May 8, 2014 by hawaiifarmersdaughter

From the Spam Musubi Box: Ramblings of a Pat Soap Lady

Apparently, anti-GMO folks have decided to check out my blog because they read my post in Mana Magazine on, “Honor and Respect Our Farmers the Local Way.” Pat came to my blog via the printed page and landed on this post. Here’s what she wrote:

Note that Pat also works for Molokai Soaps, which is an interesting site to visit. She apparently makes soaps that contain a chemical in it, known as 1,3,7 trimethyl xanthine. While she accuses papaya farmers of using “toxic pesticides,” little does she realize that this chemical is actually more toxic than some of the things papaya farmers use. I also wonder about that chemical called sodium hydroxide that’s used to make soaps and it’s toxicity.

As with many anti-GMO activists, the topic of toxicity is always on their minds yet most of them fail understand it. Here’s a great blog post that talks about it in simple terms. Many of these activists collected their information from naturalistic, green, holy nature, yoga brahman, and TV doctor websites that tell them GMOs are poisonous and so on. (Most don’t even know how Google works and why those kind of sites keep popping up either. The message is repeated over and over that they figure it’s the truth and just don’t research what they read.)

Let’s compare these chemicals below based on oral ingestion in rats:

Sodium hydroxide is 100 mg/kg
1,3,7 trimethyl xanthine is 192 mg/kg
glyphosate aka RoundUp is 5600 mg/kg

The lower the number means that it takes less of the substance to kill half a population of rats, which means the two things. For one, the chemicals she uses in her soaps are WAY more toxic than glyphosate and two, she exposes herself it to daily. And if you’re wondering what two substances Pat puts in her soaps, it’s caffeine and lye. Why is she not afraid of that?

My message to Pat, and others who keep harping on toxic pesticides and cancer, is that the more you know, the less you have to fear. If you’re scared, find out why you are afraid to begin with.

Well, at least she acknowledges that the body can’t tell the difference with papayas and that I sound educated. I’ll take that as a compliment.

**For the record too, I did indeed write that post and all of my posts unless noted. I can’t find it anywhere on there that I wrote an “add” for Monsanto however. **

April 29, 2014 by hawaiifarmersdaughter

Does your Body Know GMO Papayas Ms. Amato?

Several months ago, I received a message from a Terez Amato in my Facebook message box.

I’m not sure what she is referring to by “Thalidomide babies” and “flipper kids” and epidemiology. Quite a bizarre email indeed because I don’t know what Thalidomide has to do with papayas. Maybe she read it on some Natural News website and got that idea.

When I read this, I got the impressions that she was kind of bragging that she buys non-GMO certified organic papayas. I suspect that she must not know that most of the non-GMO stuff is already virus infected. Nature actually GMO’d these fruits already. Little does she know that she is actually eating more virus particles in her fruit than she would in a transgenic GMO one. Of course, your body can’t tell the difference either way. Only an anti-GMO activist would be freaked out to know this. Our stomach’s hydrochloric acid and enzymes would destroy those DNA molecules up like nothing and we wouldn’t know the difference.

I did write her back to ask her about her expertise on this issue and she didn’t reply to me. It would be interesting to learn where she read about this because I can’t seem to find how the two issues are related.

It’s also interesting to note that she is running as a Senator for the Hawaii Legislature. Good to know where she stands on the issues.

April 16, 2014 by hawaiifarmersdaughter

Chemophobia of the Oblivious Anti-GMO Activists

I can’t tell you how many times I have been told, “If it’s not grown organically, then it’s poisoning the a’ina (land in Hawaiian).” The GMO Free activists keep making this statement over and over and people start to believe it. It is repeated over and over until it becomes a pseudo-truth that they all regurgitate at their social rallies.

From Big Island County Council Member Margaret Wille to Kauai County Council Member Gary Hooser and even Senator Josh Green, this is now stuck in the minds of the activists and seeping into the minds the general public. These “leaders” have people thinking that chemicals are bad and we have to avoid them at all costs. The activists then shout out, “I don’t want any chemicals on my food.”

I’m sorry to disappoint but everything in this world is made up of chemicals including us! It really bothers me that people are saying these kinds of things, not even realizing that this shows a clear lack of understanding of science. I sometimes wonder if the movement is not so much about being anti-science, but non-science. That really is a better descriptor of these folks when they make comments that show their chemophobia.

What a lot of the GMO free folks really demonstrate with these statements is that they really don’t understand the concepts about chemicals and toxicity. They automatically assume that if the chemical is derived naturally that it is safer and that is not the case. They also think that anything used on a biotech or conventional farm is very toxic just because it is called a pesticide. Little do they realize that just paying attention to what’s in our own homes, we have a lot of toxic things in our living quarters that work just like pesticides. It’s time to educate people a bit on this issue.

Toxic Talk

Before we go on, let’s talk about toxicity for a bit here. Here is the definition of it on Wikipedia:

What is important to note with the concept of this is that there is a degree to which something can be harmed by the substance. Certain substances like water and salt is vital to life but when taken in at high doses, it can prove deadly to organisms. This applies to nearly every substance that we might ingest or be exposed to. Like the ancient scientist Paracelsus noted, “The dose is what makes the poison.”

Ah, the dose that makes the poison is the key concept here. Toxicity is also measured in something called lethal dose (LD) and is usually expressed in a measure called the median lethal dose or LD50. LD50 refers to the amount of a substance it would take to kill 50% of the population of say rats or mice per milligram of substance to kilogram of body weight. It is an indication of the lethality of a substance. In general, the smaller the amount, the higher the lethality of the substance.

I decided to take yet another walk around my house to find “poisons.” I bet if many of the GMO free folks did the same walk, we’d all find the same things too.

My Kitchen of Death

I started in my kitchen to see if I had poisons lurking there. Sure enough, I found quite a bit of things that if taken in the right doses could be toxic to me. Take a look at what I found.

Right above my stove and purposefully added to food is a nice hefty, but toxic container of table salt or sodium chloride. A GMO free activist would never believe it but this is much more toxic than RoundUp any day. Table salt has a LD50 of 3000mg/kg vs. RoundUp at 5600mg/kg.

Eating small amounts of it makes food tastes great but too much isn’t good for us as we all know.

I’ve seen so many natural fallacy sites and lots of GMO Free sites touting baking soda as the chemical free way to clean. Please, baking soda is a chemical called sodium bicarbonate in technical terms. Its LD50 is 4200 mg/kg and is much more toxic than RoundUp also. If a small child were to consume just a few tablespoons of this, it would be extremely toxic and it’s stated right on the box.

Dishwashing soap is also considered a pesticide. When you go to the gardening stores, you can buy diluted dishwashing soap that’s sold as soap spray pesticides for the same price as a large bottle of it. Save money by making your own pesticides right from your own kitchen.

Some people have tried using the homemade recipe for weedkiller that uses dish soap along with some salt that is effective. That is likely much more toxic that the RoundUp you find premixed in the stores. That’s why it makes a great weed killer of all weeds!

I do hate bugs and will admit to using pesticides. This stuff works great to keeping the bugs out of my kitchen and foodstuffs. Who likes having roach infested cupboards? I’m sure many other GMO free folks have a can or two of bug spray available for the same reason. We live in Hawaii where cockroaches are the size of B52’s and we don’t believe in coexistence with them!

Now why would I put coffee here? Coffee contains a pesticide! Yes, indeed, caffeine does kill! How many millions of people consume coffee yet are fine?! Caffeine’s LD50 is at 192 mg/kg. Yes, it is much more toxic that RoundUp is! The GMO free folks drink this organically but fear pesticides! The irony of it all!

Chocolate chips indeed have some chemicals in it that is toxic, yet we consume it with no fear at all. The chemicals found in it are theobromine and caffeine. We all know that keep the dog out of chocolate or they will get sick and it is all thanks to this chemical. Theobromine has a LD50 of 1265 mg/kg and yes, it is more toxic than RoundUp! The amount of theobromine in chocolate chips is quite small so you’d have to consume a lot of it for it to be toxic.

Believe it or not but that hot sauce you douse your food in contains something toxic. That chemical is called capsaicin. It is naturally occurring and found in hot sauce, to kim chee, to even that muscle rub. Some people love eating this pesticide! It has a LD50 of 148.1 mg/kg to 161.2 mg/kg in rats, making this much more toxic than RoundUp.

Iron is an essential nutrient to our functioning but in too high of a dose is very toxic. It’s LD50 is 250 mg/kg in mice and 300 to 1100 mg/kg in rats making it much more toxic than table salt or RoundUp any day. Anyone can buy this in the store too!

The very things we give our children to make them well can also be toxic. I found a bottle of acetaminophen in my kitchen cabinet. The LD50 for this pain reliever is at 700 mg/kg for rats which shows that it is more toxic than the GMO free folks’ RoundUp.

I’m sure many parents have a bottle of this in their medicine chest. Ibuprofen has a LD50 at 800 mg/kg in rats making it also more toxic than RoundUp. I personally like using this to really help my kids feel better and know that it works but is also toxic at high doses. I’m sure other GMO free parents do the same and have no second thought about it when it comes to sick kids.

Some folks take these tablets daily not realizing that it is more toxic than that dreaded weedkiller. Aspirin, also known as salicylic acid, has a LD50 of 1360 mg/kg making it less toxic than iron and all the above pain killers listed.

Bathroom of Poison

There are a lot of potentially poisonous things found in my bathroom but oh, so necessary for cleaning or health purposes. Remember, that if used in the right amounts will make things toxic to us. Using these chemicals sparingly as needed actually does wonders for our home and bodies when needed.

The Garage of Gloom

I hate bugs in my house. I admit that I hate letting nature take its course in my living quarters. In Hawaii, the bugs will take over as it is their tropical paradise also. I have those horrible pesticides to stop letting nature take it’s course over my home. Am I afraid of these pesticides? Nope. Kills bugs so I love them.

When it comes to cleaning up after dirty kids, dogs, and an old person, I’ll be honest that going chemical free as the antis love to harp on, doesn’t cut it for me. Wiping down a toilet with vinegar and baking soda just does not do the job at all. It takes some good germ killers that if taken in too high of a dose, this stuff is toxic. I bet a lot of anti-GMO activists who marched had homes that had these chemicals in it! All bought at Longs CVS on sale!

I garden as a hobby for fun and yes, I use chemicals on my plants. These indeed are toxins when taken in too high of a dose but so necessary for my plants to grow happily. I give my gardenias a nice spraying of Volck’s Oil every few months to kept the sooty mildew that those pesky scales create. If I don’t spray it, I get no flowers. I also use snail and slug killer in my lettuce and greens boxes so that I have less worry about rat lungworm disease that is very dangerous for humans.

I am sure that other anti-GMO activists who have pets must have pesticides like these in their homes. With the warm weather all year long, the fleas and ticks love our beloved pets. I don’t believe in coexistence with these blood suckers so I kill them and keep them out of my home.

Dear golly goodness, I even feed pesticides to my pooches too. What an awful owner to be feeding poisons to my dogs! Well, I hate fleas and critters so the pooches have to eat these pesticide pills.

I love keeping my car shiny and sparkly and have yet to find chemical free things to do this. For now, I use my favorite resin glaze and Rain-X headlight polish to keep my car in tip top shape. I apply this directly to the car and my skin comes in contact with this stuff. Oh, the exposure to toxins! Hmm. Toxins or rust? I pick toxins to keep my car nice. I bet a lot of of antis do the same thing since I’ve seen them with some nice GMO fueled cars and trucks!

I like my clothes fresh and clean and a bit of bleach helps to accomplish this. It’s toxic in the right dose. It is also known as sodium and calcium hypochlorite. Its LD50 is 192 mg/kg making it very toxic indeed. Let’s not forget that that this is also used in food preparation, and even though it is synthetic, it is approved for use on organic food processing. We even drink it and even swim in it! It kills the germs that can make people sick which is why we use it.

To sum it up, take a look at Doc Cami Ryan’s table on toxicity.

Still Chemophobic?

Should you now be even more afraid of chemicals after finding out all of this? No. We rely on these chemicals for sanitation, food preparation, bug control, and other helpful reasons. Remembering that something is a toxin at the right does is what makes it important to remember. The more you know, the less you have to fear. If someone is making you fearful, cross check them and you will find a different story.

It’s kind of like how County Council Members like Gary Hooser and Earthjustice attorney Paul Achitoff will go to rallies and tell people that GMOs are poisoning them and it’s being shoved down peoples’ throats. Shortly after that, they sit together and have a GMO meal at a GMO restaurant. Get off the fear mongering bandwagon and question what’s being said and actually listen to the answer.

April 8, 2014 by hawaiifarmersdaughter

End the GMO Paranoia: Knowledge is the Key to Fighting Fear

Having worked in mental health for several years, it is really disturbing to me to see so many Hawaii folks wrapped up on the fear brigade against biotechnology. I’ve seen so many people tormented by paranoia that their perceived. Based on the kind of signs and posts people are putting the social media, it is pretty clear that: 1) They feel that they are being poisoned, 2) They don’t know what is legitimate sources of information or how to research it, and 3) Being told the same message over and over again makes them believe things without question. One of the biggest problems that I see in the whole issues around GMOs here in Hawaii is that the issue has been made very complex. Joan Conrow chronicles this tale of a campaign of manipulation and misinformation by her post, “Feasting on Fear.”

The entire GMO issue has really become a huge tangled mess of information that an average person can’t figure out where to start to research some of the frequently repeated claims being made by the activists. To help those not well versed in the Hawaii GMO issue, I’ll list out some of the frequently stated claims that the anti-GMO activists keep making and refute it with some sources that don’t invoke fear but impart knowledge.

“I have a right to know what I’m eating”

This battle cry that people had a right to know was started back in 2012 with Representative Jessica Wooley’s push for a label of genetically modified foods. She even brought some very well known organic lobbyers to Hawaii like Andrew Kimbrell of the seemingly innocuous Center for Food Safety. Hawaii SEED also brought in Vandana Shiva to spread their propaganda about his so called right to know. Many involved in the push for this “right” really were saying something else of what their true intent was. It really is a means of a ban. The truth of the matter is that the FDA did not pursue labeling because if the product was not shown to be different than conventional, there was no need for such a label. This is also stated in the AMA guidelines for GE foods. There is voluntary labeling guidelines available.

No Labeling Needed When Consumers Know the Whole Truth

“If it is so good for you, why don’t they just label it?”

This is a frequent comment made by many anti-GMO activists. The basis of why many farmers are hesitant to label their for, even though there is no compositional differences than conventional, is the fear that has been created by the opposing industry.

Here’s some great sources on why people are fighting the labeling. The heavy laden fear tactics being carried out the anti-GMO groups like the Organic Consumers’ Association and the EarthJustice have created a huge stigma against something that has no compositional difference. Simple curiosity of wanting to know something also does not necessitate the need for a label under the FDA.

Jimmy Botella’s “Waiter, There’s a Gene in My Soup!” Video

Why Labeling GMOs is Bad for People and the Environment

California’s Anti-GMO Hysteria

The GMO Labeling Debate

GMO Opponents Use Fear and Deception to Advance their Cause

“GMOs means pesticides”

When the anti-GMO club starts stating this, it only shows me that leaders like Gary Hooser and others really have no clue as to what they are talking about. The very term, genetically modified organism does not automatically mean a pesticide. It really is a technology. The genetic engineering of insulin to treat diabetes is completely different to that of the GE of papaya as is also applies to the corn. To group the entire technology under a big black dark umbrella of evil is completely misguided and a part of the disinformation campaigns of the fear mongers. Just because Gary said it 100x doesn’t make it true.

How GMOs are Created

Use and Impact of Bt Maize

How Bt Works

The Promise of GMOs

GMOs Would Feed the World With Fewer Pesticides

Why I’m Going to Hawaii to Defend Maize Winter Nurseries

“GMOs Have to be 100% safe!”

This frequently thrown out phrase is invoking the precautionary principle that translates into, “Do do anything until it is 100% proven safe.” It is also know as the paralyzing principle. Nothing is ever 100% safe, ever. Learn more about why this principle doesn’t make any sense to apply it in nearly any sense.

Impact of the Precautionary Principle on Feeding Current and Future Generations

By Removing A Risk, Are we Limiting Finding Solutions to the Problem?

“We Don’t Need any Chemicals on Our Food!”

When people start resorting to this commentary, it really shows how far the understanding of food production we really are as well as a basic understanding of science. We are all made up of chemicals! Everything we eat are chemicals! Not all chemicals is bad either. Chemicals join together to form substances.

People have been told that chemicals are being applied to our food. Yes it is. On both organic food and conventional. The growing of food includes reducing pests like weeds and bugs, hence the need for its applications. The pests stress the plants and can cause or make the plant prone to a host of diseases or increase naturally produced toxins that are harmful, like mycotoxins. The less stress on a plant also helps to increase the yields and quality of the produce. These inputs are necessary to get the end product, which is what we eat.

We Need Good Science, Not Chemophobia

The Dose that Makes the Poison

Naturally Occurring Toxins in Foods

Mythbusing 101: Organic Farming > Conventional Farming

“There are real dangers caused by GMOs!

Many of the believers of the anti-GMO movement likely got their sources of information from movies like Seeds of Deception, Genetic Roulette, OMG GMO, and so on. These are movies folks, not a documentary and they don’t provide any resources to back their claims up. Movies are also created to stir emotions and don’t necessarily reflect any facts because that is what it’s intent is. If you are scared after watching it, you’ve taken it hook, line, and sinker. The claims made in these movies are outrageous but some people, actually the Millions Against Monsanto haven’t figured out how to take a skeptical look at it.

Can your Rose Catch Your Cold? The Threat of a Killer Viral Plant Gene is the Latest Anti-GMO Rant

Press Digs into the Anti-GMO Study

GMOs Causes Leukemia! Think Again

FSANZ Response to Study Linking Cry1Ab Protein in Blood to GM Foods

Condemning Monsanto with Bad Science is Dumb

Was the Seralini GMO Study Designed to Generate Negative Press?

More Junk Science is the Carman Pig Study: Seralini 2.0

Fake Anti-GMO Study Stokes Alarm

Letter to the Editor Re: Seralini Study

GMO Opponents are Skewing the Science to Scare People

RoundUp in the Air: What the Report Really Says

“Monsanto Has Bought the Government!”

As soon as someone utters, “Monsanto.” You know these folks have not done their due diligence in researching out the truth of the matter. These are the same people that believe in the big pharma conspiracy and chemtrails. Monsanto has become the straw man of sorts for them and the big bogey man of evil. It’s really quite sad that they keep dropping the M bomb not realizing they’ve automatically invalidated their whole stance against GMOs. Even Senator Brian Schatz and Representative Tulsi Gabbard joined in on this.

Exposing the Anti-GMO Legal Machine: The Real Story behind the So Called Monsanto Protection Act

Argumentum ad Monsantium

I Love Monsanto *note on language*

“Anyone Who Supports GMOs are paid!”

When the anti-GMO club has no other arguments left, they will cry this out. (By the way, I received NO money in any form or fashion to blog any of this, even though it would be nice. I am just losing patience for the crazy things being said by lots of people and it’s time to lead them to real information.) When anyone does the cry’er o shill bit, it simply means they have no facts, evidence, or anything else to support their stance.

Shill Gambit-RationalWiki

Why Calling Someone A Shill Betrays the Weakness of Your Position and Your Inability to Defend it

Logical Fallacies-The Shill Gambit

“Stop messing with nature!”

Let’s face it, farming is not natural. Nature isn’t feeding us and humans have been tinkering with nature for since 10,000 B.C. It shouldn’t be surprising, but it is, that we have advanced so far with the growing of food. Wikipedia has a great source of the history of agriculture that you can read through.

We’ve also had great advances in agriculture also in the last century that has revolutionized the world. One key person that few people know of is Norman Borlaug. He is the father of the Green Revolution that changed how we grow things more efficiently. No longer do the majority of people have to grow food, but it has made farmers look towards more efficient ways of farming to minimize their environmental impact. This is why farmers keep stating the phrase, “Feed the world!” The 1 to 2% of the population is feeding the majority because of technological innovations.

When technology advances far faster than the average person can follow, we have a huge population who have little to no clue as to what has been happening. In an attempt to bring those who want to learn up to speed, here are some of my favorite resources about understanding evidence based science and genetics.

The Scientific Method by Science Made Simple

Are GMOs Safe? Independent Science Organizations Weigh In

Massive Review Reveals Consensus on GMO Safety

What is DNA?

What is a Gene?

Norman Borlaug: A Lifetime of Fighting Hunger

Greatest Man to Ever Live: Norman Borlaug *note on language*

As you can see, the issues surrounding GMOs has really become a mangled mess of misinformation by people like the Babes Against Biotech and now the SHAKA Movement in Maui. There’s a lot to learn about what’s being said and confusion as to know what the truth is. If you notice carefully, I do not put sites like Sustainable Pulse, a Babes Against Biotech favorite propaganda site with cherry picked information, or Natural News. Nor do I use Real Farmacy, Dr. Mercola, Green Med Info, Natural Cures Not Medicine, and so on, as they all use cherry picked info to get you to believe in the fear around this technology. Even science sounding sites like Earth Open Source and the Union of Concerned Scientists are another bunch of fear mongers out to scare you.

If you got your information from a meme on Facebook, don’t just believe it. Research it but do it right. Google works wonders if you know how to use it. If you’re wondering about something being posted, add the word “debunk” to it and you will see a different picture. The first clue to know you’re being taken for a ride is to ask yourself if what you read scares you. If so, do your homework and research it out more and avoid the sites listed above. End the fear and paranoia with real knowledge by doing your homework!

If you still are afraid of GMOs after reading this, ask yourself if you’re afraid to eat a banana. That indeed is a modified organism and have you turned into a banana today?

April 1, 2014 by hawaiifarmersdaughter

PBS Insights Contributes to the Farming Attacks

It’s amazing to me how PBS Insights has been supposedly leading the discussions about agriculture here in Hawaii. When I’ve seen the past several episodes is extremely disappointing and actually infuriating to me. From having an episode with Hector Valenzuela (aka Babes Against Biotech F*ck Monsanto sign holder) with social sciences candidate Andrea Brower and a magazine with Vandana Shiva on it, I am befuddled with where this station is leaning. To add more insult is putting on Gary Hooser and his “18 tons” propaganda is totally disappointing.

These people are not farmers or the voice of farmers in Hawaii and why are they leading the charge to grow ag? I somehow feel that it’s a ratings issue that they are trying to seek out. Not only is that but there is also an unintended, or possibly intentional action, to continue to fuel the attacks against farmers.

The latest broadcast of PBS Insights included Mana Ai’s Daniel Anthony, Kanu Hawaii’s Kaleo Ten, DOH Peter Oshiro, and Center for Food Safety’s Kasha Ho. (I can’t forget that Daniel Anthony posted a comment on a public forum telling Farmers for Choice to drink Roundup and that he’d bring the cup.) Kanu Hawaii is a group that touts itself as “empowering people to build more environmentally sustainable, compassionate, and resilient communities rooted in personal commitments to change.” Then finally the fact that Center for Food Safety is added on here, that already tells me that this is going to be full of misinformation from that activist group.

Watch the video here…

As I watched this, I had to shake my head.

Kasha Ho: “There is not enough land for people to farm on because of the agribusiness companies growing GMOs for export.” Of course she put NO facts out there which is typical of this group. The reality is that there is 7% of agriculture land used by the seed companies and not all of it is GMOs. Some of those lands are subleased to smaller farmers in ag parks to grow food.

Kasha Ho: “It’s about the right to know!” No, it’s not about the right to know as stated by your boss. Andrew Kimbrell, Center for Food Safety Executive Director stated, “We are going to force them to label this food, then we can organize people to not buy it.” http://bit.ly/1mIEOXN

Kaleo Ten: “Growing your own food is as easy as squeezing tomato seeds on some dirt.” Um no, that isn’t always the case. If it were true, more people would be growing their own and we’re not.

Kaleo Ten: “Eat local and then go organic.” Organic isn’t any healthier than conventional and that is where the evidence leads. That’s why the organic industry has to hit it hard with the fear mongering.

Host Mahealani Richardson: “Is wax safe to eat?” Um, yes, several fruits actually produce its own wax. Food grade wax has been approved and helps with keeping the food fresh in shipping here. Learn more about it from Best Food Facts.

It’s amazing to me that a publicly funded TV station is putting on activists groups like the Center for Food Safety. They show science shows like NOVA and others that show what’s happening with technology and then feature the biggest anti-science folks on there.

Kasha Ho kept harping on get to know your farmer and so on. How much do we really have to know? Her comments made me think of this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8SjkDq2ZwI

Many of these guests kept harping on eat local grown and that’s going to help grow the local food supply here. You’ve missed a huge part. Where’s the farmer in this picture here? How are we supporting our farmers keep doing what they do to grow local food?

It’s a crying shame to have this and saddening to me.

March 8, 2014 by hawaiifarmersdaughter

The Irony of the Anti-GMO Class of Legislators

There is a certain class of lawmakers in our state who have decided to take our state back into the good old days. I’ve seen some pretty interesting laws that are floating around the chambers lately. There’s a law regarding legalizing herd sharing of raw milk, legalizing the cottage food industry, and regulating midwives. Our own Ag chair won’t even hear a farm bill because she perceives it as solely supporting biotechnology. There’s also some movement towards growing your own food also. Wow, we’ve moved so far forward that we are now wanting the wheels to spin backwards.

Why are we suddenly clamoring for the past? Was the past really that great that we have to turn back the hands of time to return there? I find that very hard to believe that the past was that great.

The irony of these lawmakers is that it is clear that they enjoy the use of technology all over the place. They are on Twitter quite often tweeting their accomplishments and news. They use digital photography to share their adventures and create blogs and websites to connect with their followers. They also take advantage of email and other social media venues to communicate with their constituents. They use global corporate made devices freely with no thought of supporting and evil entity. These lawmakers clearly enjoy and incorporate this technology made by a corporation in their daily lives and so do their followers.

What I have a hard time understanding is that despite their acceptance and reliance on technology, they want to restrict technology to farmers who grow food and ag products. They will claim that they do not want a global monopoly on food but support that global monopoly on technology for communication. They don’t want a newer technology that puts pesticides in the the plants and has been shown to reduce the amount of pesticides being sprayed in the air. They are worried about the safety of GE foods but then want to encourage others to drink raw milk that has been proven dangerous. These people will buy the latest and greatest tech product developed through research, with no human test done on the effects of it, but reject something that may have taken 10 years of testing to be approved. There are even lawmakers wanting to redefine ag as the growing of food but then listen to activists who want to grow non-food crops like marijuana and hemp instead.

Are the lawmakers really listening to their constituents with the direction that they are heading? Are we as a state using our resources wisely to make it better for all? Or is it just easier to make the activists happy so that you avoid being the target for considering the silent majority’s take on the issues?

February 19, 2014 by hawaiifarmersdaughter

How Hawaii Will Achieve Food Sustainability: Jail a Farmer!

Breaking News on GMOs: It made front page news today of the Star Advertiser that people want to have their genetically modified labeled. Well, a majority of some 642 people apparently do. So how are legislators attempting to satisfy what 487 people want?

They are going to do GE food labeling at the STATE level by the Department of Health! (Of course the anti-GMO crowd will say that 62 countries label their GMOs! So we should too! When did Hawaii become a country?!)

Of course we can’t quite figure out why this law is needed in the first place, other than people like Nomi Carmona, who believes that lilikois grow on trees and that there are GMO melons in Kunia. She apparently has an inherent “right to know.” She and others can’t figure out that foods without the organic label isn’t GMO and it’s a travesty. The others clamoring for this right to know also think that snowballs don’t melt because of chemtrails, since they apparently skipped out on science class to learn about something called sublimation.

And if you read SB2521 carefully, it is all spelled out there on how they are going to enforce such a law. No one has yet to die of GMOs, but when and if it happens, our politicians will be there to save us from it with this label. Just in case it doesn’t kills us, they were trying to make raw milk more available to help address that issue.

If one does not comply with this law after January 1, 2015, the penalties are as follows:

Yes, if that locally grown biotech food and other products aren’t labeled, you can get fined, jailed, and sued. Since the anti-GMO people can’t get it banned, the alternative is to jail the farmers and others who feed us.

Earthjustice and Center for Food Safety is also ready to work for some dough to sue food producers and farmers if this benign food is not labeled. These two groups apparently had too many GMOs shoved down their throats laced with swigs of RoundUp unwittingly from being on Kauai several months ago, which caused them to develop a severe case of dementia as a result. That’s why they never went back to defend the county as promised. But hey, they had their colons cleansed back on the mainland with their organic food and are ready to jump back into the muck of Hawaii politics for the rubbah slippah folks!

Hawaii politicians who put their name to this kind of bill should be highly commended for their skillfulness to craft laws that really look towards the future. The way to achieving affordable, local, and sustainable food supply is really simple. Jail and fine those farmers for growing food for us. That’s how our leaders do their best to support agriculture here.

It’s a really proud day in Hawaii when the politicians show their thanks to the farmers! Welcome to your cold cell Mr. Farmer!

**If you agree with this way of achieving their goal, please thank them by sending this quick email . The farmers really look forward to spending time in jail over a label.**

February 17, 2014 by hawaiifarmersdaughter

Why State Legislators Shouldn’t be Proud of Home Rule

I’ve noticed that several legislators have been celebrating the “home rule” issue when the Right the Farm act was being discussed. Home rule essentially means that counties can enact whatever laws that they feel necessary at their level. Many emails, tweets, and Facebook posts were posted by these leaders who decided to release their rightful reign on this issues to rogue counties like the Big Island and Kauai.

I’m not sure why these legislators are so proud of letting counties have more power in dictating farm laws when the reality is, the state has the necessary resources to enforce and enact such laws. As I see it, these lawmakers have decided to not beef up their resources in their bills to address such issues, and failed to take care of the perceived problem, if any.

The message I get from this kind of celebration is, “I have clearly failed my constituents to take care of their concerns at my level, so I will burden the counties with such issues.” The people asking for county laws claim that they have been failed by the state so that is why they are seeking county rule. Why are state legislators celebrating their supposed miserable failure to take care of this issue? If these people feel there was real harm done by the negligence of the state, why didn’t they take the state to court and sue them?

While these lawmakers keep pushing the home rule issue, they are also talking on the other side of coin about food sustainability for Hawaii and keeping the country country. A certain handful of lawmakers have grandiose ideas of everyone in Hawaii having their own sustainable gardens to feed themselves. Of course, these will only feed themselves and not others. Certain lawmakers side with the keep the country country folks but don’t even take the time to hear the farmers out.

The reality is that this kind of idea is shortsighted and poorly thought out. This will lead to many unintended consequences. With counties having to create their own regulating bodies to enforced these rogue laws, the money has to come from their residents. Residents will have to pay for all of this with increased taxes and fees. With the high cost of living already an issue, who has the time and money to start up their own gardens to feed just themselves? Financially, working a 9-5 job allows one to afford much more food than tending to a garden and more reliable for our food supply. How are the other residents like the seniors and disabled going to bear the burden of higher costs of living? Is this really the right way to do things for everyone?

I guess in Hawaii, we celebrate our failure to constituents by letting others make bad laws that ultimately costs everyone along the line. It’s easy to talk about what is pono but apparently no one has really figured out how to walk the talk.

February 16, 2014 by hawaiifarmersdaughter

The GMO Label Will Do Nothing to the Right to Know Movement

Once again, Hawaii legislators have decided to take up the GMO labeling laws again. Here’s some of the activists’ reasoning why they are demanding such a law.

-It’s poison.

-We’re lab rats.

-It causes every single disease on earth.

-GMOs=pesticides.

-There are no safety studies that they like.

-We are crossing and changing genes and creating frankenfood.

-Monsanto is responsible for the chemtrails and are poisoning us.

-I need to know what I’m putting in my body, even though I should know organic is GMO free, well for the most part.

-We can’t trust the FDA, EPA, USDA, and other governmental agencies as it is all a conspiracy.

-I have the right to know.

The list will go on and on as to why they need a label. The last two statements need to be delved into more because it shows the irony of the whole “right to know” issue.

First of all, for many of these activists, including the Babes Against Biotech, when offered information about GE technology, they instantly condemn it. How many people have tried to provide some facts and evidence to much of their claims, only to be banned on their page? The same goes for the GMO free pages also when truly offered the evidence.

On Kauai, when Dr. Steve Savage and Dr. Kevin Folta went to offer their expertise on the issues with biotech, they were shunned by the crowd. If the answer didn’t fit their views, they immediately accused both of being paid shills. If it really is about the right to know, wouldn’t these groups demanding it allow for some dialogue? Nope.

The other interesting issue to note is this government conspiracy and that the Federal government can’t be trusted. No matter what tests have been done or regulations put in place, these activists have no trust for any of the information. These people don’t even trust the state for that matter.

The state did how many tests and inspections with the ag companies to insure safety in the communities. These people refused to believe it, and forged ahead to pass laws on their own because the state had supposedly failed them. I find it very odd that they are now asking the very entity that they never trusted, to now label GM foods. Are these activists suddenly going to become trusting of the state once this label is passed? I highly doubt it. That’s not the true motive behind all of this.

Certain lawmakers are sold on the emotional buying point that they have to protect people’s so called rights. By appeasing the activists, it appears as if some politicians are hoping that they will get them off of their backs. Fat chance. These activists are about taking, taking, taking with nothing to give for farmers or ag. In reality, it is far from being someone’s right, but an industry’s ploy to create unnecessary fear against this technology and taking advantage of people’s ignorance and gullibility. They complain about the greedy corporations but their underlying motive is the same thing they condemn.

They rely on peoples’ weaknesses and it works like a charm as we all can see. Fear works wonders on an ill informed public, far removed from the growing of food let alone the science behind it.

February 5, 2014 by hawaiifarmersdaughter

The Hate Towards Farmers Must Stop

Today there were two articles featured in Civil Beat. One was on Senator Nishihara’s introduction to the SB110, with the Right to Farm Act provision, and the second one was one done by Ross Sibucao, a papaya farmer and Hawaii Papaya Industry Association President.

I had thought that the hateful comments would stop, boy was I wrong. The hate and nastiness is coming out in full force against the farmers. It’s just despicable that our leaders can’t see this or choose to ignore it. Read on below to see what heinous things are being said.

This is not what Hawaii agriculture needs right now. We need leaders who will foster its growth and development. It’s amazing to me how so many people believe the earth is changing, but then reject the same technology that can give farmers the tools to overcome this. A recent news article shows that this is indeed a real problem that will eventually affect us. The farmers and scientists all know this but somehow the news has missed our government leaders.

It will be more important than ever to have the latest tools available to maintain our food supplies. When there is a drought or some other extreme weather, we’re going to have to choose what works and in many cases, it may not be organic. Whatever the case, the most efficient and highest yielding methods must be used. Why limit the tools now with popular opinion vs. what the data says?

As legislators, you have a responsibility to all of us to do what is right, not just to the loudest shouters and conspiracy thinkers. Many of you were able to make that same hard decision when it was the issue of gay marriage. You chose to look at the evidence and support the minority that needed their rights protected. I still can’t understand why you as leaders, can’t step up and do the same for the rights of farmers. When there are no tools available to the farmers and too many burdensome laws, will you leave that as your legacy to our islands?

	Linda Bruder on The Story of the Kamiya F…
	Douglas Gorai on The Story of the Kamiya F…
	hawaiifarmersdaughte… on The Story of the Kamiya F…
	Douglas Gorai on The Story of the Kamiya F…
	Jon Erwins on The Story of the Kamiya F…

HawaiiFarmersDaughter

Adventures of a farmer's daughter in Hawaii

The Anti-Science Debacle