OMG Did he seriously say “We need our best scientists”

First we want to state the devastation to the environment from the molasses spill on Oahu, Hawaii deeply saddens us, there is nothing remotely funny in this disaster to Hawaii’s ecosystem. We are Loyal to the Land and this accident has done harm to Hawaii.

We had decided to not wade into this naturally sticky situation when a quote from a key politician gave me  a sore neck from whiplash my brain began turning.  Thank you Senator Brian Schatz for getting our attention!

Senator Brian Schatz “We need our best scientists”

Seriously whiplash almost occurred when I heard US Senator Brian Schatz state on KHNL/KGMB….he said quote “We need to get our best scientists into the water to find out the damage” ….” OMG Did he really just say that, yes he did! Could Senator Schatz please share that with Mr. Gary Hoosier, Brenda Ford, Margaret Willie and Mr. Bynum of the Hawaii and Kauai County Council…

After all our best scientists are real and not fake pulled off the beach where they just happen to be vacationing in ground zero, really? Did you buy that, seriously they were paid to be in Hawaii for the hearings, it can’t be a coincidence when it occurs at every hearing!  Our best scientists have published research studies and they are credible; their scientific studies have been peer-reviewed and examined by other scientists….They and their reports have been vetted by the their own peers.

Sometimes scientists know more than elected officials! Dare I say maybe more like scientists certainly understand their particular area of expertise better than anyone and most assuredly better than an elected official; but then elected Council Members such as Gary Hoosier, Brenda Ford and Margaret Willie understand how to be an activist on a County Council way better than any scientists or farmer we know, that’s for sure! Maybe scientists and farmers need to become more adept at politics to even this out.

Hawaii Governor Abercrombie speaking about activists “We need to take in points of view, It must be science based; based in Reality”

  A quote by  Governor Abercrombie of Hawaii, regarding the   anti-windmill activists: “Yes, we have to take points of view into account. But opinion that is merely opinion is not going to be good enough. It has to be science-based; it has to be reality-based in terms of the political nature of what is involved in global pricing right now where energy is concerned,” Abercrombie said. Mahalo Governor! Words of wisdom from our fearless leader Governor Abercrombie, Thank you guv’nor! 

Now let’s share this with the a’oles on Kauai and Hawaii and especially elected officials that have run repeatedly for higher office and keep losing, only to be re-elected to county council. Now how can we best convey our message, the wise words of wisdom from politicians to politicians; after all how can you embrace science and scientists in one manner yet degrade and denigrate them in a hearing? Shouldn’t vetted scientists deserve respect from public officials;  After all you’re  elected and you’re not an expert; you’re a County Council member elected by the people to represent all of your community not the vocal minority or special interests.

Maybe the lesson for Hawaii is learning to craft better policies: Writing polices and laws based on sound evidence, good science and bringing in the experts to Hawaii that are needed and only then reacting. After all taking premature reaction without a solid foundation will cause unintended consequences to  the community, the environment, economically and socially. Two key politicians in Hawaii have spoken words of wisdom; why would Hawaii and  Kauai not listen?

Would you play ethics limbo with Senator Rudermen?

We’re not advocating anyone actually play a political limbo dance; but would you if you could? We can’t go very low, so we’d lose. Now how low can he go, apparently pretty low by the looks of it. From a political perspective, I admittedly was not shocked by his testimony but his signature line did cause a tinge of whip-lash. Really why would any Senator submit testimony on behalf of his Company and then use his title. It’s a very questionable choice Sen. Rudermen made here as shown.  After reading his testimony it became clear why he may have made this faux pas;  his testimony on Hawaii County Bill 79 was weak and certainly not accurate.    

The question still remains why is Senator Russell Rudermen submitting personal business testimony and signing it as a Senator? Did the taxpayers pay for your time to draft this testimony as well? 

Somehow he finds it perfectly ethical to make it very clear he is a Senator and use his position. Is that taking the low road or the high road of the moral path?  It certainly seems it might be an ethics issue. This is what I consider an ethics limbo dance; maybe he feels compelled to dance in order to achieve his personal agenda; however I suggest the truth is a much higher road to take.  Is there a conflict in this issue for him as the owner of  Island Naturals Food Stores and if he has a personal interest in this issue why is he even testifying, especially with a potential conflict of interest, he is after all a paid Senator in Hawaii.

Is this ethical dance logical in his mind; does he really see this as representing his community fairly; especially since his testimony was full of misinformation, anecdotal jargon and no facts!

Sen. Russell Rudermen’s Testimony Dated 05/14/2013 “Text in red is my comments not the Senator’s”

Being the only county without widespread GMO test “Test Crops, REALLY Senator don’t your mean seed crops; if we’re really talking widespread crops as you state” our island is in a unique position to protect our agriculture industry and environment from the many dangers of GMo crops. I will only discuss the economic and political impacts of GMO’s at this time. “Maybe because he has no facts in this testimony ” 

FACT: There is no danger from GMO crops; show us 1 case whre an organic farmer lost certification or 1 case of harm to a human or animal has been proven? According to the National Academy of Science who conducted a widespread search for harm to humans in 2004, not one instance of harm to humans was proven out of thousands and that statement stands today.” Source Report Link

For every GMO crop introduced, the value of that entire crop drops “anecdotal since the facts don’t support his theory, which crops are you speaking of? ”  Hawaiian papaya, for example, has never recovered to the pricing we enjoyed before the unpredicted and uncontrollable contamination from GMO papaya. “Clearly your confused on the FACTS; show us 1 proven case of contamination from the rainbow papaya? Prove it! The pricing is consistent with market highs and lows especially considering the global marketplace and the imports Hawaii Papaya faces on a daily basis.” Now our Hawaiian papaya crop is on the boycott list for millions of consumers worldwide. Japan took IO years to accept Hawaiian papaya, and still requires labeling. “The process was started in 1999 and the Japanese  ministry had to be handled 1 at a time; there are close to 200 of  them. Hawaiian papaya is prized for its superior taste.”  In the first year of acceptance of Hawaiian papaya, Japan consumed about 4,000 pounds of GMO papaya “Where he gets this data is unknown since the very first shipment of Rainbow papaya contained 6250 pounds in 5 pound boxes and that was only the first shipment.” and over I million pounds of non-GMO papaya‘ showing that consumer rejection of GMO is still the rule, even expensive marketing campaigns. “Again unknown data since Japan consumes more than $1 million dollars in US imported Papaya annually. Hawaii faces considerable competition on its papaya exports; yet  is still considered to be a superior product. The global marketplace regulates the price and Hawaii must compete.”

This bill is well crafted including the exemption for GMO papaya already established here. Papaya farmers deserve our support, but we must protect all other farmers and consumers from the negative effects GMO crops will have on other agriculture crops. “Hawaii County Bill 79 “well crafted” now that is almost funny if not coming from a State Senator; since most people who read the Bill 79  including the County council felt it bizarre, confusing and a train wreck!  What negative effects? There has never been 1 organic farmer to lose his certification and there is NO cases of any health risks to humans or animals!”

How well is the Senator dancing the political ethics limbo in your opinion; was this a faux pas or an ethics issue?  I have no interest in dancing this ethical, political limbo dance with Senator Rudermen as I find the truth is the best platform no matter what my personal agenda is.  I did feel compelled to bring it to the community’s attention, not that it will change his actions or intent but in fairness of transparency there ya go! 

Mahalo for reading,

Signed a Concerned AgVocate, Resident, registered Voter and Taxpayer on Hawaii Island.

 

 

Support All Ag Producers Submit Testimony Today on Bill #79!

Tell Hawaii County Council to Vote No on Bill# 79

 

We need your support, All local agriculture Producers Matter!

 

Hawaii Island Agriculture producers needs your kokua “support” to help protect the aina “Land”, our food sovereignty, and economic security. How can you help?

Provide written testimony by tomorow at Noon to   counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us or Testify in person on Tuesday!

Oral Public Testimony: Oral public testimony is heard at the beginning of each Council meeting for items on the agenda.  Oral public testimony is limited to three (3) minutes per agenda item.

Written Public Testimony:  The deadline for submission of written public testimony is   before 12:00 noon on the business day prior to the meeting.  The Office of the County Clerk will accept receipt of your written public testimony by mail to the Office of the County Clerk at 25 Aupuni Street, Hilo, HI 96720, by facsimile to (808) 961-8912; or by e-mail to counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us .  Please submit separate written public testimony for each agenda item.

Translators are only available in Hilo and Kona…Notify them when you sign in.

SAVE THE DATE TO TESTIFY at the Public Safety & Mass Transit Committee 

BILL 79 GMO PROHIBITION Hearing,Tuesday, July 2nd at 9:00am

Testify at the Kona Council Chambers at the West Hawai`i Civic Center
74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Highway, Bldg. A  – Map link 

Satellite Council Offices are also accepting testimony:
Hilo: Hawai`i County Building, 25 Aupuni Street, Rm. 1401
Pāhoa: Pāhoa Marketplace, 15-2660 Pāhoa Village Road, Rm. 105
Waimea: Holumua Center, 64-1067, Māmalahoa Highway, Suite 5
Ka`u: Hawaiian Ocean View Community Ctr., 92-8924 Leilani Circle

View the Amended Bill:http://records.co.hawaii.hi.us/Weblink8/0/doc/791111/Page1.aspx

In addition, if you are located on the Big Island, please be sure to submit written testimony directly to your County Council member:

Valerie Poindexter: vpoindexter@co.hawaii.hi.us

J Yoshimoto: jyoshimoto@co.hawaii.hi.us

Dennis Onishi: donishi@co.hawaii.hi.us

Greggor Ilagan: gilagan@co.hawaii.hi.us

Zendo Kern: zkern@co.hawaii.hi.us

Dru Kanuha: dkanuha@co.hawaii.hi.us

Karen Eoff: keoff@co.hawaii.hi.us

Fact Sheet about Food Safety Issues of Genetically Engineered (GE) Crops

Fact Sheet about Food Safety Issues of Genetically Engineered (GE) Crops

Prepared by

Dr. Susan C. Miyasaka, Agronomist
Dr. Russell Nagata, Plant Breeder
“Foods consumed today are derived from plants and animals whose genetic makeup
has been modified by sexual crosses and mutation. Recombinant DNA provides a new
tool to make genetic modifications, and this technology is termed genetic engineering
or biotechnology. (Lemaux, 2008)”

“The safety of genetically engineered crops and foods, just as those created by classical
breeding and mutation and grown conventionally or organically, needs to be evaluated
on a case-by-case basis so that informed decisions can be made about their utility,
safety, and appropriateness. (Lemaux, 2008)”
What are the risks of eating transgenes? No negative effects on food safety have been found in
commercialized GE crops.

“To date, no scientifically valid demonstrations have shown that food safety issues of
foods containing genetically engineered (GE) ingredients are greater than those from
conventionally or organically produced foods. (Lemaux, 2008)”

“Extensive risk assessment and safety testing of crops developed through the use of genetic
engineering has shown that there are no varieties in use that pose risks to consumers. (Wieczorek
and Wright, 2012)”

“No reproducible data has shown that transgene DNA from commercialized GE crops behave
differently than native plant DNA. (Lemaux, 2008).”

“It was concluded that the transgenic soybean diet had no negative effect on fetal, postnatal,
pubertal or adult testicular development [of mice]. (Brake and Evenson, 2004)”

Do GE foods have changes in nutritional content? No substantial differences in nutritional content have been found between commercialized GE foods and non-GE foods.

Our data show that the contents of nutrients… of GE Rainbow papaya are within the range of
those of non-GE papaya and that the Rainbow cultivar is substantially similar to the non-GE
cultivar. (Tripathi and others, 2010)”

“The results [for Round-up Ready soybeans] demonstrated that the composition of these GE
lines is equivalent to that of conventional soybean cultivars in the form consumed by humans.
(Lemaux, 2008)”
Have allergens been introduced through GE? No allergens have been introduced through
commercialized GE crops, due to extensive food safety tests conducted prior to approval by
FDA.2

“Although not mandatory, to date all companies marketing new GE foods have consulted with
the FDA and performed recommended analyses to determine if introduced proteins have
properties that indicate possible allergenicity, i.e., similarities to known allergens, small size,
slow digestibility, and/or high heat stability. (Lemaux, 2008)”

“Following accepted allergenicity assessment criteria, our results show that the transgenederived PRSV CP [Papaya Ring Spot Virus coat protein] does not pose a risk of food allergy.
(Fermin and others, 2011).”

“In recent years a variety of safety studies were conducted specifically on native Bt
proteins to show that they do not have characteristics of food allergens or toxins. (Lemaux,
2008)”

Can GE foods fed to animals result in transfer of transgenes to animals? DNA and proteins are
broken down in the digestive tract. There is no scientific evidence to date that shows that
transgenes or their products are transferred to animals fed GE foods or excreted from
animals fed GE foods.

“To date a large number of experimental studies with livestock have shown that rDNA
[recombinant DNA] fragments or proteins derived from GM plants have not been detected in
tissues, fluids or edible products of farm animals(Lemaux, 2008).”

Can GE foods increase antibiotic resistance in human and animal intestinal flora? There is no
scientific evidence to date that GE foods can transfer antibiotic resistance to gut bacteria.
And current research now allows the removal of selection genes (antibiotic resistance
genes) or marker genes (gus gene) from GE plants.

“To demonstrate the fate of transgene DNA in humans, the antibiotic resistance gene from GE
maize was shown not to transfer to gut bacteria in chickens fed GE maize. (Lemaux, 2008)”

Why doesn’t the FDA require labeling of GE foods? The FDA does require labeling of GE
foods IF the product contains allergens and its source must be named.

“If a food contains a new, potentially allergy-causing introduced protein, the label must state that
the product contains the allergen and name its source. (Lemaux, 2008).”

Are there positive benefits of GE crops on food safety? Bt corn can be SAFER to eat than
non-GE corn, because of less damage due to corn earworms and lower infections of kernels
by fungi that contain mycotoxins.

“A positive aspect of safety regarding Bt corn is the lower levels of mycotoxins compared with
non-Bt corn. Mycotoxins are toxic and carcinogenic chemicals produced as secondary
metabolites of fungal colonization that occur as a result of insects such as the corn earworm
carrying the mycotoxin containing fungi that infest the kernels following wounding.” (Lemaux,
2008)
References:
Brake, D.G. and D.P. Evenson. 2004. A generational study of glyphosate-tolerant soybeans on
mouse fetal, postnatal, pubertal and adult testicular development. Food and Chemical
Toxicology. 42:29-356.

Fermin, G., R.C. Keith, J.Y. Suzuki, S.A. Ferreira, D.A. Gaskill, K.Y. Pitz, R.M. Manshardt, D.
Gonsalves, and S. Tripathi. 2011. Allergenicity assessment of the Papaya Ringspot Virus coat
protein expressed in transgenic Rainbow papaya. J. Agr. Food Chem. 59:10006-10012.

Lemaux, P. 2008. Genetically engineered plants and foods: A scientist’s analysis of the issues
(Part I). Annu. Rev, Plant Biol. 59:771-812.

Tripathi, S., J.Y. Suzuki, J.B. Carr, G.T. McQuate, S.A. Ferreira, R.M. Manshardt, K.Y. Pitz,
M.M. Wall, and D. Gonsalves. 2011. Nutritional composition of Rainbow papaya, the first
commercialized transgenic fruit crop. J. Food Composition and Analysis. 24: 140-147.

Wieczorek, A . and M. Wright. 2012. History of Agricultural Biotechnology: How Crop
Development has Evolved. Nature Education Knowledge 3(10):9.
http://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/history-of-agricultural-biotechnology-howcrop-development-25885295