HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0212.037 1996-1998 Testimony to the Hawaii County Council April 24, 1997
in opposition to Food Irradiation,
Bill No. 62
A Question of Vision
hlalu `Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action has
written a position statement entitled "10 Reasons why we should
Stop" food irradiation. A copy is attached to this testimony.
Instead of going into detail on any particular points in t}xis
three minutes available for public testimony, I would like to
speak to a question of vision and direction fox• Hawaii as we
approach the 21st century, and whether or not a food irradiation
plant is a step toward a sustainable future.
Two hundred ,years ago, before the arrival of Captain Cook,
Hawaii was 100% self-sufficient in food, clothing, shelter, etc.
Hawaii was a self-sustaining society with a population of several
hundred thousand people. Some estimates put the population at 1
million people. The center of the society, and the basic economic
unit, was the village and the ahupua`a pie wedge land division
exi,ending from the mountain to the sea in which people shared and
cared for one another.
Two hundred years later in the name of progress, Hawaii is
at the dead end of the colonial sugar plantation era, where the
best agricultural lands were taken for the growing and export of
sugar in exchange for cash. Today, there are many dislocated
sugar workers, valuable top soil has been washed into the sea,
poisons now conY,aminate the land and our drinking water. And
it's an understatement to say that the plantation system did not
benefit the indigenous people of this land. Instead of a self-
sustaining and self-sufficient society, Hawaii has become a
colonial model of dependency, grasping for new cash crop exports
to replace the cash crop export of sugar while we continue to
import the basic necessities of life. Today, in a single year we
even import 700,000 pounds of kalo, once considered the sacred
staff of life in Hawaii.
Just how dependent have we become? Walk through any
supermarket, do your own informal surve,v. I suspect it is more
than 95% of everything we put in our mouths comes, not just from
the next ahupua`a but, from OUTSIDE of Hawaii, places thousands
of miles away. This fact is a statement of a society out
of balance.
Someone once said that the most sound economy is rahen you
market everything in e,ye sight of the heiau, church steeple, or
temple, in your village. No need for extra oil tankers, cargo ,jet
fuel, or food irradiation plants in that economy.
I want to make a modest proposal for restoring a vision and
direction for Hawaii? By the year 2020, we make Hawaii at least
50% self-sufficient in what we consume in food, if not
building materials, etc. If we can agree on such a modest goal,
then we need to address fresh policies to move toward that goal.
Comm. No:2
Some guidelines: a basic principle of non-violence is that
the means and ends of any effort must cohere. Ends are not cut
off from means. If we want the land to take care of us, then we
must take care of the land. We are presently in an historic
transition period to Hawaiian sovereignty. It is time for our
colonial thinking and business as usual to end. Everything we do
must, be dune with a new sensitivity to the hoast culture and with
this transition to Hawaiian sovereignty, sustainability, and
self-sufficiency in mind.
Eucalyptus tree plantations and food irradiation are NOT
steps toward self sufficiency, sustainability, and Hawaiian
Sovereignty. Both are more of the same old corporate
colonialism, where the land and its fruits, are viewed merely
as commodities to be exploited. It represents a "grab it and
growel" ethic that needs to be replaced with sharing and caring
for one anothex• and the earth that sustains us.
It is a colonized mind and colonized thinking that turns
over Hawaiian lands to big corporations like Prudential and O,ji
timber to replace sugar plantations with wood chip or pulp
plantations. It is also a colonized mind and colonial thinking
that advocates the majic bullet, the modern snake oil, of food
irradiation fox• new export cash crops to cure the ills of old
cash crops. I agree fully with Hawaiian sovereignty
grassroots leader, Kelii, "Skippy" Inane, who says it is time
to "take the chains from the brains."
Show us if the chains of colonialism have been broken
in the Hawaii County Council. Vote down Bill No. 62 and an,v
government money for food irradiation. And vote down any
resolution in support of a private food irradiation plant. It is
time we put our money where our mouth is and begin the process of
feeding ourselves, as we move toward Hawaiian sovereignty, self-
sufficieucy, and a sustainable future. Aloha.
Jim Albertini
farmer
Ma].u `Aina
P.O. Box AB
Kurtistown, HI 96760
Phone 966-762
WHAT WE CAN DO TO iTC~P A FOOD
IRRADIATION PLANT FRO~lI DEIIVG BUILT 1N
HAWAIr:
t. Cali the Mayor's radio show (KIPA 820AM 835.6858)) e eery ether &'6'e-'r,>;>c:~ay br:Awean noon and t2:30
pm and express yourself on food ircadiatlon. At other times, cal; t:,e P,. ,y ~r ° c:ifiee ~6t-8211. or write 25
;iupuni St. Hilo, Harvdi 98720.
2. Call or write your councilperson 861-6225, (25 Aupuni 1 `c~, . !I r.•t3T U2, `2taFe Leaislatars toll free
974-4000, (State Capitol, Honolulu, HI 98813), Congtessparsor ~,~r; v ^:In~; `Y;S-3756, (2735 Rayburn 81dg.
JJashington, D.C. 20515).
9. Nelp arrange video end spanker presentations to commsen.n gsouF.~,.. ~~tsu:ches, clubs, schools, etc. Host
r ~7athering In your home for family, neighbors, and friends.
a.. Send letters to the edkor of Ftawail's nswspapers:
M wnii Tribune Herold 355 Klnoole St. Hilo, Hi 98720
'Nest Hawaii Today P.O. Box 788 Kailas-Kona, Ht 867x5
The Honolulu Advertiser 605 Kapiolani Blvd. Honolulu, Hi '?F~- 7Frsy~s~~icioehtMlmemnNoroihWbrico~dia
h^ been w.red with md'rotfan Y/arhforkhpurhed
Honolulu Star-Bulletin 605 Kapiolani Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96E1 smm.Ifym,xex,~,,;rvoJBWaerai-BOO~FATSNE
5. As(~the managers of local supermarkets (verbally andlor in wri'ing) what products being sold, are
irrac:lated:.
8. Make copies of this flyer, distribute it, and discuss the issue with others.
7. Ask questions, write songs, make videos, etc. tNe all need to be creative.
~ncoufage organizations and individuals to take a public eaand far irradiation-free food.
9. Participate in, end help organize, pk;lafting, vigils, rallies, and other non-violent demonstrations.
irt. Call 986-7822, for more information, bumper stickers, t-shirk, videos, speakers, meeting dates; and to
offer ideas to help stop food Irradiatloh and lwlid a better suture For all Hawaii's people. Mahalo.
fNalu 'Aina Grrter For Nor. :olettt Edueatlon 6: Actte,re P.ft. Box A: eta'a, Hawaii 96760. Phone
A~66-7622.
FOOD IRRADIATlO(V
10 REASONS WHY ,ttE SHOULD STOP IT NOW tvR EAT IT LATER!)
Food Irredlation is the bombardmoM of food with gamma rays made by radioactive materials (cobal4 or
cesium nuclear westej. Ths radiatlon doss for every papaya, rembutan, etc, is fhe equivalent of at least one
million sheet X-Rays. The purpose le to nuke the fruit fly and other enemies of export agribusiness.
t. Risks nuclear accidents during plant operations and Uansport of radio>active materials, causing concern
for worker exposure and for air, caster and sell contamination.
2. Inersases the risk of nuclear accidents in Hawaii since the Island of Hawaii is prone to earthquakes,
tsunamis, and lava flows.
3. Spends miilbns of tax dollars for a risky business venture (corporate welfare), while basic human needs
of residents go unmet
4. Risks International lose of public confidence in Hawaii's products, anu )n HawaiPS claim of being the
"Health 9tats."
5. Substlhrtes a dangerous process for clean attematives -vapor heat, cold treatment, canning, freezing,
drying, etc.
8. Furthers a colonial dependency model of exporting cosh crops and Importing basic necessities, instead
of moving toward a Hnwaiian soveroignty model of ahupua'a self-sufficiency.
7. Uses the ploy of "jobs" to cover up corporate greed and plans for a worldwide food irradiation industry,
and to cover up a lack of hygiene in the handling and processing of food, especially meat and poultry.
8. Makes ua even moro of en accomplice in the deadly nuclear industry that already has our planet choking
on toxic waste, blindly Ignoring consequences to future generations.
8. Reduces the nutritlonal value aF food by changing Its molecular structure, destroying enrymes and
vitamins; meanwhile, k creates free redk:als and new harmful chemicals called unique radiofytic product
(URPs), soma of which are known to cause cell mutations and may cause cancer.
16. Increases hsaltlt risks; though long-term human health studies have NOT been done, this we know:
animal studies show very significant health hazards; some toxins are cumulative and cancer can take years
to develop.
Malu 'Aloe Center For Non-violent Educatlon & Action P.O. Box AB Ola'a, Hawaii 86780. Phone
988-7822.