Why Bad Lawmaking Reigns in Hawaii Politics

by Joni Kamiya, Hawaii Farmer's Daughter, January 20, 2015

Today, Tuesday January 20, there apparently will be an informational briefing for our state lawmakers on the issue of pesticides and children. It’s a good thing that our policy makers will look at this issue, however, the sources that they will be hearing from already have a predetermined agenda.

Why do I say that? If you research the background of the presenters, it is clear what they are trying to do. It’s not about using good science or data, it’s about passing their agendas at taxpayers’ expense. Haven’t we already learned from mistakes made from the ideology based laws made on the neighbor islands?

One of the presenters speaking is the author of the study concluding that living by farms resulted in higher rates autism because of pesticides. It’s interesting because if that truly was the case, why isn’t there skyrocketing cases of it in the Midwest where majority of the farms are located? There are multiple issues in the study also including a small sample size and its inability to pinpoint the actual cause. This “study” is just to eerily similar to the “paper turned study” done by computer scientist, Dr. Stephanie Seneff, trying to purport glyphosate as the cause of autism. It’s just bad science again trying to pass off as legitimate reasons for making laws.

The biggest red flag in this informational briefing is the last presenter who is from the Pesticide Action Network of North America, aka PANNA. They are just an activists’ group who take advantage of the federal loophole to rake in taxpayer dollars with lawsuits. They were behind Gary Hooser and his failed Ordinance 960 that is being reviewed in appellate court.

It’s really bothersome to me that activists are attempting to once again push their agendas. It’s not doing anything to decrease our reliance on mainland shipments or is it making food affordable. It’s not making it better for farmers to farm or grow more local foods. All these activists do is take away tools, technology, and create fear and doubt in those with little to no background in agriculture.

When lawmakers rely on bad science from activists, it takes something away from all of us and they don’t even realize it. There is so much potential for this technology to solve the very issue that the activists base their criticism on, but being blinded by ideology keeps the from allowing it to be realized.

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