Musings: Compromised

Upon news that HC&S would be ending sugar cane on 36,000 acres this year, I was heartened to see farming experts express reserved optimism about the future of ag on Maui, while cautioning the need for reasonable expectations and compromise.

I love the concept of compromise, the idea of thoughtful, intelligent, engaged persons working out a mutually acceptable plan of action.

Unfortunately, the reality of seeking compromise is quite a bit different, especially when some players have neither the inclination, nor the education/experience, to seek middle ground. Shoots, they don't even know WTF that is.

Consider this Facebook post by Kalassu Swami, aka Geoff Morris, aka the masked Grim Reaper at statewide anti-GMO protests:

Aloha

Just a thought or an idea...

Everyone here on Maui is fully aware of what's going on with the sugar industry, that thousands of acres might become vacant and turn into a dust bowl or worse, we are all praying the land will not become accessible to mega-corporations like the evils of Monsanto spreading more of their poisons around our beautiful Island. So a silly idea flowed, What if every Maui resident who wished to become part of keeping our island safe and beautiful, donated, contributed or invested $100 or even $300.00 for all of that property.

Then contract it out to the people, Organic farmers, section it off and give it to whoever wished to cultivate it Organically, and the produce cultivated from these crops can be sold around the world, or we can utilize all of the land and factory, and instead of making toxic cancerous white processed sugar we can make organic naturally dehydrated healthy sugar. Or we can legalize marijuana on the island and plant it, we are all aware of the substantial health benefits this herb has to offer and how it can benefit all of mankind and the planet.

All those (us, the Maui residents) who participated and contributed in the ownership of this property would be issued slip vouchers weekly monthly or yearly, for a percentage off or free, all produce that was produced on those lands and that would be there, our , investment return. And the family organic farmers, or small businesses that would be contracted out to farm the land would receive a substantial percentage of their produce sold.

I'm not rich but I would invest in it knowing it would go to healthy food on my table and keeping my Island safe from a mega corporation buying the land, their greed and destruction is what we have all been feeling throughout our planet.

It's bad enough that our government, & military industrial complex are poisoning the air, water and land around us, all of the toxic chemicals they're spraying in our sky at least if we are eating healthy our bodies can combat some of these toxins that they're spraying worldwide.

We can call it maybe, co op Organic "Rainbow Maui" produce made with love.

Well it's just an idea, it might be silly but if anyone wants to go with it I'm in so Go !

Yeah, go! I mean, heck, why not? Even though HC&S, with more than a century of experience, couldn't make cane a viable crop, surely non-farmers can pull if off simply by switching to “organic naturally dehydrated healthy sugar.”

Once you use those $100 and $300 donations simply to purchase the land, don't worry about the lack of start-up capital, equipment or training for the organic farmers. All they need is the land. And love. The rest flows like magic from there. This is paradise, ya know, where things just grow on their own. 

Once marijuana is legal, they'll be sitting pretty, anyway, because none of the other islands would be growing it, and 36,000 acres of pot would barely touch the demand for product. No need worry about flooding the market.

And yes, go ahead and export those organic crops around the world, even though you don't have any grading, production, refrigeration or packaging operations, and no identified markets. With the Hawaii label, they'll sell themselves. 

Of course, it's hard to know how much produce will actually be left to sell once the initial investors claim all the free produce they want. But the farmers don't need to make money, much less a profit. That's just an old, evil concept. Their reward comes in knowing they're keeping Maui “safe from a mega corporation.” (Shhh, don't mention Hyatt, Sheraton, Costco, Shell, Budget and etc. Only ag corporations are bad.)

Gosh, Utopia is right within our grasp. I wonder why A&B didn't get there. Must be because they're blinded by their desire for corporate profits over the good of all.

Now where's my lifetime supply of fresh organic produce? I gotta eat hearty to ward off the poisons dripping from those chem trails in the sky. No, they're not just clouds or jet exhaust. They're a government plot to weaken us so we have to buy pharmaceuticals.

And gimme some of that organic “Rainbow Maui” — the cloned (but GMO-free) 21^st Century version of Maui Wowie.

Heck, I invested $100. I'm entitled.