Saturday, December 10, 2016

Musings: Learn a Little

In a move that marks a dramatic shift in the island's political landscape, the newly installed Kauai County Council has introduced a bill calling for a repeal of the contentious Bill 2491/Ordinance 960.

The measure, which sought to control pesticides and GMO crops, was introduced by then-Councilman Gary Hooser in 2013, launching a bitter debate that polarized the community. 

But in the years since it was passed, it was overturned by the courts and voters rejected the three councilmen — Hooser, Jay Furfaro and the late Tim Bynum — who ushered it through the Council.

On Wednesday, the Council will consider a bill to remove the illegal law from the county's books, and it appears they easily have the votes to approve it.

The repeal bill, introduced by Council Chair Mel Rapozo and Vice Chair Ross Kagawa, states simply:

The Kaua’i County Council finds that by Judgment issued in Syngenta Seeds, Inc., et al. v. County of Kaua’i, Civ. No. 14-00014 BMK (D. Haw. filed Aug. 25, 2014), the Court declared Ordinance No. 960, codified as Chapter 22, Article 23 of the Kaua’i County Code 1987, as amended, “is preempted by state law and is therefore invalid.” On November 18, 2016, the District Court’s Judgment was affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Syngenta Seeds, Inc., et al. v. County of Kaua’i et al., No. 14-16833, D.C. No. 1:14-cv-00014-BMK. Accordingly, the purpose of this Bill is to repeal the invalid law.

It's been a long, hard road to get to this point, costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, destroying political careers and leaving lingering resentments and animosity that continue to divide families and neighborhoods.

Perhaps now the healing can begin.

Meanwhile, the Board of Land and Natural Resources yesterday voted to extend for another year Alexander & Baldwin's revocable permits to divert water from east Maui streams to support agriculture in Central and Upcountry Maui and Upcountry residential use.

Activists who converged on the meeting continued to claim that A&B is leaving streams dry, to the detriment of taro farmers. But A&B said that with the pending demise of sugar it has already reduced the amount of water it draws from 165 million gallons a day to 20 mgd.

Under yesterday's BLNR action, the company is limited to 80 mgd and it must fully restore water to 15 east Maui streams.

But activists rejected even that compromise as inadequate. They want all diversions to end until the company can prove it needs the water. Like they'd ever give it back once A&B gave it up. And what would happen to ag in Central Maui then? 

A&B officials argued that they must show they have sufficient water to attract the investment needed to transition 36,000 acres of HC&S lands from sugar into diversified ag.

Meanwhile, A&B and other revocable permit holders are continuing to seek water licenses through a process that has been poorly managed by the state, leading to lengthy delays.

Comments left on the Hawaii News Now Facebook post about the vote display the prevailing ignorance of so many on this (and other issues).

One person commented, “That's why you can't keep voting these same people into office,” apparently unaware that BLNR members are not elected.

Another wrote: “Abut [sic] they no grow anything any more so why do they need (?) the water?” Uh, so they can grow something else. Sugar just ended. You don't transition 36,000 acres of ag overnight.

And still another wrote: “Why do we smell money being exchanged under the table??? No exceptions to the rules should be made.”

No exceptions to the rules are being made. In fact, denying the extension would have run counter to a bill passed in the last legislative session that allowed revocable permit holders to seek up to three one-year renewals while they navigate the cumbersome water license process.

Also on Maui, the anti-cane people are not satisified that sugar is dead as of Monday. They're now engaged in conspiracy thinking:
Oh, yes. They're deliberately out to get you with dust and smoke. 

Hello! You wanted cane gone. WTF did you think would take its place? Were you expecting manicured lawns? Haven't you ever seen abandoned cane fields on other islands, filled with guinea grass, African tulips, albizia and other invasive species?

And once again we have people who admittedly do not understand the economics of ag, much less the practicalities, yet still they want to dictate how it's done.

I'm all for people speaking up and getting involved. But educate yourselves first, folks. And don't lie — like claiming all the streams are dry — or engage in paranoiac, fear-based rants to make your case. 

That's what led us to the mess of 2491. History means nothing if we don't learn from mistakes.

80 comments:

Anonymous said...

2491? it has taken a long time for the Council to do the right thing and repeal this.
JoAnn and Mason will say a few words, but will be quiet.
Included in the bill as a Proclamation should be an Open Apology to the large land owners. Our County tried to put them out of business. It is time for our County to apologize.
Da Hoos will be absent, except for maybe a 3 minute spin as an ordinary citizen. Funny. All those years at Council and not one County support person was sorry to see him leave.
"The best thing I have seen in years was Gary leaving the building for the last time. Pilau that buggah"
Now if only our County fathers had the ulis to add density so we could get some homes. And suggest to the Water Department to loosen up a couple of hundred meters.
How so many people can spend so much time and money and do nothing is a real mystery.
Nothing except extravagantly waste money and do a little bad planning, like taking Ikeda Barber Shop Parking away and the absolute mess in traffic in the roads around the State Building. What genius designed this debacle? Take away parking, roads and add some overgrown median islands that do nothing except bang tires and confuse drivers.
Maybe doing nothing is not such a bad idear.



Anonymous said...

Another perceptive and thought-provoking post, Joan; thank you.

It's a very sad week here on Maui...
the closure of the last sugarcane plantation in Hawaii, the last days of work there for hundreds, the tearful final separation of a huge family of generations of local people bonded together through hard work and a common purpose---farming and producing food. The sight of tens of thousands of acres of dry, brown farmland. The uncertainty of the future.

And the heavens have opened up too, to pour its tears down upon us, to mingle with ours.

Anonymous said...

A lot of the streams are dry but not all. Lots of it are diverted to you all know who.

Anonymous said...

No political careers were destroyed by 2491. Cancer destroyed Tim's. Jay now has a cushy purely political job paying Hume almost twice as much. Hooser is off to his next career which will no doubt put him in a position of even greater influence.

Anonymous said...

While it cost the County less than $250,000, it has cost the chemical companies millions, plus there are bigger buffer zones and more disclosure than ever. Tell me again who is winning? Bahahaha!

Joan Conrow said...

This boondoggle has cost taxpayers far more than $250,000. That figure doesn't even include all the legal fees. Then there was all the staff time to handle the endless public hearings, police time during the marches, legal analysis, and Council and Administrative time diverted from other issues. Plus the cost of funding the Joint Fact Finding Group. The true economic cost will likely never be calculated, but they're substantial, and all borne by the taxpayers.

Not to mention the tremendous social cost to the community, which can't be figured in dollars and cents. All to get disclosure data that no one even looks at, and buffer zones that the companies provided voluntarily.

Tell me again who is winning?

Anonymous said...

Let's wait until EPA weighs in. Bye bye Scott Enright.

Anonymous said...

@ 8:41am. Alot of streams are dry...are u blind and stupid? Noticed all the rain lately?

Anonymous said...

I agree with 9:46!! All the $ spent, even if it cannot be totally quantified, has been well spent. 2491 will be tossed aside, BUT the whole event brought about changes for the benefit of the citizens of Kauai. Yes, the biotechs did buffer zones,and disclosures voluntarily---it wouldn't have happened without the people standing up here on island and the helpers from the outside! I look at what happened here as what took place at Standing Rock. It was much bigger at Standing Rock, but it was the Little People (compare ourselves to ants) who stood together and never gave up to step up to what they believe is pono! STAND UP for humanity, Mother Earth and all sentient beings!!!!

Joan Conrow said...

How do you know the seed companies wouldn't have done that w/o all the hoohaw? Nobody ever asked. Hooser and the red shirts went straight to accusation and confrontation and sidestepped conversation.

And how has any of that truly benefited the community?

Anonymous said...

Give it up Joan. Admit that there has been good that came from 2491. You got a job out of it through Cornell Science Alliance. Brun got a job on County Council. Neither would have happened otherwise. Like it or not 2491 changed people's lives and cost chemical companies plenty. Maui and Big Island action against Monsanto happened because of 2491.

Joan Conrow said...

Yes, my Alliance job did result from 2491, so thanks!!! Arthur was elected due to his community service, not 2491. As for the rest, the BI and Maui bills were also shut down, leaving them with no gains, only costs, and how is it a benefit simply to rack up a lot of costs for corporations which are either then passed on to consumers or used as a tax write offs? Typical short-sighted thinking.

Anonymous said...

You fucking ignorant bastard. Fools like you should cease to exist.

Anonymous said...

and maybe some people just have too much of nothing else to do. protesting is fun and you can meet likeminded activists, not a bad thing.
and i would guess that the anti dairy people dont need a job because they get plenty money already. i vote to close off mahaulepu permanently, then i can enjoy it by myself. and my suspicion is that the crappy water is coming from the poipu kai treatment plant by shipwrecks combined with the cjm runoff. ever go fishing on east side of waita ? lotsa cows over there and upstream is kahili cesspools. people saying mahaulepu is pristine is BS. maybe by the kipu kai end is good but not mahaulepu. term pristine is more like milolii.. south shore is mostly stink from the development. used to be nice when i was a kid but i dont go unless i have to.

Anonymous said...

Kill it. No excuses. BS science. Look Joanne in the eye. She has destroyed more local jobs on this island than anyone in history.

Anonymous said...

Whoa, easy bu.....cool down a few thousand degrees....go take a dip in kukai ditch

Anonymous said...

It will be interesting to see how Joanne and Mason vote on this one.

Anonymous said...

Will be unanimous with Brun recused due to syngenta employment. Nice way to end an era.

Anonymous said...

Love the comments. Full of empathy.

Anonymous said...

Joan, people were workng on the problem before 2491---anyway, we were having our concerns here on the westside discussed and were trying very hard to remedy problems. Hooser did attend some of our meetings before the bill came into play. It's not like we just set out to complain and destroy jobs or the industry---in our eyes, heads and hearts, there was a need for compliance and caution! Yes, gmoing may be okay, but we never had buffer zones, spray notices and disclosure like we now have-----after the "hoohaw". For a lot of us, it was not short-sighted thinking.

Anonymous said...

STFU!

Anonymous said...

@8:42 - And she worked against lower food prices for the poor with her "Big Box" bill passed only to protect her cousin Peter's food brokerage.

Anonymous said...

Poipu Kai sewage plant stinks and agree it should be looked at.

Anonymous said...

Water has been under attack by special interests since Cain and Able. It's today's gold/oil (precious resource). Read and educate yourself about it and how countries and states have gone to war for water. Kauai Springs has capitalized on pimping Kauai and its resources. Books were made to educate, TV was made to educate, and now the internet has resources made to educate and yet people still fail to understand how to use tools. Instead they just want self gratifying entertainment.

Anonymous said...

I remember Mahaulepu before Hyatt. There was just one white mansion on that beach front property. The good ol days.

Anonymous said...

240 mansion ? more like 2 relocated nurse quarters from the infirmary stuck together from when they made wilcox hospital i think. not mansion unless you live hanamaulu

Anonymous said...

No matter what you say and how they vote it still doesn't change the fact that pesticides are dangerous and should not be a part of our food chain. Sooner or later the truth will come out and pesticides will be right up there with cigarettes, asbestos, BPA, aspartame, lead, ... Nobody's job is worth more than other citizens health.

Anonymous said...

10:08 addressing a problem with an invalid Bill is not pono, so STFU! Hooser sucks Bynum sucked and you suck. Address problems with real solutions like working with the State or Federal government's when dealing with pesticides (EPA) or agriculture (state)

Anonymous said...

@ 11:44am you found kukai ditch yet? I bet u don't know where stay thats why

Anonymous said...

? I rode in dune buggies and went fishing back in that undeveloped area before the Hyatt was built. It was small kid time but the Ice house in Koloa was a ice cream store (not the meth low income houses and apartments that are there now) and the shops use to be plantation housing that smelled like piss because the old men would throw their piss in their piss buckets in front and onto the street. Next to big save had the bento store and kukuiula was all goat farms and goat food Koa (also had plenty pakalolo plants back then). You could also go through the cane field mountain tunnel and fish for tilapia and bass at waita reservoir. The good ol Koloa and poipu days.

Anonymous said...

The state of Hawaii is full of shit and full of lazy bastards. They got called out and now the Feds are watching the gmo companies because of several high profile cases. It's all about CYA and the people knows what's going on.

Anonymous said...

There's so much more to that than people will ever know. Yukimura is as sly as Kouchi, Kusaka, Tokioka and Kawakami.

Anonymous said...

7:05pm. You sound upset. Have you considered anger management?

Anonymous said...

“Because of the court ruling invalidating it, the repeal of Bill 2491 will have no tangible impact and is thus simply a political statement reconfirming the influence of Syngenta, DOW Chemical, DuPont and BASF in our community,” Hooser said.

“It saddens me that rather than advocate for comprehensive testing and increased protections for Westside residents, Council Chair Rapozo and Council Vice Chair Kagawa choose instead only to carry water for the chemical companies.”

Really Gary? What about the oath to uphold the law? This is why Rapozo and Kagawa are the Chair and Vice-Chair, and you are an activist watching from the sidelines.

Anonymous said...

10:59 the state thinks you are full of shit because you have no proof or facts or evidence that GMOs or pesticides are harming any single person on Kauai. Not even the guy driving past Walmart, probably your dad, who smelled bubble gum, felt nautious, and jumped in the ocean before reporting it to the media.

Anonymous said...

Vote to repeal 2491 will be 4 - 0, with two abstaining (Chock and Yukimura) and one recusing (Brun). Officially, it will be 6 - 0 because an abstention count as yes.

As for Mahaulepu, my dad used to take me fishing there when I was in grammar school. Later, used to fish, camp, spearfish, and pick opihi when I was in high school. The house on the beach was called Gillin, named after Grove Farm civil engineer. The area always had cattle beyond the fence at Hauula. We took care of the area by making sure that what we brought in was brought out. Later, when outsiders discovered the area, it became a mess. GF even set up trash barrels in the area; but sad to say, they weren't used.

As for pesticides, certified applicators are used by the seed companies as required by federal and state laws. Pesticides have buffer zones and instructions written on the labels. Suggest that you look at your household for dangerous chemicals such as acetic acid, sodium hypochlorite, etc. and read the labels. You, yourself, are polluting the environment.

Anonymous said...

It was nice in the "old days". Life was simpler then. Life is different now. More people, more cars, more cows, more cats, more grumbling more of everything. That is change. Accept, adapt. The "old days" is used to compare the then times and the now times. In the "old days" still had assholes like today. That part of life is will never change.

Unknown said...

Even organic farming uses pesticides... Pesticides have been used for over 10,000 years. Some are more dangerous than others. Some will be replaced by safer, and/or more effective products in the future; however, I very much doubt they'll be completely banned.

Anonymous said...

Hooser should relocate to Maui where his career of chumming for ignorant malihini Blind Mullet will flourish.

Anonymous said...

5:44PM You are so paranoid, go build yourself a bubble to live in or go move to Antarctica stupid fool. Can you prove your allegations? People in general today are living much longer and are healthier than ever. Can you explain that?

Anonymous said...

Mel and Ross "carrying water for the chemical companies". Hahahaha! Can see the cartoon meme now! Hilarious and so true

Anonymous said...

Gary and Tim "carrying water for all the Hippie Haole activists" Ha Ha Ha! Look at the election results! Ha Ha Ha! Look at the amount Hooser spent trying to get re-elected with all his Haole money! Ha Ha Ha! Look at farmer Barca! Ha Ha Ha!

Anonymous said...

Don't be silly, Hooser deserves all the blame for the law being written the way it was, essentially handing the pesticide companies exactly what it wanted, pre emtion. He is playing you all.there is so much he could have done as both a senator and councilman, had he not been playing this game.

Anonymous said...

Dustin Barca is to farming what Derek Zoolander is to coal mining

Anonymous said...

Hooser also lied to the people of Kauai saying that attorney fees would be covered pro-Bono with all of his supporting attorneys and environmental groups. Teri Tico was one of his attorneys. Bullshit upon bullshit. Waste of time plus waste of money, all because of Hooser, Bynum, Yukimura, Furfaro, Nakamura, and Chock. This poor decision will follow you forever.

Anonymous said...

Bradley is to farming what the Marlboro man is to cigarettes. @10:17

Anonymous said...

They made the GMO make concessions on their operations. It's a win and for the state and Feds to say a county cannot adopt rules and ordnances is hog wash. It's done in everything else, just as long as they meet the min fed and state requirements. The county is the AHJ of Kauai so you Chem/Bio slaves are just that; Chem/Bio slaves.

Anonymous said...

You can't get any more ignorant than you. If I was your teacher I would send you to play in the corn fields after they just sprayed. One less idiot in this world is necessary collateral damage.

Anonymous said...

HIOSH is just as smart as you but more lazy. The state of Hawaii is Full of railroad workers. Not the sharpest tools but they have the slimmest eyes.

Anonymous said...

This generation and future generations are not going to be able to enjoy Kauai like the good old days. Every weekend and summers was filled with exploring Kauai. It was great adventures back then. Kids nowadays only play computer and video games. In the old days, the entertainment was going to all those places you see in the movies that were filmed on Kauai. So much to enjoy on Kauai and the best part of it was it was free. Now the pimps came to Kauai after Iniki and prostitute the island like a red light district. Our elected officials sold Kauai out like a piece of meat and now we see what has happened.

Anonymous said...

1:37 your efforts didn't do shit you sound like Hooser trying to lie and take credit for something you did not do

Anonymous said...

Uh. The private attorneys who represented private groups were free. Maunakea and Mayor came up with stupid rule that County could not accept free due to procurement law. Funny that Hawaii County was able to accept Earth Justice and CFS for free, but not Kauai County due to Maunakea and Mayor. So County of Kauai paid $200,000 even though multiple attorney's were willing to do for free.

Unknown said...

Hey McFly (or @ 11:41)... is anybody up there? Let me put this in perspective for you schoolboy... Pesticides have been around FIVE TIMES longer than Christianity. That means people have been using pesticides for 8,000 years before JESUS CHRIST was even born. They used toxic heavy metals (a), like Mercury....

If you lived to be a hundred years old (feasting on organic pesticide laced cuisine), pesticides would still be over a 100 times older than you...

You know why people's quality of life have improved to the point they we're living 4 times longer (than people lived 80 years ago)? The short answer is refrigeration, pesticides, vaccinations, and other medical advancements.

There is a saying: "Ignorance is BLISS. If you do not know what you're talking about, you do not worry about it." Let me take that point one step further, if you don't know what you're talking about, I'm not going to worry about it.


One of farmer's biggest frustration is trying to education people who are both ignorant and closed-minded (most, but not all, of the red-shirts are both). For the most part, farmers want to have a constructive dialogue about the best methods of producing food. However, the red-shirts close-mindedness is going to squeeze their voice out of that conversation. (Derogatory comments like "Marlboro Man" are not going to help your cause either.)

You cry about deadly pesticides, but your home walls probably have insecticide protecting the structure from termites. If you do not know about something, you do not worry about it. *sigh* I don't know if that's ignorance, or hypocrisy? Either way, it leaves a foul Marlboro like taste in my mouth...


The fact of the matter is, 90% of consumers want cheap food that wasn't previously chewed on by bugs... Pesticides allow me to achieve both goals easily and safely. You can buy your food from other sources.

Further, my method of farming yields an actual harvest and isn't a legal method of SCAMMING taxpayers out of millions of dollars.

While farmer openly try to get along with our fellow farmers, the failings of our organic counterparts are straining those ties. I heard several farmers making fun of their organic neighbor. He had to mow down 60% of his popcorn crop, and the rest had pigweeds twice as tall as the popcorn. Petty name calling isn't going to win any conventional farmers over to your organic food growing cause. Further, Out Grow Monsanto isn't exactly leading the way either. So, why should farmers care about your input on how to do our job when you demonstrate a complete lack of competency on the subject? I see little hope for Alexander Baldwin becoming the organic farming utopia you dream of. With the change in Council seats, I see absolutely no hope of the tax payers footing the bill for that cause too. Yet, you still have a chance though: Dustin Barca is looking for free help on his "farm".

That being said, those who cast aspersions on my character should first take a moment of self-examination to see if their own hands are not without sin...



(a) The term heavy metal refers to any metallic chemical element that has a relatively high density and is toxic or poisonous at low concentrations. Examples of heavy metals include mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), thallium (Tl), and lead (Pb).

Joan Conrow said...

@4:23 Uh, no, it wasn't like that. No attorneys, including Teri Tico, could meet the qualifications of the pro bono service, so that's why the county had to pay, despite Hooser's assurances legal services would be free.

Robin Clark said...

Bradley Choquette- that Marlboro Man was one tough dude, at least he looked it (until he died of lung cancer of course). So not a complete insult. Thanks for your comments. You save me a lot of typing as you always say what I am about to. My sister in law's brother in Nebraska farms more land than all of Kauai and laughs when I tell him about what has gone on here.

The poetic justice of Hooser losing his council seat to a Syngenta employee is just delicious! He asked for it and he got it.

Anonymous said...

4:23 uh wouldn't your proclaimed leader Hooser dot all his I's and cross all his T's before stating this Pro Bono bullshit? Typical Haole only talk, no truth! Bullshit catches up to you. F all you stupid Haoles. Keep talking!

Anonymous said...

Doesn't sound like "if you don't know what you're talking about, I'm not going to worry about it." Bradley. I'm an organic farmer and I don't use pesticides so you don't know what you are talking about. I have no delusions that my methods are going to feed the world but I'm feeding my family and and a bunch of others. There are a lot of obese, diabetic, high blood pressure, cancer ridden people that aren't making it to a ripe old age anymore. There is a reason for that, your attitude, and that of the whole food industry is a big reason why.

Anonymous said...

Ditto, Joan on 5:55. It also wasn't perfectly clear that these services would in fact be actually "free", much less under the control of the County.

Anonymous said...

Joan, why was Hawaii county able to accept the same free legal services offered to Kauai?

Anonymous said...

"Poison" was developed a really long time ago. I was watching some Korean Dramas and the King and Queen were the ultimate rulers. They could have a person tortured, drink poison, or beheaded, and or exiled and drink poison on an island. Even those days had good guys and bad guys. Things really don't change as we still have good guys and bad guys. The thing is that all bad guys think they are good guys.

Anonymous said...

Ahhh...so eating conventionally-grown vegetables leads to obesity. Thank you Anon 8:08 for this entirely believable factoid.

Unknown said...

8:08 My attitude has noting to do with other people's eating habits. Consumer's eating habits are a product of supply and demand. Farmers supply what consumers demand, not the other way around. Not everyone wants to live solely on an expensive organic vegetable based diet.

Our farmers market venture tried that market and found conventional methods are more profitable. (Nobody would buy tomatoes with bug spots, while expecting organic food to be cheaper, and the yields where half as much as our fertilized conventional tomatoes.) I'm happy you're able to feed your family healthy food, but I doubt you're going to let expensive Hawaiian house be eaten by Termites. Further, mosquitos spraying (while unpleasant) serves the public wellbeing. Finally, I can't find any health benefit to organic food over conventionally grown food.

Diseases like diabetes (and heart disease) have other contributing factors like genetics, and life style habits (such as lack of exercise), that contribute to increased numbers as much as people's diet does. Putting people's health problems on farmer's is unfair because most of the factors that contribute to those problems are beyond our control. When you change people's eating habits, farmers will adapt our cropping rotations to meet those needs. That's business 101...

Anonymous said...

I'm guessing you never heard of corn syrup @ 9:47. Its what your addicted to and millions of Americans. The food industry knows that and other special ingrediants that keep you coming back for more.

Anonymous said...

I hope somebody documents and records the poor people that are losing their lively hoods on Maui sugar plantations. The heartache and misery that the GMO activist are causing needs to be exposed and shown to the world.

Anonymous said...

Bradley using the end justifies the means argument. It never really works unless you are the one benefiting in the end, which in this situaltion you have a financial stake in the claim so of course you would absolve yourself from any moral responsibility.

Anonymous said...

Hooser is pleading for island residents to speak up at Council with respect to the repeal of ordinance 960. In his Garden Island commentary, he again uses unsubstantiated statistics on westside health issues and points to the highly slanted Joint Fact Finding report which was written by the anti's as his source. Gary just doesn't know when to quit. I remember when I had a hard time letting go that Santa Claus wasn't real ... but that's when I was 6. Time to Hooser to move on; maybe to Maui where they still seem to believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Unicorns, and that GMO kills.

Anonymous said...

I believe in science. Therefore, I believe in global warming, that sea levels are rising, and GMO and pesticides make it possible to feed the world. Those who think organically grown food is somehow healthier than GMO crops with pesticides applied in regulated quantities are gravely mistaken. Science is fact, whereas the anti-GMO theology is just a cult religion that chooses to believe what they do and simply ignores fact and proven science.

Anonymous said...

NO NO NO!!!! @ 7:11 AM today.

We on Maui do not want or need Hooser on this island. Get enough self-centered, out-of-touch-with-reality loosers here already.

Anonymous said...

There is siene on both sides of the argument. Seems like the only people for GMO are the people that have some kind of financial reason to do so and those opposed can afford to buy organic. There is a whole bunch of people that don't fit into either category that deserve to know the truth. You would think either side would conduct an all inclusive test without bias that definitely proves their case.

Anonymous said...

Theory is not FACT so essentially Science is not FACT. Theories become "Theory" through extensive peer review.

Anonymous said...

12/14/@ 11:26 AM there are plenty of people who are not opposed to GE (what you are calling GMO) who have no financial stake in the matter. These people are educated and trained scientists. To date I have not read one properly designed, properly peer reviewed study published in a credible scientific journal that shows that GE is harmful. If I ever do, I will consider the evidence and adjust my position accordingly.

Anonymous said...

Then you haven't read very much @1:54

Unknown said...

@ 6:39 the starving people of Africa benefit from buying my cheaper than organic food grade white corn. They did a study in Mexico with twins. Half were given soy milk and the other half wasn't. Protien is very important for brian development. The twins given soy milk started getting better grades. After 6 months, they started pulling A's. Then something interesting happened, the other twins started getting better grades too. Turns out, the moms started giving the other twins soy milk too. That's why the study ended early. Therefore, I'm VERY PROUD to grow affordable soybeans to help the impoverished people of the world get a better education. People with better grades are more likely to goto college and succeed in the world. That is truly the key to ending poverty (and starvation) in the world. That cause benefits all of humanity more than it benefits me... I would rather feed 4 starving people with conventional grains then one person with organic. Conversely, a starving family given the choice between organic food for one person, or conventional food for the whole family would make the same choice as well. You make your choice (and that choice is fine), but I don't cast unfair aspersion on your character based on that....I'll kindly ask you to return the favor.

Anonymous said...

@5:05 pm I am very well read. Please provide one example of a credible scientific study that shows GE is harmful.

Anonymous said...

When my daughter was done breast feeding, she only drank soy milk. She gets straight A''s too. She also started experiencing premature puberty at the age of 6 and got her period by 11. Her doctor said it was because she drank soy milk. Are you gonna take credit for that too Bradley? My other daughter is 6. She only drinks organic rice milk. So far no premature puberty. They don't give A's anymore in 1st grade but I'm sure she'lll get them when her time comes.

Anonymous said...

Hopefully, your doctor has now reviewed the medical literature on phytoestrogens, which are weaker than human estrogen. When phytoestrogens occupy the cell, normal estrogens can't. The plant estrogens minimize normal estrogen. In other words, soy products reduce estrogen activity. Think about it - cultures with more soy consumption than the US don't have an epidemic of early female puberty.

Menarche usually occurs between age 10 and 15, with the average age being about 12.5. That age range has been stable for decades. There is nothing unusual about commencement at 11.

Precocious puberty occurs before age 8 and has a long list of possible causes, none of which involve soy beans.

Unknown said...

@ 8:02 ummm your her parent, so what you feed your kids is your deal more than mine. However, a diet rich in meat would have contributed to the same symptoms. As a nation, and a world, kids are reaching pubescence earlier. Also, they are developing longer. Women, on average, are a full cup size larger than a generation ago. Yes, to a certain degree,
farmers providing a protein rich diet is contributing to that. Rice milk is very low in protein compared to soy milk (soy milk has way more protein than cow's milk), so only time will tell how she develops intellectually. If she is getting protein from other sources, I doubt it'll be an issue. In Mexico, their diet is very, very low in protein. That's where we are seeing development issues. Those kids are not reaching pubescence earlier.

Unknown said...

I should clarify, the study in Mexico is on teenage girls in poor rural part of the county. They have developmental issues from years of a low protein diet. The twins feed soy milk started growing taller faster too. Now the entire village drinks soy milk and they have seen remarkable improvement is both health, and academics. The researchers are working on trying to repeat those results in three other communities prior to publishing the study....

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous Anonymous @ December 14, 2016 at 5:03 AM who said...

"I hope somebody documents and records the poor people that are losing their lively hoods on Maui sugar plantations. The heartache and misery that the GMO activist are causing needs to be exposed and shown to the world."

I hope that too. The selfish anti-GMO, anti-everything people who did their best to put 700 people out of work here on Maui are bragging and congratulating themselves and insisting that all their illnesses will now be over. Not gonna happen. They will probably find that the persistent vog was the cause of their asthma, not the once every 2 year cane burning of fields (25-30 minutes).

And even though they are also audaciously and mindlessly bragging that now, all those unemployed workers will get new and better jobs, we all know that there are few good jobs on Maui and this is very unlikely. Just over 100 workers have succeeded in finding jobs and most are not comparable in wages or benefits.

It is well-established that the loss of employment has serious ramifications on health. Perhaps even THE most serious impacts to health. Unfortunately, as in other Hawaii locations where the plantations have closed, Maui can expect an increase both physical and psychological problems.

Yes, the plantation was losing money, as it has in other years. But even the heads of the company have acknowledged that incessant activism helped bring about the sudden decision to close. This would not have happened so soon, or the way it did, but for the lies, exaggerations, and constant pressure and manipulation of the government and the public. With blind help from the media.

The activists are proud of themselves. They have been empowered by their successes. They think they are saving the world. They will never be satisfied until the destroy every bit of aloha in Hawaii.

We were a family at HC&S. These people have destroyed that. We are scattered to the wind.



Anonymous said...

Wow Bradley!!! Not only do you have "big corn" but genius soy, your truly amazing. One would think with results like that the Unired States would be serving soy milk in every school. Surely, you shared the amazing results with your community and your local school district has begun serving it?