Birke Baehr: What's wrong with our food system

Translator: Louise Frilund Reviewer: Niels Justus

Hello. My name is Birke Baehr,

Hej. Mit navn er Birke Baehr,

and I'm 11 years old.

og jeg er 11 år gammel.

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

Jeg er kommet for at tale om, hvad der er galt med vores madsystem.

First of all, I would like to say

Først og fremmest vil jeg sige,

that I'm really amazed at how easily kids are led to believe

at jeg er forundret over, hvor let børn bliver ledt til at tro

all the marketing and advertising

på al den marketing og reklamering

on TV, at public schools

i fjernsynet, på skoler

and pretty much everywhere else you look.

og stort set alle andre steder.

It seems to me like corporations

Det virker, som om firmaer

are always trying to get kids, like me,

altid prøver at få børn som mig

to get their parents to buy stuff

til at få deres forældre til at købe ting

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

som egentlig ikke er gode for hverken os eller planeten.

Little kids, especially,

Især små børn

are attracted by colorful packaging

bliver tiltrukket af farverig emballage

and plastic toys.

og plasticlegetøj.

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

Jeg må indrømme, at jeg selv engang var én af dem.

I also used to think that all of our food

Jeg plejede også at tænke, at al vores mad

came from these happy, little farms

kom fra de her glade, små gårde,

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

hvor grise rullede i mudder og køer græssede dagen lang.

What I discovered was this is not true.

Jeg opdagede, at dette ikke er sandheden.

I began to look into this stuff

Jeg begyndte at undersøge det,

on the Internet, in books and in documentary films,

på internettet, gennem bøger og dokumentarfilm,

in my travels with my family.

på rejser med min familie.

I discovered the dark side of the industrialized food system.

Jeg opdagede den mørke side af industrifødevaresystemet.

First, there's genetically engineered seeds and organisms.

For det første er der genetisk modificerede frø og organismer.

That is when a seed is manipulated in a laboratory

Det er når et frø er manipuleret i et laboratorium,

to do something not intended by nature --

til at gøre noget unaturligt,

like taking the DNA of a fish

såsom at tage DNA fra en fisk

and putting it into the DNA of a tomato. Yuck.

og putte det ind i en tomats DNA -- bvadr.

Don't get me wrong, I like fish and tomatoes,

Forstå mig ret, jeg kan godt lide fisk og tomater,

but this is just creepy.

men det her er bare klamt.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

The seeds are then planted, then grown.

Så plantes frøerne, og de gror.

The food they produce have been proven

Det er bevist, at maden herfra,

to cause cancer and other problems in lab animals,

medfører kræft og andre problemer hos forsøgsdyr.

and people have been eating food produced this way

Og folk har spist mad produceret på denne måde

since the 1990s.

siden 1990'erne.

And most folks don't even know they exist.

Og de fleste ved ikke engang, at problemerne findes.

Did you know rats that ate genetically engineered corn

Vidste I, at rotter som havde spist gensplejsede majs

had developed signs of liver and kidney toxicity?

havde udviklet tegn på lever- og nyreforgiftning?

These include kidney inflammation and lesions and increased kidney weight.

Problemer såsom nyrebetændelse, læsioner og forhøjet nyrevægt.

Yet almost all the corn we eat

Alligevel, så er næsten al den majs, vi spiser,

has been altered genetically in some way.

genetisk ændret på den ene eller den anden måde.

And let me tell you,

Og jeg kan fortælle jer,

corn is in everything.

at majs findes i alting.

And don't even get me started on the Confined Animal Feeding Operations

For slet ikke at tale om tvangsfodringen af dyr,

called CAFOS.

kaldet CAFO'er.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Conventional farmers use chemical fertilizers

Konventionelle landmænd bruger kemisk gødning

made from fossil fuels

lavet af fossile brændsler

that they mix with the dirt to make plants grow.

og blander dem med jord for at få planter til at gro.

They do this because they've stripped the soil from all nutrients

Det gør de, fordi de har fjernet alle næringsstoffer fra jorden

from growing the same crop over and over again.

ved at gro den samme afgrøde om og om igen.

Next, more harmful chemicals are sprayed on fruits and vegetables,

Endnu mere skadelige kemikalier sprayes på frugt og grøntsager,

like pesticides and herbicides,

som fx pesticider og ukrudtsmidler,

to kill weeds and bugs.

for at dræbe ukrudt og insekter.

When it rains, these chemicals seep into the ground,

Når det regner, siver disse kemikalier ned i jorden,

or run off into our waterways,

eller løber ud i vores vandløb,

poisoning our water too.

og forgifter vores vand.

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

Så bestråler de vores mad i et forsøg på øge holdbarheden,

so it can travel thousands of miles

så det kan rejse tusindvis af kilometer

from where it's grown to the supermarkets.

ud til supermarkederne.

So I ask myself,

Så jeg spørger mig selv,

how can I change? How can I change these things?

hvordan kan jeg lave alt det her om?

This is what I found out.

Det her er, hvad jeg fandt ud af.

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

Jeg fandt ud af, at der er en bevægelse, som vil gøre det bedre.

Now a while back,

For et stykke tid siden

I wanted to be an NFL football player.

ville jeg være en NFL football spiller.

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

Jeg bestemte mig for, at jeg hellere vil være økologisk landmand.

(Applause)

(Klapsalve)

Thank you.

Tak skal I have.

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

Og på den måde får jeg større indflydelse på verden.

This man, Joel Salatin, they call him a lunatic farmer

Denne mand, Joel Salatin, bliver kaldet en vanvittig landmand

because he grows against the system.

fordi han dyrker imod strømmen.

Since I'm home-schooled,

Jeg er hjemmeundervist, så

I went to go hear him speak one day.

jeg tog ud for at tale med ham en dag.

This man, this "lunatic farmer,"

Denne mand, denne vanvittige landmand,

doesn't use any pesticides, herbicides,

bruger ingen pesticider, ukrudtsmidler

or genetically modified seeds.

eller gensplejsede frø.

And so for that, he's called crazy by the system.

Og derfor bliver han kaldt skør af resten af samfundet.

I want you to know that we can all make a difference

Vi kan alle gøre en forskel

by making different choices,

ved at træffe forskellige valg,

by buying our food directly from local farmers,

ved at købe vores mad direkte fra lokale landmænd,

or our neighbors who we know in real life.

eller vores naboer som vi har kendt hele livet.

Some people say organic or local food is more expensive,

Nogen mennesker siger, at økologiske eller lokale fødevarer er dyrere,

but is it really?

men er det virkelig det?

With all these things I've been learning about the food system,

Med alle disse ting jeg har lært om fødevaresystemet,

it seems to me that we can either pay the farmer,

så lader det til, at enten betaler vi landmanden,

or we can pay the hospital.

eller også betaler vi hospitalet.

(Applause)

(Klapsalve)

Now I know definitely which one I would choose.

Nu ved jeg i hvert fald, hvad jeg ville vælge.

I want you to know that there are farms out there --

I skal vide, at der er farme derude --

like Bill Keener in Sequatchie Cove Farm in Tennessee --

såsom Bill Keener i Sequachie Cove Farm i Tennessee --

whose cows do eat grass

hvis køer æder græs,

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

og hvis grise ruller rundt i mudder, ligesom jeg troede.

Sometimes I go to Bill's farm and volunteer,

Nogle gange tager jeg hen til Bill's farm og arbejder frivilligt,

so I can see up close and personal

så jeg personligt kan se,

where the meat I eat comes from.

hvor det kød, jeg spiser, kommer fra.

I want you to know that I believe

Jeg tror på,

kids will eat fresh vegetables and good food

at børn gerne vil spise friske grøntsager og god mad

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

hvis de ved mere om det, og hvor det egentlig kommer fra.

I want you to know that there are farmers' markets

Der er markeder inden for det her,

in every community popping up.

som popper op alle vegne, i alle samfund.

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

Jeg, min bror og min søster

actually like eating baked kale chips.

kan faktisk godt lide at spise grønkålschips.

I try to share this everywhere I go.

Jeg prøver at udbrede kendskaben til dem, overalt hvor jeg kommer.

Not too long ago,

For ikke så lang tid siden,

my uncle said that he offered my six-year-old cousin cereal.

sagde min onkel, at han havde tilbudt min seksårige fætter morgenmad.

He asked him if he wanted organic Toasted O's

Han spurgte, om han ville have økologiske Toasted O's

or the sugarcoated flakes --

eller de sukkerindsvøbte Frosties,

you know, the one with the big striped cartoon character on the front.

I ved, dem med tigeren på forsiden af pakken.

My little cousin told his dad

Min lille fætter sagde til sin far,

that he would rather have the organic Toasted O's cereal

at han hellere ville have de økologiske Toasted O's,

because Birke said he shouldn't eat sparkly cereal.

fordi, "Birke har sagt at jeg ikke skal spise glimmermad".

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

Og således, kære venner, kan vi gøre en forskel,

one kid at a time.

ét barn ad gangen.

So next time you're at the grocery store, think local,

Så næste gang I er i supermarkedet, så tænk lokalt,

choose organic, know your farmer and know your food.

vælg økologisk, kend din landmand og kend din mad.

Thank you.

Tak skal I have.

(Applause)

(Klapsalve)