Every year, the Kauai farming community
gets together and hosts students for an Agriculture and Environmental
Awareness Day at the UH experimental station in Wailua. Kids and
adults alike always seemed to enjoy the opportunity to talk story and
learn.
This year, however, things took an ugly
twist when Hanalei School fifth graders combatively questioned
Syngenta and Pioneer employees — and secretly videotaped the
exchanges.
Really? Is this what we're teaching
kids these days? That it's OK to violate someone's privacy and record
them without their permission? That civil discourse is not valued?
That adults don't garner any respect? That an agricultural process
they don't understand is something to be feared and reviled? That
there's only one acceptable way to grow crops?
Not surprisingly, the adults who love
to fill kids' heads with poisonous platitudes and devious deeds were
quick to weigh in:
Oh, yeah, it's funny, alright. Funny as
a heart attack to brainwash young kids, turn them into
mini-demagogues, inspire the next generation of ignorant punks to
follow in the footsteps of Dustin Barca.
The brainwashing continues this summer,
with Malama Kauai offering paid agricultural internships at places
that know a lot about scoring grant money, but zilch about producing
a successful commercial crop. Because doncha know that farmers aren't
supposed to make money? Perhaps that's why previous internships and
woofer jobs have attracted only mainland kids, who are keen to surf
and see Kauai.
So this year they're limiting it to
Kauai residents. Says Megan Fox, the non-farmer who runs Malama
Kauai:
The purpose behind offering these kinds of internships is to
infuse the knowledge and love of agriculture into the next generation
of the island’s leaders.
Funny, how that runs so counter to the
stunt pulled by the Hanalei School kids. They could have learned a lot
if they'd approached the seed company reps without their smug
know-it-all attitudes. Because face it, those kids don't know shit about GE agriculture.
Though Malama Kauai is desperately
seeking to “localize our ag workforce and increase our own food
production,” there's no escaping reality: farming,
even when it's the free ride kine practiced by Malama Kauai and
Waipa, is hard work with limited economic returns.
Why, just the other day, Punaluu farmer Dave Burlew took to the comment section in Civil Beat
to defend the tax credit that slipped through the Lege via the
repugnant “gut and replace” process:
This tax credit is for a very few
number of farmers who are ( or want to be) "certified"
organic by the USDA. Most of us organic farmers in Hawaii are not
certified (myself included), so this may be an incentive to follow
through with certification. Organic certification (and organic
farming) is expensive and certification carries an arduous amount of
paperwork and a legal oblication [sic] to follow the rules. Most
farmers may have marginal success running a certified organic farm,
let alone be profitable at it.
Gee, he makes it sound so appealing.
But hey, if the anti-GMO activists and farm idealists have their way,
that's the only kind of ag that will be allowed in Hawaii. And when
it fails, as it will, houses and hotels will quickly take its place.
Speaking of farm idealists, I see that
Surfrider once again was featured in The Garden Island. It seems that
reporter Jessica Else has embedded herself with the group and thus
feels compelled to report its every move, even when it's a couple of
self-proclaimed non-experts telling people how to create
ocean-friendly yards.
Curious, how Surfrider isn't taking on
the oceanfront resorts, golf courses and TVRs, with their
pesticide-intensive landscape practices. But then, those guys are allies now, united in their fight against agriculture.
And while we're on the topic of TGI,
could they please stop printing letters from Glenn Mickens extolling
the virtue of the county manager concept? Though TGI has yet to cover
it, that proposal is dead, and will be duly buried on Wednesday. Time
for Mickens to let it go and spare us all his tiresome tirades.
Maui has also been infected by the county manager bug, spread by the same transplants who are convinced Hawaii could be better, if only it became more like someplace else. By which is meant a place where they might gain some power. Hopefully the Maui Council will be similarly apprised of HRS 76-77, which would require the manager to go through the civil service process, thus keeping the appointment out of any Council's power-hungry grasp.
Posts
24 comments:
There's little hope for Maui as the transplants have taken it over lock, stock and barrel. Remember, Maui was the island that tried to circumvent the law by banning GMOs entirely...oh ya,except for papaya. We're visiting Maui t=right now and it is a mess of cars, hotels, construction and transplants. The neo-hippie twits on Kauai want to make Kauai a mirror of Maui.
Children are always easy victims for liars.
You think Maui's bad now?
Wait until they vote in November for the right to take over private land.
Everyone who owns land on Maui better wake up.
Oprah, watch out!
But it's not just Oprah, or HC&S, or our largest coffee farm, or our biggest pineapple grower--- even a small farm on land leased from a large landowner is subject to seizure and forced conversion to an "organic" farm operated by someone else---to be determined later, by these same non-farmers who think they know better.
State and County lands are included, so existing farms on state land could also be condemned.
This is how our ballot initiatives are being used....and over 10,000 fools have already signed the petition to make it happen.
Wonder how many of them own property on Maui.
Doubt they read it first.
Ms. Hudnall's version of the Ag day events does not at all square with what actually happened. I know because I was there and witnessed the entire exchange. The students peppered our representative with all sorts of questions, which he answered professionally, factually and respectfully. I even videotaped a portion of it myself because I was so impressed with the healthy dialogue.
Beth Tokioka, Syngenta Hawaii LLC
Rosenteil is either a hypocrite or incredibly stupid or both that she would show such enthusiasm over the snotnosed labeling question to Syngenta. Syngentqa's consumer products carry some of the most comprehensive labels of any products in general use and certainly for use by people in agriculture. That she advertised herself as a "marine biologist" is a travesty. The National Academy of Sciences just weighed in on the safety of GMO foods: "Genetically modified foods cause no more health problems for people than other foods do, the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences said Tuesday" (today). Whom would you trust- Fern Rosensteil, Gary Hooser, Tim Bynum, Vandana Shiva, Jeffrey, the Yogic Flyer, Smith, Hector Valenzula, Lorren Pang, Felica Cowden or the people on this page? http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/leadership/nas-council.html
I am afraid that these new comers will close down taro farming. So are the farmers.
From recent NYT editorial: "Foods with bioengineered ingredients are safe, but shrouding them in secrecy breeds doubt and fear. Clear, informative labeling is a first step toward transparency that can build trust and educate consumers. But trust has to go both ways: Biotechnology companies and food producers must trust consumers to educate themselves and make informed decisions."
The 5th graders are parroting their parents. And the Red-Shirt mobsters.
Respect for others and meaningful communication is gone.
Vote for Da Hoos and support Anti-Ag, Anti-local and Bad attitude.
Always live up to your standards - by lowering them, if necessary.
And as the GI article suggests....always use plastic and cover your weeds to kill them. Great Balls of Baloney Batman, I thought plastic was the nemesis to the ocean and the world. Acres of plastic, throw away your weed wacker and sabedong sprayer.
And the teachers of those impudent 5th graders should have disciplined them. Maybe by making them pull weeds at the Surfrider Ocean Friendly Garden.
6:02p - don't blame the 5th graders! Remember CSN&Y : Teach Your Children Well? Well, they have been duly indoctrinated by their teachers & parents!
I agree that supporting gmo everything is a religious experience but when you rag on the keiki? Come on and then use words like "shit" to degrade them? Hewa and shame. How come you don't consider Beth getting a sweet job at Syngenta after she orchestrated the whole situation for them and then left her job to go work for them Joan? You are no scientist either and you write copy paste and pass on whatever you are spoon-fed. I agree with your writing on other topics but on the gmo issue your writing is vicious and fanatical. Also could you please use more family friendly language? Mahalo.
The only thing hewa and shame here is the kids' behavior, and adults like you who apologize for them. And no, I'm not going to change what I write, how I write or the language I use to please an anonymous scold.
You only need watch a weekend HYSA soccer match involving the northshore teams. The kids, coaches, and parents all act the same. Profane tirades, dirty on-field play, crybabies over calls, and self-proclaimed referees. I have personally witnessed a parent threaten a 13-year old assistant referee because of a perceived bad call. If coaches and parents continue to act this way, then the kids feel it's okay to mimic these actions. Needless to say, there are plenty of "red shirts" in this unruly crowd.
And this is one more reason why we love you, Joan.
By the way, 7:38 AM, Joan is, among other things, a science writer. She doesn't need to be a scientist herself. But many of her admirers are scientists.
And she's such an independent thinker that your comment about her being spoon-fed is hilarious.
All kids are born innocent and ignorant. It is the environment that creates what they will be in the future. Environment includes parents, peers, teachers. location, income levels, etc. These mold what an individual will be. Generalizations are not valid and, more often than not, fail the litmus test. However, on this island, generalizations are rampant and causes the rift here. All of us should open our minds, gather all the information pertinent to an issue, and independently arrive at a position and not listen to someone already biased. This year is an important election year. We should get rid of the whoremongers who cater to outside interests who have created an issue on this island when it should have not been.
Dinkydao
Remember the incident with the N/S kids went to Polihale and blamed the "Westside United" kids for the incident. It is very apparent that the N/S attitude is very different for the W/S. Don't go bullying someone's Aunty and then get clocked and go cry and call foul. We don't go looking for trouble. We don't like trouble. That is why we are taken advantage of because of our upbringing. That doesn't make us wimps. Was told long long ago, watch out for the dog that doesn't bark.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
All kids are born innocent and ignorant. It is the environment that creates what they will be in the future. Environment includes parents, peers, teachers. location, income levels, etc. These mold what an individual will be. Generalizations are not valid and, more often than not, fail the litmus test. However, on this island, generalizations are rampant and causes the rift here. All of us should open our minds, gather all the information pertinent to an issue, and independently arrive at a position and not listen to someone already biased. This year is an important election year. We should get rid of the whoremongers who cater to outside interests who have created an issue on this island when it should have not been.
Dinkydao
May 18, 2016 at 9:35 AM
Excellent idea. Let us begin with the biggest ones of all- chem seed companies.
Not so fast 10:19. The subject was whoremongers not seed companies. We know who they are. Whom are we going to believe, our own research or you?
10:19,the whoremonger presently has ties to HCFS, SHAKA, HAPA, PAN, Earthjustice, etc. and sits on our council. At a risk of being called a male chauvinist, I'd like to point out that only female, paid shills (Vandana Shiva, Judy Carman, Stephanie Seneff, etal.) were brought in with their fear-mongering messages. Your response was typical of one that has a biased view. Do your homework before commenting.
Dinkydao
Nope. I stick with my version. The word is biblical and since Gmo chem companies engage in whoremongering around the globe I think my definition tops yours. Not to mention being in bed with big pharma, governments research labs and propaganda artist. They rake in the big bucks then dig out leaving people destitute. Now if you are looking at individuals the heir of Dupont was having a very bad day here http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/02/justice/delaware-du-pont-rape-case/. So I think I win that round. Maybe You should do some research babooze! (I wonder if this will make it to the blog.)
How quick we forget what the Indians taught the Pilgrims to survive the winters and the environment. Corn was the plant. Now the Seed companies are looked down on. Get a grip people. People spend their time differently. Some do the research to be right in word wars. Then what, you right. Does it change things.... We still stick to our beliefs. Go JOAN, go. Mahalo to you.
hanalei haoles. no class
Dupont the megalithic chem company who is the parent of many chem/DNA(foreign material) manipulated parent seed manufacturing corporations is sure as hell no Native tribes planting corn with fish for fertilizer and both them and the pilgrims are both flown here and not grown here.
Those children need real open minded learning. The seed company was there to teach not to babysit brats. I woulda gave my kid dirty lickings if they acted like those northshore punks do. No respect!
They came to polihale a few years back a bunch of punks. They got beat up because of they were disrespectful to campers and to the aina. The locals took it into their own hands and then the punks cried to mommy. Big deal scold yo kids!
Yet it is A OK for them from northshore to threatened the rest of the world to not go to their surf spots?
Fucken hypocrites. Can't imagine how the locals feel living amongst the stupid ass haoles down there
These kids are the bomb!! You people don't even know what your talking about!!
Post a Comment