Le‘a Kanehe and Cherryl Smith will provide a Native Hawaiian and Maori perspective, respectively, on agricultural biotechnology today, Tuesday, Jan. 25, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall in Lihu‘e. A reception is at
Le‘a Kanehe and Cherryl Smith will provide a Native Hawaiian and Maori perspective, respectively, on agricultural biotechnology today, Tuesday, Jan. 25, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall in Lihu‘e.
A reception is at the same location from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The night is themed “A Ke A‘a,” or “Strengthen the Root,” and is sponsored by KAHEA, The Hawaiian Environmental Alliance.
Dr. Hector Valenzuela, tropical crops specialist at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, will also speak.
Members of GMO Free Hawai‘i and GMO Free Kaua‘i, coalitions of groups throughout the islands concerned about the impacts of genetic engineering of agricultural crops in the state, announced a four-island tour this week featuring Maori, Native Hawaiian and Native American experts on genetic engineering and traditional farming practices.
This informational tour is in response to the sharp increase in corporate- and public-funded genetic research, on going field testing and what GMO Free Kaua‘i and GMO Free Hawai‘i leaders call “secret experimentation that is being conducted throughout Hawai‘i without the benefit of adequate regulation, monitoring or public oversight.”
Leaders of agricultural enterprises doing business in the state deny these allegations.
The event is open to the public and free of charge.
Le‘a Kanehe, a Kanaka Maoli from Honolulu, is an attorney focusing on indigenous traditional, customary rights, human rights and environmental law. She has worked with Native Hawaiian, community-based organizations to raise awareness about the impacts of genetic technologies and Western intellectual property rights.
She has advocated for the right of self determination for indigenous peoples at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Convention on Biological Diversity, and recently joined efforts with the Indigenous Peoples’ Council on Biocolonialism as a legal analyst.
Dr. Cherryl Waerea i te rangi Smith, a Maori, is Ngati Apa and Te Aitanga A Hauiti. She works for a number of Maori community organizations and with Te Waka Kai Ora, the Maori organic growers association. She is one of the founding members of Nga Wahine Tiaki O Te Ao, a Maori women’s environmental organization that focuses on genetic engineering. She is a former member of the New Zealand Bioethics Council.
For more information, please call 1-808-524-8220.
