• Why against GMOs? • Dismayed • Alcohol or cream soda? • Freedom isn’t free Why against GMOs? I am one of many consumers who are not qualified to speak as an agriculturist in the growing of plant or animal
• Why against GMOs? • Dismayed • Alcohol or cream soda? • Freedom isn’t free
Why against GMOs?
I am one of many consumers who are not qualified to speak as an agriculturist in the growing of plant or animal products for human consumption. But, frankly, I am somewhat confused by the absence of a clear expression of the basic issue which prompted initiators of the protest to convince followers that genetically modified food is to be or should be avoided.
Genetically modified organisms by definition refers to “plants and animals with an altered genetic makeup. GMOs are generally altered or manipulated by non-natural means to incorporate genes from another organism … to achieve a trait not normally held by an organism such as long life, disease resistance, different colors or different flavors.”
I might add better quality and larger quantity. Clearly and unequivocally, it is the plant or the animal. The pineapple, the mango, the papaya, the taro, the lettuce, corn, the wheat, the rice, the sheep, the cow, etc., which is sought to be or has been GMO’ed. Why should they be avoided when no advocate of the anti-GMO movement or protestor has come forth with evidence of harm or death caused by or directly traceable to the consumption of a GMO’ed plant or animal?
Based upon my newspaper readings, shouldn’t your gripe be aimed at the use of chemicals in the growing of GMOs (not in their consumption) or is your theme of “No GMOs” a disguise to keep invisible a disagreement with Dow Chemical corporation, big chemical corporations, big corporations per se, capitalism?
Newcomers to Hawai‘i probably are unfamiliar with the word “sabedong,” which is of Filipino origin meaning “poison.” Sabedong was so extensively used by the sugar and pineapple industries that it found a place in the Pidgin English vocabulary of early Hawai‘i.
Sabedong was used to keep the grass and weeds from growing taller than the sugar cane and pineapples.
Fertilizer kept them growing and productive. Economic conditions — not GMO — caused both industries to either terminate or reduce their production.
Alfred Laureta
Kapa‘a
Dismayed
As a 77-year-old lifelong member of the West Kaua‘i United Methodist Church, I was appalled, saddened and dismayed with the appearance of graffiti on the benches, columns and walls fronting our entrance to our Kekaha sanctuary.
Who, on our island, has the gall to disrespect a house of worship by being so callous?
Have we become so disconnected as families and/or community members to become so blatantly uncaring and rude?
Is it a waste of time to hope that those responsible will come to their senses by learning how to “live aloha?”
Jose Bulatao Jr.
Kekaha
Alcohol or cream soda?
The Garden Island newspaper recently reported that Mr. Richard Godbehere Jr., of Kapa‘a, was busted for violating the open container law in a motor vehicle.
The irony is the arrest stemmed from a self-produced video Mr. Godbehere posted on Liveleak.com, allegedly drinking a beer while driving in celebration of being debt free at 53.
How can a court of law prove beyond a reasonable doubt from a video that Godbehere was drinking alcohol and not cream soda as he argues in his defense?
Will this now lead police arresting people for jokes they play on YouTube? Will people now be arrested for posting videos of themselves and others talking on cell phones, eating, putting on make-up and talking to their passengers while driving? All are distractions.
Law enforcement should concentrate on solving serious crimes, in lieu of pursuing something that is near impossible to prove for all involved, from prosecutor, law enforcement, court employees and judges.
In the end, it is likely Godbehere will walk and the joke will be on us, the taxpayer, so what else is new?
James “Kimo” Rosen
Kapa‘a
Freedom isn’t free
Seems like Mr. Zwiebel and many others have forgotten that the foreigners came to learn our defense tactics, and only to return to America to destroy our properties and kill many innocent Americans — the day they flew the aircrafts into our famous and important landmarks, the Twin Towers, etc.
On another thought, when did these countries offer to help us rebuild what was destroyed? As we do what we destroyed on their land.
Mr. Zwiebel and his supporters, why are you here in America? You seem to oppose your freedom that our military young men and women fight for.
Remember, freedom isn’t free!
Howard Tolbe
‘Ele‘ele
The letter titled “Why against GMOs?” inaccurately listed the Sugarloaf Pineapple as a genetically modified organism.
