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"Siding with the chemical companies instead of the people on the GMO/pesticide issue is one of them. Thus I cannot support GMO-Joy."
Which "people" are you referring to? Certainly not evidence-based people. Are you against vaccination because Big Pharma might be making a lot of money from vaccines? If I was voting in District 4 this would be a big strike against Joy who apparently believes whatever fake health story some activists repeat over and over (and a big plus for Gregor). Anti-GMO is essentially an anti-science position little different from climate change denialism and should not be conflated with positions on corporate behavior. Is this "blowing with the wind" behavior what you want in a county council person?
A newer article summarizing the anti-science nature of anti-GMO and the pitfall created by the labeling movement that Joy supports:
http://theweek.com/article/index/261282/...f-the-left
Key quote:
quote:
Individuals certainly have the right to be ignorant, but GMO-labeling inherently implies a reason for that labeling — that there really might be health hazards involved. By giving in, the government would be empowering those who oppose the scientific community and helping further propagate misinformation. With something as seemingly low-stakes as GMO labeling, the impact of that may appear to be trivial. But if this tendency is any indicator of where we allow the power to lie, we've got more problems ahead of us than fake health hazards.
(italics in original)
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"IMHO, We really need good, scientific research to answer many questions about GMO"
The body of research is enormous. In what way is it unsatisfactory?
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Labeling strikes to the core of direct denocracy and representative democracy - can you make choices for yourself? Or do you need someone else to be telling you what, when, where, why, how?
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Exactly. Too bad the USA isn't a democracy.
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I find it odd when one's talking about GMO crops in Hawaii and they aren't ready to be real clear.. ie black and white.. about it they say stuff like how the food side of the issue is something or other. The food side is a whole other thing.. ie human consumption.. human health kind of stuff. The growing it here in our environment isn't (directly) about consumption. It's about being good stewards and protecting our natural environment! And regarding this anyone who doesn't understand the communities concern for a very cautious approach is just plane ignorant of the whole idea of there maybe being a danger here that really needs to be understood before we allow those with such interests to carry on. ie this is the whole invasive species issue on some kind if hyper steroids.. that genie that once out of the bottle might not be able to get back in
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Thanks for trying to clarify Frankie, but... Saying only the Feds can act is the standard slogan of all local pro-GMO legislators. It justifies non-action. It's a safe position because we all know the Feds won't be acting on this issue, as Monsanto owns the FDA & has extraordinary control over federal legislators. That's the whole reason this is being fought in Vermont, Oregon, Hawaii, and even the counties.
Spouting Monsanto slogans and advocating for the status quo is as pro-GMO as you can get. Few are fooled by this, and the attempt to fool us with GMO slogans while trying to play both sides of an important issue is not respectable.. I prefer even Faye, or an honest GMO proponent, to this double-talk.
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I think the candidate that takes a firm anti-GMO stance could come out of this being the winner. She/he has just got to gather their wits about them and take the plunge. And yeah the path of a trail blazer is littered with dangers.. but then the trail blazer that succeeds has greatness on their side. And at this juncture.. in this time of transition for the political fabric of Hawaii.. the real trail blazers could become our true leaders of the future. Dan Inouye passed.. who.. what hui.. is going to step up and lead us going forward. Brother Neil over in Honolulu seemed to think he had it in him.. but oh what a disappointment that has been.. so who? And without something like WW 2 and the greatness we saw in our boys that has carried them through a long and prosperous lifetime.. who.. and how shall we define.. our true leaders going forward?
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@ Frankie -
As you seem to be the spokesperson for Joy, please remind her to send me her RSVP for the candidate forum on June 19th, per the invitation I sent her. Just to clarify, Joy's not the only one who has not responded yet. I am still waiting to hear from Emily Naeole, Dan Cunningham, and Tim Law (among those who have filed).
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Mendo, you are right. Anybody tossing the issue to the Feds is just diving for political cover, knowing full well that government at the federal level does not yet possess the fortitude to insist on labeling and scrutinize the more blatantly corporate aspects of GMO. After California and Washington came close, and now Vermont and Maine leading the way on labeling, and with 26 other state legislatures looking at the issue this year, it is clear that the issue is being fought at the state level across the nation. Tossing it to the Feds is a conservative ploy and a political cop out. If Joy were enthusiastically in favor of GMO labeling here in Hawaii, she would have said so. Like Leilani Bronson-Crelly who has already come out strongly in favor of GMO labeling and keeping new GMO crops off our island.
http://www.vote4Leilani.com
Edited to fix a typo.
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Labeling is more bureaucracy. More bureaucracy means more civil servants. More civil servants mean more jobs but increased taxes.
You anti-GMO people are fighting to give the government the right and the need to levy a tax on food to cover the cost of managing a label bureaucracy. It is going to take an agency, the GMO police, to administer this. You, the people.
"This island Hawaii on this island Earth"
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*