(PNN) Kapa`a (May 27)- Outrage is going viral today on Kaua`i as
parents and community members perused pro-biotech, propaganda-filled
comic books that were distributed to Kapa`a Elementary School
kids as part of a Monsanto Foundation-funded, "GENE-ius Day"
program "taught" by the "Biotechnology Outreach
Program" in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human
Resources (CTAHR) at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa.
Although details are still coming in the personalized "comic
book" pamphlets were given to kids who were apparently took part
in CTAHR Associate Professor Dr. Ania Wieczorek's, eight-year-old
indoctrination program. A newer “Saturday Gene-ius” program
began about two years ago, and according to an April 24 UH
Professional Assembly release "(e)ach Saturday Gene-ius
class has about 24 students and their parents come to the UH-Manoa
campus for two hours of exciting, thought-provoking activities. The
classes are also held at Kauai Community College.
According to the CTAHR/"GENE-ius
Day" web site "(t)hese GENE-ius Day field trips are
aligned to teach science standards and its implications in genetics,
agriculture, and forensic sciences in a fun and memorable way."
The pamphlet/comic books include images of children dismayed to
look in their cupboards only to find there were no more "chips"
and "cookies" because there were no more farmers to grow
the ingredients since apparently their job was too hard- a job now
miraculously made virtually effort-free through use of GMOs and
pesticides, presumably courtesy of the good folks at Monsanto.
According to the CTAHR web site "(o)ur Gene-ius Day Program
is funded by various grants, organizations, and private donations.
Without the generous support from our sponsors, the GENE-ius Day
Program could not be possible."
So who are these generous supporters? According to a November 4,
2010 UH Foundation press
release
"Monsanto Supports "Gene-ius Day" at UH Mānoa
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
(Honolulu, Hawaiʻi) — The College of Tropical Agriculture
and Human Resources (CTAHR), at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
has received $20,000 from the Monsanto Fund, a private foundation and
the philanthropic arm of Monsanto Company, to support salaries and
materials for "Gene-ius Day." Gene-ius Day is a special
program that introduces students from grade 4 through 12 to basic
genetics and the function of DNA.
"CTAHR is pleased to team up with the Monsanto Fund to
build a shared learning experience about basic genetics," said
Dr. Ania Wieczorek, founder and director of Gene-ius Day and
associate specialist in Biotechnology, Biotechnology Outreach Program
(CTAHR). "A primary goal of the Gene-ius Day Program is to build
a strong understanding of basic genetics at the elementary school
level so that teachers are able to present increasingly complex
biotechnology topics in the upper grades."
"We're thrilled the Monsanto Fund is able to support
Gene-ius Day, which not only teaches science, but encourages students
to imagine themselves as scientists," said Dr. Fred Perlak, vice
president of research and business operations for Monsanto Hawaii,
and an award-winning microbiologist. "Monsanto is proud to
employ thousands of scientists and other talented employees who use
science and technology in their daily work. I hope many of the
students who participate in Gene-ius Day will go on to pursue great
careers in the sciences."
Pages of the personalized comic books with different names on the
covers began to surface on social media yesterday and elicited
outrage, especially among parents and community members who have
tried to tech
their children about the dangers of pesticides, the lack of
actual data on and chemical company false claims of the safety of
generically modified foods and the benefits of eating healthy,
sustainably grown, chemical-free foods.
The program is headed up by "Dr. Ania" as she is
"affectionately called" using a team of graduate and
undergraduate students as well as "volunteers" who are
listed
at the web site. None are listed as geneticists or students of
genetics.
The UHPA press release says:
Wieczorek's love for molecular ecology and biotechnology is
clearly evident in the way she serves the community. She may even
tell you it’s part her DNA. She has led the UH Biotechnology
Outreach Program since it began in 2002, sharing her expertise in
numerous venues across the state, on the Mainland, and in Taiwan.
"She saw a need in the community for greater awareness and
appreciation for genetics, and filled it. Dr. Wieczorek felt more
individuals, both adults and children, could make sound decisions
about biotechnology issues if they were informed about scientific
facts. That desire led to her launch of a new field trip program for
elementary school students seven years ago called “Gene-ius Day.”
Dr. Wieczorek’s goal is to use DNA to inspire students...
"To date, more than 5,000 young students have participated
in hands-on activities on topics such as human and plant genetic
traits, forensic science, agriculture and DNA research... The
Gene-ius Day became so popular that Dr. Wieczorek started another
program called “Saturday Gene-ius” about two years ago. Each
Saturday Gene-ius class has about 24 students and their parents come
to the UH-Manoa campus for two hours of exciting, thought-provoking
activities. The classes are also held at Kauai Community College.
"Dr. Wieczorek added that in the near future, the Saturday
Gene-ius program will be expanded to middle school students, which
will greatly expand the reach of this outreach program.
The Saturday Gene-ius classes fill up quickly."
Kaua`i has nationally been called "ground zero" in the
fight against the chemical companies- Syngenta, Dow and BASF after
Monsanto pulled out of Kaua`i a few years back- who conduct pesticide
experiments in the Westside town of Waimea.
It has been revealed through a lawsuit in federal court (Waimea
vs, Pioneer et. al.), that corn, soy and other commodity foodstuffs
are routinely doused 240 days a year (with multiple different
pesticides routinely used on those days) with up to 18 tons a year
of extra-toxic "restricted use pesticides" that have been
implicated in a plethora of illnesses by local doctors and nurse
practitioners as well as an unusually high number of a specific type
of heart anomaly in newborns.
The state Department of Health stopped compiling data on illnesses
in 2006 claiming a lack of funding.
Recently citizens recently engaged with paid biotech workers as
the local county council passed a bill requiring that the companies
disclose exactly what, where and when they are spraying and created
buffer zones around the testing fields after years of data-request
stonewalling by the chemical companies and state flouting of
regulations.
A recent DOH study found pesticides present in streams and their
sediment near and around the chemical testing fields but does not
plan to retest.
After public outrage threatened his November reelection Governor
Neil Abercrombie instituted a "voluntary" partial disclose
program while the bill was being debated. Activists called the "Good
Neighbor Program" too little, too late and the bill passed after
an override of a veto by Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.
Carvalho also faces reelection this year and is being challenged
by local surfer Dustin Barca, one of the leaders of the "Pass
The Bill" movement and an organizer of a 4000-strong march on
the county building. The population on Kaua`i is 61,000.
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