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CALL TO ACTION: SAVE HALOA, NO GMO KALO HEARING ON MARCH 19, 2008.

Posted by Pono Kealoha on March 6, 2008 at 9:11pm
Duke2.gifCALL TO ACTION: SAVE HALOA, NO GMO KALO HEARING ON MARCH 19, 2008.
MAJOR MILESTONE: WE GOT A HEARING!! Because of your dedication to protecting Haloa, Legislators felt the pressure to hear SB 958. Your words of aloha for Haloa are needed now to pass a 10-year moratorium on the genetic modification and patenting of all taro.
Here's how you can help for the March 19th hearing:
1. Submit Testimony Now: click here to go to KAHEA's virtual testimony table.
Your testimony should be in your own words, if can (legislators don't seem swayed by form letters).
Even better, if you are part of an organization or business that supports Kalo, then put your testimony on letterhead.

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2. Call Rep. Clift Tsuji and the Agriculture Committee members (click here for phone numbers), tell them:
- thank you for holding a hearing on SB 958
- please do not delay decision-making on the bill
- the bill should protect all varieties of Kalo, not just Hawaiian varieties
- the moratorium must be at least 10 years or longer

3. Write a Letter to the Editor of your local paper or click here to send a letter to the two islands-wide daily papers.

....click here to learn more about how you can help!

book_sm.jpg A MUST READ: "Uncertain Peril" is a powerful reminder that what’s at stake right now is nothing less than the nature of the future.

“If we want to save places, people, or plants, we have to remember their stories. In their stories are the details of their natural and social history and, most importantly, the meaning they have for our lives...The reason traditional cultures are so important to the world right now is that they still know how to remember their stories. ” - C.H. Cummings, chapter 10.


Airing all month long on Hawai‘i's public access cable networks:
"Islands at Risk: Genetic Engineering in Hawai‘i", a new film by the filmmakers who brought us Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege. To learn more, visit Na Maka ‘o ka ‘Aina.

Yet Another Victory Hawai‘i’s Fragile Environment!
Federal Court ruled in favor of KAHEA’s challenge to USDA’s failure to protect the environment from impacts of open field-testing of plants genetically engineered to produce pharmaceuticals.

On Aug. 10, 2006, Federal Court Judge Seabright held that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) violated both NEPA and the ESA by authorizing Monsanto, ProdiGene, Hawai'i Agriculture Research Center, and Garst Seed to field test crops genetically engineered to produce pharmaceuticals. Read the Court's Decision, get an overview of the case, and learn more: visit the Union of Concerned Scientists, read the executive summary to "A Growing Concern."

Appellants include KAHEA, Center for Food Safety, Friends of the Earth, and Pesticide Action Network North America.

Earthjustice senior attorney, Paul Achitoff argued the case. The judge will hold a hearing on August 22nd to determine further restrictions and conditions. Please attend and show support for strong protection.

News Coverage:

More Information on the Lawsuit Against the USDA
KAHEA is party to a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture seeking comprehensive regulations and protection from the field testing of genetically modified organisms.

Facing Hawai‘i’s Future: Harvesting Essential Information About GMO’s gives a uniquely Hawaiian perspective on the debate over genetically modified foods. To receive a copy of the book, please contact Hawai‘i SEED.

Fact Sheet: Genetic Engineering in the Garden of Eden (60k PDF) Basic information about agricultural biotechnology for Hawai‘i by Claire Cummings.

Fact Sheet: Risks of Genetic Engineering (20k PDF)

Fact Sheet: What's wrong with Genetic Engineering? (11k PDF) Organic Consumers Assocation.

Fact Sheet: Biotechnology Policy Statement (12k PDF) Union of Concerned Scientist.

The Union of Concerned Scientists Urges the USDA and FDA to Implement a Zero Contamination Initiative on Bio-Pharm Crops Feb. 5, 2003

Manufacturing Drugs and Chemicals In Crops: Biopharming Poses New Threats to Consumers, Farmers, Food Companies and the Environment(1.3MB PDF) Friends of the Earth. Executive Summary (324k PDF)

TRESPASS A new comprehensive article on GMO's by Claire Cummings.

Paoakalani Declaration: a statement of self-determination issued by Kanaka Maoli cultural experts in response to the commercialization and misappropriation of traditional Hawaiian knowledge (SIZE) October 2003.

Bioprospecting /BioPiracy and Indigenous People (64k PDF) May 20, 2002.

Biotech_and Indigenous Peoples Occasional Papers (36k PDF) May 8, 2002.

Maori Point of View on Genetic Modification (25k PDF)

The Violence of Globalization (12k PDF) by Vandana Shiva

News

Genetic Traits Spread to Non-Engineered Papayas in Hawai'i September 10, 2004 (ENS) coverage of Hawai'i Genetic Engineering Action Network Press Conference on threats to papaya markets from GMO papayas.

Plenty Papaya Problems Scientists square off over how safe Hawaii's genetically modified papaya is for consumers by Alan D. McNarie, Hawai'i Island Journal

Fears grow with genetic crop secrecy Honolulu Advertiser, October 19, 2003

Both sides lose in genetic crop wars

Are there Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's) in your lunch? Haleakala Times, October 15 - November 4, 2003

What's Wrong with Biotechnology in Hawai'i? (60k PDF) Op-Ed by Dr. Hector Valenzuela, UH Manoa Tropical Agriculture Hawaii Island Journal September 2003.

No paradise for pharming The Scientist, July 30, 2003

Diversa Will Mine Biodiversity in Hawai‘i (3k PDF) Environmental News Service June 11, 2002PLEASE CLICK
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Tags: GMO, KALO, MILITART, MONSANTO, TARO, USA, aina
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