Shaka Movement Takes on Monsanto GMOs

Maui County is ground zero for GMO and associated pesticide experimentation and it is making people sick. Monsanto claims it is a farming ban although only 1% of farms use GMOs. They claim they'll lay off their workers although they have extensive nonGMO seed operations. They claim that GMOs are safe but they are afraid that the study will show they are not. They claim that backyard gardeners will be subject to arrest but the initiative only punishes DELIBERATE planting of GMOs. Any plant in the ground can go through harvest and be replanted with nonGMO. They claim it hurts farmers but they're the only ones growing GMOs except for a tiny number of coffee, squash and corn that is GMOs. In fact, THEY have harmed local farmers by their claims because now people are avoiding local nonOrganic produce because they are under the misapprehension that local produce is all GMO.

On Nov. 4, residents of Maui County (which includes Maui, Molokai and Lanai islands) will vote on whether to place an immediate moratorium on all genetically modified farming in the county.

Kauai and Hawaii counties already passed regulations on the agricultural biotechnology industry last year, but if the Maui initiative passes, it would be the most restrictive law against biotech in the state.

The Sustainable Hawaiian Agriculture for the Keiki and the Aina (or SHAKA) Movement submitted the moratorium to the Maui County Council earlier this year. The movement collected 9,062 valid signatures to get it added to the ballot; it represents the county’s first-ever citizen-initiated bill.

If passed, SHAKA’s moratorium would be in effect until Maui County conducts an environmental and public health analysis of genetically engineered crops. The bill would also require biotech companies to fund the analysis.

Any business knowingly growing GMO crops during this time would be fined up to $50,000 per day.

Monsanto Co. and Mycogen Seeds, an affiliate of Dow AgroSciences, both currently operate farms on Molokai and Maui and employ about 600 people combined. State economists have projected that if the bill passes and all employees are laid off, Maui’s unemployment rate would rise from 4.7 to 5.5 percent.

SHAKA argues, “There is no need for job loss as these companies can switch back to non-GMO seed crop production.” But Mycogen Seeds, which farms GMO crops on 80 percent of its farms, told Honolulu Civil Beat that “it may ultimately lead us to seriously consider shutting down our operations on Molokai.”

Monsanto & Dow spent over $800,000 in TV ads just in Sept and the total must be over $2million by now or even more. These ads are complete lies.