Blog
News, updates, finds, stories, and tidbits from staff and community members at KAHEA. Got something to share? Email us at: kahea-alliance@hawaii.rr.com.
GMO Labeling Rally
Whether you love them or hate them, why not label Genetically Modified Organisms? Uncle Walter Ritte, longtime activist from Moloka`i organized an event on February 21st to bring attention to both GMO labeling issues and the fact that none of the bills that would require such labeling will be heard this session. Uncle Walter reminded us all that it is our job to pressure lawmakers to take seriously this issue. Read more about Kukunaokalā's (our intern) experience--he went the day they built the ahu for Hāloa on the lawn as well as the day of the consecration and rally. See you next year at the capitol for this issue!
Save O'ahu Farmlands - Protest and March
This Tuesday, Februrary 21, farmers from across O'ahu will send ten farm tractors on flatbed trucks to circle through the city throughout the lunch hour to protest the loss of farmlands. Two large farms that produce 40% of our locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables are under grave threat of urbanization for the Ho'opili and Koa Ridge projects. Others in Wai'anae and Kahuku-Laie are also in great danger. Farmers know that if these lands are lost, no farm is safe. This "Protest of the Farm Tractors," sponsored by Save O'ahu Farmlands Alliance, is to make the public aware of this crisis. On the following Saturday, February 25, the Save O'ahu Farmlands Rally, March, and Farm Festival will take place at Kaka'ako Waterfront Parks, starting with the Rally at 9:00 a.m., and ending at 2:00 p.m.
Monk Seals: Critcal habitat, Critical discussion
In the last few weeks, we’ve received letters of strong support and strong opposition to the proposed rule on critical habitat for the Hawaiian monk seal. We hope this blog will open up some safe space for discussion.
A Story of Displacement
The current struggle to see these lands remain in agriculture is part of a longer fight between developers and farming communities that has been ongoing for almost 60 years. As farmers tell their stories, we can see a pattern where urbanization displaces farmers and farms.
Pa'i 'Ai Bill Victory
SB101 unanimously passed by the House and the Senate, now headed to the governor's desk. Ono for pa'i 'ai yet?
Where's YOUR Pa'i 'Ai?
Update from Uncle Earl Kawaa on the effort to legalize pa'i 'ai (traditional pounded kalo/taro).
How is fishing like aquaculture? Trick question. It’s not.
Does an industrial fish farm count as fishing? Apparently, NOAA says “yes.” To permit an experimental open ocean fish farm operation, NOAA is looking to grant a corporation (Kona Blue Water Farms on Hawai`i Island) a fishing permit and call its fish farm cages “a new, unlisted gear type.”
