Paul Achitoff

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A Cautionary Saga: Judge Kurren Invalidates the Anti-GMO Ordinance 960

wieldpaddles

It’s breaking news that the Kauai anti-GMO law has been invalidated by Judge Kurren today.  The law is pre-empted by the state law and cannot be enforced at the county level.  Joan Conrow and Richard Ha both did great blogs today on the news.

As I followed some of the news links posted on the various Facebook pages from Hawaii News Now, Civil Beat, KITV4, and KHON2, the commentaries are so disheartening once again.  I don’t consider this ruling a win in any case.  The damage has been done towards Hawaii agriculture, farmers, scientists, and our communities.  Our communities are not healed by this ruling that was started with a huge disinformation campaign by mainland based activists.  We are still divided and people are still not well informed about the issues revolving around agriculture here.

There has been so much fear mongering and misinformation that the public has been made to be so afraid of things they just don’t understand.  Bringing up they issue of biotechnology or even mentioning genetics or basic science turns people off as they have been indoctrinated to the belief that it’s “propaganda.”  How can we move forward when the largest and loudest voices are the least informed and still trying to dictate law? These are the same people who don’t understand how laws are made with to begin with or how the legal system works and now are asking for the judge to be impeached or even harmed?!

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Screenshot from the Babes Against Biotech Facebook page. Note the disturbing commentary below.

These activists aren’t about working together towards a common goal unfortunately.  Just last week at a farmer’s rally on the Big Island, a long time GMO Free activist named Courtney Larson, was arrested and is being charged for disorderly conduct and other various charges.  When farmers are trying to figure out how to move forward after this devastation, and are at their most vulnerable state, the activists show their true colors and it isn’t pretty or full of aloha.  Is that what we need in Hawaii at a time when we have so many other issues to deal with and work through?

The activists politicians are also another group of people who are feeding this unaloha spirit in our islands.  From the likes of Russell Ruderman and his fear mongering GMO articles, to Mike Gabbard sending me links to the debunked Seralini study, to Kaniela Ing and his associations with “home rule” and the SHAKA Movement, to Gary Hooser and his alliances with environmental activists, our leadership is failing us as a state.  I’ve always been taught as a leader to check out your sources and do your research about the issue to base your decisions up and that you must use facts and evidence to move forward, not emotions or trends of the moment.  The leaders’ jobs are to keep the community together and cohesive so that it can operate properly.  When leaders like these choose to side with the loudest of the bunch but refuse to use facts or come to the table to discuss issues, it does no one any favors.  They should also be doing the work of educating others with good information so fear doesn’t dominate the conversations.  It’s pretty clear poor leadership has done a lot of damage in these recent years.

Judge Kurren has made his ruling and that has set the law today.  Do we choose to accept this decision or continue fighting and completely wasting our time and energy on this issue that further divides the communities? Or do we move on and work on the actual problems that we face like our high poverty rate, education, traffic, the increasing elderly population, homelessness, food security, and so on?  I hope that we move forward and actually set out to do something meaningful for the people in our communities and use our resources wisely to make it happen.  That’s my hope and expectation!

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Jessica Wooley: What are you doing in Maui?

Jessica Wooley is the representative for District 48 – Kaneohe, Heeia, Ahuimanu, Kahaluu, Haiku Valley, Mokuoloe.  She is also the representative who was one of the introducers of the GMO labeling bill last year that caused a whole bunch of drama and controversy, especially to the growers of transgenic papayas.  In my opinion, she is one of the key reasons why the GMO issues is growing so heated here in Hawaii.

Well, you would think that as a representative of this area, she’d be really looking out for her constituents.  Well, if you have papaya farmers in your area, some of whom grown transgenic crops, wouldn’t you want to hear from them how your law would affect them?  Apparently not.  She’d rather align with the Babes Against Biotech because that’s her interpretation of representing constituents.  What?!  Why isn’t she listening to people like my dad who has lived in that district and farmed that area for as many years as she has been alive?!

Well, as a representative, shouldn’t she be solving problems in her area that affect the residents?  One big problem is the flooding that occurs by Waikane stream every time there is a heavy rain, which is pretty often.

Here’s some stories documenting this issue:

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/global/story.asp?s=11387854

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Mar/03/ln/ln11a.html

http://www.clipsyndicate.com/video/play/1972377/waikane_flooding_solution_still_years_away

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/global/story.asp?s=11381327

This flooding issues affects everyone who lives and drives down to the Windward side.  With the rainy season upon us soon, you would think that someday someone will do something about it?  Um, no.

Jessica Wooley is out and about spreading her word for organic farming methods on Maui.  Yes, she’s not working hard for her constituents in the Waikane area, but on Maui.  She’s talking to farmers there.

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HFUU is known to support a lot of the anti-GMO activists

If you take a look at their board, it is very clear that they are not about coexistence in farming.  But alas, we know why Jessica is aligned with these folks.  She’s also married to an environmental lawyer, David Henkin, who has engaged in many lawsuits against the state.  Earthjustice was the same group who attempted to block the irradiator project which they got moved away from the airport to Kapolei instead.  That same irradiator was built to help grow an export industry for Hawaii grown products.

Henkin has been not as open because of his wife’s elected position so his fellow Earthjustice attorney Paul Achitoff  is at the forefront instead.  He is yet another anti-ag supporter too when his videos about Monsanto are used by the anti-GMO groups frequently.

It’s quite sad to know that the representative for your Congressional district as well as your own local representative is out to destroy family farms.  Many of these farms that have been around for decades and have been good stewards of the lands.  The green movement that Jessica Wooley is supporting is not about the supporting local people, its about what Earthjustice wants to do to the ag industry….  Destroy it.