GMO Archives - The Maui Independent

Betrayers of Maui Democracy Ask Voters to Re-Elect Them This November Arakawa, Victorino, Crivello, and Hokama Enabled Monsanto’s Historic Theft of Voter-Approved GMO Moratorium

Posted by Jonathan Greenberg - October 25, 2018

The public initiative system is a unique and magnificent tool for grassroots democracy. Four years ago, Maui’s GMO Moratorium made history in a number of significant ways. First, it made local history by becoming the first public initiative effort in Maui history to get on the ballot. It did this through the hard work of

Massive A&B Corporate Water Theft Faces Public Comment In Maui The aqueduct system and corporate water giveaway are rooted in century-old plantation-era water contracts

Posted by Jonathan Greenberg - February 23, 2017

On February 22 and 23, 2017, Maui citizens will have a chance to speak out against a 30-year extension of a rigged plantation-era water system that for more than a century has diverted the majority of all the water from vibrant streams on the island to benefit the Alexander & Baldwin Corporation for less than

Passage of Amendment 12 Scores Historic Win for Maui Water Rights For years plantation owner Alexander & Baldwin paid almost nothing to use majority of island’s water

Posted by Jonathan Greenberg - March 28, 2023

With the historic November 2022 passage of Charter Amendment 12, establishing the East Maui Community Water Authority, there is hope, for the first time in 145 years, that the people of Maui will finally gain control over the island’s largest public water source. “The water leases are up for grabs, and the DLNR (Department of Land

Endorsement: Yes on 12 & ‘Onipa‘a 2022 Candidates Vote to stop development money from buying control of Maui's County Council

Posted by Jonathan Greenberg - October 28, 2022

View the Maui Independent’s video endorsement, narrated by Alika Atay, or read the text version of the commentary below. Corporate America has a vision for Maui’s future. It is the same vision they have had for 130 years. It is a vision of ruthlessly exploiting our island’s bountiful environment and hard working people for their

Betrayers of Maui Democracy Ask Voters to Re-Elect Them This November Arakawa, Victorino, Crivello, and Hokama Enabled Monsanto’s Historic Theft of Voter-Approved GMO Moratorium

Posted by Jonathan Greenberg - October 25, 2018

The public initiative system is a unique and magnificent tool for grassroots democracy. Four years ago, Maui’s GMO Moratorium made history in a number of significant ways. First, it made local history by becoming the first public initiative effort in Maui history to get on the ballot. It did this through the hard work of

Hawai’i Will Become First State in USA to Ban Toxic Pesticide Chlorpyrifos Robust People-Powered Effort Pressures Lawmakers to Pass Historic Pesticide Bill That Includes Buffer Zones & Disclosure

Posted by Jon Woodhouse - April 30, 2018

In a victory for people power, Hawai’i is about to become the first state in the nation to ban the neurotoxic pesticide chlorpyrifos. The ban is part of a historic new pesticide regulation bill that had already passed the House, and on Friday, April 27, passed the Senate Conference Committee. The bill, after enormous opposition from

Landmark Case Puts Cancer Risk of Monsanto’s Roundup on Trial For The First Time in US Courtroom, Renowned Health Experts Link Popular Pesticide to Cancer

Posted by Jon Woodhouse - March 14, 2018

The most heavily used chemical weed killer in human history has been declared carcinogenic by a team of health experts testifying last week in San Francisco’s U.S. District Court. While government agencies have declared Roundup safe, based on corrupt science and flawed analysis (often drawing from Monsanto-funded studies), a lawsuit on behalf of farm workers

Maui County Council’s Proposed 2018 Budget Supports Tourism, Stiffs Locals Testify This Week or Call Budget Chair Hokama at 270-7768 to Express Yourself

Posted by Mark Sheehan - April 26, 2017

There was a character in a William Faulkner novel who learned early in life “that words go up in the air in a column of thin smoke, but doing goes along the ground.” The Maui County Council’s old guard talks about issues affecting residents: affordable housing and “solving the workforce housing crisis”, homelessness, water quality

How Agro-Chem and Big Ag Industries Conspire to Dispute Benefits of Organic Food Locally Their Strategy is to Minimize Adverse Impacts of Pesticides Here on Maui

Posted by Jon Woodhouse - February 26, 2020

The agro-chemical industry has long downplayed the adverse impact of pesticides often in collusion with government agencies. Official narratives, pushed by the industry, the media fed false information, and key agencies, have deliberately minimized health concerns. On Maui we have faced years of Monsanto spraying toxic chemicals. Before they stopped posting their annual pesticide use,

Will Unregulated Gene Editing Technology Destroy Nature? Untested Side Effects of Fast Growing New Technology May Have Catastrophic Consequences

Posted by Jon Woodhouse - December 5, 2019

We’ve all grown up with the existential threat of nuclear annihilation and more recently the ominous impact of climate change. Now we might be facing a new doomsday scenario: alarmingly unregulated gene-editing technology with the potential to radically and permanently alter the natural world. “We’re looking at the replacement of nature,” warns Jeffrey Smith, one

Just Say No To Roz Baker Ignore Her Ads: Her Record as a Backroom Booster of Pesticide Conglomerates Has Been Disgraceful

Posted by Jon Woodhouse - August 6, 2018

Almost Orwellian in its doublespeak deception, Maui Senator Roz Baker’s latest campaign ad promotes her as a champion of ‘aina protection. “From protecting our reefs from harmful sunscreens to creating pesticide free zones around our schools, Roz fights from the heart to save the ‘aina,” it reads. The truth? While she has taken credit for

Maui’s People-Powered Candidates Poised to Take Majority in 2018 County’s Monsanto-Boosting Old Guard Establishment May Lose its Majority Stranglehold in Historic Election

Posted by Jon Woodhouse - July 26, 2018

The upcoming 2018 Maui election offers an extraordinary, historic opportunity to change the power structure that has limited progressive change on our island. The Maui Ohana wing of the County Council – Elle Cochran, Alika Atay and Kelly King – is poised to be joined by another wave of reformist candidates seeking to take Maui

Will A&B’s Leases for GMO Farming Poison Maui’s Agricultural Future? Tuesday Sept 5 Council Meeting Gives Public Chance to Express Whether A&B Should Receive Public Water with Market Value of $250,000 for Just $750

Posted by Jon Woodhouse - September 4, 2017

A&B is set to increase GMO crop growing on Maui against the wishes of a majority of the island population who voted for a GMO moratorium in 2014. As part of their so called “diversified agriculture” plan, rather than devoting land to feed people, A&B is growing GMO Bt corn and sorghum on 140 acres

Hawai’i’s Journey from Plantation Exploitation to Agro-Chemical Poisoning Exposed in Historic New Study "Hawai’i: GMO Ground Zero" offers critical analysis of agrochemical industry

Posted by Jon Woodhouse - August 15, 2017

A brilliant new doctoral thesis by Kauai native Andrea Brower reveals the first comprehensive analysis of how Hawai’i’s historically exploitative plantation system has morphed into the ecologically exploitative “agrochemical-seed-biotechnology industry’s occupation of Hawai’i.” Brower’s 314 page doctoral thesis, titled, “Hawai’i: GMO Ground Zero,” contributes what she frames as a, “previously absent critical analysis of Monsanto,

New Documentary Exposes Devastating Impact of Pesticides on Kauai “Poisoning Paradise” screens at the Maui Film Festival on June 23

Posted by Jon Woodhouse - June 15, 2017

The devastating impact of pesticide poisoning on Kauai by the agro-chemical industry is highlighted in the groundbreaking documentary “Poisoning Paradise,” screening at the Maui Film Festival on June 23, at 10 p.m. at the Celestial Cinema in Wailea. Award-winning investigative journalist Paul Koberstein describes Kauai as, “one of the most toxic agricultural environments in all

Native Wisdom: Water Protector Alika Atay on the Power of We the People From Standing Rock to Maui: "Protect Our Water"

Posted by Jonathan Greenberg - March 25, 2017

In November, organic farmer Alika Atay, the grassroots leader of Hawaii’s ʻĀina Protector’s United effort was elected to the Maui County Council in a stunning upset (described in detail here). Atay was the lead plaintiff in the SHAKA Movement’s federal lawsuit over the invalidation of Maui’s successful GMO Moratorium initiative in 2014. This Maui Independent

Activate Locally: Empowerment is the Answer to Despair We can’t just let unconscious people acting on behalf of oligarchs and polluting corporations crush our way of life, whether they work in Washington or Kahului

Posted by Mark Sheehan - March 26, 2017

Now that President Donald Trump and his Goebbels-like propaganda boss Steve Bannon have taken control of Washington, it feels as though fascism is back in fashion. But so is activism. As a fertile springtime begins, we are watching an exciting new form of activism evolve that is inclusive, robust, and growing more muscular by the

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