During his keynote speech at the 2017 Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference near Traverse City, Taste the Local Difference CEO Bill Palladino declared that eating — and choosing the food we put in our body — are sacred acts.

Through his personal challenges since a leukemia diagnosis in 2006, and the resulting conflicts found in traditional western medicine’s approach to treatment, Palladino has spent the past decade thinking deeply about the importance of our food system and it’s potential to heal or do harm. His keynote layered his perspectives on the science of food biology, the lack of a sense of intimacy in how we interact with food, and the loss of food as something sacred in our lives.

The speech made us laugh, shout for joy, weep, and think about ourselves and the world.

Watch the full (63-minute-long) speech below:

And here are highlights from Palladino's keynote.

Being from New York, but "of Michigan" (5:43)

Lips are the Doors to our Hearts (4:24)

This little piggy went to freezer, but not before breaking my heart (4:19)

Putting it all on the table (2:21)