Hi, my name is Rachel Parent. I'm 14 years old and just started high school in Toronto. When I was 12 years old, I saw how GMOs were negatively impacting the entire ecosystem -- the environment, soil, water, plants, animals, insects and people. Just everything and everyone. The issues seemed endless and scary! So I founded my non-profit organization Kids Right To Know. I figured, why not me? Why can't I make a change?
The very first public speech I did (outside my school) was a grassroots rally downtown. It was in one of those little rooms that I think get rented out to do workshops and things like that. There were only about 12 people in total there and it was at that very moment, in that little room, with that little crowd of activists, that I felt the spark. I'll never forget the feeling. I knew this was my passion. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to become an activist too!
People ask me all the time, "What's it like to be a child activist?" Well, it definitely keeps you busy. Insanely busy! LOL. But I love it! It's so much fun and you feel so good because you're doing good for the world. You feel good emotionally. I know lots of kids my age, love to go shopping. I'm not against shopping. It's just not one of my big interests, or my priorities, and especially considering how much child labour is involved in most of the things that are sold in stores. Not all stores, but most of them. That part is a bit of a turn off.
You know what gets me really motivated though? I know there are lots of kids out there with some pretty awful allergies, and their parents, or maybe their school cafeteria is feeding them GMOs only they don't know it. That's what gets me up in the morning...OK, that's what sometimes keeps me up at night too. But I get really excited knowing that I am about to educate all these people and open their eyes about GMOs. Maybe when all these people stop feeding kids (and adults) GMOs, their allergies will go away. Maybe even some other health issues they might have. The list of health problems that scientists are linking GMOs to is a very long and scary list. It's crazy actually.
Well, that's a little bit about me. Thank you for reading my very first blog entry here. Stay tuned for my upcoming entries where I'll get into all kinds of cool things like the amazing events where I speak, these brilliant and brave scientists that have switched from the pro-GMO to the anti-GMO camp and fun tips on how to live a GMO-free life! I believe making and eating toxic free feed is good for everything and everyone. One planet for all. All for one planet.
