The Anti-Science Debacle

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The Personal Price of the Anti-GMO to Me: $1695

I’ve known for some time that the Babes Against Biotech ring leader, Nomi Carmona, bought my domain name some time ago.  She created an anti-Monsanto screed calling me the GMO papaya princess.  I didn’t bother to fight it since it only shows how the anti-GMO activists use personal attacks instead of facts to base this entire movement upon.  

I happened be talking to a colleague about this website today and found out that it doesn’t exist anymore.  

  
Looks like I have to spend $1695 to buy my domain name back from the cyber squatters.  I’ll just let this remain as it to reiterate the fact that the anti-GMO activism in Hawaii must rely on personal attacks against those who refuse to give an alternative to what they wish to take away.  Aloha is a concept that apparently is hard to demonstrate when you don’t have any facts to support your cause.

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Think About It: Harvard School of Public Health and GMOs

Someone recently posted a link from a website called the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard University School of Public Health.


I cannot believe that such a prestigious medical school would ever take a position against the scientific consensus, so I decided to dig further into this.

The first thing I noticed off the bat is the odd way the domain name looks.  This domain name is chgeharvard.org.  The majority of school sites are all .edu ending.  That already raises a red flag to me.

Not only does the domain itself look weird but the questionable site also has an odd header alignment.


The actual School of Public Health’ site at hsph.harvard.edu has a different look all together. Take a closer look at the T. H. Chan part.


The biggest kicker is when you look up the domain a name itself.  The questionable site was started in January 2014 and registered to the woman pictured above.

When you actually look up the real Harvard School of Public Health’s domain registration, it’s clear that this anti-GMO site is not touting evidence based information.  All of the Harvard domains are linked to the IT department there.

What’s even more interstingis the address of the actual school.


Then the address listed in the domain registration is completely different.

The questionable site claims it was founded in 1996 but if that was the case, why was the domain started in January 2014?

Here’s the Global Health Institute on Harvard too. Note the website.


Before you start sharing links, it’s best to cross check your information.  Also remember that just because one site touts a stance, it doesn’t mean the world wants it.  Think before you believe!

Read: http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2008/07/11/theres-no-woo-like-harvard-woo/

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Some have told me that this is a real website at Harvard.  If it is, I stand corrected.  The problem that it promotes a lot of fear and some cherry picking.  It doesn’t provide much evidence based information to base much of its claims for organic agriculture.  It’s also interesting that it doesn’t even mention that the latest studies can’t find any significant difference on nutrition either.

And remember that you just can’t claim evidence with a single website either.  Get a collection of others and vet the evidence.

It would be great if this “program” would consider all types of agriculture for a cleaner and better world for all farmers and the public.  That’s good public health practice for the global environment.  Biotech is a means of achieving this for people around the world.

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The Future of Hawaii Can’t Rest in a Protest

  
Once again, the anti-TMT, anti-GMO, anti-everything folks are going to protest yet again.  This time, their groups have united to “protect” Hawaii.  They have decided to “malama the aina” and “protect the mauna” and save agricultural lands.  These folks can stay really busy doing all three.

I can’t help but remember the pleading cries of mothers and others who testified at multiple hearings over the last several years.  They accused the seed farms and farmers of “poisoning” their children and making them sick.  They pleaded with the legislators to protect them by enacting disclosure laws, buffer zones, and bans of biotech farms.  Many of these folks still claim that they are sick and attribute it to farms despite the fact that the evidence doesn’t support it.  The campaign by the anti-groups indeed were successful even without data.

If the “protectors” really care about these folks, why are they so busy fundraising for plane tickets and bail money?  I’ve seen so many gofundme accounts set up to raise money but not a single dime is going towards the alleged sicknesses that they claim of over and over.  They aren’t even funding testing of people either to confirm the source of their health claims.  

This activism also has its roots in anti-corporate attitudes but they actively make use of those services only provided by the very people they distrust.  The activists decry money and greed but then go out and seek money themselves to fund their cause.

   

 
The activists talk about not wanting outside influences having a say in Hawaii but then join with the Washington, DC based Center for Food Safety group.  This group is nothing close to being local at all and has created more wasting of our resources in the name of the malama the aina battle cries.  They can fund plane tickets but sure can’t pay back the counties for the costs of court proceedings on badly written laws.  

  

Can no one see the inconsistencies of these groups’ messages here?  They talk about this concept of “malama,” which means to care but then their actions show the complete opposite!  Imagine how much jet fuel and gas is used to bring people to Waikiki for a day of protest.  Couldn’t that time and money be better spent by cleaning a beach or helping the homeless?

If they want to keep the Mauna sacred, how about throwing the bail money and plane ticket fares towards the education fund instead? Replace what you plan to take away.  Create a realistic business plan to help stimulate the economy there with all the opportunities that will be lost.  The thousands of dollars used could feed the hungry or buy school books for those needy schools.

Last year, a Hawaiian civic group raised money and used it to purchase school planners for my daughter’s 4th grade class.  That indeed is a worthwhile cause to help educate children and helps the schools out so much.  Why aren’t these groups marching to raise funds for those underserved areas on the Big Island? Where’s the giving spirit for the keiki? Teach them how to care for the aina with education and not transient protests.

If people are really sick from farms, stop paying Vandana Shiva $40k per talk or ask her to donate it to care for these illnesses.  The Center for Food Safety paid a nice sum of money for the misinformation manual they sent out but didn’t donate anything back to the county for any court costs.  If they care so much for people, they’d spend our resources wisely.  

  
Our leader in Washington can’t even grasp the technology being adopted to help farmers grow food.  Representative Gabbard doesn’t even realize that by bring anti-GMO means she wants farmers around the world to use old, more toxic crop protection products.  She actually is supporting the pesticide companies in developing countries by blocking the adoption of biotech crops as they are separate entities there from the agribusiness companies.  Nor does she even bother to tell her constituents the real name of the law or disclose her political funding from the organic industry.  She fails to educate others that the regulation around GE crops was in the federal level after 3 county laws were invalidated.  Like former State Representative Jessica Wooley, who said there were no regulations on biotech crops, Representative Gabbard also has a hard time with the truth.    

So once again, the battle cries will start up in Waikiki, the center of the Hawaii they don’t want.  Little do they realize that by blocking farms, the land will be paved over and forever changed.  By blocking a telescope, they send a message to the youth that you can’t come back to Hawaii to pursue a careers in science and technology because the loudest minority will squash your dreams.  Our leaders too can’t see the unintended consequences of caving to all of their demands.  

As a parent, I don’t give in to my kids’ hissy fits.  By giving in to these fits, it only encourages more of it and encourages bad behavior.  Kids are prone to bad behavior and have to learn what is and isn’t appropriate.  The issues in Hawaii must be dealt with using a realistic vision and high expectations.  Using emotions to guide policy harms all of us and lowers the expectations.  It’s time for our leaders to demand this of those who want to be an integral part of policymaking.  If our leaders don’t stick to that vision, we stand to all lose.  My kids will never be able to have that bright future in Hawaii if we can’t even have leaders leading us on that path.  

I did notice that they used the Hawaiian proverb, “Pupukahi I Holomua.” It literally means to move together in one direction.  These groups are moving together backwards and not even making an attempt to work with anyone else in any issue which is clear.  It’s about what they want and not about working with anyone else.  They refuse to come to the table unless they get exactly what they want.  

I want our leaders to stick with a vision to make Hawaii better and be brave to make hard decisions in the best interest of everyone. Listening to the squeakiest wheel is distracting us from  becoming a better place.  We need those leaders now to stand up for our island state if we want a real future for our kids.  I’m a mom and that’s what I want.  Who’s listening to me?

You Can’t Get on a Canoe Without a Real Plan
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You Can’t Get on a Canoe Without a Real Plan

  
As I was looking at my dad’s papaya seedlings the other day, it really made me realize how things in nature are a reflection of our own lives in many ways.  

  
Every single papaya came from a single seed that was carefully bred and planted with care.  My dad crossed his Kamiya line with the Rainbow papayas to get his customer favorite, Kamiya Gold.  This little seed was carefully dried up and stored until it was time for planting.  

The papaya seeds were then placed into vermiculite to help sprout them in the protection of his greenhouse.  If it weren’t for this, the seeds would be attacked by slugs, snails, birds, and the elements at this early stage.  As these seedlings grow larger and stronger, they are transplanted into larger pots, and eventually grow large enough to be field ready.  Daily care is needed daily to ensure strong and healthy plants.

  
In addition to preparing the seedlings, the field must also be readied for planting.  This in itself takes months to prepare. Cover crops are grown after each field is plowed back when the trees get too tall to pick.  The crop itself takes months to grow. The soil must be plowed after cover crops have matured to encourage breakdown of the organic matter.  It will take sometime for the bacteria to fully compost the cover crop to replenish the soil.  Drip lines are also put in and the field is marked to set the proper row widths. Once the field prep is done, small holes are dug to place the foot tall seedlings into.

  
Once that field is planted, the trees will need fertilizer, pest control, and watering.  Dead leaves are picked off the trees to prevent damage to the fruits and some are even thinned out to ensure enough space for each one to grow.  After about a year, those trees will be ready for harvest.  

  
I realized that our lives are very much lIke these plants.  Everyone has the potential to develop and give back to others, just like the trees nurtured from the seed to plant.  We all start off on the same but the experiences we have and the inputs we are provided or denied, shape us throughout our lives.

Like seedlings, people have some set basic needs to even start off right.  Plants need medium, air, water, and sunlight to even start growing.  Once it uses its own food store and grows larger, it needs other elements to grow and produce fruits.  People are no different as they need the basics of food, water, and nurturing.  Without these to start with, neither plant nor people will be able to thrive.  The plants that don’t have the basic needs met will likely never be able to reach its fullest potential or will need extra care to make up for the effects not provided early on.  It’s the same for people.

As the person matures, just like a plant, their needs change but they will still need the basics and even more to become productive.  The trees will need more nutrients from fertilizers and some pest control to decrease the stressors on the plants.  By providing added nurturing, the trunks and roots become hardier to withstand the harsh elements.  People will need to learn skills via education and parental guidance and good role models to instill values that will keep them on the right path.  There will be constant distractors that can eventually stunt the tree and hindering its growth.   The added inputs set the foundation on which that person can excel upon just like the trees being able to provide delicious and nutritious fruits for years to come.

When living things aren’t given the basics early on and don’t have the right foundation to start from, these organisms can’t fulfill its maximal potential to become productive beings.  As a farmer’s kid, I had everything I needed in life and learned the value of hard work, perseverance, and striving to always to do a good job.  It is our nature to thrive, seek opportunities, do things better than before, and develop relationships. We as humans are always seeking to nurture each other as it comes from our instincts.  Like my dad’s trees that had all the inputs needed early on and cared for throughout its life, they provide the sweetest and most quality fruits around as a result of using tried and true lessons learned over the years.  

Hawaii is a hot bed for anti-everything activism.  We have lots to be against here.  If you live on the Big Island, you can be against geothermal energy, the Thirty Meter Telescope, and open ocean fish farming.  Go to Maui and you can be against GMOs and sugar cane burning.  After that, you can head to Kauai and join the anti-dairy and anti-GMO folks too.  No matter what your interest, you’ll find something to be against.  It gets pretty tiring that everything new is being blocked. Simply being staunchly against progress isn’t human nature.

The act of blockading things and denying our own instincts are counterintuitive.  Many of us have a desire to help others in some form or fashion and to do things better.  It’s in us to strive for that.  However, like a plant being denied nutrients or a baby denied human touch and love, neither can ever fully meet its full potential if the basics aren’t provided.  The nature of blocking biotechnology to farmers who are poor or use old chemicals to protect their crops keeps everyone else who depend on that farmer from having a productive and reliable food source.  Halting the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea delays the funding of scholarships and revenue for education in the poorest county in our state.  Using a nebulous term like sacredness to fight a battle shows they fight a war based in ideology and not one with a working and living vision for the future.

Without access to education, we all stand to lose when the children aren’t able to overcome the fearfulness of their parents.  They won’t be able gain opportunities to rise out of poverty and the cycle continues in the next generation.  Shutting down the sugar cane or biotech industry on Maui takes away from opportunities of hundreds of people who keep the lands in agriculture and erases a key link to our local roots.  Relying on misinformation to achieve such goals is also against people who have a conscience and sense of caring of others.  The anti-everything people accept misinformation, acts of vandalism, and threats against others who speak in support of advancement.  They can only see a world of black and white and in concrete, literal terms because they have never been exposed to the world beyond their own eyes.  Progress is frightening to those who live life through only what they read and see on the Internet or what their fellow family member tells them.  The world is scary when you haven’t fully opened your eyes and actually learned about what’s happening with technology and research.

We are always learning lessons throughout our lives of what works and what doesn’t.  We have learned to be more efficient and do much more with less.  We use technology to achieve this.  It is in our nature to continually ask questions and find answers to them.  Those who choose to be willfully ignorant and don’t truly research what’s happening around us are like stunted plants who never fully produce anything tangible for others.   We also desire knowledge and value education as a society where everyone has equal opportunity to achieve a higher goal and give back to our communities.  

It’s time to stop and think about the anti-everything mentality.  It is totally opposite of what the human spirit wants to become.  In societies where this was crushed and it was not considered a value, have people flourished and led the world in helping others? Have these societies nurtured their people to willing give back and care for others? The truth is that the anti way of thinking has crushed the human spirit and by doing so, has people forgetting that those who live with freedom should use it for the betterment of others in this world.  There is plenty of suffering around us and why should those with everything be the ones adding more to it.  The sad thing is Hawaii is turning into a place where a loud minority are willingly crushing spirits and dreams of the few who have that desire. 

We need people who are willing to go up and beyond what is the norm here in Hawaii.  We can’t let naysayers with no strong vision for the future dictate policy here in Hawaii.  They take away dreams and aspirations of our young people and close off minds with fear and unsubstantiated beliefs. Nor do these people ever offer facts since that will cause people to question their movement.  

My dad said that we talk about the crabs in the bucket mentality thinking it’s the lowest ones pulling people down.  He said it really is the top ones, the leaders, who are not fighting to get out of that bucket and lead people over and out beyond the comfort of that bucket.  The mentality that science is propaganda and progress can be denied is what’s going to sink Hawaii’s ability to get anywhere in the future.  How can we ever grow our base of innovators, problem solvers, and community contributors to make Hawaii better when being anti-everything is gloryfied? It’s just ain’t cool to protest and not have a real plan for everyone.

Even the early Hawaiian canoe voyagers knew that they just couldn’t jump in a canoe and paddle out aimlessnessly into the vast ocean.  They studied the stars, weather, and ocean to gather knowledge and developed a plan.  They even figured out the best design of a vessel to take them on this adventure.  They planned this voyage with the intent of living in a new place by bringing along animals, plants, and other supplies to sustain them when they get there.  A lot of thought and effort went into this plan before it was ever launched.  As a result of good planning, cooperation, and leadership, the Hawaiians managed to make it here and establish their unique culture.

Humans are always striving to be at their best and get somewhere in life.  My ancestors had that same idea which is what brought them to Hawaii.  The ancient Hawaiians also did the same things when they headed out in their canoes.  No one would have ever been here if our ancestors sat around protesting and never coming up with a real plan.  The journey of getting to our destination and striving towards a vision didn’t start with protesting the thing of the moment.  We are here because of a lot of thinking, nurturing each other, and leaders with the guts to inspire us to get somewhere.  That’s the culture needed now.

  

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The Power of Words

I’m one who will change my stance when the facts are presented.  When the news came out that there was a bullet hole in a telescope door, my gut feeling was that the threats posted on the social media did materialize.  It was with great relief that the facts came out that the hole was caused by an intake valve.  

I corrected my post online as I feel that it is the right thing to do and people deserve some sense of integrity to own up to my mistakes.  It’s only fair that I take responsibility for what I say and take corrective action to make it right.

It’s relieving that the hole was not caused by a gun.  I’m still leery of the threats being made against the people and the project.  The facts still remain that ugly things have been said.  Whether it be the anti-GMO threats of crop destruction of the threats made against the TMT workers, these words have been uttered by individuals.  Misinformation has been spread and not corrected.  I am able to correct mine and ask others to do the same whether you’re in support or against it. 

The quick correction to the story really tampered down the tone on both sides which shows the power of addressing potential misinformation in a timely manner.  

Wouldn’t it be such a nicer world if we all could correct misinformation and stop the spread of it?  

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The Right to Know Says I’m not Responsible

 Apparently, politicians must be reading my blog because I just received this letter a few days ago. Representative Tulsi Gabbard is clearly misinformed when she states that GE ingredients need to be labeled and she’s using taxpayer dollars to achieve this.  (GE is a plant breeding technique, not an ingredient!). I’m not totally surprised that my own congress person is pursuing this as her own family has a vested interest in the health food market.  She has also received many contributions from the industry that stands to benefit from this kind of legislation.  Despite all of this, she’s not called a shill and is  more of a real shill than me!

The more I started thinking about this right to know, I realize why I take issue with it.  When people start demanding that the government be in charge of enforcing labeling of a product based on curiosity and not on evidence, it reflects upon a societal problem.  It really absolves the individual from taking personal responsibility for learning the facts.  The issue goes way beyond just the aspects of rights.  It amounts to a loud bunch of people who already don’t trust the government to regulate labeling.  I suspect that the labeling they want won’t magically gain their trust in any case.  

There’s a lot of discussion that the right to know movement is being pushed by the millennials.  This generation is at least two generations away from the farm and really haven’t been exposed to what it is really like to work hard and to start from the ground up.  That’s is clear when you have anti-GMO leaders like Ashley Lukens, from the Center for Food Safety, proudly professing that she works a set schedule so that she can get her yoga hour in daily.  Must be nice to have the luxury of that “me, myself, and I” time in since her crops don’t depnd on her.  The sweat she makes helps only herself and doesn’t give back to anyone else.

Like Ashley and her GMOs means pesticides bit, the right to know folks are really quick to inconvenience everyone else for the sake of labeling GMOs.  They demand that farmers have to completely change the way they grow and harvest their fields.  It will cost them a significant amount of money to do this.  Not only does it add more costs to farmers, but also to food manufacturers who have to revamp all of their labels.  The government and the taxpayers will also be affected in needing to test or regulate the labels for accuracy.  The papaya farmers have to purchase little labels and be sure it’s stuck on properly or risk getting a fine.  Not only do farmers and food manufacturers have to modify their work but it will all land up costing the consumers, especially the ones who are most in need of affordable food.  Many will incur some kind of cost in the form of time or money because of someone’s curiosity and refusal to learn the facts.

I think a lot of this may stem from the way our children are learning facts in school.  There is a high amount of pressure for schools to score well on tests.  My daughter exemplifies this when she shows me her homework and asks for the answer to be given to her for her test.  Instead of thinking  the task through to figure it out, it’s easier to just be given the answer than to think.  As a mother who wants to enable my child’s critical thinking skills, I don’t give in to this.  I walk through the process with her to provide here with a foundation to help her.  Learning about life isn’t simply about getting an answer.  

The world does not need more people who do not take responsibilty for their own learning.  America was not made because of people sitting around protesting.  The movers and doers were the ones to create their visions and dreams because they took initiative to do something.  We live in a great country because of great leaders who demonstrated the values of hard work and sacrifices and inspired others to do the same.  We have a reaped the benefits of those innovations.  It’s sad in this day and age that these values are not encouraged by leaders like our own President to even Representative Gabbard.  I just don’t get that sense of inspiration from our leadership at all.  What do we teach our young people when we don’t listen to those doing the real work and choose to listen to the squeakiest wheels? 

I get really irked with this kind of attitude pervading our society.  Why are people not taking some responsibility for themselves? From the college student who takes our $200k in student loans to pursue a degree that could never land a career to pay for it, only to default on it.  The information on the degree you’re pursuing is available and not doing your due diligence ahead of time costs everyone.  It will take resources from those pursuing real careers who did their homework and kept their word to repay the loans.  

This same absolving of responsibility is also seen in interns who tells their instructor that they didn’t learn a certain skill in school when asked to perform.  Instead of actually initiating a simple question of how one can prepare for the internship, they simply take cop out of stating, “I didn’t learn that.”  These people want to have their hand held to become skilled and are not able to take their schooling and figure out how to apply it in practice.  That person tries to make it someone else’s problem that they didn’t take the time to learn how to apply the knowledge provided to them.

Even the anti-GMO professor at UH, Dr. Hector Valenzuela, shows the same  behavior of not owning up to his actions and now stating that he’s the victim of harassment.  He proudly joined along with the Babes Against Biotech and shamelessly Marched Against Monsanto in Waikiki.  Neither he or any of the BAB members bother to tell their followers that Natural News or Dr. Mercola was not well vetted information.  They simply stopped posting it when I pointed it out that they tout pseudoscience.  Both Hector and Naomi Carmona never apologized or have ever owned up to all the harassment they incited against farmers like Dean Okimoto or even our state senators for the past few years.  

Avoiding responsibility is clearly seen by the anti-GMO activists who have made hateful statements on the social media against anyone who speaks up against them.  When I would across these uglies, I’d screenshot it and repost it. If they can say it, they should be held responsible for what they say and do.  The funny thing is that when it’s reposted, these people call it slander.  Excuse me but if you post it, own up to it or don’t even even post it.  When it’s pointed out to them, they again try to justify their behavior by saying that the pro-biotech supporters have done the same so it’s okay for them to do it.  I ask them for evidence of this and have yet to have them reply back with anything. (Apparently to the anti-anything crew, it’s a monkey see monkey do world, and it’s just not their fault.)

The worst thing about this right to know movement is that the backers of it are ready and willing to deny the basic needs of food to others.  They feed people with illogical reasons as to why Golden Rice is not needed.  I’ve seen some Hawaii GMO Free members say that vitamins are better or just grow carrots or leafy green to prevent vitamin A deficiency.  If the answer was so simple, why hasn’t it been done yet? These people must not grow things either to realize why this isn’t feasible.  I bet they don’t even have children to know why fortifying rice is the most viable option in these countries.  

With so much information available to us, the right to know movement really amounts to people who really aren’t willing to truly do their homework on what is and isn’t modified.  It’s way easier to be fed the answer in the form of a label than to actually sort through fact or fiction.  This kind of thinking only discourages taking responsibility for one’s own behavior and encourages taking the easy route.  Simply reading something on Google and joining a march fulfills their idea of saving the world.  Your right to know shouldn’t mean imposing on those who are the professionals with the right credentials behind them to choose the best tools available.  That right doesn’t give anyone a free pass at spreading misinformation and posting hateful stuff against farmers and scientists either.  The right to know folks need to get off their butts and actually learn a thing or two from the right sources before they start asking others to bend over backwards for them.  

One hour of yoga isn’t going to save the world, but dedicating your life to learning more about the world and seeking the truth is a much better investment for your own piece of mind and others that are impacted by your actions.  Learning inspires others.  Learning from those in the field is the best way to get an appreciation of the hardest workers.  Demanding your right via protests and petitions only shows the world that a country of abundance is full of selfish individuals who care only for themselves and what they are eating. 

I am not defined by what I eat and nor should you.

  

Live the Words You Speak
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Live the Words You Speak

It’s pretty clear right now that the anti-TMT activists aren’t about coming to the table to find common ground.  They want no part of Mauna Kea being “desecrated” by the telescope.  It is once again a black and white choice with no compromises, which is not surprising at all.

The parallels between the anti-TMT movement and the anti-GMO one are just too eerily similar.  It’s the same kind of tactic where ideology is being used to justify their stances.  The anti-GMO one believes that the multinational corporations are poisoning people and messing with nature. There is no evidence that supports this claim but so many think this.  The anti-TMT stance is that Mauna Kea is being desecrated as it is considered sacred.  Despite many actions like snowboarding and ATV riding occurring  up there that make it really questionable if that really is the case.  Some even feel that protecting the mountain equates to protecting their culture.

If these people are protecting their culture, why are they so hateful and disrespectful of their own people who support the TMT? A high school student, Mailani Neal, started a petition to garner support for the project.  What happened to her was really telling about the true intent of the activists.  

The price Mailani paid to speak out was extremely intimidating and just outright ugly.  Like the anti-GMO movement’s tactics, the activists did the same thing with sending death threats and bullying in an attempt to discourage her from speaking up.  Her own people were behind these attacks.

I can’t help but think that this idea of protecting one’s culture to the point of being mean to a fellow native demonstrates culture gone bad.  If Mauna Kea is the mother, would she allow her children to send death threats of bullying among her children? Would she support the loudest of the bunch of the crowd rip apart her fellow children? No mother would support such actions and stand by it.

There are even kupuna and so many Hawaiian leaders seeking to shut down the project claiming that the protection of their culture justifies that they take away opportunities from their young people.  Some have even encouraged their fellow Hawaiians to reject science.  These people feel that nothing should be built and none can consider the consequences of what would happen if they take things away.  They are ready to deny their own from fulfilling his or her dreams.

When has it become a culturally acceptable thing to say hateful things to the younger generation and dismiss their aspirations? Why are adults try to tell others to reject science when they themselves have all benefitted from it?  Why is it okay to spout misinformation and emotional arguments for the sake of protecting your culture? Would any parent want to see her child acting in that manner.  I doubt it.  These people are using Mauna Kea to act badly and take away opportunities from their own in the name of sacredness.

What is happening here is the same as anti-GMO protesters telling Kamehameha Schools to stop leasing lands to Monsanto.  Much of the leases help fund the school’s educational mission to improve the lives of the Hawaiian people.  I sometimes wonder if all of these protests are intent on denying education to the native Hawaiians.  It appears to be that way.  They must want no one to pursue higher education to gain further opportunities.  The message their action sends is that it’s better to not learn science as it conflicts with their cultural belief system.

Both anti-GMO and the anti-TMT protesters talk about rising up and not joining the sheep.  The thing with breaking away from that behavior of herding is that it may be freeing and exhilarating initially, but in reality, it leaves the rest of the people more vulnerable.  The ones most at risk from the predatory behaviors are those who break away.  They leave the group with their own goals with no real idea of the harsh consequences they may face in nature.  If the radicals encourage others to follow the emotion fueled bandwagon, they impact everyone.  When the adults break away with their children, it leaves everyone in danger to all the predators like poverty, drugs, and homelessness.  When leaders of our state try to appease these people, it only sends the message that this kind of behavior is acceptable and encourages more of it.  What will be left of our society when those who put everyone at risk is put in charge?

A culture is not defined in a mountain, plant, or a word.  A culture is defined by how people act and treat one another and the lessons we teach our children. Do we help our fellow person by attacking them for their opinions? Does our actions reflect on how we want our children to behave? Does our actions inspire our keiki to strive at being the best they can be? Are we setting the best example to others when we refuse to acknowledge the facts and collaborate? Are we preparing the right foundation for the future in the stances we take? Have we did our part to improve our well-being as well as others?

Culture is a living and breathing being. It’s not the ahus (altars) built or the taro grown or a mountain for that matter.  It’s how we live, the examples we set, and the goals we strive for. It’s advancing our knowledge and leaving a real legacy for our children to follow and continue with each generation.  It goes far beyond the sensationalism of selfies at protests and TV appearances.

Live the culture you speak of in word and action.  That will live on forever in your children and their children.  We can care for the land and do what is righteous but if the action taken seeks to destroy communities and divide families, we can never effectively function as an ohana.  Hawaii’s culture is one of lokahi, where seek bonds to work together for a greater good.  That to me is what a culture should strive for.  

The ahu was built by many hands workng together. It’s a symbol that the entire community must focus upon. Each rock has a different history in its origin, shape, and size. They all sit upon each other to build a greater structure. That is the epitomy of what our communities in Hawaii can become if we embody the symbolism of these monuments.

Conspiracies and Paranoia: Hector Valenzuela Plays the Victim
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Conspiracies and Paranoia: Hector Valenzuela Plays the Victim

  
The latest article circulating around the social media is portraying Dr. Hector Valenzuela as a victim getting allegedly “silenced.” All I can say is seriously?

I remember a few years back, his office door was plastered in Babes Against Biotech posters in the St. John’s Plant Pathology building.  It caught my eye as I walked to the women’s bathroom.  I made a comment about this directly to him on a Civil Beat article and when I went back, the posters were gone.  I wish I had taken a photo of it!

Well, Dr. Valenzuela can act the victim role all he wants but his actions clearly shows his leaning with the conspiracy theorists.  His door isn’t as bad, but it still bears witness to his tendencies.

   
 

When someone thinks that biotech is only Monsanto and hangs around people like Naomi Carmona of the Babes Against Biotech, you have damaged your own credibility.  The “silencing” he must feel is that of his own making because of the associations he’s chosen.  Point fingers at everyone else but don’t forget that there’s three fingers pointing right back at you Dr. Valenzuela.

 

Naomi Carmona is a GMO expert who loved posting her Natural News and Dr. Mercola links. She’s an expert in pseudoscience.


 

I’m starting to think that eating organic is correlated to conspiracy thinking and some degree of paranoia.  It makes me question the whole food and eat ‘clean and natural’ diets make people lose their logic and rational thinking.  Once you’ve lost that ability, it’s easy to start hanging with the cranks like the Babes Against Biotech.

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End the Bleeding of Aloha By Hobby Activism

 
This editorial was in today’s Star Advertiser calling for civility in the TMT debate.  It’s ironic that the editorial board took time to report on the hateful comment made by an anti-TMT supporter.  I have to wonder why this was never called out with the GMO debacle.

The agricultural community was the target of a lot of hate because of a heavy handed mainland funded organizations.  It was a regular occurrence on the social media to get spiteful and disrespectful rants.  Even politicians were getting targeted by these people.  Did we ever see a news story calling this out? Nope, nothing except for a Civil Beat story on the Babes Against Biotech’s Jessica Mitchell telling Senator Nishihara to go back to Japan. 

The main newspaper never reported anything about what was happening in our communities with the whole anti-GMO war was unfolding on Kauai, the Big Island, and Maui.  Things were really ugly and uncivil and yet no one acknowledged it.

There was no mention of any pro-ag people getting harassed at neighborhood board meetings or the graffiti on the highways.  The Maui paper posted photos online of the graffiti in Lahaina but that was it.  No one talked about the rude anti-GMO activists yelling about Mayor Carvalho’s decision to veto the bad Bill 2491. No one talked about pro-science candidates getting their signs cut up and vandalized.  No one mentioned anything about the activists putting out wanted posters of Dr. Paul Brewbaker, the man who brought the seed industry to Hawaii and fill the loss of sugar cane and pineapple.

I wrote a post that documented the actions of the no aloha crowd over the last several years.  I collected lots of evidence of what these activists have done throughout our state and its a big black eye upon our state.  This behavior went on for over 2 years unchecked and not called out.  The media chose to ignore any of this and actually sustained this bleeding of aloha by their inaction.

It is late in the game for media outlets and long time Hawaii bloggers to call this kind of stuff out.  We let it go unchecked for too long and now it’s clear that history is repeating itself once again.  Do we want the world to see that Hawaii is resistant to change and full of hateful, threatening people who can pull the plug on investments and innovation at any moment? Do we want a Hawaii where laws can be ignored on the basis of mythology? When our leaders take a stand for something and then turn around and back off of their decision, what does that say about their integrity?

Hawaii and its leadership needs to learn from the whole anti-GMO tidal wave of hobby activism that we can’t let history repeat itself.  Speak the truth and expose the real picture about these activists and their no aloha ways.  These folks have no idea about the consequences of what they are asking for as evidenced by the actions and words they choose.  It’s time to restore the aloha in Hawaii or we risk losing it forever at this rate.

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Mom, Does GMO Corn Make Holes In Rats’ Stomachs?

Just a few days ago, my 9 year old daughter came home from school and asked me, ” Mom, does GMO corn make holes in rats’ stomachs?” I have to say that I was literally floored.  I asked her where she heard that.  She said that she has a GMO debate in her 4th grade class and she read it in her book.

I asked her to bring the book home since I wanted to read it for myself. She brought it as requested and I was just shocked with what was presented.  The textbook was a literature anthology that supposedly presented a controversy. 

Here’s the whole text of what was being presented.

 

 

  

  

 

This chapter presented both a farmer’s perspective as well as a consumer’s perspective.  The issue I had with the consumer’s view was that it is chockful of misinformation about this technology.  It’s being presented to 9 year olds as “facts” and it likely goes home to parents who don’t know much about GMOs either.  This audience isn’t likely going to know how to research what is being stated as fact.  I’m extremely disappointed with the Department of Education in selecting this book.

If you take a closer look at the photo on the page, it’s clear to see the source of this misinformation.  It’s wealthy paid activists touting this to schoolchildren.   

 

I’m not a happy parent knowing that these are the things being introduced to my child.  It scares them and uses false information to make them believe.  It also shows me how easy it is to manipulate young minds with scare stories and how quick these kids pick up on it.  My daughter was really scared when she heard this.  Who wouldn’t be if you don’t quite understand the controversy?

All I can say is that if our educational system plans on using these types of textbooks, it’s no wonder less kids want to consider science and technology fields when science is presented in a black and white context.  I hope that education opens minds and provides possibilities that will continually strive to make our world better.  Promoting fear and misinformation does nothing to inspire a child to think outside the box when looking at the world.  

My hope is that my child sees the wonderment of science and technology and learns to not to fear what she hears.  I’m glad that she took initiative to ask me about what she read.  It gives me the perfect lesson on how to think critically about things.  It’s a lesson I hope she continues to use throughout her life.