http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/t/741/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=2622...
You might think that after their controversial decision to allow cloned animals into the food supply, the Bush administration would take a break for while. But they're up against the clock, and trying to push genetically engineered animals onto your dinner plate. Can you help us make sure they don't get their way?

The Food and Drug Administration recently released its draft plan for how it will approve animals that are genetically engineered to grow faster, produce more milk, or even produce drugs in their meat or milk. The agency wants to use its drug approval process to approve new GE animals - a process that is flawed and wrapped in secrecy. This approval process would require the agency to review the effectiveness of the genetically engineered trait and any health impact on the animal, but not test the food that comes from these animals.

And this process does nothing to weigh any environmental damage caused by things like GE fish escaping from fish farms and breeding with wild fish, or the ethical considerations of altering the genes of animals in the first place. And to make matters worse, the FDA is not requiring that food from GE animals be labeled, so consumers won't know if the food they buy for their families was produced with this controversial technology.

Tell FDA to ban the use of genetically engineered animals for food. Take action.

Thanks for taking action,
Sarah Alexander, Senior Food Organizer
Food & Water Watch

Today, Thursday November 13th, the Hawaii County Council
successfully overrode Mayor Harry Kim's veto of bill# 361.

Bill# 361, introduced by Council Member Angel Pilago, will now become an ordinance,
protecting the Big Island's Taro or Coffee from Genetic Engineering.

This victory was won through the overwhelming strength of people power.
We won because of you, and your willingness to show up and be counted.

Mahalo, to the 100+ individuals who showed up at the county council offices today.

Mahalo, to the thousands of you who have given testimony to the county council in support of bill# 361.

Mahalo, to the community organizers and activist who helped us keep the pressure on our Co. Council Members.

Mahalo, to the Hawaiian Kapuna, with whom we have been honored to work.

Mahalo to all of you! You made this victory possible!

The fight for safe sustainable food is not over, but today we can celebrate.

Please call and thank the Seven County Council members who voted to override Mayor Kim's Veto.
They need our support as well.

961-8225
Brenda Ford: bfordco.hawaii.hi.us">bfordco.hawaii.hi.us
Pete Hoffmann: phoffmannco.hawaii.hi.us">phoffmannco.hawaii.hi.us,
Bob Jacobson: jjacoco.hawaii.hi.us">jjacoco.hawaii.hi.us,
Emily Naeole: enaeoleco.hawaii.hi.us">enaeoleco.hawaii.hi.us,
Angel Pilago: kapilagoco.hawaii.hi.us">kapilagoco.hawaii.hi.us,
Dominic Yagong: dyagongco.hawaii.hi.us">dyagongco.hawaii.hi.us,
J. Yoshimoto: jyoshimotoco.hawaii.hi.us">jyoshimotoco.hawaii.hi.us

Paul Normann
808-557-4806
paulwnormannyahoo.com">paulwnormannyahoo.com

Genetically-engineered food: potential threat to fertility
Greenpeace International, 11 November 2008

VIENNA (Austria) - Study shows that genetically engineered maize affects reproductive health in mice

A study published today by the Austrian government identified serious health threats of genetically engineered (GE) crops. In one of the very few long-term feeding studies ever conducted with GE crops, the fertility of mice fed with GE maize was found to be severely impaired, with fewer offspring being produced than by mice fed on natural crops. Considering the severity of the potential threat to human health and reproduction, Greenpeace is demanding a recall of all GE food and crops from the market, worldwide.

The study, sponsored by the Austrian Ministries for Agriculture and Health, was presented today at a scientific seminar in Vienna, Austria. Prof. Dr. Jürgen Zentek, Professor for Veterinary Medicine at the University of Vienna and lead author of the study, summarised the findings: Mice fed with GE maize had less offspring in the third and fourth generations, and these difference were statistically significant. Mice fed with non-GE maize reproduced more efficiently. This effect can be attributed to the differences in the food source.

Aloha Friends ~ Please pass this along to Hawai`i Island Ohana, and for all Island residents now is the time to send testimony! Mahalo.
Bonnie ~ GMO-Free Maui/Hawai`i SEED

Overturn the Veto!

Mayor Harry Kim has taken a stand against the people of Hawaii County and Vetoed bill #361,
a bill banning GMO - Taro & Coffee on Hawaii Island.

On Thursday November 13th - Hilo, 10:00 a.m.

The County Council will hold a special session to consider
overriding Mayor Kim's veto of bill# 361.
(Meeting Location: Council Office, Second Floor of Ben Franklin Building)

(Video-conferencing is available at the following locations:
* Kona Council Office at the Kailua Trade Center; and
*Waimea Council Office at the Holomua Center.)

Help protect Taro & Coffee from GMOs.

We absolutely must pack the County Council Chambers in order to pass bill# 361.

If we do not show up with the strength of overwhelming numbers,
the opponents of bill# 361 will seize upon our weakness and kill the bill.

The defeat or victory of bill #361 is in our hands.

Please come, in person, and give your testimony to the Co. Council.
You do not need to say much more than, "please vote to overturn Mayor Kim's veto",
but we need you at the County Council Meeting.

Also:

Call your Council Member and tell them to support bill# 361.
(If you have already called, please call them again on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.)

Email testimony in support of bill 361, on or before, November 10th.

Call or Email Your Council Member:
961-8225
Brenda Ford: bfordco.hawaii.hi.us">bfordco.hawaii.hi.us

Please join us for a new movie by French producer Marie-Monique Robin. It is an extraordinary expose about the world's leading seed manufacturer, and the rush to patent the world's food supply. Kaua`i is the #1 spot in the world for these experiments that are profoundly threatening our health, environment and economy.
Please educate yourself and others about the secret changes that are taking place in our food supply without adequate precaution, safety testing or labeling.
Mahalo nui,
Jeri

GMO Free Kaua`i is hosting a free educational film showing of "The World According to Monsanto" at the Koloa Neighborhood Center on Monday, November 17 at 7pm. Come and enjoy free organic popcorn and learn about the unintended consequences of the genetically engineered food crops being grown on Kaua`i. For more information call 651 9603 or visit hawaiiSEED.org

Hanalei School Cafeteria

see attached flyer

http://www.etcgroup.org/en/materials/publications.html?pub_id=702
The Last Straw?
As Genetic Engineers Gather in Hong Kong, Critics Warn of Corporate
Grab on Plant Life
EDITED

Synthetic biologists, a brave new breed of science entrepreneurs who
engineer life-forms from scratch, will hold their largest-ever global
gathering in Hong Kong, October 10-12, known as "Synthetic Biology
4.0." Although most people have never heard of synthetic biology, it's
moving full speed ahead fueled by giant agribusiness, energy and
chemical corporations with little debate about who will control the
technology, how it will be regulated (or not) and despite grave
concerns surrounding the safety and security risks of designer
organisms. Corporate investors/partners include BP, Chevron, Shell,
Virgin Fuels, DuPont, Microsoft, Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland.

"SynBio 4.0 sounds like a convention for science geeks, but the real
agenda is SynBio-4-profit," said Pat Mooney of ETC Group.

A new 12-page report from ETC Group, "Commodifying Nature's Last
Straw? Extreme Genetic Engineering and the Post-Petroleum Sugar
Economy," warns that corporate biorefineries fueled by plant sugars
will create a massive demand for agricultural feedstocks, which
threatens to devastate marginalized farming communities, deplete soil
and water, and destroy biodiversity.

According to Jim Thomas of ETC Group, "It may sound sweet and clean,
but this so-called sugar economy will catalyze an unprecedented
corporate grab on all plant matter as well as destruction of

Published on Friday, October 10, 2008 by The Molokai Dispatch (Hawaii)
GMO: A Technology of Agri-business

by Catherine Cluett

Claire Hope Cummings is making bold statements. She says there is a technology that is violating the laws of nature and evolution. She says it is causing farmers in India to commit suicide, and claims this technology has been developed purposefully as a tool for social control. She says it is also being used by the largest employer on Molokai.

What is this technology? Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs for short.

Genetic modification allows for the development of traits many farmers and large-scale growers believe is helpful for production. "Roundup Ready" soybeans, for example, have been altered to be resistant to the herbicide Roundup. BT corn has been developed to contain its own insecticide by adding a gene coming from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis.

Cummings is a journalist, activist, and former environmental lawyer of 20 years. She is also author of Uncertain Peril: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Seeds, a book that has been compared to Rachel Caron's Silent Spring.

Last Wednesday, Cummings visited Molokai to talk to community members about the technology and impacts of GMOs. Soybeans and corn are the two major crops affected by genetic modification, she says. GMOs are grown on Molokai, as well as communities around the world.

Last night, Hawai`i County Council passed a GMO ban on growing and testing of taro and coffee in Hawaii County (Hawaii Island)!! It was a unanimous vote 9-0 after 100 testifiers, 660 written testimony 1269 signatures on a petitions, and 82% of 89 coffee farmer polled for it. I believe this is the first crop-by-region gmo legislation in the US. It is the first county to ban a GMO in the US in a couple years. It was a really victory for us after 7 years of work and no luck at the State level.
http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/articles/2008/10/09/local_news/local...

Ever heard of "biopharmaceutical crops"? Probably not, even though our own backyard is one of the primary testing grounds for them. Read below to learn more about the dangers of "pharmo" gmo crops and click on the link to discover the permits that have been issued in our own backyard.

http://go.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/pharm/index.php?s_keyword=HI&r...

Biopharmaceuticals are proteins produced by living organisms that are extracted for medical use. Biopharmaceuticals are traditionally extracted from organism’s tissues, and more recently they have been “grown” in fermentation tanks. Examples of substances produced in these laboratory conditions include the hepatitis B vaccine and erythropoietin. In 2000, 100 biopharmaceutical were on the market and 400 more were in the research process. This use of biotechnology for the production of medicine is valuable because it can be used to manufacture both known drugs and develop new therapies and vaccines that must be derived from living organisms. However, the biotech and drug industries have complained that they have run into problems of “high production costs, insufficient capacity, and supply not nearly meeting demand,” which have caused them to explore the more “cost-effective” method of biopharming.