Congratulations to our winner:
 Anabel Makover! 

Bio Tech Pest Controls owner, David Jones, presents Anabel Makover with her iPad Air. 

Description: How it is the responsibility of each individual and of each community to save our planet from going to waste. The benefits of local organic food compared to industrially produced food.

Thank God, men cannot as yet fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth!” Henry David Thoreau, The Heart of Thoreau’s Journals, January 3, 1861 (p. 217). This quote may seem silly but it also shows that the awareness of pollution and waste is at least 150 years old. What Thoreau could not have known is that men would eventually learn to fly and lay waste the sky as well as the earth. By 1903, the Wright’s first motorized plane was flying. 
There are many ways to enhance the sustainability of our planet, but first we must educate ourselves about the what, the how, and the why. This is what I have started to do in the past, and will pursue forever. I was given many opportunities to educate myself because I chose to attend two wonderful schools: The Compass School for middle school, and The Greene School for high school; both schools focus on environmental sustainability. I have chosen these schools because I wanted to become more knowledgeable about ways to develop a more sustainable, eco-friendly environment. The Greene School is very proactive in fostering a sustainable environment and promoting activities that prevent pollution. For instance, the school organizes the yearly100-Miles-Radius-Dinner to show that it is possible to eat food grown and bought locally, and save transportation cost. My hope is that one day every school in the world will be as dedicated to promoting environmental awareness as The Greene School.
Once you know what you can do, then you can take action. As an adult, no matter where I live and what I do, I know that I will be an active promoter of environment sustainability in my community. Now, as a teenager, I am already involved in making the earth a better, cleaner place, and I am taking action to reduce my carbon footprint. I do not buy plastic bottles of water or juice; at home we do not drink soda; their content in high-fructose corn syrup is a threat to anyone’s metabolism. We buy free-range organic eggs, and season appropriate fruits and vegetables. I recycle plastics, papers, and cans, and I compost all my compostable food scraps. At home 25% of our electricity comes from wind power, which is slightly more expensive, but better for the environment.
As informed members of our community we can decide to buy local products from organic sustainable farms or farmers’ markets. Let’s compare the effects of organically grown versus industrially produced food. Organic farming is much better for the environment because growing the crops does not deplete the soil, in particular, it does not use all the nitrogen, as was the case during the potato famine in Ireland in 1845. Organic farming is also beneficial for the wildlife around because of the diversity of land types found on organic farms. I know I want to fight against global warming and promote a sustainable environment all my life. Not surprisingly going with organic farming is the way, because it is natural, and does not use pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals. Organic food is a giant step in the direction of a healthy environment. This is why I care about what food I eat and why I think everyone should know the truth about industrial farming. Now, what about industrially produced food? 
Near industrial farms there are manure lagoons the size if several football fields which are detrimental to the environment, because they are not used for compost; they only grow larger and larger. To produce one pound of beef, 1,581 gallons of water are used in farms. If we choose to eat less beef, we are also choosing to waste less water, the most valuable resource on earth. Then eventually the demand for beef will diminish, and less water will be used. I do not eat a lot of meat mostly because of all the CAFO’s (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) and terrible conditions in which the animals live. However, livestock is only part of the problem of sustainability in industrial farms. The dirty dozen should only be bought organically because pesticides and herbicides sink into the flesh of the fruit and cannot be washed off at all. This includes grapes, nectarines, strawberries, bell peppers, potatoes, apples, cucumbers, and more. I have learned a lot about GMO’s these past years. Organic food does not have genetically modified organisms. Does one really know what carcinogenic poisons they put in GMO's? Industrial farmers use tons of pesticides and herbicides on their crops; this is terrible for our planet because these chemicals disturb the natural life cycles of the insects: they kill everything indiscriminately, bees, insects, parasites, and the insects that would feed on these parasites as well.

I think that the combination of organic and local products is best for sustainability because the cost of transport is greatly reduced, and so is the pollution from transportation. Last but not least, organic products do not contain all the poisonous chemicals that non-organic food contains, so it is much safer and healthier for the earth, and it is also much safer and healthier for you. Your choice of food may also depend on where you live and the lifestyle you have. Organic food costs more but it helps the environment and is better for you health. Industrial food is cheaper, and sometimes the only available choice in some urban areas, known as ‘food deserts’. However, in the long term, the health effects of industrial food can be more costly. So, which is cheaper in the end? Hopefully, with the help of all our community leaders, food deserts will disappear and these urban areas will soon have grocery stores that offer quality food and fresh organic locally grown products. 
Learning about environmental issues helps me make informed decisions about saving our planet. However it is the effort of every one of us as a community that will ultimately save the earth from becoming the ‘waste planet’ Thoreau’s was worrying about. Together we can reverse the damage done to Earth with better, chemical-free products. My hope is that if we all contribute and agree to change ourselves and our behaviors as consumers, producers, and farmers, the change will occur, it will make a difference. Tyson, one of the biggest marketers of meat, just released the news that they would eliminate human antibiotics from their poultry’s diet over the course of two years. Hopefully, all the meat producers will follow their example and eliminate all antibiotics from the diet of all livestock. People of my generation NEED TO TAKE ACTION RIGHT AWAY! I hope that one day we may find organic food in every grocery store in the country, and industrial farmers will come to understand that if they do not change their ways, earth will soon become a barren desert.