Last night was the first night of the year when I really felt like knitting, and I’d been meaning to watch the talk Jules Dervaes gave last spring at UCLA for a long time, so I fired up YouTube and watched as I whipped up a couple of washcloths. I really enjoyed Dervaes’s low-key yet passionate style, and it’s great to get a little glimpse into the man behind Path to Freedom, a project and a website which have inspired thousands of people to take up the cause of freedom gardening and the 100 foot diet.

Dervaes touches on many topics in his talk—most striking was the fact that our society offers 1000 choices of shoe companies but only 150 choices of food plant varieties, 4 of which (rice, corn, wheat, and potato) provide 60% of our diet. He also encourages students to start growing at least a little of their own food, even if it’s only basil on a windowsill of their dorm rooms, saying that the first step is the hardest and most important.

“We’re trying to live the inconvenient solution,” he says. “We’re trying to put the roots in the grass roots.”

I hope you enjoy what Jules has to say. Plus if you watch the whole thing you’ll get to see the biggest squash you ever saw! Part 1 is below. Parts 2-5 can be found after the jump.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5 (Q&A)