Papaya vandalism . . . again.

[Bullwinkle]

The local papers read like it was a genetically modified papaya issue, not random vandalism.

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Hu...food.shtml

[terracore]

I've read of people dumping milk down the drain or sugar into the ocean in order to bring the prices up, but the sugar or milk usually belongs to the people (or co-op) that is doing the dumping.

Three separate owner's properties doesn't sound like a plausible insurance scam (especially since they may not have even been insured).

Like determining motives and suspects in every other crime, who had the "most to gain" by the papayas being cut down? And who had the ability?

[PaulW]

GMO? It could be. The anti-science fanatics are becoming violent. Money isn't always the motive.

[james weatherford]

GMO?
Unlikely.
First, all papayas are not GMO.
Next, and most importantly, actions such as destroying GMO crops are announced and taken credit for loudly by the people who are trying to make a statement. For example, Green Peace destroyed GMO wheat research plots in Australia and the first the world knew about it was when Green Peace did their press release.

[Bullwinkle]

these are:

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/NPH-1.pdf

In the article I read rainbow papaya were specifically mentioned by the reporter

[oink]

quote:

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Originally posted by james: Next, and most importantly, actions such as destroying GMO crops are announced and taken credit for loudly by the people who are trying to make a statement. For example, Green Peace destroyed GMO wheat research plots in Australia and the first the world knew about it was when Green Peace did their press release.

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That's disingenuous and makes the assumption that such enviro-terrorism would only be conducted by large organized groups such as Green Peace. You exclude the possibility that a very loosely affiliated bunch (like minded friends or acquaintances) of locally based wackos are capable of such acts. I don't find the idea that such wackos could reside in Puna as preposterous.

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[Bullwinkle]

Or any neighboring non GMO farmers, they have a huge financial exposure .... the big bugaboo in GMO is that if it "gets out" and co-mingles the GMO genetics with neighboring crops.

http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/regulatio...ation.html

[csgray]

Puna has plenty of conspiracy theorists, UFO true believers, and flat out wackos to be sure, but I have generally found that wackos tend to exercise their mouths more effectively than anything, usually want to take credit for their actions, and generally have difficulty maintaining sustained group effort without degenerating into squabbling splinter factions. The whole point of the direct action factions within the environmental movement is to convince people they better change their ways, or else. If there is no public connection of the direct action to the cause, then it is pointless, even from their perspective

This has now occurred twice, a year apart without a whisper on the coconut wireless about who did it, and it is highly unlikely that it was a solo effort due to the volume of trees destroyed and the time frame. If it was anti GMO people I don't think there would have been a year between events, since papaya are grown year round. Also the first set of fields were publicized as non-GMO after the event, and cutting down random papaya trees for no publically known reason does not further the promotion of non-GMO tree stock, or serve to discourage farmers from growing GMO crops. It just discourages these farmers from growing papaya generally.

When this kind of effort is put out to damage farmers livelihood in such a small area, I would look at who stands to profit. I remember looking at land for sale in that area several years ago, and almost all of it was leased to farmers on fairly long leases. Is there someone who wants these farmers off that land badly enough to hire a crew to cut these trees down and pay them enough to keep their mouths shut? Is the competition in papaya farming so cut throat that farmers would do this to each other (unlikely)? Does someone object to the farming practices specific to papaya farming to the point where they would do this, but not publicize their reasons?

Random vandalism is usually just that, random, it is also usually small scale and unplanned. This is a pair of actions that took real effort and planning on the part of multiple people, I don't think the perpetrators of this just happened to all be riding around lower Puna with machetes on a full moon. The cops need to look at what is motivating this, and look for who stands to profit, not just write it off as lower Puna wackos with no proof, or else it looks like this will keep happening.

Carol

[Seeb]

General rule about any crime that took a crew is that, If no info has leaked then the muscle was from out of town

but that mite not hold true here

[Bullwinkle]

From the trib today:

"There is speculation that the perpetrators are rival papaya farmers or activists opposed to genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Both SunUp and Rainbow papayas are genetically modified to resist the papaya ringspot virus, which has devastated previous Big Island papaya crops.

The incident is being investigated as criminal property damage, a Class B felony that carries a possible 10-year prison term."