Testimony in support of Bill 79 Banning GMO in Hawaii County
To Hawaii County Council Committee on Public Safety & Mass Transit,
Testimony in support of Bill 79 to ban the use of GMO on Hawaii Island.
Aloha Council members,
I have been a farmer on this island for more than 30 years, growing a wide variety of organic fruits and vegetables. I have also been a long time non-violent activist for justice, peace and the environment. Over these many years I have leaned that the means we use in all that we do must be in line with the end that we seek. If we want a peaceful, just, and environmentally sustainable world then the means we use must be peaceful, just, and environmentally sustainable. Whatever we do to the land, water, plants and animals, we do to ourselves. When we bomb the land we bomb ourselves. When we poison the land we poison ourselves.
GMO –Genetically modifying organisms is a fundamental violation of this important sacred principle of means and ends. It is not a natural process occurring in nature. It is manipulating nature for short term financial gain with potential long term consequences. It is precisely this pattern of grabbing for a short term quick fix that has our world on the path of unprecedented destruction — be it Climate change, Fukushima, nuclear war, global economic collapse, etc.
To support Bill 79 for a GMO ban in Hawaii County is a small but important step of affirming the long term life and sovereignty of the land over the short term quick fix of financial gain for the few at the expense of the many. It is a step that affirms the sacredness and interconnection of all life. It is a step for future generations and the earth for which this council can take pride.
Mahalo nui loa,
Jim
Jim Albertini Malu ‘Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box AB Ola’a (Kurtistown) Hawai’i 96760 Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org www.malu-aina.org
