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We Feed the World (2005)
In this region 10 years ago,
we had 25% of farms and more. Since the entry into the European Union about a quarter of farmers abandoned agriculture and looked for another job or went to retirement and there was nobody to look after farm. My father, when he took over the farm and its adjoining 12 acres could easily feed our family and have the same standard of living we have now. I had to multiply the size of the farm by six to get the same result. It makes you think. If I tell you that a ton of wheat now costs 100 euros and when I look at what sanding costs, That the salt is used on winter road costs it's unreal. Today Ie sand is more expensive that wheat produced by a peasant. And that people should know. Ll need them to know. It should be a fair price for our products . Should not just say a steak should cost only 2 euros. Then people wonder we have plants with 20 animals OOO pigs. The question is: '' Do we want that?'' Apparently yes, because it only gets worse. We throw about 2 million pounds of bread per year which is still good, has two days, and is still edible. It's been ten years that I do that, and I make the same journey. And there is always Seniors berlues which are by what we do. I live in Switzerland in the republic of Geneva. Switzerland is the second country Ie world's richest in per capita income, according to World Bank . This country has no natural resources but banks locked by bank secrecy. It is also full capital in transit, arson or from tax evasion. Switzerland agriculture has a very effective but also very limited that is to say, in our bread, 415 grain come from abroad. Where are they now? They come from India. From India! According to statistics from the O. N.U., India more than 200 million people severely malnourished permanent. The farmers must leave 100 / o of their land fallow, and nothing to plant. Sieur The European Union gives money for that. Fallow is encouraged. It still sometimes plant corn. Before, they planted some corn. Because we need it for heating , we plant more now. The corn is cut here is only for heating. It is only intended to burn. It is nothing cooler that what these men have fished . It is no freshest fish. The important thing is that the net is only one hour, maximum two in water. Thus there is no pressure into the net. The first fish that comes undergoes no pressure, it is very fresh. When the net comes aboard all animals are alive. In terms of fishing time, another example is extreme. The industrial vessels in the north of France northern Europe, in Bremerhaven, Holland these boats go 15, 20, sometimes 30 days at sea , and the net remaining in the water for 10, 12, even 13 hours . You can imagine the pressure produced in the water everywhere in this fishing net. I would like to show you what a sole Breton. That, for example, this is an extreme case. You can not eat it tonight. One must keep few days in cold, she is too cool. This is an extremely high quality. Here is another example of extreme quality. Very hard, and course, very important!: Gills. Bright red in color. No comment. Very cool. We find that here, in hake. Very red. And we come to the mullet, a noble fish, again the same test gills and again a very high quality. That I eat willingly. I do not want the head, merchandise is right. The same fish caught by a boat industrial his body dangling like that and has another value. We here port of Lorient France's second port. Lorient is an industrial port. Boats working here go to sea between 14 and 20 days and fish at great depths. Between 500 and 800 meters and up to 900 meters. Here we see a typical example fish caught commercially. That's a grenadier. Fish caught at that depth back often with eyes exploded. This is a question of pressure. The fish lives in such depth that, back when the net his eyes explode due to pressure. This fish will be filleted, give it a beautiful white net Boneless tasteless. Ten years ago, we would have thrown such a fish. Now we keep all the fish because they still worth something. We arrive at this strange fish-rat which is very ugly. That I do not eat. It is a story about it, an interesting expression among professionals. It is said that these fish are not made to be eaten... but sold. You notice right away, unlike fish caught craftsmen, that it is soft. I can not find fish with a certain stiffness. They are all alike. It illustrates the difference between industrial fishing and fishing. Not one that is not soft... We are in Almeria capital of winter vegetables. It all started in the 60s. The central government in Madrid did get water here. They told the peasants living in the mountains : '' down here '' Realos to Almeria.'' The Government took care of water and brought agronomists. Here, they have water, earth and they can grow vegetables. Since the 60 far the number of greenhouses has multiplied. Ll there are now... 25 OOO acres. More in Holland and Belgium combined. Here we are near a plant aged 4 to 5 months. Here, the substrate This is rock wool. It is in this small substrate, old plants that germinated. It is now in the same substrate Ies that sprout new plants. Again, there is the substrate of rockwool and roots pass through the wool. Nutrients and water are brought by a gutter. When irrigating too, excess water flowing in there is then directed to a central point where water will be recycled. We can use it again, the retreat and re-route in gutters. This plant is very large. It is 9-10 meters high. And she looks a little wilted comparable to that of a human. A human 70 to 80 years no longer look as beautiful as thirties. We control what goes through the gutter ie food, water. If we cultivate the soil we do not know exactly. And then the soil contains much more of harmful germs. This substrate is best. It also faces new challenges. The golden years are over. There were 10 or 15 years we earned a lot of money here. But now it's harder!. It is other countries, like Morocco, Italy Israel where the climate is similar and can do the same here. We started here because of the sunshine. On average, there is almost 3000 hours of sunshine per year Almeria. In Brussels, there are only 1000. It is, for example, here in the region, a village called El Ejido. In the years 6O its population was only 1000 inhabitants. Now there are almost 1'OO OOO. Here, everything has changed. Before, it was a poor region. Ll there was almost nothing. But now it's going. Here, people are not millionaires , but they live decently. This is called here Ie'' miracle'' of Almeria. The absurdity of the situation agrarian markets is: rich countries, so the European Union, the United States... To produce and export subsidize their agriculture. Last year $ 349 billion was paid is more than a billion a day. The result, this is the dumping and the destruction of the agrarian economy in the southern hemisphere, where there are almost as peasants. Let me give you an example: the capital of the Republic of Senegal in West Africa, Dakar is . The city hosts the largest market of agrarian West Africa. The market Sandagar. On the market Sandagar, you can buy vegetables European European fruit, potatoes European third of the local price. So, Senegalese farmers, even working 18 hours a day In the hot sun no chance to earn a living through his land. What should he do? If it still has the strength, he emigrated illegally and risking his life through the Strait of Gibraltar exploit and occurs in the southern Spain or as a sweeper in Paris accepting living conditions precarious. In Austria, it is inconceivable that carts roll on a main road as here. It's amazing. The increased traffic is incredible. And there are carts everywhere. It is the means of locomotion n01 peasants. They do everything with their horse. My name is Karl Otrok I manage the production, Pioneer-Romania The leading producer seed in the world. Look at those rows of carts. I started in 1983 to Pandorrf as plant manager then I went to Szarvas, Hungary. I have developed largest plant Ia seed production in the world for Pioneer. Then in 1999 I went Romania first as Technical Director then as director of production. There, left, you have sunflower fields. Ll there is to the eye. It's amazing. Tibe, that's how many hectares? The whole, entire surface? 500 or even 1000. 500-1000 hectares of sunflowers. It is unimaginable, a field of sunflowers of 1000 hectares, right? When you look down the road, We see that two worlds completely different coexist. On the one hand, the carts and the other cars conditioned four-wheel drive. The farmers can not afford a cart and plow. The money is missing. What fascinates me in this country, is that it reminds me of my childhood at the time when my grandfather cultivated fields in Austria. Everything is still natural. It's fascinating. It's like going back 50 years ago . Look at this, they carry basket after basket, empty them and it brings enough money to they live. It's fascinating. You do not need to make a lot to be happy. It's like that here. I do not know if people are happy, but they seem. People who live in rural Romania have fewer worries. This is a hybrid eggplant. She has a beautiful appearance. But it did not taste that eggplant then that was planted from seed we kept years after years. Ie When studying seed prices, there that it costs the price of labor required to extract the seeds and dry. The award amounts to 600 lei OOO per 10 grams, about 15 euros for 10 grams . Eggplant This is really beautiful. She dazzles the consumer is obvious. On the shelves, She has a head more attractive than it. But to see which tastes better, must be purchased and tested. For me, it is better. I wish it does not change too fast. Alas, it will change as multinationals Food importing hybrid products destroying all natural products created here, eggplants, peppers tomatoes all natural products that have nothing to do... With these hybrids. I am fascinated by the way that these people continue to work plowing entire fields, picking and planting by hand. The quality of our food will drop and the taste will suffer. no going back, even we should. Our children will remember no more had a taste of tomato, an apple or any other natural product. All have a different taste. You can not stop progress. We do not want to stop it, in fact . It's like that. We do not want. It will continue until # where it will be too pulled on the rope. Pioneer has invested in the future. It is on the market, lot of seed, and they were afraid of being left behind. It must always be the first. True to its name Pioneer leader is always Ie, the first. Romania is, after France second agrarian country in Europe, With a surface devoted to growing corn 3.5 million hectares. And you can still increase this area of about 750 / o representing phenomenal quantities of seeds. Last year the state has subsidized the purchase of hybrid seeds. This year there is no subsidy. Farmers must pay a high price. The state thus makes farmers dependent this product because a hybrid is a disposable product we can not cultivate once . We are about 150 km from Bucharest a farm which extends over 400 hectares, which 200 are devoted to vegetables. Here too, we grow vegetables hybrid . In the field # where we are onions were planted on 25 hectares . The farm has many employees. Sixty around. Their wage: 50 cents an hour. The Onion were offered for sale in Holland priced at 27 cents, which proved too expensive because the Dutch can buy the same for 17 cents, with their grants. As a result, countries like Romania Ia are disadvantaged. If you start now to cultivate hybrid your farming will disappear. This is what happened in Austria. We backtracked. But it will take time to return to biological so-called organic. Except that it has nothing to do with natural vegetable that is grown here. At one point a peasant, or even country, must, however, make a choice. Does he continue to grow products that taste good, and produce little to no satisfy a micro market? Or does he want to mass produce? I hope that small farmers we saw yesterday can not afford hybrid seeds. They will still have recourse to natural seed to produce vegetables that taste good. I have nothing against hybrid seeds, I just want a tasty product. And, for me, Ies natural seed taste better than hybrids. It is nothing more to say. It's simple. Long before you arrive in Romania had already screwed up the Western Europe. And now, we will destroy all your agriculture. Pioneer has other plans in mind. I'm at 1000 / o what management wants, but here I express my personal opinion . And I see it that way. We are in a field # where, on 61 hectares cultivating genetically modified soybeans . It's Roundup Ready soybeans. Roundup is a pesticide destroying everything begins to turn green and bloom except soybeans. They resist it. Hence the name Roundup Ready. Soybean is mainly used as fodder , Various Foods already processed, like chocolate. It is necessary that we become to the idea that there is almost no food non-GM. In any case, a doubt remains. Since we know keep soybeans, could send in the Third World, in countries that need it, = = but does not send there. It is sold in our markets then we have enough to eat and than we do not need. 100 OOO When people are starving it says it can not feed Ies... But do we really want? Where does the money in general? The poor. Monopolize the Rich, poor non Ies. For food, it's the same. They are left to die for us to live. Pioneer is present in 120 countries. The last conquered country is China. Pioneer is concerned by these issues. Our slogan is: '' It feeds the world.'' And this is what they do. But without money, nothing is possible. As I said before, a business has no heart. The state of world hunger is really terrible. Every day, 100 OOO people starving or its immediate consequences. Every 5 seconds a child under 10 dies from hunger. Every 4 minutes someone goes blind ! Because of a lack of vitamin A. According to the World Report on Hunger The organization's annual report the Food and Agriculture namely FAO, based in Rome and created by the UN 842 million people suffered last year chronic malnutrition worsened. They have no sex life professional or family. And became invalids unable to feed themselves. The year before they were 826 million. The number of victims is growing. The same report says global agriculture may now smoothly feed 12 billion people. Means that each child who today, starving is, in fact, murdered. All these trucks that cross are full of soy. It was harvested in northern Mato Grosso and also a little higher. And from there, soybeans are shipped 2 500 km port of Santos in Sao Paulo or the port of Paranagu in Paran. Then it is exported in Europe, China and Japan. The largest producer in the world is here soy in Mato Grosso. It is the Maggi group, whose owner is also the Governor of the State of Mato Grosso. It was 20 years ago, there was the rainforest. It has since been destroyed, razed, to plant soybeans. Here, in the Amazon we do not want soy. We do not want it. Why? Because our soil is really good But when you open All to plant soybeans, impoverishes it. For soybeans, it is too poor. Before, there was that of the virgin forest. Giant trees. From there far whole forest has been cleared for pasture . And now, are planted soybeans. In the whole region. Look over there, these lines. These are tractors who did this, there so we can plant soybeans later. Right now, producers soy in Mato Grosso require that the federal government would build an asphalt road, the BR163, which will cross = = one of the last agricultural frontier , one of the last virgin forests. The money for this road comes from World Bank and the Interamerican Development Bank . The result of this behavior and this policy is that European livestock, but also that of other countries consuming soy devour the rainforest Amazon and Mato Grosso. This is a problem for the ecological balance for all humanity. And it demonstrates the shortcomings of agriculture we practice here and around the world. People rarely take into account 2 things when it comes to hunger: it has serious physical and physiological terrible. The TV shows starving children in Sudan and Somalia. But what does not see, is fear, daily fear of tomorrow. In Brazil ago a custom in the north-east, in the slums of states that are most needy of this region. When the kids at night starving their mothers put a kettle of water on a plate, placing stones and cook. And they say: '' Wait, wait '' the meal is almost ready.'' And they hope that in the meantime, Ieurs hungry children fall asleep and stop crying. It is a daily drama, who tirelessly repeats itself, in Pernambuco Alagoas, Sergipe!, And throughout the Northeast Brazil undermined by poverty. In this pond water is not good, but we drink. When children drink it it gives them sometimes fever. Sometimes there are things, dirt in the water. It is polluted, it is unclear by what, and it makes the children sick. The problem of hunger? I will not lie to you. We are all going very badly. Here, when we work, it still manages to eat. When you can not find one, we stay home. And here we are starving. Children are less affected because we goat milk for them. Without it, we starving. This kid bleats because his mother had a baby. As he drank all the milk Ie small starving. So they put him in the barn. That way, she has milk. And it is free to frolic. I am illiterate. Our children go to school I will not go. I'm glad they study for not staying arrant asses like me. It is important to learn. Hunger is a problem... Of our time. When it rains, Ies plantations grow. Without rain, they do not thrive and people have nothing... That's hunger. And when nothing grows, we are in the gutter. Hunger, it's like that. Those who govern act soon. They, they have everything and we ... They ask us to cultivate a plant that does not work and when we die of hunger, Sometimes they send something. But this is not always the case. Or you get a little money, or we have nothing. It's always like that. And then this is the beginning of 'famine. Here we are in a farming where hybrid lineages of chickens amounted to fatten up. It is here, about 4,500 animals, namely 4 OOO hens and cocks 400. The gender distribution is therefore 1 to 10. It is no more than three companies in the world who breed and sell of broilers. Fertilization occurs naturally via a rooster. The hen a reflex acceptance. When the cock riding, it does not move. I hope we can See in action. It is within the lncubateur Schulz of Lassnitzhhe, Styria, where eggs are placed in an incubator. OOO We produce 400 chickens a week ready to be fattened. Here, it is the area of preincubation. Eggs are prepared for the incubator, where they are heated slowly to put them at room temperature. All eggs are marked so that they are traceable . It is a stamp on each egg with the code of the farm so we can know its provenance. Here are preincubators. Each contains 57,600 eggs. I'll open one. With artificial incubation it mimics nature. Is incubated at about 370 C. All times Ies eggs have turned for that yellow does not stick to the membrane. For chicks feed on the yolk. Here, the chicks have hatched. The chick has a tooth on its beak to get out of his shell because it has not enough space. The tooth falls out after two days. The appendix is located there, you see. The consumer does not know how the system works . One bump with a herd that hatches, which should be high, then, at some point shot. During the production cycle of eight weeks accidents can happen, even if it seems impossible the consumer. People become indifferent and brutal To get their way. Why? Car in high places, there is no one that began in the bottom. I have nothing against academics but all those people who are studying at school and leave university a license or PhD no longer have any link with their roots . They see agriculture like most people, namely as this in pubs, idealized. But it has nothing to do with reality . The market is only interested in price. The taste is not a criterion. We are in one of our 80 factories fattening. This is a very large plant and its equipment is modern. Everything is computer controlled. Can be monitored by aeration, heating and water consumption. If you look at the hen house we see that there many animals inside. It is an obligation because the problem, is that a farmer makes a living that raising a large number of parts. During a harsh winter, eg heating costs increasing, margin the breeder may be near zero. It varies between almost nothing and 20 cents per piece. To be able to live his activity it must produce an adequate number of parts. Here is the delivery area poultry. The live chickens are delivered In these baskets transportation. The room has light blue undetectable in the eyes of animals. They feel to be in a dark which the calm. The goal is that animals are not stressed before slaughter. The cages are emptied on conveyor and animals are directed towards the slaughter line. Here the electric stunner. Inside there is a pool of water so! voltage us. The heads of the birds are dipped in and they lose consciousness. When they leave the stunner, they are killed by the rotating blade. In our slaughterhouse we kill about 12 million birds a year, which corresponds to an average OOO 50 cattle per day. Poultry consumption is much larger than in the past. It is indeed an affordable meat can be produced easily. When you look at the amounts currently consumed one wonders whether it could to produce as much biologically. It is now proved that in the agrarian sector, any globalizing and that relocating production. Is not made, where people eat but in regions where you can produce cheap food. In our industry Ie greatest danger comes from Asia and South America where the largest producers of poultry . They have the possibility can both export poultry parts as the international market research and for disposal of other their domestic market. Free trade does not exist. This is a lie. Only dominates the fittest. For example, when Nestl opposes a union African peasant it's like Mike Tyson, Ie world champion boxing was sent on ring against a Bengali unemployed starving. The power of the largest multinational expressed through a single digit as the World Bank published last year. In 2005 520 / o of gross world product, ie wealth produced in a year worldwide, Was checked by five hundred companies. And the sole purpose of these multinationals is profit maximization. The largest company food, one that employs almost 300 people OOO, which is active on five continents and control 8000 marks is Nestl. Nestl is currently headed a friendly Austrian bronzed UV obeys itself to the internal logic of the enterprise: maximize profits by avoiding taxes. And if it fails, annually astronomical profits for... Shareholders then, it will be ejected. And the enormous power it has today Hundreds of millions of people will do him no help. Profit maximization deadly is strategy hierarchies multinationals. My name is Peter Brabeck and I was born in Villach in Carinthia. For seven years now, I am responsible Nestl Group 's largest food group world. Our turnover is about 90 billion Swiss francs approximately $ 65 billion and we directly employ 275 OOO employees about. It is therefore a fairly large ship. We are global company 27th Ia. It is believed that now all that is natural is good. This is a big change, because, until recently, We were taught that nature is ruthless. The man is now able manage the balance of nature, but despite this, doctrine spreads that instills the idea all that comes nature is good. The bio is a good example. Ll there would be nothing better. The bio is not better. After 15 years of consumption of genetically modified foods no disease appeared United States until now. But in Europe, we were worried what could happen to us. We swim, I think, in full hypocrisy. A folk song from home says: '' The animals need water and hollera holleri.'' Do you remember? The water is of course Ia raw largest on Earth. The question is: whether to privatize or not water supply. Two views clash on this issue. The first that I would call extreme is represented by NGOs, for whom access to water should be nationalized. Other words, every human being must have access to water. This is an extreme solution. And the other says that water is a foodstuff and that, like any commodity, it has a market value. It is preferable, in my opinion, to give a value to a commodity so that we are all aware it has a cost, And we take appropriate measures for segments of the population who do not have access to this water. Ll are solutions that should be implemented. I sincerely believe that the primary responsibility of a CEO is to ensure and preserve a profitable future and every success its company. For only if we can sustain our business we can participate actively in solving problems worldwide. We can create jobs. We created 275 by OOO with a further 1.2 million Ies that directly depend on us. What makes a total of 4.5 million people : Each employee depends Indeed, three other people. It is therefore 4.5 million people directly dependent on us. To create jobs, you have to work yourself. And no, as before, distribute working time. The main argument, remember, supporters the week of 35 hours work that was available was limited . It was therefore necessary that we work less to improve its allocation. A proof of the facts, it proved a bad solution. To create more jobs, more work is needed . Ll need to create a positive image of the world and I see no reason not see the future positively . We have never had such easy lives we have never had much money , we have never been healthier and we have never lived so long that right now. We have everything we want , and yet we of melancholy. Japanese. You can see here how these companies are modern, ultra robotic and employ few people... 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