Summary & Timestamped Transcript Below…
MAMA PRESENTS… GMO:GEO Part2 Pang,Ritte,Valenzuela 5 17 2006-BEFORE it was on the lips of almost Every Maui citizen (and more) spoke of GMO, Jason Schwartz hosted talk about just that: GMO- Genetically Modified Organisms- discussions with BOTH SIDES of the issue REFUSED to meet together and talk on TV. So Jason did both sides. Here we see Prof. Dr. Hector Valenzuela, Maui College, Lorrin Pang, head of Maui Department of Health, and Walter Ritte, public activist and Hawaiian from Molokai.
Summary of Video Transcript on GMO and Genetic Engineering in Hawaii
Date/Context: A community-focused discussion hosted by Maui Arts and Music Association during an election year, addressing GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms), genetic engineering, and their cultural and environmental impacts in Hawaii.
– [00:01 → 04:55] Introduction and Guest Presentations
- The host introduces the topic of GMO and genetic engineering, emphasizing its relevance in an election year where public awareness and voting decisions matter.
- Three key guests introduced:
- Walter Ritte: Hawaiian community activist from Molokai, involved in native rights and environmental stewardship.
- Dr. Lorrin Pang: Physician and public health expert, with extensive scientific and medical research background, including work with WHO and FDA-related topics.
- Dr. Hector Valenzuela: University of Hawaii vegetable specialist and sustainable agriculture advocate, focused on ecological farming and concerned about biotech’s environmental and health risks.
– [04:55 → 14:09] Defining GMO vs Genetic Engineering
- Walter Ritte discusses his community activism and cultural work restoring fishponds and educating youth.
- Dr. Pang highlights her medical credentials and scientific expertise, underscoring her legitimacy in discussing GMO safety.
- Dr. Valenzuela explains the critical distinction between:
- Traditional/Classic Breeding: Cross-pollination within the same species over thousands of years (e.g., Hawaiian taro cultivation).
- Genetic Engineering (GE)/Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO): The artificial insertion of genes from one species (e.g., rat, bacteria) into another (e.g., plant), a completely novel process never before occurring in nature.
- The terminology is often confused: “GMO” is commonly used to mean genetically engineered organisms, but in classical terms, GMO could imply any genetic modification including traditional breeding. The guests advocate for clearer public education that distinguishes GE = GMO ≠ traditional breeding.
- Concerns are raised about unknown effects from GE plants on environment and human health due to their unprecedented nature.
– [14:09 → 24:31] Safety Testing and Regulatory Oversight
- Discussion on the claim that GMO products are “widely tested and safe”:
- Dr. Pang states that while GMOs are widely tested for efficacy (e.g., drought tolerance), they have not been widely tested for safety in humans or the environment.
- Safety testing is largely conducted by the companies producing the GMO products (e.g., Monsanto), with no independent, peer-reviewed studies available for public scrutiny.
- The FDA is the main regulatory agency, but its credibility is questioned due to conflicts of interest, leadership scandals, and industry influence.
- The USDA also lacks capacity to control the inadvertent release of GM material, as confirmed by a recent federal audit.
- The guests call for stronger regulatory standards, independent testing, transparency, and precautionary principle application: no release until safety is proven beyond doubt.
- They highlight the absence of labeling for GMO foods, making it impossible to trace adverse health effects.
– [24:31 → 33:08] Environmental and Economic Issues
- GMO crops are already widespread in Hawaii (corn, canola, etc.), with no mechanisms for recall if adverse effects emerge.
- Environmental concerns include gene transfer to soil microbes, bacteria, and viruses, potentially creating invasive or uncontrollable species.
- Economic pressures influence policy and industry practices, often at the expense of health and environment.
- The industry’s lack of transparency and lobbying power create barriers to public knowledge and effective regulation.
– [33:08 → 41:49] Dialogue and Cultural Perspectives
- The guests discuss the importance of public education and dialogue.
- While proponents and opponents of GMO may share some concerns, there is mistrust and misinformation complicating consensus.
- The Hawaiian cultural perspective is introduced by Walter Ridy:
- Taro (kalo) is not just a plant but considered an ancestorand sacred family member in Hawaiian genealogy.
- Genetic engineering of taro without Hawaiian consent violates indigenous rights and disrupts cultural heritage.
- The University of Hawaii holds patents on genetically engineered taro, which is a significant point of contention.
- The Hawaiian community demands the dropping of patents on taro before meaningful dialogue with researchers can proceed.
- This cultural issue is distinct from the scientific and regulatory debates but equally important.
– [41:49 → 50:46] Political Action and Community Engagement
- The panel stresses the importance of political involvement by Hawaiians and all residents to protect native plants, biodiversity, and public health.
- Voting and community activism are crucial in influencing legislation related to GMO regulation and environmental protection.
- Recent legislative efforts for moratoriums on GMO crops came close but did not pass, showing progress but also challenges.
- There is a call for better labeling, testing, and moratoriums on new GMO releases until safety is independently verified.
– [50:46 → 56:28] Closing Remarks and Calls to Action
- Walter Ritte advocates for self-sufficiency and ecological farming methods to reduce dependence on industrial agriculture and imported inputs.
- Dr. Pang warns of repeating historical mistakes with toxic substances; genetic engineering involves “high-risk unknowns.”
- Dr. Valenzuela highlights the contradiction of claims of GMO promoting biodiversity while evidence shows they often reduce it.
- The panel encourages ongoing dialogue among proponents and opponents to find common ground and foster informed decisions.
- Viewers are encouraged to educate themselves via credible sources like Center for Food Safety and Friends of the Earth.
- The overall message: Knowledge empowers community action; public awareness, dialogue, and political engagement are key to protecting Hawaii’s cultural heritage, environment, and health.
Key Insights and Conclusions
| Topic | Key Points |
|---|---|
| GMO vs Genetic Engineering | Traditional breeding ≠ Genetic engineering; GE involves cross-species gene insertion, new tech |
| Safety Testing | GMO efficacy tested but safety not independently verified; reliance on industry data |
| Regulatory Agencies | FDA and USDA criticized for conflicts of interest and inadequate oversight |
| Environmental Risk | Gene flow to microbes, invasive species risk, irreversible ecological impacts |
| Cultural Impact | Hawaiian taro is sacred ancestor; genetic modification and patenting violates indigenous rights |
| Political Action | Need for community involvement, voting, legislation for moratoriums and labeling |
| Economic Influence | Industry lobbying impacts policy; economic interests prioritized over health/environment |
| Precautionary Principle | No GMO release without comprehensive safety data, independent verification |
| Public Awareness | Education and transparent dialogue crucial for informed decisions |
Timeline of Key Points Discussed
| Timestamp | Event/Topic |
|---|---|
| 00:00– 00:04 | Introduction, guest introductions |
| 00:04– 00:14 | Distinction between traditional breeding and genetic engineering; terminology confusion |
| 00:14– 00:24 | Safety testing debate; regulatory agency critique |
| 00:24– 00:33 | Environmental risks; economic and political influence |
| 00:33– 00:41 | Cultural significance of taro; indigenous rights; patent controversy |
| 00:41– 00:50 | Political engagement and community activism recommendations |
| 00:50– 00:56 | Closing remarks; calls for education, dialogue, and action |
Definitions and Clarifications
| Term | Definition/Explanation |
|---|---|
| Traditional Breeding | Cross-pollination within the same species over generations to improve crops; long-standing practice |
| Genetic Engineering (GE) | Artificial insertion of genes from one species into another, creating organisms with novel gene makeup |
| GMO | Commonly used interchangeably with GE in industry, but technically includes any genetically modified organism |
| Precautionary Principle | The standard that a new product is assumed unsafe until proven otherwise through rigorous testing |
| Patent | Legal protection granting ownership rights over a genetically engineered organism or process |
Recommendations for the Public
- Educate Yourself: Use credible sources like Center for Food Safety and Friends of the Earth.
- Demand Transparency: Call for independent testing and full disclosure of GMO content in foods (labeling).
- Engage Politically: Register to vote, support candidates that advocate for environmental and cultural protection.
- Support Local and Sustainable Agriculture: Promote ecological farming and self-sufficiency.
- Respect Cultural Rights: Recognize and uphold indigenous Hawaiian perspectives on native plants and biodiversity.
Final Thoughts
This video transcript presents a multi-faceted discussion highlighting the scientific, environmental, health, cultural, and political complexities surrounding GMO and genetic engineering in Hawaii. The speakers emphasize that genetic engineering is a novel and insufficiently tested technology with potential irreversible consequences—especially critical in a place with deep indigenous connections to native crops like taro. The conversation calls for greater public education, independent safety testing, transparent labeling, and political activism to ensure that Hawaii’s environment, culture, and people are respected and protected amid emerging biotechnologies.
Aloha and Mahalo to the guests and community for fostering informed dialogue on this vital issue.
Transcript
03:07
and one of them has been GMO genetically modified organisms genetically engineered uh products that are in our foods and uh recently I did an interview of three proponents of GMO they were um from the college and university syst system we were talking about tarot and um we decided to have three special guests we showed that tape to them and then so if we might get some kind of response let me first tell you sitting here this is sort of a who’s who of uh local celebrity status from being vocal
03:48
in our community we have here a Walter Ritte and we they’re going to all tell you more about themselves many you don’t know them and uh Dr Lorrin Pang and Dr Hector Valenzuela uh recently GMO has been in all kinds of I want to say fights over different uh subjects I think I should let these gentlemen introduce themselves and and respond and start in and then we’ll get into some specific questions first of all thank you all for coming here to Maui Walters from mikai Dr Pang you know from here in uh in Maui and Hector’s in
04:25
aahu so they’ll I’ll tell you but they all came together for this important subject for you so you can be better educated so you can be responsible and take action you know here in an election year the way that we speak loudest is by our votes seems by being knowledgeable and then making decisions on who we think responds and is part of how we feel so uh thank you very much all of you for coming to the show today Walter why don’t I’ll let you begin and and talk to all our people here as well as
04:55
okay sure uh my name is Walter R from the island of M and I’ve been involved in the Hawaiian Community for many many years um starting with kah in the 70s and then went on to late 70s went to the Constitutional Convention we push article 12 section 7 in our Constitution which talks about Native access rights to the mountain gather the ocean gather also was elected one of the first juses to the office of forign Affairs and been really involved in activist activities on molai fighting development
05:35
on our Island to try and make sure that we control that kind of development that we want on today I’m the responsible for the Hawaiian Learning Center and we taken the restoration of fish ponds and turn it into an educational system for for kids wow and use M as your backdrop yep that’s a beautiful St wow Dr Pang AR you yes I’m uh Lauren Pang I’m a physician uh I’m boarded in preventive medicine I have masters of Public Health all of that from tane University I’ve been back in the islands
06:14
about five years as the District Health officer for Maui County I speak as a private citizen on this issue uh I’m born and raised in Hawaii I went to Princeton University I have a graduated with honors in chemistry then I have the medical degree Public Health uh I don’t intend to brag but I’ve been called by the pro GMO people that are no scientist so I have to tell you I have 60 Publications in the medical literature New England Journal medicine lasset whatever you want my job for 20 years
06:45
was overseas with the waler Reed Army Institute of research testing in humans drugs vaccines and Diagnostics I’ve been a consultant active consultant for the World Health Organization since 1985 I’ve gone on over 50 missions for them consultant to one of the largest pharmaceutical firms in the world Dr smth Fine uh I think we’ll just be better wow wow I know you well we’re very fortunate to have Dr P here and you know looking out for us here on Mai that’s terrific and Hector
07:17
let’s he about you I I am Hector Valenzuela I’m a extension vegetable specialist at the University of Hawaii I’m based in Manoa I’ve been around for about 15 years and since early on my research was focused on promoting sustainable agriculture and organic farming techniques uh just because I think in Hawaii we have a lot of the local resources that we can use to farm ecologically without having to rely on external inputs I became uh concerned in the 1990s about the uh CR bio technology
07:47
when I saw uh that a lot of the resources that the college used to divert towards uh traditional agricultural research were being diverted towards more towards biotechnology research uh I started to look into it and I became concerned about U potential ecological risks environmental and health effects and after doing some reading and asking questions I I didn’t find the answers that I was looking for so I became more vocal in my opposition to technology and uh one of my first points would be that
08:17
because it’s such a confusing ter issue that we have to get the ter terminology correct and in the past uh video that you had uh there was I think a little bit of mixups with uh genetic modified and I would have to say that genetic engineering is something that has never been done before and it consists of inserting the gene one species like it was mentioned in a rat or other animals in into plants and grow those plants and this is something that has never occurred before and our concern is
08:50
because it has never happened before we don’t understand how the plant is going to behave if is going to have some side effects that will affect the environment or the health of humans let me interrupt for those of you that may not have seen this other show um genetically engineered means they’re actually splicing and changing the genes between two two different categories a rat and a piece of corn or a um an insect that they take one of his genes and put it into a plant so that it will create a
09:23
res or no resistance and so that the different use of pesticide we’ll explain that more but just understand we’re talking about something from science fiction that’s suddenly getting into our world and like you say we don’t really know what those effects are and we’d like to have somebody tell us before we are eating it and realizing that uh you know Mama’s growing uh what is that oh that looks like corn fuzz oh w we have silt on Grandma you know we don’t know what is happening from that may sound
09:54
like a joke but that’s what we’re talking about things that combine that we don’t know a real new world yes in essence humans have been improving crops on their own for thousands of years but this is a totally different subject uh this we we call this classical breeding or traditional breeding and where that’s where humans mix their uh species within the same plant a mother and a father of corn or or rice and so on and this is something that we’ve been doing for a long time and the Hawaiians did a with
10:23
Taro and we have no opposition to that this is something that everybody supports and this is great so is that what we mean when we say GMO versus Geo genetically engineered is an absolute scientific manipulation with GMO as I understand it is two things cross pollinate they’re genetically modifying something no I I would call classical breeding or traditional breeding and this is what is cross-pollinating within the same species and this is something that humans have been doing for thousands of years and we continue to do
10:55
separately from that is genetic engineering which is a new technology and it’s also called genetically modified organisms and this is the same thing as genetic engineering so so in the trade this is what you hear about say that one again slowly if you do so kind so the words always confuse me right so people use the words genetically modified organisms to refer to genetic engineered proc so those are the the same uh area so would we want to firstly make the public aware that they mean genetically engineered versus
11:28
genetically you confused start mixing up because some in the industry tend to say that it’s the same thing and it’s not uh genetic engineering is totally different from what humans have been doing in the past I see so when I see GMO free Maui they could have said Geo fre Maui and maybe got a little clearer uh response for the public and maybe even more support I guess but it’s it’s only the same genetically modified genetic modification GMO came in order to describe this it wasn’t there was no GMOs when we were
12:03
doing hybridization and and cross breeding there was no such thing as GMO because they wanted to describe this ge it said GMOs so now people are coming in saying no it’s not GMOs it’s G and GMOs have been going on for 2000 years so every there’s a lot of confusion going on it sure does seem confusing it’s it’s like classical and what was the other one traditional breeding traditional breeding it’s easier for us to understand okay well please continue I’m I’m appreciating what you’re saying I don’t
12:34
want to jump in and stop what you’re saying very good point um you’ve been doing this you’ve been out in the field doing what exactly uh my research is for production of vegetable crops so I provide Ed for for the UN for the University of Hawaii Manoa and I am as an extension specialist I’m a link between the research in the university and what farmers are doing in the field so we we helped Farmers with improve the F izer practices how to control tests and so on uh but that link
13:03
started to break when the university started to shift its resources towards laboratory work to work with crop biotechnology with genetic engineering uh to develop crops by inserting genes from a different species from a bacteria or from from another species into plant creating a totally new organism so so what would you like to see happening through through this public discussion is there anything that you would feel would be uh respons move to make things better well my feeling is that before there there’s a release of genetically
13:36
engineered crops into the the field into our environment there has to be substantial tests to evaluate if there’s any harm in the environment or to the heal of humans and so far those tests have not been conducted so last time when I did this interview with these gentlemen if they were uh Steven fera and buttons Lovel and John Cho who’s a researcher here um they talked about the fact that before things are released uh that there’s tremendous amount of testing any reaction to that yeah first
14:09
of all that’s a very strange statement and I think it’s at first I thought it was made out of ignorance but now I think it’s intentional when they say it’s widely tested and safe TR ask them specifically is it widely tested for safety and shown to be safe or is it why they tested for efficacy for example you wanted to grow without water so we tested it and it grows without water that’s efficacy the safety part is can I eat it and not get sick that’s a very strange statement widely tested and
14:38
safey it is not widely tested for safety and shown to be safe it is widely tested for efficacy and the intended effects and read the line true the safety part as far as I’m concerned and our approaching for the World Health Organization National Academy of Science has not been done so tell them to separate the two issues or ask them Point Blank you say it’s widely deped for safety show me the data and humans who’s they when you’re talking about they industry and the regulatory agencies that are supposed to be
15:09
regulating by ah so industry meaning for example um say Monsanto who made the product yes I’m just using it as an example I happen to sit in a hot tub with a gentleman who is from Monsanto and they’d like to be able to be in the discussions as we’re going on by the way um but so that means that the test uh that they do are meeting standards of yet another group you were talking about the um what kind of tests are done who is the national group that supposed to be watching for the FDA FDA right
15:42
they’re supposed to be The Regulators to make sure that everything we take food drugs vaccines are safe and they have not been enforcing safety G so they might be our main focus as a group to get them to get stronger standards to be able to sh on putting words in your mouth but I mean to me that’s that’s fine you might have a little problem now the FDA has been widely criticized this last year before the senate for conflict of interest the head of the FDA resigned to the blistering criticism of Hillary
16:16
Clinton for conflict of interests and now he’s being investigated head of the FDA former head for uh criminal Behavior elicit taking funds from the wrong people and things like that so if you could bring them here that’d be nice I’ve written to him three times in the last three years with no response I want to see the safety data there is none now in your department we go different subject but in your department you really lay the tone for what your group does is that the same in the FDA could
16:47
they without a strong head be able to implement some of these programs through public awareness and they put it into the quality of all their work since the creation of the FDA let’s say 60 70 years ago there have been underlying principles which they follow the principles are like laws regardless of the head the law and the principle follows then they get new heads who want to push through business who want to collaborate with business rush things through the principles still stand and that’s why you know there was
17:21
internal debate before the Senate investigation committee the fda’s own scientist said there’s conflict of interest your cat to business we live in a world of fear we cannot express ourselves so you do not trust an agency so conflicted to now speak the truth I used to teach their principles is it possible that through this uh investigation of the discrepancies with the FDA that we all have an opportunity to kind of uh recommend a new head or a new Direction could that be a possible opportunity yes I’ve WR Hillary Clinton
18:00
saying that I’m glad you got rid of the old guy I would like to help choose the new guy based on some of these genetically engineered anything our audience can do to help that process or encourage that well sit tight the new guy that they suggested uh he’s not well liked it’s just another guy by the administration to push forth business interest over safety issues one of the criticisms is that industry is very close tie with the regulatory so a lot of the regulations are industry friendly so so say and one of the
18:35
problems is that a lot of the tests that are conducted on a voluntary basis so the own company Monsanto cond conducts its own safety studies and presents us to the the FDA there’s no independent studies so we are asking where are the independent studies published in referee journals where we can evaluate the data out what’s nice also about what you’re saying is you’re not saying that what they’re doing is wrong you’re just saying please prove it because we would like to know this wouldn’t it be nice if
19:02
we can move forward and all come to some agreements but have fully tested it so that we’re not being the guinea pigs for these new scientific experiments I have a quote here from an independent group The World Health Organization they are quite above the FDA once it’s conflicted and they made a statement in 2004 and I quote at this point we have no evidence to say that it is dangerous to consume food that contain GMOs but now we call it g at but at the same time we also don’t know its negative side so we have
20:10
local stop biotechs Mana male no GMO to well you know you’ve been very active in many subjects obviously this one brought out some passions in you what’s C the whole thing started when on mokai when all of our research SE compan were bought up by Monsanto and Monsanto became the largest one of the largest employers on Mona so we’re talking big time agricultural activities sure and in these fields were not just seed coins anymore in these fields were genetically modified genetically engineered crops and on
20:48
molai we didn’t have a clue about what that meant and nobody came to tell us what was going on we didn’t we didn’t even know so the public not knowing is a really big problem labeling of food there’s no telling us what they’re doing there’s a bunch of secrets in order to protect the business aspect of all of this and then we find out from the top down there’s no regulations that mean anything because right here this what we found out on MOA is in December the USDA which is is another
21:19
regulatory agency has apus which which it says here in the report this task with establishing effective control Grant the inadvertent release of this regulated GB material but USDA has a sub agency that is responsible to protect us on mokai that’s their job this is this is an audit report from the federal government and came out in December which is really recent and it says that they cannot not they’re not doing their job they cannot do their job they’re not equipped to do their job so they cannot
21:56
ensure our safety soai like who is going to protect us we go to the County Council and they say it’s not in our jurisdiction they don’t even pass a resolution here to protect us so who is going to protect us you go to the state the state says it’s here’s the state they don’t even protect what do you recommend any recommendations I recommend that the people of mikai begin to realize that we as individuals we’re going to have to protect ourselves we’re going to have to
22:26
force our County Council to get involved to protect the for the state government to protect us we’re going to have to become active community members in order to protect ourselves that’s where I’m coming from can you say force them I’m trying to understand in a practical way stop production until tests are completed resolution that would change laws give them power give the state powers do whatever it takes legally and and change laws to protect them we are not protected I see my recommendation
22:57
really has a straight scientist as a physician having mess with drugs and vaccines if you don’t know what you’re doing and I really believe we don’t know what we’re doing and the people who say we do I believe they have a conflict of interest then don’t do it until you know what you’re doing that’s called the precautionary principle precautionary principle in health it stands any new product is considered totally toxic totally in effective so you prove otherwise so if it’s totally toxic
23:27
totally ineffective you would never from there you start working backwards to say that well yeah this drug is a little toxic and it does cure people but I’ll use it because the guy has cancer risk outweigh the benefits so you use it so they don’t have the data to convince me now that it’s safe so what do we do now I mean here we are now me I believe and we tried in the legislature this year moratorium okay you’ve got four products out there already corn canola three products unfortunately they’re out if you can’t
24:02
recall them all right let those be out at least it’s a product by product basis rest of the new stuff you can keep it in the lab don’t breathe it like we’re not eating his GC form but they’re breathing the poin everything of the plant is genetically modified not just the che there’s a moratorium because you’re breathing it environmental issues and Nobody Breaks the moratorium till you prove to a third party with no conflict of interest like National County of Science World Health Organization that
24:31
the stuff is safe to help and environment what is there a time frame that you’d recommend drugs and vaccines average takes 12 years cost half a billion dollars to clear each product but that’s the price you pay because remember half of the drugs even after that kind of clearance have serious side effects detected only post marketing these things if they have serious side effects that’s kind of like a drug except these are like form you cannot recall them it’s like mcon cookie frog
25:01
with a side effect so the the impact if let’s say now we’re able to make a change legislation is passed so the state has control they can stop the growing uh the council gets involved here locally uh FDA gets off their tail and does it so on first glance it would seem like the producer maybe a Monsanto might have to swallow hard and start doing different things in those fields for now right recoverable I would think and again I don’t know I would think that they would uh like to come out the other end of
25:39
this controversy and uh kind of set their whole industry I don’t know if they would but I think they’d like to uh set this right for marketing purposes for them to be doing it in a right way to be a strength a very strong proponent of what they’re doing especially being we do face world hunger especially being we do want better yields especially being we do want to preserve things with all the different changes in climate and all over the world it’s important I guess that things are being looked at and
26:12
research is being done we have none of us I would say would disagree with that it’s a question of doing it right doing it completely am I catching the drift yeah but it seems so far that the industry is trying to put the issue aside like it’s issue uh this in the last show when you asked Steve Herrera okay what is the health concerns with GMOs he said that there is no no record of any health effect on GMOs and that all the criticism was based on speculation one of the main problems is that the GMO crops that are released
26:46
into the food chain are not labeled so basically they’re untraceable so if they’re cusing a health effect see there’s there’s no way to and it’s already out it’s like uh how do you close the door after the dog gets out in good is in addition to that there is some evidence in the literature that shows that there are some potential health effects and just in the last year there’s been three Publications in uh in referee journals and science journals showing that there might be side effects
27:14
on on animals based on animal studies uh for example Australia did a a GM had a GMO project with a they inserted a bean gen into pece and it was about a 15-year project and the crop was about to be released when health studies found that there were side effects on mice uh side effects like uh they were Ober antibody production on the mice which caused allergic reactions it was published on the Journal of Agriculture and food chemistry which is a major and it was only through a longterm viewing of it
27:46
that these things came out so just prior just prior to his release the project was shut down so it was an unexpected result that they didn’t realize until the very end so right now it seems that economics are dictating policy rather than the health of all of us of rean really is that a surprise no I’m just bringing it out trying to be clear you know I I actually really think that I remember when they used to talk about that prevention is actually cheaper you know I mean if we look at the overall
28:19
effect it’s like when I do financial planning you have to look at everything you can’t just look at the mortgage or look at the the taxes you have to put it all together when here the cost of Health in our country and the extraordinary uh things that we’ve created and put into the market and they have little things that say oh excuse me this might give you three noses you know whatever these crazy products that we deal with hospitals are filled with it I mean we all know the cost of healthcare
28:46
let me just continue with Hector yeah there there famous line is we know of no known health effects first of all I I hate these ambiguous statements you know the people who spoke before they were so precise about G gy let’s talk about that state that we know of no know health effects we being you yourself don’t know because you haven’t read we being society as we don’t know because we haven’t done the studies now that’s what the World Health Organization saying and then these
29:14
health effects how long you think we take to know them even first of all they’re not labeled like Hector say 50% of your products drugs and vaccines and please proponents do not say there he goes with his drugs and vaccines genetically engineered vaccines I know very well I published last year on them in the journal vaccine G vaccines are not a whole different lot different than what you’re doing here anyway you say that these things we have to study the side effects well first of all you got
29:47
to label it so I can piece together because half of these products have side effects determine only after post Market second of all even if you label them how long you think it would take for a labeled product to see side effects should we take tobacco we’re smoking 60 70 years before the guys finally stated in mid-50s the ox nurse that this thing causes lung cancer you think it’s because cancer takes so long to see no tobacco and nitin causes cardiovascular effects in two or 3 years how long were
30:21
we smoking before we saw that 60 70 years asbestos delamide lead one product after the other how long is it before you see this thing obviously we’re in a land of the free and the home of the brave and sometimes the home of the uninformed so you’re saying sure people use it but label it and if we don’t have enough tests track it let’s have our tests or let at least make it clear that we’re killing ourselves we have all these other things we make our choices but right now being blind to what we’re
30:55
doing we feel uh we’re being manipulated some have compared it to you hear them all Nazi Germany and it’s like yeah let’s experiment we have these live people to experiment on and none of us want to be experimented that’s the food part the environmental part remember Hawaii grows more I like to use G as genetic experimentation okay you call it genetic engineering to me my engineer father is very precise this thing you can call it engineering but it’s not that precise not anyway Hawaii has the most G crops
31:29
per acre maybe it’s number two in the world that’s the food you eat the rest of the stuff is a life form going into the environment there’s a reference from here group publishing from Harvard saying that this engineered mutation can go into the soil microbes the viruses the bacteria and we know viruses are a great way to transfer between species all these genetic engineering things the Harvard people say not only is it common that the industry denied that it was common 10 years ago the industry admits
32:02
it common now the industry says it’s not advantageous advantageous the Harvard people say be very careful with that Gene you stuck on what they call a promoter it’s an on switch it turns the thing on and leaves it on that’s very advantageous this is like an invasive species with unknown harmful effects to environment and health so that’s in the soil that’s in the ground well has anyone looked in theory in the lab it travels into the S you you knew that when we went against the G mutant algae
32:35
you start with messing the microb system with a a very aggressive on switch Forever on you’re asking for trouble and we cannot recall this you cannot even recall miconia and it’s recognizable or poke frog and I can see a poke frog I don’t think you can control this well this is a big issue so what do we do now we’re the cat’s out of the bag he’s out into the envir what do we do now I’m you know as much as I I think you know as we listen to this I wouldn’t be surprised if quote the pro
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people would agree with all these things we’re talking about how do we now come to some reconciliation like one of the things I find interesting you’re from the University of Hawaii system and yet the gentleman that were last week were University of Hawaii system you have conversation and interaction with with all these people right right um you seem very open about it so did they do you ever talk about this about what’s happening about the patents of tarot all these different issues does that stuff
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come up uh it does come up and to me it’s an issue of democracy where people have to be educated about it and then as a community can make a decision right now the American people they don’t we don’t know about the you talk you go to the street and ask people do you know that you have been eating genetically engineered papaya for the last 10 years and they say what what is that I I don’t know about it in Europe where people know about it they have said no to GMOs in Japan where people are educated about
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it they also have said no about it when you say no they’ said no because there aren’t enough tests am I right correct there’s no that’s the issue the issue keeps coming back to the tests and the labeling and the don’t put it out before it’s ready that’s the issue isn’t it and it doesn’t it seem like that’s it why aren’t we seeing both sides come together on this and agreeing and together lobbying the council and the state why isn’t that happening I used to
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think it was like he said just lack of Education I’ve run this issue for the last three or four years and I’m a little more cynical I think it is miseducation intentional by the industry I was the open-minded of all and I give you one example industry paid for Harvard docs Duke docs to come because I had spoken to the Pediatrics Association of Hawai and they came to put things in order National Academy of Science this is the one you National Academy of Science this is everyone’s Bible they
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quote from this I quote from this and they quote from this uh you’ll see it on the screen yeah that there is not one side effect we see with G food including Carol that we don’t see with normal food that’s a pretty strong statement right there’s not one side effect we see with G food that we don’t see with normal food classical food so you think it’s safe right look very carefully at the graph the graph shows it clearly shows that GE food and I label it for you have the highest risk on the x-axis is risk
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of unintended Health effect bad side effect the risk is much higher with GE Foods the top three of the four highest are GE Foods the highest one is non-ge they sto doing that a long time ago that’s new to Genesis and this is telling you quantitatively GE foods are much higher risk of health effects quantitatively what book is this I’m sorry National Academy of Science scientif Safety of genetic engineering Foods approaches to assessing unintended health effects health effects GE Foods so this is telling you there’s a
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higher risk these guys want want misquote this thing to say well qualitatively whatever you see here you can see there yeah that’s true they both cause headaches but GE foods cause more they both cause cancer buteg foods cause more yeah I think it’s a purposeful misrepresentation of the facts well I you you use the tobacco industry earlier you know there’s a new movie Thank You for Smoking where there’s a you know a a whole thing about how the spin on Tobacco you know is some guys hired to
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put a spin on Tobacco so you believe that’s what’s going on yeah it’s worse than that I mean this thing started from the top these these these companies we’re talking about are huge International companies so they’ been lobbying presidents on down so this thing has been they’ve been working like this for eight nine 10 years working the political angle by the time we figure out what’s that going in our Fields today I thought it was SE coin by the time we get to that level everything has
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been greased already so what power do does our audience have where is their power to make a change we’re here today for knowledge that’s where it all starts knowledge sure so I don’t have any idea what to tell them to do but once they get the knowledge and they start worrying about what they’re eating what the kids is eating what about their health what about their environment then there’s going to be action but until they know that that there is danger out there that’s the power of what we’re
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doing BR that’s what we’re doing State rules can preempt Federal rules unless the feds have already preempted our preemption you know what I mean look there’s a in drugs and vaccines okay there’s an experimental try we do it must be cleared on two levels the central level the FDA the guys who produce it and the local level okay if any of those two either one says I think this is dangerous I think we need more information then it stops okay when there’s an experimental product and they
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claim that this safe but I just showed you natural C sence you see are risky now it becomes unknown and experimental we need two kinds of clearance the FDA and we need some kind of state clear environmental e environmental impact statement EA environmental assessment in there is the Clause what is to our health what’s this to environment if you don’t know State can Trump feds that’s how we block them in Kona with the genetically engineered alga so that exists now but the fact that they’re
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already there wait wait they weren’t there so they were easy to block the genetically engineered algae on his Island Walter’s Island they’re working hard and they got wages you know when you bring in a product that’s known to be experimental and you say but this is a wage this is money that’s employment that’s what we call enticement cannot entice people that’s a big challenge that happens on our Island here with different kinds of uh of produce do you think though the tobacco guys when we
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say tobacco causes cancer The Growers in North Carolina say oh but this is our livelihood when we investigate as bestos the guys mining it you say oh but this is our livelihood that I used to have that same response when people talked about building the expensive houses well let’s get them to put in infrastructure let’s those people can do different things they can be retrained to use those skills in different ways same kind of a thing here is like it’s a matter of how we choose to use all the knowledge
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we have those people that are uh growing tobacco or growing uh corn or whatever could be you know employ doing something else they’re Alternatives I I wanted to change the subject from SA which is what we’ve been talking about since the show started to this whole concept of the Carol and what’s happening in the Hawaii Community what it means to the Hawaii Community I want to talk about that too I just want to be sure that as we’re going that our public knows we’re going to put email addresses
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for all you gentlemen so that people can be in touch with you more than anything I want to see dialogue happening and I want you to to feel that you can talk with these guys the people from the other show try to put people together we we’ve had some conversations happen since the first show that I thought were meaningful and that there began to be dialogue between what appeared to be opponents I’m still not convinced that we’re on opposite sides I think it’s a matter of clarity of issue well I don’t
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really see any reason why the guys in the first show who were Pro uh don’t agree with everything you’re saying I I don’t really hear any discrepancy now your issue is a different one because yours is cultural and I’d like to hear what you have to say I’m sure our audience would do I’m not a scientist so I’m here as a Hawaiian speaking from a Hawaiian point of view because this is Hawaii and the issues that we’re talking about genetic engineering and stuff also goes to the to the heart of indigenous
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people’s rights this is an international kind of a thing that we’re talking about and here in Hawaii we have customary laws that was here before anybody got here we have um traditional knowledge has been here for thousands of years sure those things come into play in this issue so when we talk about the tarot and the genetic engineering of the tarot and the pening of the tarot those two issues okay that’s we want to keep it we’re not talking about the hybridization or the traditional ways
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that we’ve been doing tarot which is a cross bre between natural plants and natural country he talking about people who are shooting things jeans from rice and from wherever the heck they’re shooting jeans into these tarot jeans if we think that this tarot plant is a near Plant then we have no problems we don’t understand what you’re talking about in Hawai you talk about t then there’s going to be major major problems and that’s what all the conflict is coming in because people
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have not taken the time to ask the Hawaiians about this down just done things to it without any participation of Hawaiian without any consent when youw consent and I’m just trying to get clarity last time when I spoke there with buttons he was sharing buttons level I guess is their cultural Bridge from the University to talk with Hawaiians and yeah he was hired by University to to come and talk to Hawaiian yeah so push one side of the view well I’m trying to understand it better because we’re pushing the other
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side of the have you ever talked with him could you come together in some fashion I don’t know because it’s it’s it’s not something that you can compromise it’s either or on this one the Hawaiians are saying the tarot plant is our ancestor you have to understand that it’s not a plant it’s our ancestor it was the first born his name was H all right okay he’s the first born he was still born so he’s planted outside the door and he became the tan the second born was man that comes straight from
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our genealogy that is part and the essence of our culture that’s who we are so he’s part of our family so we’re not talking about a Paran we’re talking about a family member that if you cannot understand that then there’s going to be conflict well that’s an interesting subject because it really is it’s it’s the core of our issue we’re not understanding so how can you patent our family and say that you own our family who gave you permission to patent our family and own
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our family well we’re doing it to save you guys okay the missionaries have arrived again they’re going to come and save us that’s you haven’t talked to the hawaian you haven’t got their consent you haven’t got their participation nothing it’s as if the hawaian don’t exist you know what I would like to see I would like to see a panel of discussion about the culture where it stands we’re all talking okay but we cannot talk until the university drops their patent
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we cannot talk because they have taken out three patents they have taken out three patents they have genetic tried to genetically modify our tarot genetically these specific scientists right because as I understand it m she works for carar University of Hawaii all I’m really sharing is that that somewhere a decision was made by that individual cuz there was a gentleman that was here that we talked through last week who said he doesn’t want the patents he doesn’t feel comfortable in that so but that’s the
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issue then why doesn’t the university drop the path yeah he himself didn’t want it but does he speak for the University or not well that would be good conversation to have so the position of the Hawaiians is you cannot talk until you drop the pths show good faith show respect and they will sit down and talk to eliminate these kinds of problem because they’re not only going to patent the tarot they’re going to patent the uh for medicine they’re going to Pat in the the they’re going to
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Pat in the the AA they going to all these things so this is the tip of the iceberg we’re talking about so I think that would be a good I hope that you’ll find your way back here again we can talk because I think that would be a separate show to be talked about because you’re right it’s a separate issue these are like two separate issues it’s like taking apples and oranges and putting together in a fruit salad yeah right the cultural aspect of so I’d like to see what we can physically tangibly work on
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to make things better with labeling and testing great and separately these issues that you’re speaking of because they deserve their own separate platform you know many times here when we bring up Hawaiian issues Hawaiians even you know I sat we debate it’s I talked just like the legislator we debate I had an interview with the King and then other people say oh he’s not the king it’s a de you know well that’s the passion in the in the culture there’s a lot of growing up this
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is also a central issue of genetic engineering what is the goal of genetic engineering to p a plan and then to make Farmers dependent on on on that patent they have to continue to purchase it and purchase it so it is an economic side that corporations want to take control of the food supply but also becomes a cultural issue in in the individual region right it is it’s it’s not all of these biodiversity animals and plants that are here in Hawaii they’re not just free for the Tak that’s what the Hawaiian want to
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make sure you get this car street because behind that is biodiversity industry or biotechnology industry that wants to come to Hawaii and build an industry on all of these friend well I know that everyone thanks you for your strong you know deep cultural ties that are putting out this and like I say I hope we can talk about it again we’ll have a special show I hope on that okay I know we’re running low on time and more than anything I want to give you a chance for at least a couple of minutes please to sum it up
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know that you’re welcome back to talk with me anytime and more time and I hope that we get some of this group and some of the last group together and see after conversation where we might have additional dialogue who knows what kind of good can Happ and if we all come in Good Will uh to be talking both about cultural although I don’t think we can that’s like you say that’s either black or white on the handling of the patents but I’d like to see it all come together and I’m sure that I’m speaking for you
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gentlemen but I’m sure that you’d also like to see that some good can come from these shows that we’re not just going to be discussing it we’re actually to make some progress so that when the next issues come we’ll know the way to handle it because we’re setting our precedent now and that’s why you stand so strongly in what you stand for I appreciate we we came today because we wanted to make sure that we get certain points across and we educate the community and one is
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that this is new technology that we’re talking about brand new unknown untested number two we wanted to make sure we get across that the Hawaiians have a lot to lose in this new technology and the Hawaiians have not be not really understood all of this so it’s my job as another Hawaiian to try and get this across to the Hawaiian out of all the people who live here the Hawaiians have the most to lose because we have higher responsibilities to these plants we call it our f h would you say that uh the
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would you tell all the Hawaiian to come out and be part of this process of election choose people that will uh Help U I mean that’s to me an issue here we are in an election year you’re going to be see all kinds of people coming out with all kinds of statements any way do you have any kind of recommendations or any way that people can approach this whole process of election and responsibly handling you know before with the the nation of Hawaii or if if we ought to be again uh people are involved in process
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now what can they do now to make a difference that’s important I hope that we take some kind of positive action step what do you think well politically Hawaiian have not really gotten involved politically because they’ve all been on a short end of the stick in politics but here’s a chance now for us to get involved early on on this new industry that’s coming here that’s going to leave us with even shorter St so registering and voting getting involved there’s a reason to get involved and that reason
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is to protect the plants and animals because there’s there’s all these money people that want to plants and animals turn it into a commodity and make a lot of money and you’re going to get nothing out of this whole thing you don’t get involved now to stand up and say hey we aim we have a responsibility to this this is Hawaii we’re Hawaiian that we have a responsibility to politically make those changes it’s going to guarantee that they have a voice in this this big new industry called biot
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technology that’s going to hit Hawai I was going to say Hawaii is sweet potato but there’s a hot potato and I think this subject can go on and on and there lots more conversation starting this year legislation was quite close we’re defeated on one of the bills you know 13 to 12 that’s a long way we’ve come last year these things weren’t even getting out of committee there was litigation there’s legislation when we asked for your support we need your support I don’t really care if the Pro Group never
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agrees with me I want the public to know the truth and to hear their why don’t we sum up now because I know we’re running short I’m going to jump up to the camera so you see all these beautiful faces Aloha thank you for being with us these guys are going to talk to you here in a second go ahead thank you well I think that in Hawai we have to strive to our self-sufficiency we have enough land we have enough resources and we have to choose what direction are we going to take are we going to follow the path of industrial
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agriculture reliant on external inputs that we have to purchase from out of state pesticides fertilizers genetically modified organisms that we have to pay every time we plant or we should be stri for our self-sufficiency growing our own plans with self-determination and following ecological methods for agriculture for health I have to say I’m tired of cleaning up mistakes made by industry whether it be asbestos lead DDT alrin Deen I don’t want to have to clean up this one this one is a life form
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you’re playing with highrisk stuff very unknown and I don’t want to 10 years from now just have somebody say sorry I want this thing controlled well I want to speak specifically to to ask you to to get up to wake up to makahala because this issue genetic engineering has a direct bearing on your lives in the future so we have a couple of minutes anything other that that we haven’t talked about that you’d like to be sure to talk about the last video they made a strong statement that they’re all pro diversity
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they’re Pro biodiversity of course you want to stay that but check the statement by Dr maai Nobel Peace Prize 2004 PhD University of Pittsburgh she says GE in 1998 is exactly the opposite of biodiversity it destroys biodiversity I’m tired of the other side saying we’re against patents then they take patents we’re for biodiversity then they do things that are against it I’m tired of them saying things and then doing the other things I’m glad you’re filming this yeah you know I I’m glad that we’re
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filming this also and I hope I hope that all of you out there when you see these three beautiful faces go up and say hello you know and the gentlemen that were on the last show let’s start dialogue if you know any of the people that are here or if you’d like to I can see I have three very open and available people here we’re going to be running email addresses and such for all of you please know that uh our purpose is to only do good by bringing things to life if we knew how to handle all these
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subjects and I can snap my fingers and you can snap your fingers we’d see you know uh immediate result but uh you know I think that’s why I decided to run for TV post rather than run for office once you get into office it’s not easy to please everyone you can only do the best that you can do when you’re playing with other people in the sandbox there has to be compromise and you know in certain things there may not be compromise but you have to learn how to play together and come out with an outcome that is
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worthwhile and helps the most people I think that we all would probably agree that we want to have things that are labeled and that are fully tested before we become the guinea pig you can probably tell by the few words that I’m speaking but I have a point of view my point of view is I think that everyone I’ve spoken to is passionate about this I don’t really hear a single voice that’s saying we don’t want it to be right for the people let’s try to work together and see if we can come to some
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terms and pass some legislation so that we have control of our own lives here you know years ago it was uh central government was Democrat and uh individual state government was Republican so then we say wait wait that can’t be in Hawaii we’re mostly been Democrat now we’re Republican But Central what control why don’t we just drop all that political thing and S try to come together on basic issues like this because you know you know that old one you know we can fight or we can together and cup the water and have
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something come out of this instead of constantly bickering so I I hope that that’s really the the great thing that comes from this additional friendly discussion with integrated action you know you maybe don’t know I came to Maui with a vision of renewable energy technology and self- sustainability and started a nonprofit that’s what this Maui Arts and Music Association is about dream Maui to visualize a self sustained community and I have a long background we don’t have to go into but I’ve
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learned that it has to work for everyone and I really hope that we’re setting that kind of a tone that we can carry on and have more conversation on TV and privately and make some difference you know U one of the biggest reasons we’re here is for Education yeah and I wanted to leave those of you who want to do homework to find to see if we’re saying the right things or somebody else is saying the right things if you go on the on your computer and you go to Center for food safety you get all kinds of uh
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links for information we’re going to put all this stuff up at the end of the show so you’ll be able to put that all up and the other one is Friends of the earth so Center for food safety or you can type in Friends of the earth you will be right at the heart of where a lot of this information is and uh you can go on Google and search under all these keyw and you’ll find there’s lots of talk let’s see what we can do to take some action and be part of making a difference in the quality of Our Lives
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where time is short thank you all thank you Walter Ritte and Dr Lorrin Pang and Hector Valenzuela please for being here thank you for all watching I hope that you’ll see us again and come back and join us for some more conversation and some positive action aloha aloha [Music] St [Music] each s [Music] Downy [Music] [Music] sty styish [Applause]
