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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Birke Baehr -- Food fighter and future farmer
  • Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2010 18:50:04 -0600


Birke Baehr -- Food fighter and future farmer
Birke Baehr is a young man on a mission. That mission is to tell the world
just what is in our food.
http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20101005_birke-baehr-food-fighter-and-future-farmer
By Amanda Kimble-Evans

At age 11, Birke Baehr has already decided he’s going to be an organic and
biodynamic farmer when he grows up. Birke has charmed organic pioneers up and
down the east coast with his earnest and wise-beyond-his-years questions on
the nitty-gritty of food production, and earned a speaking spot on a recent
TEDx event in Asheville, North Carolina.

But Birke’s journey actually started three years ago at the ripe young age of
8 when he saw a headline about mercury in high fructose corn syrup. “Birke
asked what high fructose corn syrup was and when I told him they put it in
soda and other foods he said he wasn’t going to drink soda any more,” Tricia
Baehr, his mother, told us. “Then he started doing research. It would take us
two hours to grocery shop because he read all the labels.” At first it was
exhausting, Tricia said, but Birke’s curiosity and determination turned out
to be a wake-up call for the family. They were all shocked by what Birke was
learning about food and farming. Now his mother, father, twin brother and
sister are all converts. “We’ve made a commitment to eat as much local as
possible no matter what,” said Tricia.

We caught Birke before he headed off to the Biodynamic Conference this past
weekend to get his thoughts on some of the questions we usually ask our
seasoned farmers.

“As much as I see things that are bad for the food system, there are lots of
people working for better food. Like the rebels from Star Wars, they’re all
working to destroy that Death Star.”
~ Birke Baehr
What inspired you to learn more about food issues?

I found out about mercury in high fructose corn syrup and I thought, “What
the heck are they doing to our food?” So I started looking into what else was
in our food. I found out about pesticides and GMOs. I was, like, “Crud! I
don’t want to eat this stuff!”

We started switching our food over gradually, first with dairy. I couldn’t
believe how cows were being raised. Growth hormones, antibiotics, even
feeding corn to cows is unnatural. Cows aren’t supposed to eat corn.
What is the biggest concern you have about how we grow the food we eat?

Mostly GMOs and chemical farming. If God wanted fish DNA to be in a tomato,
he would have made it that way. And chemical farming is poisoning our water.
What do you think is the most important thing for people to understand about
where their food comes from?

How everything is treated. From how seeds are messed up to how the animals
are inhumanely treated to how the workers are treated, too. People think all
farms are happy family farms where cows graze on grass and pigs roll in mud.
But most farms are industrial farms. The animals are kept in huge buildings
and never see the light of day. If you live in an area where there are hardly
any farms, it is easy to not really think about where you food is coming from.
What do you see as the biggest hope for farmers?

Getting people back to the local community. We should all be aiming to buy
our food in a 100-mile radius or even a regional radius of 300 miles. As
people demand more organic and more organic locally, things can start
changing.

Our food system is changing so much already and that is a good thing. As much
as I see things that are bad for the food system, there are lots of people
working for better food. Like the rebels from Star Wars, they’re all working
to destroy that Death Star. We have a lot of organic farmers growing food in
a way that is good for the Earth, too.
Are there any organic pioneers that have inspired you? Who and why?

Joel Salatin. He’s not afraid to do things differently and do things right
even when people call him crazy. And Bill Keener at Sequatchie Cove Farm.
He’s making a big difference in Tennessee.
What is your opinion on organic versus local?

That’s a tough question. If you know your farmers, you have a chance to find
out how they grew the food. They might not be certified organic, but they
might use environmentally friendly practices. If you’re paying for organic
stuff from far away, that’s not sustainable either. Know your farmer, know
your food.

But you do have to be careful at farmers’ markets. Some markets don’t require
the sellers to be farmers. Sometimes they’re just wholesalers. They buy
produce in bulk and are there selling it for a profit.
How do you think we can get kids more involved in and concerned about where
their food comes from?

Church and school gardens are cool. It makes a big impact when kids can grow
the tomato they’re going to eat, or see broccoli without cheese on it. I've
been gardening with my granddaddy and there is nothing like seeing that
little seed you plant grow into food. And I think if kids hear more about
what is going on, they’ll be shocked, too. Genetically modified stuff just
creeps me out.
Many people who support chemical (conventional) agriculture say organic
farming can’t feed the world. What do you think?

We’ve had GMOs for 14 years and farm chemicals for much longer and we still
haven’t fed the world. If more people would grow their own seasonal and
native foods and put that food away for the off season, we would be getting
back to our roots. It is silly to eat strawberries in Minnesota in the middle
of winter.

Just take a look at what Will Allen is doing with Grow Power. That kind of
stuff is pretty inspiring. Why aren’t we doing more of that?
Do you have any favorite foods?

I really like a lot of different foods. What I don’t like it fast food. Of
course, that doesn’t mean I don’t love a nice free-range burger and a side of
organic fries!





  • [Livingontheland] Birke Baehr -- Food fighter and future farmer, Tradingpost, 10/13/2010

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