Jamie Oliver wins TED award

Jamie Oliver has won the prestigious TED prize for 2010. A small non-profit organisation devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, TED was established in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: technology, entertainment and design. Some of the world’s most influential thinkers are part of this community, and previous winners of the award have included Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall and Cameron Sinclair.   

The TED prize is designed to leverage the community’s array of talent and resources. It is awarded annually to only three exceptional individuals who each receive $100,000 to go towards current social projects, and the granting of ‘One Wish to Change The World’.  The winner unveils their wish in a speech at an award ceremony, and the TED community pledges to make it come true. These wishes have previously led to collaborative initiatives with far-reaching impact.

In an emotive speech, Jamie attacked the global food giants for profiting from obesity and wished for ‘help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity’. He asked the TED community to provide the talent, hard work and other resources needed to make this happen.