The first Hilo chapter meeting of the Hawaii Farmers’ Union United is 6 p.m. Monday at the University of Hawaoo Komohana Ag complex in the poly conference room. ADVERTISING The first Hilo chapter meeting of the Hawaii Farmers’ Union United
The first Hilo chapter meeting of the Hawaii Farmers’ Union United is 6 p.m. Monday at the University of Hawaoo Komohana Ag complex in the poly conference room.
The Hawaii Farmers’ Union was created in 2007 by Eden Peart, and has about 30 charter members. It since changed it’s name to the Hawaii Farmers’ Union United. Its mission, in part, is to “advocate for the sovereign right for farmers to create and sustain a vibrant and prosperous agricultural community for the benefit of all Hawaii through cooperation, education, and legislation.”
The HFUU is a subdivision of the National Farmer’s Union, the nation’s oldest union. It is a grassroots, democratic organization created to support the needs of family farmers and local food systems. The three main foci to carry out that mission are cooperation, legislation and education.
The national policy at the NFU is to support moratoriums on GMO cultivation where the crops haven’t been tested properly for safety as well as for marketability. And it follows that the policies of the NFU also are in step with this approach because the goal for many farmers is to support identity preservation of seed supply — something hard to do in an environment of GMO seeds and pollen drift.
For more info, call Jackie Prell at 938-5864.
