Birke Baehr: What's wrong with our food system

Translator: Amantia Gjikondi Reviewer: Valbona Bushi

Hello. My name is Birke Baehr,

Pershendetje. Emri im eshte Birke Baehr,

and I'm 11 years old.

dhe jam 11 vjec.

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

Une erdha sot ketu per te folur rreth asaj qe nuk funksionon me sistemin tone ushqimor.

First of all, I would like to say

Se pari, une do doja te thoja

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

qe une jam me te vertete i cuditur sesa lehte femijet jane udhehequr qe te besojne

all the marketing and advertising

te gjithe marketingun dhe reklamat

on TV, at public schools

ne TV, ne shkollat publike

and pretty much everywhere else you look.

dhe pak a shume kudo qe hedh syte.

It seems to me like corporations

Mua me duket si korporatat qe

are always trying to get kids, like me,

janë gjithmonë duke u përpjekur për të marrë fëmijët si unë

to get their parents to buy stuff

qe te detyrojne prinderit e tyre per te shkuar per te blere gjera

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

qe me te vertete nuk jane te mira per ne ose per planetin.

Little kids, especially,

Femijet e vegjel, ne vecanti,

are attracted by colorful packaging

jane te terhequr nga ngjyrat e paketimeve

and plastic toys.

dhe lodrat plastike,

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

Une duhet ta pranoj, qe kam qene njeri prej tyre.

I also used to think that all of our food

Une gjithashtu kam pas menduar qe cdo gje nga ushqimi jone

came from these happy, little farms

vjen nga keto ferma te lumtura, te vogla

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

ku derrat mbeshtillen ne balte dhe lopet kullosin bar gjithe diten.

What I discovered was this is not true.

Ajo cka une zbulova eshte qe kjo nuk eshte e vertete.

I began to look into this stuff

Une fillova te shihja ne brendesi te ketyre gjerave

on the Internet, in books and in documentary films,

ne internet, neper libra dhe ne filma dokumentare,

in my travels with my family.

si edhe ne udhetimet me familjen time.

I discovered the dark side of the industrialized food system.

Une zbulova anen e erret te sistemit ushqimor te industrializuar.

First, there's genetically engineered seeds and organisms.

Se pari jane fara dhe organizma mekanikisht gjenetike.

That is when a seed is manipulated in a laboratory

Kjo ndodh kur fara eshte e manipuluar ne laborator

to do something not intended by nature --

per te bere dicka jo te realizuar nga natyra --

like taking the DNA of a fish

si te marresh DNA e peshkut

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

dhe ta vendosesh ne DNA e domates -- e shpifur.

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

Mos me keqkuptoni. Mua me pelqen peshku dhe domatja,

but this is just creepy.

por kjo eshte thjesht e shpifur.

(Laughter)

(Qeshje)

The seeds are then planted, then grown.

Farat jane per tu mbjellur, dhe me pas per tu rritur.

The food they produce have been proven

Ushqimi qe ato prodhojne eshte vertetuar

to cause cancer and other problems in lab animals,

ne laboratorin e kafsheve qe shkakton kancer dhe probleme te tjera.

and people have been eating food produced this way

Dhe njerezit kane ngrene ushqime te prodhuar ne kete menyre

since the 1990s.

qe nga vitet 1990.

And most folks don't even know they exist.

Dhe pjesa me e madhe e popullit as qe e dine qe keto ekzistojne.

Did you know rats that ate genetically engineered corn

A e dinit ju qe minjte qe hane miser gjenetikisht te prodhuar

had developed signs of liver and kidney toxicity?

ju jane zhvilluar shenja te toksikimit te melcise dhe te veshkave.

These include kidney inflammation and lesions and increased kidney weight.

Keto perfshijne inflamacionin e veshkave, lezionet dhe rrisin peshen e veshkave.

Yet almost all the corn we eat

Megjithate, pothuajse i gjithe misri qe hame

has been altered genetically in some way.

ne nje fare menyre, eshte i ndryshuar gjenetikisht.

And let me tell you,

Dhe me lejoni t'ju tregoj qe,

corn is in everything.

misri eshte kudo.

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

Dhe mos me lejoni te filloj me operacionet e kufizuara te ushqimit te kafsheve,

called CAFOS.

te quajtura CAFOS.

(Laughter)

(Qeshje)

Conventional farmers use chemical fertilizers

Fermeret konvencional perdorin plehrat kimike

made from fossil fuels

te bere nga lendet fosil djegese

that they mix with the dirt to make plants grow.

qe i perziejne me balte per ti bere bimet qe te rriten.

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

Ato e bejne kete sepse ato e kane zhveshur token nga te gjithe perberesit

from growing the same crop over and over again.

per te rritur kultura te njejta pa pushim.

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

Me shume kimikate te demshme jane te mbuluara ne fruta dhe perime,

like pesticides and herbicides,

si pesticidet dhe herbicidet,

to kill weeds and bugs.

per te vrare farerat e keqia dhe insektet.

When it rains, these chemicals seep into the ground,

Kur bie shi, keto kimikate depertojne ne terren,

or run off into our waterways,

ose ikin ne ujerat tone,

poisoning our water too.

duke helmuar ujin tone gjithashtu.

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

Me pas ato rrezikojne ushqimet tona, duke u perpjekur per ta bere ate te zgjase me gjate,

so it can travel thousands of miles

keshtu qe mund te udhetoje mijera milje

from where it's grown to the supermarkets.

nga ku eshte rritur drejt supermarketeve.

So I ask myself,

Keshtu qe une pyes veten time,

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

si mundem une te ndryshoj? Si mund ti ndryshoje keto gjera?

This is what I found out.

Kjo eshte ajo qe une zbulova.

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

Zbulova qe ekziston nje levizje per nje rruge me te mire.

Now a while back,

Po ti kthehemi se shkuares,

I wanted to be an NFL football player.

une kam dashur te isha nje lojtar futbolli NFL.

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

Une vendosa qe me mire te isha nje bujk organik.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

Thank you.

Faleminderit.

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

Dhe ne kete menyre une mund te kem nje ndikim me te madhe ne bote.

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

Kete burre, Joel Salatin, e quajne nje fermer te cmendur

because he grows against the system.

sepse ai rritet kunder sistemit.

Since I'm home-schooled,

Qekur une jam shkolluar ne shtepi,

I went to go hear him speak one day.

une shkova nje dite per ta degjuar ate.

This man, this "lunatic farmer,"

Ky burre, ky fermer i cmendur,

doesn't use any pesticides, herbicides,

nuk perdor asnje pesticid, herbicid,

or genetically modified seeds.

ose fara gjenetikisht te modifikuara.

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

Dhe pikerisht per kete, ai eshte etiketur nga sistemi si i cmendur.

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

Une dua qe ju te dini, qe ne te gjithe mund te bejme nje ndryshim

by making different choices,

duke bere zgjedhje te ndryshme,

by buying our food directly from local farmers,

duke blere ushqimet tona direkt nga fermeret lokal,

or our neighbors who we know in real life.

ose nga komshinjte tane te cilet i kemi njohur gjate gjithe jetes tone.

Some people say organic or local food is more expensive,

Shume njerez thone qe ushqimet organike ose lokale jane shume me te shtrenjta,

but is it really?

por a eshte vertet keshtu?

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

Me gjithe keto gjera qe une kam mesuar rreth sistemit ushqimor,

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

me duket se ne ose do te paguajme fermeret,

or we can pay the hospital.

ose do te paguajme spitalin.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

Now I know definitely which one I would choose.

Tani une e di se cfare do te zgjedh.

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

Une dua qe ju ta dine qe atje jashte ka ferma --

like Bill Keener in Sequatchie Cove Farm in Tennessee --

si Bill Keener ne Fermen Sequachie Cove ne Tenesi --

whose cows do eat grass

ku lopet hane bar

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

dhe qe derrat rrotullohen ne balte, tamam ashtu sic une kam imagjinuar.

Sometimes I go to Bill's farm and volunteer,

Ndonjehere une shkoj ne Fermen e Bill si vullnetar,

so I can see up close and personal

ne menyre qe te shoh me nga afer dhe personalisht

where the meat I eat comes from.

se nga vjen mishi qe une ha.

I want you to know that I believe

Une dua qe ju ta dini qe une besoj

kids will eat fresh vegetables and good food

qe femijet do te hane zarzavate te fresketa dhe ushqim te mire

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

nese do te dine me shume rreth kesaj dhe se nga vjen me te vertete.

I want you to know that there are farmers' markets

Une dua qe ju ta dini qe ka tregje fermeresh

in every community popping up.

qe shfaqen, ne cdo komunitet.

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

Une dua qe ju ta dini qe une, vellai dhe motra ime

actually like eating baked kale chips.

ne te vertete na pelqen te hame patate te skuqura.

I try to share this everywhere I go.

Une mundohem ta ndaj kete kudo qe shkoj.

Not too long ago,

Jo shume kohe me pare,

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

daja im me tha qe i dha kushuririt tim gjashte vjecar kornflekse.

He asked him if he wanted organic Toasted O's

Ai e pyti nese ai donte O's organike te thekura

or the sugarcoated flakes --

ose kornflekse te sheqerosura --

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

ne kopertinen e te cilit ndodhej nje karikatur i vijezuar.

My little cousin told his dad

Kushuriri im i vogel i tha te atit

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

qe do te preferonte per te ngrene kornflekset organike te thekura O's,

because Birke said he shouldn't eat sparkly cereal.

sepse, Birke ka thene, qe nuk duhet te hani kornflekse te sheqerosura.

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

Dhe pikerisht kjo, miqte e mi eshte sesi ne mund te realizojme ndryshim

one kid at a time.

nje femije ne nje kohe.

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

Keshtu qe heren tjeter qe do te jeni ne nje dyqan ushqimor, mendoni lokalisht

choose organic, know your farmer and know your food.

zgjidhni ushqime organike, njihni fermeret tuaj dhe njihni ushqimin tuaj.

Thank you.

Ju faleminderit.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)