Whats wrong with our food system Birke Baehr
hello my name is Bert Baer and I’m 11
years old I came here today to talk
about what’s wrong with our food system
first of all I would like to say that
I’m really amazed how easily kids rolla
to believe all the marketing advertising
on TV at public schools and pretty much
everywhere else you look it seems to me
like corporations are always trying to
get kids like me to get their parents to
buy stuff that really isn’t good for us
or the planet little kids especially are
attracted by colorful packaging and
plastic toys I must admit I used to be
one of them I also used to think that
all of our food came from these happy
little farms where pigs rolled in mud
and cows graze on grass all day what I
discovered was this is not true I began
to look into the stuff on the internet
in books and in documentary films in my
travels with my family I discovered the
dark side of the industrialized food
system
first there’s genetically engineered
seeds and organisms that is what seed is
manipulated in a laboratory to do
something not in tune by nature like
taking the DNA of fish and putting it
into the DNA of a tomato
yuck don’t get me wrong I like fish and
tomatoes but this is just creepy
the seeds the seeds our complaintant
then grow the food they produce an
improvement cost cancer and other
problems of lab animals and people have
been eat food produced this way since
the 1990s most folks don’t even know
they exist
did you know rats fed genetically
engineered corn had developed signs of
liver and kidney toxicity these include
kidney inflammation and lesions in the
crease kidney wait yeah almost all the
corn wheat has been altered in ethically
in some way and let me tell you corn
isn’t everything and don’t even get me
started on the confined animal feeding
operations called K flows conventional
farmers use chemical fertilizers made
from fossil fuels they mix with the dirt
to make plants grow they do this because
they’ve stripped the soil from all
nutrients from growing the same crop
over and over again next more harmful
chemicals are sprayed on fruits and
vegetables like pesticides and
herbicides to kill weeds and bugs when
it rains these chemicals seep into the
ground or run up into our waterways
poisoning our water too then they are
radiates our food trying to make it last
longer so it can travel thousands of
miles from what’s grown to the
supermarkets so I ask myself how can I
change how can I change these things
this is what I found out I discovered
that there’s a movement for a better way
now while back I wanted to be an NFL
football player I decided that I’d
rather be an organic farmer instead
and that way I can have a greater impact
on the world
this man Joel Salatin they call him a
lunatic farmer because he grows against
the system since I’m homeschooled I want
to go here speak one day this man this
lunatic farmer doesn’t use any
pesticides herbicides or genetically
modified seeds and so for that he’s
called crazy by the system I want you to
know that we can all make a difference
by making different choices by buying
our food directly from local farmers or
neighbors we know in real life
some people say organic or local food is
more expensive but is it really with all
these things I’ve been learning about
the food system it seems to me that we
can either pay the farmer or we can pay
the hospital I know
now I know definitely which one I would
choose I want you to know that there are
farms out there I built here and so qua
Chico’s farms in Tennessee whose cows do
t grass and his pigs do own the mug just
like I thought
sometimes I got to Bill’s farm and
volunteer so I can see up close and
personal where the meat comes from I
want you to know that I believe kids
wheat fresh vegetables and good food
ethic nor more about it and her really
comes from I want you to know that there
are farmers markets in every community
popping up I want you to know that me my
brother and sister actually like eating
baked kale chips I try to share this
everywhere I go not too long ago my
uncle said that he offered my six year
old cousin cereal he asked if he wanted
organic touch the O’s or the
sugar-coated flakes you know the one of
the big stripe and cartoon character on
the front my little cousin told his dad
that he would rather have the organic
touch with Oh cereal because Burke said
he shouldn’t eat sparkly cereal and that
my friends is how we can make a
difference one K at a time so next time
you’re at the grocery store
think local choose organic know your
font and know your food
you