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Thank you.

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Hello. My name is Birke Baehr[br]and I'm 11 years old.

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I came here today to talk about[br]what's wrong with our food system.

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First of all, I would like to say[br]that I'm really amazed

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how easily kids are led to believe [br]

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all the marketing and advertising[br]on TV, at public schools,

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and pretty much everywhere else you look.

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It seems to me like corporations

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are always trying to get kids, like me,

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to get their parents to buy stuff[br]

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that really isn't really good[br]for us or the planet.

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Little kids, especially, are attracted[br]by colorful packaging and plastic toys.

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I must admit, I used to be one of them.

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I also used to think that all of our food

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came from these happy little farms

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where pigs rolled in mud[br]and cows grazed on grass all day.

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What I discovered was this is not true.

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I began to look into the stuff[br]

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on the Internet, in books,[br]and in documentary films

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in my travels with my family.

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I discovered the dark side[br]of the industrialized food system.

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First, there's genetically engineered[br]seeds and organisms.

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That is when a seed[br]is manipulated in a laboratory

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to do something not intended by nature.

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Like taking the DNA of a fish

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and putting it into the DNA of a tomato.

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Yuck! Don't get me wrong,

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I like fish and tomatoes,[br]but this is just creepy.

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(Laughter)

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The seeds are then planted, then grown.

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The food they produced[br]has been proven to cause cancer

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and other problems in lab animals.

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

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Most folks don't even know they exist.

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Did you know that rats[br]fed genetically engineered corn

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have developed signs of liver[br]and kidney toxicity?

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These include kidney inflammations,[br]and lesions and increased kidney weight.

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Yet almost all the corn we eat

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has been altered genetically in some way.

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And let me tell you,[br]corn is in everything.

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And don't even get me started

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on the confined animal feeding[br]operations called CAFO's.

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(Laughter)

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Conventional farmers[br]use chemical fertilizers

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made from fossil fuels

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that they mix with the dirt[br]to make plants grow.

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They do this because they've stripped[br]the soil of all nutrients

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from growing the same crop[br]over and over again.

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Next more harmful chemicals[br]are sprayed on fruits and vegetables

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like pesticides and herbicides[br]to kill weeds and bugs.

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When it rains, these chemicals[br]seep into the ground

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or run off into our waterways[br]poisoning our water too.

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

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so it can travel thousands of miles

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from where it's grown to the supermarkets.

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So I ask myself,

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"How can I change?[br]How can I change these things?"

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This is what I found out.

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I discovered that there's[br]a movement for a better way.

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Now a while back, I wanted[br]to be an NFL football player.

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

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(Applause) (Cheers)

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Thank you.

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

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I learned from this guy[br]named Joel Salatin.

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They call him a lunatic farmer[br]

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because he grows against the system.

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Since I'm home schooled,[br]I want to go hear him speak one day.

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This man, this lunatic farmer,[br]

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doesn't use any pesticides, herbicides,

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or genetically modified seeds.

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And so for that he's called crazy[br]by the system.

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I want you to know[br]that we can all make a difference.

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By making different choices.

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By buying our food[br]directly from local farmers

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or neighbors we know in real life.

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Some people say organic[br]or local food is more expensive.

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But is it really?

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With all these things I've been learning[br]about the food system

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it seems to me that we can[br]either pay the farmer

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or we can pay the hospital.

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(Cheers) (Applause)

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I know definitely[br]which one I would choose.

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I want you to know[br]that there are farmers out there

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like Bill Keener[br]in Sequatchie Cove Farm in Tennessee

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whose cows do eat grass,

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

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Sometimes I go to Bill's farm[br]and volunteer,

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

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

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

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I want you to know that there are farmer's[br]markets in every community popping up.

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I want you to know that me,[br]my brother and sister

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actually like eating baked kale chips.

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I try to share this everywhere I go.

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Not too long ago my uncle said

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he offered my six-year old cousin cereal.

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He asked if he wanted organic toasted oats

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or the sugar coated flakes.

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

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My little cousin told his dad

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

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because Birke said[br]he shouldn't eat sparkly cereal.

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(Laugher)[br]

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

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One kid at a time.

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So next time you're at the grocery store,[br]

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think local, choose organic,

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know your farmer and know your food.

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Thank you.

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(Applause) (Cheers)