Section A
At age 17, as a senior in high school, Kavita Shukla filed for her second patent: a piece of paper that would transform how food is stored and kept fresh. Ten years later, her product is being used in 35 countries, has been called "the 36 paper" and was recently launched in Whole Foods. Fresh Paper is infused with organic spices that inhibit 37 and fungal growth; when stored with produce, it can keep food fresh two to four times longer than normal--like refrigeration without electricity. The spice mixture comes from an old family recipe passed along by Shukla's grandmother, who once gave it to her after she 38 drank tap water on a visit to India. "Drink this and you won't get sick," she was told.
On Friday, Shukla was joined onstage at the Women in the World Summit in New York by Rula Jebreal, a 39 and foreign-policy expert at MSNBC (微软全国有线广播电视公司). Jebreal lamented the fact that while the world's farmers actually produce enough food to feed the world's hungry, 13 billion tons of food are lost annually to spoilage. What's more, some 1.6 billion people currently living without 40 to refrigeration struggle to keep their diets healthy. Shukla's company, Fenugreen, which she started in 2010, 41 these people, along with food banks and small-scale farmers. "For so many people, this was about so much more than a piece of paper," she said. "It was about empowerment. "
Jebreal praised a low-tech solution in an era when many 42 are relying on high-tech innovation."What if I had 43 it as too simple?" Shukla asked. "Simple ideas are the ones that have the power to change things.., and they have the power to 44 " For Fresh Paper, simplicity meant accessibility, which was key to 45 the product reached anyone who could benefit from it. As the discussion drew to a close, Shukla reminded inventors everywhere that complicated isn't always better: "Don't ever discount your own simple idea. "