Dr. Vandana Shiva at the Kauai War Memorial Hall. Daniel Lane photo.

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Rise Awareness and Inspire Change

Over 1,000 people filled the Kauai War Memorial Hall in peaceful solidarity last night. Dr. Vandana Shiva, a celebrated physicist and environmental activist, spoke about the deadly effect genetically modified crops have had on India. She encouraged our residents to become active with legislature and banning GMO crops in Hawaii.

Andrew Kimbrall, executive director of the Center of Food Safety, gave numerous examples of how GMO giants Monsanto, Syngenta, Dow AgroSciences, Bayer CropScience and DuPont have been stanched. In 2006, the Center for Food Safety, Friends of the Earth, Pesticide Action Network North America, and KAHEA (the Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance) sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A federal district judge ruled that the USDA violated the Endangered Species Act. The ruling is the first on controversial drug-producing GE crops.

Hawaii’s revered environmental activist Walter Ritte lives on Molokai and shared that 30 percent of the island’s food supply is grown on the island. A remarkable feat since 90 percent of the state’s food supply is imported. Many native Hawaiians were in the audience and he reached out to them by saying that independence and sovereignty are part of food security and aloha aina.

Regeneration Botanical Gardens and Kauai Seed Bank passed out seeds that were harvested from plants that were grown on Kauai. The event was organized by GMO Free Kauai, and Hawaii SEED. A free copy of the book Facing Hawaii’s Future was given to everyone.

Dan and I were there to cover the event for MidWeek Kauai. A complete story will run in the Farmers Markets column of the Jan. 30 issue. Continue Reading →