Victory!

Today, Thursday November 13, the Hawaii County Council voted 7 to 0 to override Mayor Harry Kim’s veto of bill# 361.

Bill# 361, introduced by Council Member Angel Pilago, will now become an Ordinance and protect Hawaii Island’s Taro and Coffee from Genetic Engineering, in the field or in the lab.

This has been a long struggle.  However, I can proudly say that we were able to win this one because we did it right.  We got to know our Council members and we worked with them.   Over the course of more than a year we worked to educate our County Council.   At the same time we have been educating the public.  Doing events, showing films, hosting forums, tabling, and most importantly building our base.

Our efforts to raise awareness, and to organize is what gave us the strength to win.  During this special session of the County Council, to consider overriding Mayor Harry Kim’s veto, over 100 + people showed up to give testimony in support of bill# 361 and to encourage the County Council to overturn Mayor Kim’s veto.  I would estimate that over 1/2 of the individuals who showed up today, were new faces.  People who had never testified before on this issue.  This is very good.  It means that the County Council is hearing new voices and that our base is growing and becoming more engaged.  It was just a few weeks ago, in mid October, that there was another Co. Council Meeting and we had a strong showing of 100+ people.  Individuals who were willing to rearrange their lives so they could come spend the day at a County Council meeting.

The vote to override Mayor Kim’s veto was not assured.  Our opponents were monied and politically connected.  They pulled out all of the stops, including taking out a full page newspaper ad., and lobbied our council members heavily.  However, the did not have the public on their side. 

We had public support. We had people power.  In the end, this force, and some good strategy, allowed us to win this fight.  There are still many more battles in the struggle to secure safe and sustainable food, but for the moment we can celebrate.

Peace, Paul

Another Full Week

It is hard to believe that another week has sped by. Once again the week has been full of activities. Much of the week was focused on the GMO struggle. GMOs (Genetically Modified Organism) are scary and potentially very dangerous products in the new field of genetic engineering. This is not hybridization or cross breeding. It is altering plants and other organisms at the genetic level by introducing new and often foreign genetic material. By new and foreign I mean cross species genetic modification — introducing animal genes into plants, particularly food crops.

There is very little research done on the effects of Genetic Engineering and what research is done, is being funded by the corporations who stand to profit from the sale of GMOs.

Of course once a life form is released into the wild you can’t recall it later. GMO corn or rice or potatoes or whatever, that are in the field now, can and will contaminate other non-gmo fields. There is no way to avoid contamination. If in 10 years we discover that a particular GMO poses significant health or environmental risks, there will be nothing that can be done about it. That plant will already exist in the wild. And I am sure that we are all aware at how difficult it is to control invasive species.

I did other things in addition to work on the GMO issue. I led services in Waimea on Wednesday. I attended a meeting of ICIA (Interfaith Communities in Action) on Thursday. I tabled at UHH’s peace day on Friday. And today, Saturday, I painted signs and made preparations for the Honokaa Peace Day and Festival on Sunday.

As always, the days are rounded out with and supported by daily religious services, silence, contemplation, and reading. Without this deep well to draw strength from, it would be easy to be defeated by the world. A world seemingly driven mad by greed and hatred. But in the struggle to live out a prayerful life, one action at a time, I also find strength, hope, and love in the world.

Peace, Paul