in New York. The speaker is Mitchell Davis, the vice president of the James Beard Foundation and someone I have the pleasure of working with every year on the Beard Leadership Awards.

The Leadership Awards are given at a two-day event that Mitchell puts together, a sort of think-inar on the latest research on the world's food policies.

Mitchell also is Dr. Mitchell Davis, who teaches food writing at NYU. He's one of those very smart people who introduces me to new ideas and points of view. So when Dr. Davis takes the stage to talk about the very basic concept of taste and how that should shape our food supply, it's worth considering.

See if you agree: