LIHUE — The Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action and Pesticide Action Network North America will host “Challenging the Global Impacts of the Agrochemical Industry: An International Food Justice Summit,” January 15-20, in locations throughout the Hawaiian Islands, including Hawaii Island,
LIHUE — The Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action and Pesticide Action Network North America will host “Challenging the Global Impacts of the Agrochemical Industry: An International Food Justice Summit,” January 15-20, in locations throughout the Hawaiian Islands, including Hawaii Island, Kauai, Maui and Oahu.
The summit’s goals are to build momentum for policy change in Hawaii and beyond, share and expand global knowledge, make connections and coordinate international action toward transforming the food system.
The genesis for the summit came from the experience of the Kauai delegation that traveled in April to Switzerland.
The summit will include a four-island speaking tour with Hawaiian and international experts who will discuss pesticides and corporate control in agriculture.
Activities will be designed to help local leaders engage people and communities in dialogue and action around health, agriculture, economics and self-determination. The summit is being coordinated with local food, farming, environmental, and Native Hawaiian groups.
“Six corporations dominate the world’s seed, pesticide and biotech industries; and Hawaii is a global epicenter for five of these world’s largest agrochemical corporations whose missions are to develop and test genetically engineered crops,” said Gary Hooser, president of HAPA. “Communities and workers in Hawaii are exposed to inordinate levels of pesticides that accompany GE seed development and testing on the islands. These GE seeds are then shipped around the world for use in industrial agriculture, displacing local and Indigenous food systems and amplifying existing contamination of land, water and other resources.”
Hooser is also a member of the Kauai County Council
Judy Hatcher, executive director of PAN North America, said Hawaii residents aren’t alone in demanding information, restrictions and protections for their communities.
“Similar battles are being fought in agricultural areas across the U.S. and around the world,” she said.
