new orleans – 3B Brae's Brown Bags
Bayer Crop Science, Agvocates & New Orleans
On March 24, 2016 March 24, 2016 By BraedenIn 3B Outreach1 Comment	
First I have an exercise for you. Say the word “Agvocate” three times fast.
Earlier this month I traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana with my Mom.
I was invited to be a speaker at the Bayer Crop Science Agvocacy Forum.
At first I didn’t think I would make it because I got really sick. But they were all so nice and they changed my flight and it ended up all working out. So thank you to Charleston|Orwig for your help with the travel stuff. I got to rest on the plane ride and our hotel room was very nice. The elevators were weird. The people at the Starbucks who gave me hot chocolate were awesome.
The room for the forum was filled with people all older than me, but we all had something in common. We were/are agvocates. To be honest at first I didn’t know why I was considered an agvocate because of Brae’s Brown Bags but then I realized what it means. I help feed people. I am an agovcate because I care about giving all people access to healthy food. I care about agriculture because without farmers I would have no food to give anybody.
I learned A LOT at this forum. I learned about fungus killing cocoa trees, which by the way we need to get on fixing that problem because I LOVE CHOCOLATE.
I learned about how what farmers are doing and what crop producers are doing is very much science, it’s looking at things for ways to make them work better. We know that the world is one size but the amount of people on it keeps growing. We can’t push a button and add extra miles of Earth. It’s not like the dining room table at my Gram’s house which we can make longer when there is a party so we can fit more food. So how can we make sure we are growing enough food to feed the planet? Who answers these questions and how is it done? It’s not easy. In fact I learned that a lot of people argue about this topic. I did not know this before going to New Orleans but Mom said she knew but she is a Mom and Moms know things.
My new blogger friends 🙂
When it was my turn to talk I decided to first show my presentation. I changed it a little bit because I wanted to share about the food insecurity levels in New Orleans which are VERY high. Data shows that 38.4 percent of families with children in New Orleans say that they couldn’t afford enough food. Doesn’t that make you feel sad? I wanted to encourage everyone at the forum to stop ignoring people in need. I wanted them to know they are already helping with the work they are doing with agriculture but as neighbors in their communities they can be doing more.
There were breaks in between the sessions of people talking and when that happened I was interviewed by media. All of those people were really nice, too. I didn’t know so many people would want to talk with me but I had a lot of fun answering their questions. Even though sometimes I didn’t know what to say, but I tried my best.
Boy, 12, Tackles Food Security With Brae’s Brown Bags – On AgWeb.com by Betsy Jibben – March 14, 2016
Brae’s Brown Bags — One 12 Year Old AgVocate Making a Difference – on AgInfo.net by KayDee Gilkey – March 3, 2016
One ripple into a tidal wave of good – on High Plains Journal by Jennifer M. Latzke – March 2, 2016
Thank you for reading my update and HAPPY SPRING BREAK AND EASTER!