The hidden cost of buying gold | Claudia Vega

Summary

Podcast Summary: TED Talks Daily — The Hidden Cost of Buying Gold | Claudia Vega

Date: October 10, 2025
Host: Elise Hu
Guest: Claudia Vega (Rainforest Toxicologist, TED Fellow)
Special Guest Interviewer: Lily James Olds (TED Fellows Program Director)

---

Main Theme / Purpose

This episode delves into the often overlooked impact of artisanal gold mining, particularly its environmental and public health consequences due to mercury use, through the work and perspective of rainforest toxicologist Claudia Vega. Broadcasting from her lab in the Peruvian Amazon, Vega explains the interconnectedness of gold consumption, mercury pollution, indigenous communities, and global health, emphasizing how local environmental issues reverberate worldwide.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. What Ties Penguins, the Amazon, and Your Gold Together? (03:52–04:24)

• Gold mining—and particularly artisanal methods—often relies on mercury, which has become a global pollutant.
• An estimated 20% of the world's gold is produced by artisanal miners; it's not a minor operation.
• Claudia Vega: “For me, the forest is more valuable than gold.” (03:53)

2. How Artisanal Gold Mining Poisons the Amazon (04:24–09:34)

• Artisanal, "rustic" methods use mercury to bind gold from river sediment; burning this amalgam vaporizes mercury, releasing it into air and water.
• 1,400 tons of mercury are released to the environment each year by artisanal mining.
• The contamination is not localized; mercury shows up in the Arctic, affecting wildlife globally.
• Deforestation is massive: in Madre de Dios alone, 130,000 hectares of rainforest have been destroyed.
• Mercury, a potent neurotoxin, has profound health impacts on humans and animals, including cognitive deficits and birth defects.
• Notable quote: “Mercury is called the silent toxin because it takes a while to show effects.” (06:35)
• The infamous Minamata Bay mercury poisoning in Japan: it took 25 years to understand the damage, affecting over 10,000 people.

3. Scientific Intervention and Community Engagement (08:24–09:35)

• Claudia helped establish the first mercury lab in the Peruvian Amazon, enabling local data collection and communication with stakeholders.
• The lab bridges the gap between scientific knowledge and actionable decisions, targeting miners, indigenous people, and policymakers.
• Indigenous Amazonian diets rely heavily on fish, which now contain high mercury levels—posing daily health risks.
• Claudia Vega: “…information is power and having the right information make you do the right decision.” (08:56)

4. Challenges in Changing Mining Practices (09:34–10:31)

• Many miners are aware of health risks but are driven by economic necessity and lack of incentives for mercury-free gold.
• There are no effective traceability systems for “clean” gold; most consumers remain unaware or unconcerned about gold’s origin.
• Memorable quote: “At the end, we have one health, one planet, and everything is connected.” (09:47)
• Claudia Vega: “Gold is valuable, but you cannot eat it, you cannot breathe it, and you cannot drink it.” (10:18)

---

In-Depth Conversation: Claudia Vega & Lily James Olds (12:20–35:58)

1. Claudia's Path: From Veterinary Science to Mercury Advocacy (13:05–15:25)

• Originally trained as a veterinarian focused on wildlife, Claudia’s work with trafficked animals frustrated her—she saw that treating animal injuries didn’t solve environmental problems.
• A mentor encouraged her to study epidemiology and environmental health, where she began researching mercury’s impact—first on penguins, later in the Amazon.
• Claudia Vega: “How can I make people think like the environment where the animals lives matters?” (13:31)

2. Building a Lab in the Jungle and Empowering Local Communities (15:59–18:11)

• Previously, samples for contaminant analysis had to be shipped to Lima or abroad, delaying results and solutions.
• Local capacity accelerates research and empowers affected communities to take ownership of both understanding and addressing their own challenges.
• Foreign researchers often "diagnose and disappear"—Claudia’s lab stays and shares findings directly with locals.

3. Shifting Attitudes: Knowledge Leads to Behavior Change (18:11–20:40)

• Sharing locally-relevant data sparks conversation and concern; recently, a study's results dominated national news for weeks.
• Demonstrable impacts: parents change feeding habits when they understand mercury exposure risks, even if it means ignoring a child’s food preference.
• Memorable moment: “If you're telling what to do to reduce the exposure, I mean you can be changing the person, life...” (19:51)

4. Building Trust and Listening to Indigenous Wisdom (20:22–23:05)

• Engagement begins with community consent and repeated dialogue—returning with results is crucial for trust.
• Indigenous communities provide knowledge researchers can’t access alone; mutual learning is a core aim.
• Claudia Vega: "Sometimes as a researcher, usually we stay like 10 days… but you're not able to observe everything. And they know much more than us."

5. Alternatives to Mercury: Why Change is Slow (23:05–26:12)

• Non-artisanal (industrial) mining uses cyanide, which, although also dangerous, can be treated and broken down—unlike mercury.
• Mercury is “the easy option” for small-scale miners; safer alternatives exist but require training and cooperation.
• In some places, miners form associations to adopt better methods, but in Madre de Dios, miners work independently, making it harder to shift norms.
• Lily James Olds: “The word artisanal makes you think it's some small organic thing and that it is not.” (23:28)

6. Incentives, Obstacles, and the Need for Systemic Change (26:12–28:34)

• Legal and illegal miners receive the same price for gold, providing no financial motivation for safer practices.
• Peer influence (from one miner to another) could be more effective than external preaching.
• Certification and traceability exist for some diamonds, but gold lacks effective tracking—“once you melt it, there’s no way to tell.”

7. Global Responsibility: What Can Consumers and Governments Do? (27:16–32:33)

• The entire gold supply chain—from miners, traders, to final consumers—lacks effective regulation or consumer awareness.
• Mercury in gold mining is an international crisis: mercury spreads via the atmosphere and food chains, affecting everyone, not just remote communities.
• Claudia links mercury in the Amazon to U.S. public health guidelines: “pregnant women are advised not to consume tuna... the reason is because of mercury.” (30:16)
• Laws in Peru exist but are rarely enforced. Complex formalization processes mean illegal mining continues unchecked.

8. The Bigger Picture: Sustainable Futures and Hope (32:33–35:34)

• Mining itself is necessary for modern life, but "green gold" doesn't exist—only responsible mining and conscious, limited extraction.
• The forest provides air and water—resources more vital than gold.
• Some miners voluntarily protect parts of their land, refusing to mine forest areas despite possible gold profits.
• Claudia Vega: “We have to figure out that there are places that you cannot do mining, even though there's a lot of gold, because there are other valuable things in the forest, and we have to give value to other things.”

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Mercury is called the silent toxin because it takes a while to show effects.” — Claudia Vega (06:35)
• “At the end, we have one health, one planet, and everything is connected.” — Claudia Vega (09:47)
• “Gold is valuable, but you cannot eat it, you cannot breathe it and you cannot drink it.” — Claudia Vega (10:18)
• “We need to have local capacity in the places where the problems are happening because... they are the ones that are suffering the consequence.” — Claudia Vega (17:11)
• “Having the relationship with the community—show up and deliver what you promised—is very important.” — Claudia Vega (21:13)
• “If we learn how to disseminate information the way that fake news do... maybe we can compete.” — Claudia Vega (34:59)
• “Even though it's a small change, but it's worth it, because not doing nothing is worse. I'd rather be part of the solution, been part of the problem.” — Claudia Vega (35:13)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Event | |-------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:52–04:24 | Claudia introduces the artisanal gold-mining issue and mercury pollution | | 04:24–09:34 | Mercury's route from rivers to the global food chain and its health effects | | 08:24–09:35 | The role and impact of the Amazon mercury lab | | 12:20–13:05 | Claudia’s scientific background and journey | | 15:59–18:11 | Why local science matters and its effect on trust and empowerment | | 19:13–20:40 | Anecdote: a community mother changes her child’s diet to reduce mercury | | 20:22–23:05 | Building trust and collaborating with indigenous communities | | 23:40–26:12 | Gold-mining alternatives and the inertia of established practices | | 27:40–28:34 | Systemic gaps in gold traceability and certification | | 29:40–30:39 | Mercury’s global impact: why “their” problem is actually everyone’s | | 32:33–34:28 | A vision for responsible mining and “valuing” the forest over gold | | 34:39–35:34 | Hopes and fears: fake news and the power of persistence |

---

Final Thoughts

Claudia Vega's story illustrates the hidden environmental and health costs of gold—connecting everyday consumer decisions to the devastation of the Amazon and the spread of mercury around the globe. Her work exemplifies the importance of local science, community collaboration, and relentless advocacy for systemic change. The episode concludes with a call to reconsider how we value natural resources and an impassioned reminder that “everything is connected”—underscoring shared responsibility for both the problem and its solutions.

---

For more on TED Fellows and their work, visit fellows.ted.com.

Transcript

[Capital One Narrator]

This episode is brought to you by Capital One. Capital One's tech team isn't just talking about multi agentic AI.

[Sherrell Dorsey]

They already deployed one.

[Capital One Narrator]

It's called Chat Concierge and it's simplifying.

[Sherrell Dorsey]

Car shopping using self reflection and layered.

[Capital One Narrator]

Reasoning with live API checks. It doesn't just help buyers find a car they love, it helps schedule a test drive, get pre approved for financing and and estimate trade in value. Advanced, intuitive and deployed. That's how they stack. That's technology at Capital One.

[Sherrell Dorsey]

Hi, this is Sherrell Dorsey from the TED Tech Podcast and today I want to talk to you about Boost Mobile. So you're thinking about upgrading to the amazing new iPhone 17 Pro, the most powerful iPhone yet with 8 times options, optical zoom. But are you also thinking about the traffic on your way to the store or transferring all your data? Well good news. When you order a new phone online with Boost Mobile, they'll send an expert to your home or work to deliver your brand new iPhone 17 Pro and get you all set up on Boost Mobile within minutes. No hassle. Visit boostmobile.com to get started now. Delivery available for select devices [e-mail] terms apply.

[Elise Hu]

This show is brought to you by Dell Introducing your new Dell PC. Powered by the Intel Core Ultra processor, it helps you handle a lot even when your holiday to do list gets to be a lot because it's built with all day battery plus powerful AI features that help you do it all with ease from editing images to drafting emails to summarizing large documents to multitasking so you can organize your holiday shopping and make custom holiday decor and search for great holiday deals and respond to holiday requests and customer questions and customers requesting custom things. And plan the perfect holiday dinner for vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians and Uncle Mike's carnivore diet. Luckily you can get a PC that helps you do it all faster so you can get it all done. That's the power of a Dell PC with Intel inside backed by Dell's price match guarantee. Get yours [e-mail] holiday terms and conditions apply. See dell.com for details. You're listening to TED Talks Daily where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host Elise Hu. Today's talk is part of our new 2025 Ted Fellows Films adapted for podcast Just for our TED Talks Daily listeners. We'll be releasing these special episodes showcasing our amazing Fellows on certain Fridays throughout the rest of 2025 and into the new year. So definitely stay t the TED Fellows program supports a network of global innovators and we're so excited to share their work with you today. We'd like you to meet rainforest toxicologist and TED fellow Claudia Vega. What do penguins, the Amazonian rainforest and the gold in your watch have in common? It turns out, mercury. Running a world class lab in the middle of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest, Claudia studies the effects of mercury pollution from illegal artisanal gold mining. Highlighting an urgent environment and public health problem with far reaching impacts. She shares what led her to the rainforest, what she's learned from the indigenous communities she's worked with and why it's imperative to understand that what happens in the Amazon matters to all of us everywhere. After we hear from Claudia Vega, stick around for her conversation with Ted Fellows program director Lily James Olds. It's coming up.

[Claudia Vega]

Since I was little, I always loved nature. I always loved the feeling of being in a forest. For me, the forest is more valuable than gold. My name is Claudia Vega and I work in the Peruvian Amazon. I'm studying mercury contamination due to artisanal gold mining in Madre de Dios. I think people are not aware that sometimes the gold that you buy maybe is poisoning the rainforest in the Amazon or other tropical areas. About 20% of the gold producer in the world come from artisanal gold mining.

It's not that small.

And when you say artisanal, it's not because it's like natural. It's called artisanal because they don't use fancy equipment. They have a very like rustic way. People have been doing that since the gold rush in California. They were using mercury. So the technique hasn't advanced that much since then. Mercury is used because it's an easy way to extract the gold. So what the miners do is the gold is like a sandy in a sandy form and it's usually in the sediment of the rivers. They put mercury, the mercury binds with gold, then they have the amalgam, which is a mix of gold and mercury and then they burn the amalgam and then the mercury just evaporates to the air and they got the gold. When they're doing the mixing with gold, some of the mercury goes into the river. It's easy to evaporate, you don't have to heat it, it goes to the air and it can be transported like long distance. This happens mainly in the tropics and is the biggest anthropogenic source of mercury in the planet. Around 1400 ton of mercury annually is released to the environment because of artisanal gold mining. It's an international concern and it's not because it harms just the place where it's used. For example, there are even like very high levels of mercury in the whales, in the beluga whales, in the Arctic. In Madre de Dios, about 130,000 hectares has been deforested because artisanal gold mining, it is big operation. Like you can see like huge areas of rainforest just deforested. It looked like a desert with mining ponds. There are like artificial lakes and in the middle of a lot of desert, there's no tree, there's no animals. It looks like the moon kind of, because it's just. There's no vegetation. Mercury is an element. We cannot destroy it. It's a potent neurotoxin. It can affect the nervous system, can give you headaches, can give you problem of memory, it can give you insomnia, it can harm children during pregnancy, could have a baby, will have learning disabilities. Depending how much is disposed. It can even have malformation. Mercury is called the silent toxin because it takes a while to show effects. Minavata Bay in Japan is a more iconic case of mercury poisoning. 1932, there was a company that was releasing mercury into the bay. It took about 25 years to show the effects in people. About 1,000 people died. And until now they have certified like 10,000 people that were affected. So people didn't know they were being intoxicated and they didn't feel it. But at the end they had the symptoms and people died. Who says that mercury is one of the top 10 chemicals that are a major concern for public health? Centro de Innovacion Scientific Amazonica, which is Amazonian center for scientific innovation, we implement the first mercury lab in the Peruvian Amazon. And it's in the middle of the rainforest, it's in the middle of the jungle. We produce science. It's also communicating the science to people that are not scientists in a way that they can have information to take better decision. We work with miners and also explain to them the dangers of mercury and with indigenous people, also explain to them how they can avoid being exposed. And also we work with politicians so they can base their decision in science. Fish is the main source of protein for indigenous people in the Amazon. They are exposed to very high levels of mercury through consuming contaminated fish. They have like one of the highest levels reported right now. So one thing that we do with them, we explain to them that they have to choose safer fish. Sometimes it's very difficult because you don't have the right answer for them. I mean, they're in their home and then as strange people come telling them that what they are eating is poison. But I think information is power and having the right information make you do the right decision. So we're insist in that giving the information and repeat the information. Some of the miners tell us like, I have been doing this for 30 years, so I'm good.

I ask them like, do you sleep.

Do you have headaches, do you forget things more often? And also mercury sometimes can increase the chance to have cardiovascular disease. So maybe some of the people have high pressure and they don't know why. It could be because of mercury. And some of them start changing for a more responsible way of mining. Some other miners, they maybe they know, but they don't care because they need money and gold is money. There are no incentive to produce mercury free gold. People just buy gold.

They don't care.

There's no like good traceability system. So I think as a consumer or as a mediator of gold trade, we have to care about where gold is coming from. Sometimes we use tint and we don't even know how much input has in the world. At the end, we have one health, one planet, and everything is connected. When you are affecting the environment, you can affect the animal's health and then human health too. So for me, my dream is like, people can see the value of the forest. It's actually doing something for us. It's producing air, it's producing water. That's more valuable than gold. I know gold is valuable, but you cannot eat it, you cannot breathe it and you cannot drink it.

[Elise Hu]

And now a special conversation between Claudia Vega and Ted Fellows program director Lily James Olds. Coming up right after the break. This episode is sponsored by Peloton. When I work out, I want to feel motivated and challenged. But sometimes I get bogged down with details like choosing the right weights or correcting my form. With the new Peloton Cross Training Tread Plus, I don't have to worry about that. Powered by Peloton iq, the Peloton Cross Training Tread plus offers endless ways to move and intelligent strength coaching that counts your reps, corrects your form and suggests weights so you get stronger, safer and smarter. With its swivel screen, you can go from running to strength or pilates in one smooth spin. And it personalizes your journey with personalized plans. Peloton IQ builds a workout roadmap around your goals and energy so you stay motivated, not just today, but for the long run. So let yourself run, lift, sculpt, push and go explore the New peloton cross training tread [e-mail].

[Capital One Narrator]

This episode is brought to you by Capital One. Capital One's tech team isn't just talking about multi agentic AI.

[Sherrell Dorsey]

They already deployed one.

[Capital One Narrator]

It's called Chat Concierge and it's simplifying car shopping using self reflection and layered reasoning with live API checks. It doesn't just help buyers find a car they love, it helps schedule a test drive, get pre approved for financing and estimate trade in value. Advanced, intuitive and deployed. That's how they stack. That's technology at Capital One.

[Lily James Olds]

Hi Claudia, Welcome. I'm really looking forward to talking to you today.

[Claudia Vega]

Hi Lily. Well, thank you for inviting me and it is really nice to see you after I don't know how many months.

[Lily James Olds]

I know, it's so nice. Okay, so before we dive into all of the work you do, I'd love to just know a little bit more about how you first got into this work. I know that you first trained as a vet, right. And that then you worked in Guatemala and that later you moved to Brazil to study diseases and marine animals, I think which eventually led you to working with penguins. So I would love if you could just share your amazing winding path that brought you from researching penguins to researching mercury.

[Claudia Vega]

Yeah, I am a bit veterinary.

I study in Guatemala and when I started to study veterinary, I always wanted to work with wildlife animals. For me, like dogs and cat was not like, you know, I have to study them but it was not the option that I wanted. I did some training in some zoos in Mexico and then when I finished veterinary, I was working in a wildlife conservation center that was treating animals from confiscated for trafficking. And it was really frustrating because you just receiving all these animals that are in bad shape and trying to cure them, that's not changing anything. The animals keep coming and coming and I was like, how can we make a change? Like how can I make people think like the environment where the animals lives matters? And I talked with another vet, wildlife vet, and he told me epidemiology is what I should be studying, like studying the the causes of diseases or the causes of damage. So I did my master in public health and environment and my supervisor was a marine biologist and he was telling me about these penguins because in Reagento during the win you have a lot of penguins at some beaches. And he told me like, we should study what is going on with these penguins. And we decided to study heavy metals, cadmium, lead and mercury. And yeah, that's how I started studying mercury and Then that's amazing. Yeah. After I finished my PhD and like having this study of mercury in the Amazon, I was kind of getting to a point that I wanted to divorce science because I felt like, like writing papers or publishing papers, it wasn't changing anything. So I was kind of like question myself, like what is science for? And when I was at that moment, I met the executive director of the center I'm working on. I met him in a mercury conference and then he told me about the idea that they wanted to produce science information for decision maker to actually change things. And they told me like they were starting the center and they needed a mercury program coordinator. So that's how I moved to Rio Madre de Dios in the middle of the Peruvian Amazon.

[Lily James Olds]

I mean, I think what's really inspiring to me about that is that you're doing this work and then you're asking the question, you know, wait a second, how can I actually go one step further back to where this problem started and work to address it? In some ways it sounds like what led you to the mercury research?

[Claudia Vega]

Well, I was supposed to study a disease in primates at the Master, but then I just found mercury just, I mean like it just happened like spontaneously and like, you know, penguins at the beach. Well, it was like, I don't know, more interesting. I will say.

[Lily James Olds]

Yeah, okay, so I know that the world class mercury testing lab that you helped establish in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon. I mean from what you've shown me, it just, it looks amazing and I know that it's the first of its kind. I would love for you to talk a little bit more about why you think it's important to do this scientific work locally in the Amazon instead of just taking the samples back to a lab in a major city. Because it's such a lift. Obviously it's like this herculean thing to build a world class lab in the middle of the Amazon. Why do you think that is so important?

[Claudia Vega]

Well, first, before we implemented that lab, anything that you needed to analyze, you have to send it first to Lima or send it to another country. It was that hard. And just sending the sample outside Peru, that is not that easy. And to take the samples is already take times and then you have to ship it to another place. That complicates everything. We thought like having the capacity in the site that we need to study, I mean, is better, like you can have the answer faster. And also like one of the things that usually happen that researchers from other places just come to the place that has the problem, they diagnose and then they go away. Right. We need to have local capacity in the places where the problems are happening because we need to, to empower the people in the place because at the end they are the ones that are suffering the consequence. So I think producing the information, know how to produce the information, that's also empower people in the local community and that makes change.

[Lily James Olds]

Yeah, absolutely. And how has doing this work in that capacity and way changed the conversations with the communities that you work with? I guess also the policymakers, what are, what are the kind of learnings and what can you share with us? That has shifted as you've done this work in that different way on the ground and really bringing the science to where you're doing the research locally.

[Claudia Vega]

So I think it, it has changed the conversation a lot. Like when I started, people kind of knew a little bit of mercury. But right now we have more information and people are talking about it. Like just two months ago we released the results of a study in the north part of the Peruvian Amazon. And we have been in the news like for one and a half months. I mean like people want to know about it. If people don't know what is happening, they cannot look for a solution. So having the information is really important. And there's a convention for reducing mercury in the world, the Minamata convention. Like our data is the first data that they have from places that have artisanal gold mines, including, because they usually don't have that data because it's hard to do the work in those places. So we're showing results locally, national and international. I think that can produce change.

[Lily James Olds]

What is something that's truly surprised you that you've discovered through doing your research?

[Claudia Vega]

Knowing that information and seeing that information can make changes. Like for example, when I go with the communities or the indigenous people, like when I explain to them like where the mercury is, how it concentrates, like how there are safer fishes and there are ones that are more, you know, risky to eat. For example, a mother that she understood, the youngest child that has three years old, he was the one with higher levels of mercury. And when we give the talk, she understood because the fish that the kid love to eat is the one that has more mercury. And she understood that and I told her, like, well now even though he cries, don't give that fish to him. Yeah, she understood the information and she was like, ah, now I understand if you're telling what to do to reduce the exposure, I mean you can be changing the person, life, it's not that surprised me. It's just like it really make me keep going. Like, I know it's hard, but I know we can do changes if we keep trying.

[Lily James Olds]

I think there's so much in what you just said also about communication and about trust. Right. With the local communities that you're going into and where you're doing this research, what are some of those conversations? Like, how do you build trust in that capacity with these communities that you're working with?

[Claudia Vega]

Well, we go to them before starting a study. We have to ask them if they want to do it. We usually go one or two times to the place and explain what we want to do. We send like a letter for the leader of the community and ask them if they want to do it. So we talk with them. And then like, when I promise something, I really try to do it in the time that I promised. And like I told them like, we're going to come back this month to bring the results. We went back, we gave the result one by one. We explained to the people, we stayed there and we were there to answer questions. And they tell us, thank you. They were really grateful because they told us like, people usually come and they don't give back the results. So I think, like, having the relationship with the community show up and, you know, deliver what you promised, I think that's, that's very important.

[Lily James Olds]

No, that makes a lot of sense. You're following through on your, your commitment and sharing the information that you're gathering. What have you learned from the indigenous communities that you work with in the Amazon? What are some of the things that they've taught you that you carry with you?

[Claudia Vega]

There are a lot of things and I think, like, it's a process that never ends. I'm still learning a lot. Like, for example, the last time that I went to the communities and told them that the result that were not that good like they were, they were exposed to high risk of mercury. One told me like, so, doctor, what now I die? Like, I was like, what should I do?

When you go there and see the.

Situation that they have and you like giving them another problem to worry, they have other problems to solve. I'm still like thinking in a way, like, how can we make a difference for them? And I think that's one of the things that we're doing right now is try to empower more the community. Like, for example, the next step is training them to do it for them to produce information. And we're trying to create a system that they can show These results, so they are aware. And also you're taking advantage of the indigenous knowledge. Right. Because sometimes as a researcher, usually we stay like 10 days, for example, but you're not able to observe everything. And they know much more than us. We have to use their knowledge. So we're trying to find how can science and indigenous people work together and we learn from each other.

[Lily James Olds]

You know, you were talking a minute ago about how you're making change both on a local and global level. I had no idea before I met you that artisanal gold mining is not a small scale operation. Right. The word artisanal makes you think it's some small organic thing and that it is not. And that in fact it's responsible, as you say, for nearly 20% of the world's gold. Is there a way to mine gold without using mercury? And if so, what does that look like? And why don't more our operations use this method?

[Claudia Vega]

If you do it in a non artisanal way would be with cyanide, which is like also a dangerous substance. But yeah, I was going to say.

[Lily James Olds]

That doesn't sound much better than mercury.

[Claudia Vega]

The thing is, usually big companies that use it and there's a way to treat it. The difference between mercury and cyanide, that mercury is an element so you cannot destroy it. But cyanide is like a compound so you can like break it down and reduce the toxicity, which is what the big companies do. But to do that they need a lot of water, they need like big processing plants and you know, it takes more money and space to do that. I see.

[Lily James Olds]

So you can't do that on a small scale. The mercury is really the only option if you're a smaller miner or company to do it.

[Claudia Vega]

So it's an option.

I will say it's an easy option.

Because you don't need to be trained to do it. Like there are other techniques. There's shaking tables and there are like different techniques that you need to be trained. And mercury is very simple. You just put it, see the amogama and then you burn it.

It's easy to do.

I mean, it's the same methodology that was used in the gold rush in California a long time ago. Right.

[Lily James Olds]

I mean, do you think that a solution would be to provide more training to these miners in alternative methods?

[Claudia Vega]

So there are miners that are trying and the thing is like there are technologies but you have to change behaviors. Yeah. Miners think that that's the way that they know, they think that's the way it should be. And you have to first like convince them that is a better method. Because at the end everything is money, right? Like and they think mercury is efficient and you have to prove them because it is efficient, but it's not that efficient. There are other methods that are more efficient but you have to prove to and then you have to change the behavior. So that's the tricky thing. And also at least in Madre de Dios, the miners, they work separate. There are other places like in Colombia they do like little associations and like a group of miners work and they can have the shaking table like owned by several miners. But here they work different. So it's a slow process. But we found a group there, woman and they are trying to do the right thing. I mean like not using mercury changing technology and also try to implement restoration techniques after the mining.

[Lily James Olds]

That's really interesting. I was going to ask what are some examples that you've seen of changes in behavior based on the conversations you've had and the work that you've done. Do you have other examples?

[Claudia Vega]

We're trying to look for this champion, we call it champion that. I think there are some people that are trying to do it but one of the things that they say a lot, sometimes it's easier and cheaper to be legal than legal. I mean you don't have a government system that encourage to be legal to be honest. Because I mean if you're legal, you have to pay taxes, you have to do a lot of things for the workers and everything and you sell the gold and it's the same price as the one that is produced in an illegal way. So it's kind of difficult. But there are people that are trying to do the right thing. And one of the things that we try to do is find these people and make them talk to each other. Because sometimes if you just come from outside, I mean I can talk but I'm not the one that is in the mind. If another miner come and talk to them and share the experience, I think that can do more change.

[Lily James Olds]

And what role do you think governments, consumers, just period consumers. What role do you think all of us have in this? I'm just curious, you know, as you said, it's slow work, it's long term work. You're doing it one conversation and test at a time. What else can be done to I guess speed up this process of change?

[Claudia Vega]

I think there are different part of the chain that need to be addressed. Like the producer, which are the miners, the ones that receive the gold that will be like the gold trade, like they should be certified that the gold is producing in a legal way. Right. There are some initiatives that are trying to, you know, to, to have decertification, but it's still going slow. And then we have the final consumer, like the gold is producers here in the Amazon, but it's not consumed here. We know like a lot of the gold go through Switzerland to other places. We should be asking where the, the gold was produced, how was produced. There's not enough awareness to care about where the gold is coming from. I mean there are places that they buy gold, they don't care about where it's coming from. It has to be more awareness. Right.

[Lily James Olds]

So right now that doesn't exist in the way that, you know, I know there's different knowledge in terms of diamonds and where's the provenance that doesn't exist right now in terms of gold?

[Claudia Vega]

It does, but is is hard to do the trustability right now. There's not an effective way to trace gold. That's one of the problems. Because the thing is like if you have like a gold producer with mercury and then you have another one that is present in a clean way, then you just melt it and you have a mix of gold and like there's no way to trace it.

[Lily James Olds]

Yeah. I mean, I think that touches on so much, right. Of like this idea of how do you get people. And again, this is climate crisis overall. Right. How do you get people to care about something that they might not think affects their life? Right. I mean this is obviously zoomed out, much bigger question, but how do you think about that in terms of having these conversations with people who don't think this might necessarily touch their lives and yet clearly it does. It affects all of us.

[Claudia Vega]

Yes. Like when I give a talk or representation, I us trying to figure out how I make the problem their problem too. And usually, for example, when I talk with women, I start with a famous picture of the Minamata disaster, which is the first case of mercury intoxication. And you have a mother holding her children with malformation. And that's how it starts. For example, I try to show that it's something that can affect them. And one thing that I usually mention, for example, in the U.S. pregnant women are advised not to consume tuna.

[Lily James Olds]

Right, Right.

[Claudia Vega]

And the reason is because of mercury. So it's like you say, it's not just in the Arctic, it's in all the oceans. And all of us consume fish from the ocean. Mercury doesn't stay just in the Amazon, it can travel. So if we keep emitting mercury, the levels will keep raising. It could affect all of us. Like I think, like I tried to show that.

[Lily James Olds]

No, that's so fascinating. So now we've talked about consumers, we've talked about miners. I'm also curious to hear from you. What role do you think, or I guess responsibility within that do governments need to play? And also do the mining companies need to play? And what is that process of creating movement there, trying to have those individuals and organizations create change?

[Claudia Vega]

So it's a very complicated situation because. Yeah, first of all, right now in Peru, the government is kind of trying to encourage artisanal gold mining. And there's a formalization process which is you make a minor legal. This process started in 2001 and it's still going right now. I mean, like it's so ineffective that it's not doing what it should be doing. Like really giving fiscalized process for responsible minors. It's not doing what it should be doing. I mean, it's not just doing laws. It's applying to them to see and if they're being followed or not. And I don't know if in the US it's like that, but in Latin America they love to write laws, a lot of laws. And law is just written, it's not applied.

[Lily James Olds]

And are there incentives that you've seen work in Peru?

[Claudia Vega]

Not really, to be honest. Not really in Peru. Yeah, it's kind of difficult. And about the legal miners of the big company right now, the illegal mining is just so out of control that even the legal miners, the big companies, are starting to be affected. So they're also like trying to push the government to do something. That's how the situation is in Peru right now. It's kind of difficult.

[Lily James Olds]

I really love when you say, Claudia, that we can't eat, drink or breathe gold. I think that's such a powerful line connected to what we're talking about. Given that many miners obviously depend on gold for their livelihood, what does a sustainable future look like? You know, one that would both protect the Amazon, stop this widespread mercury pollution, and also support the people who rely on mining to survive.

[Claudia Vega]

I mean, first of all, we need mining. That's a fact. Not just gold mining. Like every metal mining, all of us use the different metals. So there are ways to do it in a more responsible way. Because for me, green mine or green gold doesn't exist. It's like responsible mining. We need to know, like mining is a resort that will stop. I know it's difficult, but we have to have conscious of like maybe you're mining now, but I don't know if your kid will be able to mine or the kid will be able to have the resources. So we have to find other ways.

To take advantage of the forest.

Like, for example, study more plants and see, like, if we can use the plant for something else. So the way I see it is, like, there should be mining, but do it in a responsible way. And you have to respect some place. I know miners that they have this land, and there are places that even though they know there's gold, they won't mind there because they know they need the forest, too. So if they do it in that way, I think it could be done. We have to figure out that there are places that you cannot do mining, even though there's a lot of gold, because there are other valuable things in the forest, and we have to give value to other things. Because for me, the gold is not the more valuable thing of the forest. I mean, that has to count for something.

[Lily James Olds]

I love that. Okay, last question. I'd love to hear. What is something you're really scared of right now? And also, what is something that is giving you hope?

[Claudia Vega]

Wow.

[Lily James Olds]

No big deal.

[Claudia Vega]

Yeah, well, actually, I'm really scared of fake news because that's what slowed the change. Because people take information that is not real, and they take decision based on that, because everybody can be a victim of that.

[Lily James Olds]

Yeah.

[Claudia Vega]

When we were thinking in strategy, I always say, like, we should learn how to disseminate information the way that fake news do that. Because if we learn that, maybe we can compete. And what gives me hope? Like, I mean, I know the problems are complex, but if we don't do anything, it will continue. Even though it's a small change, but it's worth it, because not doing nothing is worse. I'd rather be part of the solution, been part of the problem. So, yeah, that's what gave me hope.

[Lily James Olds]

I love that. Well, thank you so much for this conversation, Khadija. I'm always, I think, really obviously inspired by your work, but I think just the way that you so articulately connect the dots on how everything really is connected, how we all are connected, and these are not just problems happening somewhere else, that they are all of our problems, as you said, it's been really illuminating.

[Claudia Vega]

Oh, thank you. And also thank you for all the work that you guys are doing, because you guys are trying to show these stories, and thank you for that.

[Lily James Olds]

It's a pleasure. Can't wait for the next conversation.

[Claudia Vega]

Claudia.

[Elise Hu]

That was Claudia Vega, a 2025 TED Fellow. To learn more about the TED Fellows Program and watch all the TED Fellows films, go to fellows.ted.com and that's it for today. This episode was produced by Lucy Little, edited by Alejandra Salazar, Fact Checked by Eva Dasher. The audio you heard at the top comes from the short film made by Divya Gadangi and Owen Maclean. Story edited by Corey Hajim and produced by Ian Lowe. Video Production Manager is Tseering Dolma. Additional support from Lily James Olds, Leone Horster and Allegra Pearl. TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective. Our team includes Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Greene, Lucy Little and Tonsika Sungmarnivong. Additional support from Emma Tobner and Daniela Ballorezzo. I'm Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed.

[Claudia Vega]

Thanks for listening.

[Sherrell Dorsey]

Hi, this is Sherrell Dorsey from the TED Tech Podcast and today I want to talk to you about Boost Mobile. So you're thinking about upgrading to the amazing new iPhone 17 Pro, the most powerful iPhone yet with 8 times optical zoom. But are you also thinking about the traffic on your way to the store or transferring all your data? Well, good news. When you order a new phone online with Boost Mobile, they'll send an expert to your home or work to deliver your brand new iPhone 17 Pro and get you all set up on Boost Mobile within minutes. No hassle. Visit boostmobile.com to get started. Delivery available for select devices [e-mail] terms apply.

[Capital One Narrator]

This episode is brought to you by Capital One. Capital One's tech team isn't just talking about multi agentic AI.

[Sherrell Dorsey]

They already deployed one.

[Capital One Narrator]

It's called Chat Concierge and it's simplifying car shopping using self reflection and layered reasoning with live API checks. It doesn't just help buyers find a car they love, it helps schedule a test drive, get pre approved for financing, and estimate trade in value. Advanced, intuitive and deployed. That's how they stack. That's technology at Capital One.

[EY Narrator]

In a world of seismic change, will your business shape the future or be shaped by it? How will we capture the imagination of tomorrow's consumers, overcome operational constraints to focus on future growth and unlock economic and social prosperity through Environmental responsibility? With EY's full spectrum of services across sectors, we're all in to shape the future with confidence.

[Capital One Narrator]

Start your transformation [e-mail] transformation.