What's wrong with our food system | Birke Baehr | TEDxNextGenerationAsheville
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0:18 - 0:21Thank you.
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0:21 - 0:25Hello. My name is Birke Baehr
and I'm 11 years old. -
0:25 - 0:29I came here today to talk about
what's wrong with our food system. -
0:29 - 0:32First of all, I would like to say
that I'm really amazed -
0:32 - 0:34how easily kids are led to believe
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0:34 - 0:37all the marketing and advertising
on TV, at public schools, -
0:37 - 0:39and pretty much everywhere else you look.
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0:39 - 0:41It seems to me like corporations
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0:41 - 0:43are always trying to get kids, like me,
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0:43 - 0:45to get their parents to buy stuff
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0:45 - 0:48that really isn't really good
for us or the planet. -
0:48 - 0:53Little kids, especially, are attracted
by colorful packaging and plastic toys. -
0:53 - 0:56I must admit, I used to be one of them.
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0:56 - 0:58I also used to think that all of our food
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0:58 - 1:00came from these happy little farms
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1:00 - 1:03where pigs rolled in mud
and cows grazed on grass all day. -
1:03 - 1:06What I discovered was this is not true.
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1:06 - 1:08I began to look into the stuff
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1:08 - 1:11on the Internet, in books,
and in documentary films -
1:11 - 1:13in my travels with my family.
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1:13 - 1:17I discovered the dark side
of the industrialized food system. -
1:17 - 1:20First, there's genetically engineered
seeds and organisms. -
1:20 - 1:23That is when a seed
is manipulated in a laboratory -
1:23 - 1:25to do something not intended by nature.
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1:25 - 1:27Like taking the DNA of a fish
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1:27 - 1:29and putting it into the DNA of a tomato.
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1:29 - 1:32Yuck! Don't get me wrong,
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1:32 - 1:35I like fish and tomatoes,
but this is just creepy. -
1:35 - 1:36(Laughter)
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1:36 - 1:39The seeds are then planted, then grown.
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1:39 - 1:42The food they produced
has been proven to cause cancer -
1:42 - 1:43and other problems in lab animals.
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1:43 - 1:47And people have been eating food
produced this way since the 1990's. -
1:47 - 1:49Most folks don't even know they exist.
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1:49 - 1:52Did you know that rats
fed genetically engineered corn -
1:52 - 1:55have developed signs of liver
and kidney toxicity? -
1:55 - 1:58These include kidney inflammations,
and lesions and increased kidney weight. -
1:58 - 2:00Yet almost all the corn we eat
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2:00 - 2:03has been altered genetically in some way.
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2:03 - 2:05And let me tell you,
corn is in everything. -
2:05 - 2:07And don't even get me started
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2:07 - 2:10on the confined animal feeding
operations called CAFO's. -
2:10 - 2:12(Laughter)
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2:12 - 2:15Conventional farmers
use chemical fertilizers -
2:15 - 2:17made from fossil fuels
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2:17 - 2:19that they mix with the dirt
to make plants grow. -
2:19 - 2:23They do this because they've stripped
the soil of all nutrients -
2:23 - 2:26from growing the same crop
over and over again. -
2:26 - 2:30Next more harmful chemicals
are sprayed on fruits and vegetables -
2:30 - 2:34like pesticides and herbicides
to kill weeds and bugs. -
2:34 - 2:36When it rains, these chemicals
seep into the ground -
2:36 - 2:40or run off into our waterways
poisoning our water too. -
2:40 - 2:43Then they irradiate our food
trying to make it last longer, -
2:43 - 2:45so it can travel thousands of miles
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2:45 - 2:48from where it's grown to the supermarkets.
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2:48 - 2:50So I ask myself,
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2:50 - 2:52"How can I change?
How can I change these things?" -
2:52 - 2:54This is what I found out.
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2:54 - 2:58I discovered that there's
a movement for a better way. -
2:58 - 3:01Now a while back, I wanted
to be an NFL football player. -
3:01 - 3:05I decided that I'd rather be
an organic farmer instead. -
3:05 - 3:10(Applause) (Cheers)
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3:13 - 3:15Thank you.
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3:15 - 3:19And that way I could have
a greater impact on the world. -
3:19 - 3:21I learned from this guy
named Joel Salatin. -
3:21 - 3:23They call him a lunatic farmer
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3:23 - 3:25because he grows against the system.
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3:25 - 3:28Since I'm home schooled,
I want to go hear him speak one day. -
3:28 - 3:31This man, this lunatic farmer,
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3:31 - 3:33doesn't use any pesticides, herbicides,
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3:33 - 3:35or genetically modified seeds.
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3:35 - 3:38And so for that he's called crazy
by the system. -
3:38 - 3:41I want you to know
that we can all make a difference. -
3:41 - 3:43By making different choices.
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3:43 - 3:45By buying our food
directly from local farmers -
3:45 - 3:48or neighbors we know in real life.
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3:48 - 3:51Some people say organic
or local food is more expensive. -
3:51 - 3:52But is it really?
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3:52 - 3:55With all these things I've been learning
about the food system -
3:55 - 3:57it seems to me that we can
either pay the farmer -
3:57 - 4:00or we can pay the hospital.
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4:00 - 4:06(Cheers) (Applause)
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4:07 - 4:10I know definitely
which one I would choose. -
4:10 - 4:13I want you to know
that there are farmers out there -
4:13 - 4:15like Bill Keener
in Sequatchie Cove Farm in Tennessee -
4:15 - 4:17whose cows do eat grass,
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4:17 - 4:19and whose pigs do roll in the mud
just like I thought. -
4:19 - 4:21Sometimes I go to Bill's farm
and volunteer, -
4:21 - 4:25so I can see up close and personal
where the meat I eat comes from. -
4:25 - 4:29I want you to know that I believe kids
will eat fresh vegetables and good food -
4:29 - 4:32if they knew more about it
and where it really comes from. -
4:32 - 4:36I want you to know that there are farmer's
markets in every community popping up. -
4:36 - 4:38I want you to know that me,
my brother and sister -
4:38 - 4:41actually like eating baked kale chips.
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4:41 - 4:43I try to share this everywhere I go.
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4:43 - 4:45Not too long ago my uncle said
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4:45 - 4:48he offered my six-year old cousin cereal.
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4:48 - 4:51He asked if he wanted organic toasted oats
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4:51 - 4:53or the sugar coated flakes.
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4:53 - 4:56You know the one with the big striped
cartoon character on the front? -
4:56 - 4:58My little cousin told his dad
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4:58 - 5:00that he would rather have
the organic toasted O's cereal, -
5:00 - 5:03because Birke said
he shouldn't eat sparkly cereal. -
5:03 - 5:04(Laugher)
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5:04 - 5:07And that my friends
is how we can make a difference. -
5:07 - 5:08One kid at a time.
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5:08 - 5:10So next time you're at the grocery store,
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5:10 - 5:12think local, choose organic,
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5:12 - 5:14know your farmer and know your food.
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5:14 - 5:15Thank you.
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5:15 - 5:18(Applause) (Cheers)
- Title:
- What's wrong with our food system | Birke Baehr | TEDxNextGenerationAsheville
- Description:
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Birke Baehr wants us to know how our food is made, where it comes from, and what's in it. At age 11, he's planning a career as an organic farmer.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 05:22
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for What's Wrong With Our Food System: Birke Baehr at TEDxNextGenerationAsheville | ||
Elisabeth Buffard approved English subtitles for What's Wrong With Our Food System: Birke Baehr at TEDxNextGenerationAsheville | ||
Elisabeth Buffard edited English subtitles for What's Wrong With Our Food System: Birke Baehr at TEDxNextGenerationAsheville | ||
Elisabeth Buffard edited English subtitles for What's Wrong With Our Food System: Birke Baehr at TEDxNextGenerationAsheville | ||
Elisabeth Buffard edited English subtitles for What's Wrong With Our Food System: Birke Baehr at TEDxNextGenerationAsheville | ||
Ariana Bleau Lugo accepted English subtitles for What's Wrong With Our Food System: Birke Baehr at TEDxNextGenerationAsheville | ||
Ariana Bleau Lugo edited English subtitles for What's Wrong With Our Food System: Birke Baehr at TEDxNextGenerationAsheville | ||
Ariana Bleau Lugo edited English subtitles for What's Wrong With Our Food System: Birke Baehr at TEDxNextGenerationAsheville |