TED Talks Daily How the fridge changed food | Nicola Twilley
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Nov 24, 2025 
Join food researcher Nicola Twilley as she explores the hidden impact of refrigeration on our food systems and the environment. She dives into the massive cold chain, comparing it to an artificial Arctic while highlighting its climate costs. Twilley discusses the avocado trade's environmental repercussions and innovative cooling technologies that could revolutionize food preservation. She emphasizes rethinking our kitchen fridges and suggests that countries can leapfrog to cleaner methods, preserving freshness without the traditional cold.
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The Artificial Cryosphere
- Refrigeration forms a vast 'artificial cryosphere' that links farms, trucks, warehouses, and homes into a global cold chain.
- That network now shapes what we eat and where food can travel, creating new supply chains and dependencies.
Avocado Trade Changed By Cold
- Twilley uses the avocado story to show how refrigeration lets tropical fruit reach distant markets and explode demand.
- Kenyan avocado exports and Dutch consumption surged together because cold logistics made long-distance trade possible.
Cold Dictates Which Crops Win
- Refrigeration privileges commodities that can tolerate cold while excluding perishables that don't travel well, like marula.
- This shapes agricultural choices and global diets by making only certain crops economically viable for export.