Transcriber: Bob Prottas Reviewer: Ariana Bleau Lugo
Imagine
you just got home from school or work
and you're starving.
It's too early for dinner, so you grab a bag of corn chips
and start munching.
As you reach into the bag to grab another chip
you notice something on the package label.
New and improved.
Now made with genetically engineered corn.
Your first thought is:
wow, science is awesome.
This corn must have more nutrients,
or maybe it can be grown with less water
or something equally as cool, right?
If only that was true.
What if I told you that this corn was not engineered to taste better,
or to give you more nutrients,
or to be grown with less water,
or to grow faster?
But instead was engineered to have its own internal insecticide?
You know, a chemical that would rupture the stomachs of bugs
when they try to eat the corn.
Sounds like a tasty after school snack to you?
But don't worry.
You may never see this kind of information on your packages of corn chips.
Because although this insecticide corn is being used
in more than 70% of the processed food on our shelves
the companies who engineered it
are spending millions of dollars to make sure it's never put on the label.
Wouldn't you like to see this kind of information on your food labels?
I would.
My name is Rachael Parent.
I'm 15 years old
and I've been creating awareness about GMOs
or Genetically Modified Organisms since I was 12.
So if we've been eating GMOs for the last 20 years,
what's the big deal?
Many scientists say that GMOs are nothing to worry about.
I'm not a scientist.
But somehow the idea of eating food
that contains its own bug killer
sounds a bit strange to me.
So I decided to learn all I could about these GMOs.
Here's what I found.
When first created, GMOs were supposed to increase yields,
be better for the environment,
give us more nutrition, and use less water.
Sadly, after two decades this wish has not come true.
Corn, canola, soy, and sugar beets.
The 4 GM crops that dominate our fields and our food
do one of two things:
create its own internal insecticide,
or remain alive
after being repeatedly sprayed with pesticides.
So, what else has happened in these same 20 years?
Global agriculture has made a huge shift.
Industrialized farming, monocroping.
Plants hardwired with pesticides.
Chemical companies that own seeds.
And the law suits to defend those patented seeds
when they get blown into a neighbor's field.
Slowly, I began finding studies
that disagreed with the "GMOs are awesome" studies.
Scientists around the world were asking questions
and sometimes losing their jobs for asking those questions.
It was easy to get confused though, I mean, which scientist should I believe?
Which study was more accurate?
Fortunately, it didn't take a scientist to figure things out.
Even a 15-year-old can research enough to realize when a corporation pays for
or coordinates a study
and hires a third party to keep them from looking biased.
The more I learned about GMOs,
the more I began to wonder about their purpose.
And the more I found out about their purpose,
the more I began to worry about my future
and the future of the planet.
So, what is the purpose of genetic engineering?
The argument you hear most often is to feed the world.
The world already produces more than enough food.
The real reason for hunger is poverty,
as any global hunger or poverty organization around the world will tell you.
When corporations control food
the cost of food goes up, making poverty worse.
Another argument you might hear
is that GMO crops increase yields.
Many studies have proven that GMO crop yields
are no better than conventional crops.
So, if they aren't increasing yields,
and they aren't feeding the world,
what are they doing?
They are dramatically increasing pesticide use.
If you engineer a crop to withstand weed killer,
you use weed killer more often
because you're not afraid of hurting the crop.
If you use weed killer more often
weeds evolve to resist it.
But don't worry, the corporations have the answer to superweeds too.
They are now engineering corn and soybean to be resistant to 2,4-D.
The key ingredient in Agent Orange to kill those huge evolved weeds.
Corn chips anyone?
Beneficial insects are being harmed.
Monarch butterflies need milkweed.
But milkweed is almost gone thanks to all those weed killers.
This year the monarch population is at its lowest point in history.
A 90% decline.
And the same thing is happening with bees and pesticides all around the world.
Other crops are being contaminated too.
Seeds are spread by wind, water, bees, and birds.
So what happens when these genetically engineered seeds
start growing in the field next door?
The organic crop gets contaminated.
Meanwhile, the organic farmer is held liable to fix the problem.
Or worse, face a lawsuit
for having illegally-grown patented seeds in their field.
That would be like you being sued by your neighbor
if he spray-painted his house purple
and some of it blew onto your house.
Crazy right?
Nearly two decades after GMOs have been introduced into our diet
no long-term human health studies have been conducted,
although many animal feeding studies have been done.
A study published by the Journal showed
that GMOs were actually decreasing yields.
Another study showed that GMOs were actually related to allergies.
This study was done by the Journal of Pediatrics.
They showed food allergies in one in 12 children.
Is there a connection?
Dr. Theirry Vrain,
a retired research scientist from Agriculture Canada
speculated that by inserting a foreign gene into the plant,
it may be creating a new allergic response.
As of today,
64 countries around the world already require mandatory GMO labeling,
including the entire European Union where they outright banned them.
Canada and the US are
the only two industrialized nations in the world
that don't require mandatory GMO labeling.
A couple of years ago, I was honored to meet with Dr. Seralini
a professor from the University of Caen
who conducted a two-year feeding study on rats.
The results were sobering.
Organ damage, digestive disorders,
immune system problems, tumors, even premature death.
Other studies resulted
in stillbirths and reproductive problems.
I was only 11 years old when I first heard the word GMO,
and started learning all I could about the subject.
I watched people purchase large amounts of chips, dips, sodas, and lemonades
without ever knowing the ingredients had been genetically modified.
That's when I knew I had to do something,
but the issue was most Canadians had never heard about GMOs,
so I decided to change that.
It all started with my speech in grade six to inform my classmates.
My first speech outside of school
was for an environmental event with a huge audience of 12 people.
Two of which were my parents.
But that didn't slow me down.
I went bigger.
I founded a non-profit organization called "Kids Right to Know."
Our goal was to inform, educate,
and motivate kids to make a difference and to take a stand.
Our first Kids Right to Know march was downtown Toronto, November 2012
where I was joined by about 250 kids and parents.
The following year I was able to share my message with more than 3,000 people
at my first march against Monsanto,
which was pretty awesome.
Not to long after, I was watching TV
when I saw Kevin O'Leary on the Lang & O'Leary Exchange show.
He said: "Anyone who was marching against Monsanto was stupid.
And if they didn't like GMOs they should stop eating."
I couldn't let that one go.
So, I publicly challenged him to a debate.
I remember when I found out he accepted, I thought,
it was great news, but terrifying at the same time.
I mean, think about it,
a 14-year-old, grade 8 student going up against
a very successful 60 year old business man
known for speaking his mind.
This was as David and Goliath as it gets.
I have to admit, it was a little nerve-wracking.
But in the end, I was happy with the results.
Kevin admitted we were all in a long-term study
because we've been eating GMOs for two decades.
And Amanda, his co-host, summed it up by saying,
"We are the lab rats."
All along, my message has been simple,
"Just label it."
We already label the things we feel are important for us to know.
I mean, 50-years ago we didn't label calories, salt,
types of fat, or if it may contain nuts.
But now we do.
We even label things that are made from concentrate while they're farmed,
and country of origin.
Not because they're unsafe,
but because consumers want to know.
Food manufacturers didn't spend millions of dollars
trying to hide these labeling changes,
and they didn't raise the price of food to change the label,
they simply responded to consumer demand and added them.
So, why are these same food manufacturers
and the biotech corporations telling us that we don't need GMOs labeled?
If there's nothing wrong with GMOs
what are they trying to hide from us?
To quote Dr. David Suzuki:
"Any politician or scientist that tells you these GMO products are safe
is either very stupid or lying."
I may not be a scientist,
and I may not hold a university degree yet,
but I believe that we all deserve the right to know what's in our food.
And we should all have the freedom to choose what we eat.
The solution is simple to me,
just label it.
And I hope you all share my vision
in leaving the Earth better than we found it.
We owe this to ourselves and to the many generations yet to come.
Thank you.
(Applause)