Note: The title for this post comes from the website of the same name. Please visit this site for further background information and the latest updates.
You may have heard of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms), but did you know Kauai is ground-zero for GMO testing? Over the past 150 years, Kauai's lush land (a'ina) has been used for sugar cane production and later ranching. Now much of the land in the south and west has been sold to big agricultural companies, including subsidiaries of DOW chemical, Dupont, Monsanto, Syngenta and others. These companies are using the year-round growing season and perennial rainfall to do GMO-testing and its companion chemicals, the pesticides used to kill everything but the GMO product. It is estimated that 98% of restricted-use pesticides (RUPs) on Kauai come from just five companies, and worldwide six companies control 70 percent of pesticide use. Even more disheartening, there are several reported instances of how these chemicals have been sprayed and resulted in entire communities being sickened, including an entire school evacuation:
You may have heard of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms), but did you know Kauai is ground-zero for GMO testing? Over the past 150 years, Kauai's lush land (a'ina) has been used for sugar cane production and later ranching. Now much of the land in the south and west has been sold to big agricultural companies, including subsidiaries of DOW chemical, Dupont, Monsanto, Syngenta and others. These companies are using the year-round growing season and perennial rainfall to do GMO-testing and its companion chemicals, the pesticides used to kill everything but the GMO product. It is estimated that 98% of restricted-use pesticides (RUPs) on Kauai come from just five companies, and worldwide six companies control 70 percent of pesticide use. Even more disheartening, there are several reported instances of how these chemicals have been sprayed and resulted in entire communities being sickened, including an entire school evacuation:
WAIMEA PESTICIDE REPORT from Eric Cannon on Vimeo.
In a bitter and dramatic fight, the people of Kauai finally got an ordinance passed (960, formerly Bill 2491) in November 2013 that will go into effect in August 2014. The ordinance is not considered drastic by many:
Ordinance 960 establishes buffer zones around sensitive areas such as schools and hospitals, mandates disclosure of pesticide use, and instructs Kauaʻi County to complete a health and environmental impact study.
HOWEVER, today a law suit was filed by Dupont, Syngenta and DOW Chemical against the County of Kaua'i over Ordinance 960.
Please visit StopPoisoningParadise.org for further information and how you can get involved in protecting
Please visit StopPoisoningParadise.org for further information and how you can get involved in protecting
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