What's wrong with our food system | Birke Baehr | TEDxNextGenerationAsheville

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.

Thank you.

Hello. My name is Birke Baehr
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 are led to believe

all the marketing and 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 really 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 grazed 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 when a seed
is manipulated in a laboratory

to do something not intended by nature.

Like taking the DNA of a 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.

(Laughter)

The seeds are then planted, then grown.

The food they produced
has been proven to cause cancer

and other problems in lab animals.

And people have been eating food
produced this way since the 1990's.

Most folks don't even know they exist.

Did you know that rats
fed genetically engineered corn

have developed signs of liver
and kidney toxicity?

These include kidney inflammations,
and lesions and increased kidney weight.

Yet almost all the corn we eat

has been altered genetically in some way.

And let me tell you,
corn is in everything.

And don't even get me started

on the confined animal feeding
operations called CAFO's.

(Laughter)

Conventional farmers
use chemical fertilizers

made from fossil fuels

that they mix with the dirt
to make plants grow.

They do this because they've stripped
the soil of 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 off into our waterways
poisoning our water too.

Then they irradiate our food
trying to make it last longer,

so it can travel thousands of miles

from where it'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 a while back, I wanted
to be an NFL football player.

I decided that I'd rather be
an organic farmer instead.

(Applause) (Cheers)

Thank you.

And that way I could have
a greater impact on the world.

I learned from this guy
named Joel Salatin.

They call him a lunatic farmer

because he grows against the system.

Since I'm home schooled,
I want to go hear him 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.

(Cheers) (Applause)

I know definitely
which one I would choose.

I want you to know
that there are farmers out there

like Bill Keener
in Sequatchie Cove Farm in Tennessee

whose cows do eat grass,

and whose pigs do roll in the mud
just like I thought.

Sometimes I go to Bill's farm
and volunteer,

so I can see up close and personal
where the meat I eat comes from.

I want you to know that I believe kids
will eat fresh vegetables and good food

if they knew more about it
and where it really comes from.

I want you to know that there are farmer's
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

he offered my six-year old cousin cereal.

He asked if he wanted organic toasted oats

or the sugar coated flakes.

You know the one with the big striped
cartoon character on the front?

My little cousin told his dad

that he would rather have
the organic toasted O's cereal,

because Birke said
he shouldn't eat sparkly cereal.

(Laugher)

And that my friends
is how we can make a difference.

One kid at a time.

So next time you're at the grocery store,

think local, choose organic,

know your farmer and know your food.

Thank you.

(Applause) (Cheers)