(Media release) — The Island of Hawai`i will be the 3rd of 5 Islands across the state to host a, “March in March to Evict Monsanto,” on Saturday, March 16, 2013.
The march encourages Hawai`i residents to support and celebrate food sovereignty and investigate land stewardship practices by landowners such as Kamehameha Schools that is leasing 1,033 acres of land to Monsanto. Hawai’i is the global research lab of the world for genetic engineered organisms (GMOs) testing with over 5,000 open-?field experiments statewide.
This is a free community event for all ages. There will be face-?painting, a non-?GMO pot-?luck, a mini Zumba class with UH Hilo Dance Instructor Kea Kapahua and other island Zumba Instructors, a non-? GMO seed exchange, informational tables, and dance troupe-? Rebekah Duncan and the Kealakehe Dance Team will all be a part of the event.
Participants are invited to signwave at the Kamehameha Statue in Hilo at 9am. At 9:30am we will leave the statue, pass by the Hilo Farmer’s Market, and cross the street to the Mo’oheau Bandstand. Esteemed speakers will speak from 11-?12pm on issues concerning the growing of genetically modified crops and the impact they have upon the `aina. Food sovereignty activist Walter Ritte, Senator Russell Ruderman-? owner of Island Naturals, and UH Manoa professor of agriculture Dr. Hector Valenzuela will speak. Lono Kanaka’ole Trio, Darryl Castillo, and Chris Berry and Friends will be playing music.
We invite the community to participate in the march and rally to show solidarity for a future free from genetically engineered crops growing on the islands by Monsanto, Dow, Dupont/Pioneer and Syngenta. All of these crops are shipped off island, most of which are for animal feed and research. Also, these companies do not pay taxes on these exports. These open fields near schools and communities are doused regularly with large quantities of toxic industrial chemicals, some of which are banned in Europe.
The event is free and open to the public.
March in March to Evict Monsanto is the vision of the Hawai’i GMO Justice Coalition and Professional Surfer and MMA fighter Dustin Barca. Sponsored in part by the Sierra Club-? Moku Loa Group, Know Your Farmer Alliance, Kailani Pool Service, Island Naturals, Da Hui, Kulture Tattoo, Food Democracy Now, Babes Against Biotech, and Millions Against Monsanto.
This event is highlighting the film created by the Hawai’i GMO Justice Coalition addressing the impact of genetic engineering in Hawai`I; Stop Monsanto From Poisoning Hawaii: Genetic Engineering Chemical Warfare. The film will be shown at UH Hilo the Wednesday preceding the march on Saturday. 43 minute Film Link:http://youtu.be/uZgrOFjhzdg
For more information about the event please contact Kea Kapahua atkristikea@yahoo.com or 808-?896-?5622.
(Submitted by Justin Avery.)
March 8th, 2013 at 12:56 pm
I received this email today for a March in Kona, also.
“Guys spread the word, we will be hosting this march here in Kona, March 16th at 3pm. we will start at Lanihau Center and walk through town, up Hualalai to Kuakini, and back to Lanihau.
March 10th, 2013 at 2:55 am
OMG GMO
March 10th, 2013 at 10:13 am
Be there! Monsanto must go! Leave our aina alone!
March 10th, 2013 at 4:21 pm
Auwe no ho’i….to one extent or another all the food you eat, rice, beef, pork, papaya (on adn on): all have been GMOed. This has been going on since mankind has groswn crops and livestock for food, rather than just hunting and gathering.
March 10th, 2013 at 9:19 pm
Tutu,
Hybridization, selective breeding, etc…is different from GMO. Yes, hunting and gathering is the optimal method of feeding healthy food to the family.
March 11th, 2013 at 9:31 am
“It’s not about eating the corn
Not for me anyway. The decision to eat or not eat the corn is only a small reason I support the labeling of genetically modified foods and hold deep reservations about the industry as a whole.
People on my island are getting sick. Many believe their sickness is being caused by the secondary and cumulative impacts connected to the growing of genetically modified organisms.
Yet when I’ve asked these companies directly and officially in writing to disclose what chemicals and in what quantities they are spraying, the industrial agrochemical GMO companies on Kauai have refused to do so.”
http://garyhooser.wordpress.com/
March 11th, 2013 at 10:29 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=v7agEkvWtwQ
March in March – Kaua’i 3/9/2013
Remove the buggahs from office!
http://signon.org/sign/hawaii-public-officers?mailing_id=10068&source=s.icn.em.cr&r_by=1699125
March 11th, 2013 at 6:49 pm
I wish there was more light and less heat in all of this.
March 11th, 2013 at 8:29 pm
Hugh, I KNOW you would be hot, too, if Atrazine was in YOUR kids water fountains at school and none of your elected officials were doing a damn thing about it.. except letting the NEW plantation companies spray more and collecting campaign contributions from them. You would be livid, as are the *2,000 who marched through a mega downpour on Kaua’i. (*KITV News)
March 11th, 2013 at 8:45 pm
And speaking of Atrazine contaminated water, see the Hilo KITV News report here, at 1:45.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0cs9ibZvj2Q
March 11th, 2013 at 11:26 pm
Doc
Part of the rationale for development of transgenic varieties (GMO) is for the farmer to be able to use topically applied herbicides ( post emergent) such as glyphosate RATHER than more persistent preemergents such as atrazine.
Other reasons include drought tolerance, disease resistance and yield efficiency.
All very “green”, just not politically correct for some.
March 12th, 2013 at 9:53 am
Poisons in our food, water, air are NOT “green” no matter how they try to package it.
March 12th, 2013 at 7:03 pm
Tia
In real life, rather than belief systems, there is no “black or white”. Farmers have to eat ( make enough money to survive) too. So…pesticides will be used. The goal, for rational people, is to do the least harm while taking the least risk.
Hence, glyphosate is more benign than atrazine, which is more benign than table salt (!) the reference standard is ” LD 50 ” which stands for the Lethal Dosage at which 50% of the test population die. Yes, they kill lab rats to determine that 200 mg/kg of body weight of orally ingested caffeine will kill a rat.
So…pick your poison, or, starve. You are NOT going to feed the people that currently live in Hawaii without using some pesticides. Period.
I know because I started as a Rudolf Steiner influenced biodynamic farmer in Puna in the ’70′s(before it was fashionable). I ended up 15 years later running 15 workers on 10 acres of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squash, and what have you.
I’ll say this, I wished I had GMO back then. Cause when I pick my poison I try to pick things less toxic than nicotine (50 mg/kg), caffeine, and preferably less than table salt (3,000 mg/kg)
March 12th, 2013 at 9:13 pm
Whoops! I used simazine back in the day, as a preemergents herbicide. Not atrazine, which is a post-emergent. Ld50 is 3100 mg/kg for atrazine.
March 14th, 2013 at 7:43 pm
How did people ever survive pre pesticides/herbicides? Where are all the surviving small farmers regardless of practice? Seems there are only Big Ag that makes any money off farming, at what cost? Why are organic foods in demand? People are finally making the connection between poison in foods and poor health. About time.
March 14th, 2013 at 8:57 pm
Tia
Uhh….we used to have things called “famines”. Now the only famines we have are caused by political/military events. In th US we used to have 80% of the population (1870) raising food crops (say Afghanistan still does!), now we have about 1%.
I won’t address your rhetorical questions regarding the general health of our population, the actuarial tables speak for themselves.
BTW; Hawaiis ability to support any specific population will reference pre contact Hawaiians population. Stannards social science based speculation of 800,000 plus, based on his interpretation of historical accounts and extrapolation from other native cultures is contrasted by archaelogical estimates of 150-200,000. The latter estimates are based on archeological research (charcoal, pollen, etc). Stannard relied on subjective interpretation rather than objective evidence, so I’ll go with the lower range as most likely. Anyway, Hawaii pre-contact was 95% food gathering/agriculture. Hawaiian population likely peaked the century BEFORE Cook arrived due to limited agricultural resources(famime) and/or political developments (war). Also, research shows that communicable diseases (syphilis, tb , polio, etc) were evident pre Cook, due to both Spanish and Japanese contact. Limited resources, especially food, leads to war amongst humans.
Read history, or repeat it.