04-28-2014, 08:15 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Delta9r
OpenD, your initial statement was not made in the spirit of encyclopedic knowledge, it was an attempt to marginalize someone who holds a divergent viewpoint from your own.
Had you actually meant "... GMO black beans on the market..." I'm fairly sure that your initial statement would have contained your new qualifier.
Please don't attempt to marginalize my views by presuming that you know better than I do what I meant by what I said.
The context was the purchase of a can of black beans. I was commenting on the fact that no GMO black beans are sold anywhere. It was an accurate statement. Period.
Delta9r - That is right in line with your "plausible fairy tale" statement, which is yet another attempt at marginalization of someone who doesn't share your love for big agribusiness.[/quote]
Please don't attempt to marginalize my views by ascribing to me beliefs I don't have. I'm not a fan of big agribusiness. Period.
And I'm even less of a fan of people making stuff up that has no basis in verifiable fact.
Delta9r - As for big agribusiness taking advantage of our year round growing season, they could do the same elsewhere by utilizing indoor/greenhouse techniques... [/quote]
Doubtful, since 6,500 acres are devoted to seed crops (per Hawai'i Farm Bureau, 2011-2012). It's the same reason you don't see fields of corn or pineapples or soybeans planted in greenhouses. It's simply not feasible for most crops except high-value ones. Orchids, yes. Marijuana, yes. Field crops, no. And by the way, hybrid seed corn has been grown out in Hawai'i for more than 45 years, long before GMO technology was even developed. Having a strong, diverse agricultural sector as part of our state's economy that is not dependent on tourism or military spending helps build economic strength, and that benefits everyone.
Delta9r - The facts remain; the GMO crops being cultivated here in the state are nearly always monoculture crops, heavily sprayed with chemicals, and are of little benefit to our local population. [/quote]
Little benefit? Taken together, agricultural seeds are the largest agricultural crop in the islands, producing more than a third of the total value of all crops, far surpassing sugar, and valued at something like $250 Million per year. And a lot of the land being cultivated is leased from local owners.
That represents a lot of jobs, and a lot of economic benefit to the communities those workers live in. And personally, closer to home, I know most of the papaya growers on the Big Island are small family farmers, who would have lost their farms, their homes, and their livelihood if the Ringspot Virus Resistant papayas had not been developed, and the seeds distributed free of charge by the University of Hawai'i at Hilo.
And this is a reality that anti-GMO activists gloss over... that the small farmers, the family farmers, the people whose whole life is on the line, totally dependent on the productivity of their growing efforts, are the ones who seem to have the smallest voice in this long ranging debate. To a very large degree, the majority of those small farmers want the increased yields of GMO crops. Otherwise there would be no market for the seeds.
Obviously.