Gay & Robinson Survival

SUBHEAD: What does it mean for Gay & Robinson to survive if it means supporting King Corn instead of King Cane? By Juan Wilson on 2 October 2009 - image above: The Kaumakani Mill (l.), school and neighborhhod center (c.) and Kaumakani village (r.). From GoogleEarth. The announcement that Gay & Robinson has leased 3,400 acres to Dow Agro-Science Corporation for developing GMO corn, soybean, and sunflower between Waimea and Hanapepe was an unpleasant news to me. I had hoped the sugarcane fields could have been moved towards local food production leading to self-sustainability for people on Kauai. Seems there is no profit in that. We have all known that sugarcane farming in Hawaii not a viable business. For three decades it has been disappearing and is about to wink out. Currently, G & R is on the last round of harvest of their fields. In some ways we should be glad. The Bad - 1) Sugarcane farming on Kauai destroyed native Hawaiian agriculture by diverting the valley waters onto the cane fields - this led to the breakdown Hawaiian families and communities. A great die-off of Hawaiians occurred. The profitability of western plantations (and their desire to own and control the lands) led to the overthrow of the Hawaiian nation and culture. 2) The technology of sugarcane agriculture required burning the crops in the fields. The depletion of nutrients by lack of crop rotation exhausted the soil. The destruction of streams and ocean reefs by soil runoff led to degradation of the environment. 3) The plantation system encouraged a kind of indentured servitude for the Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese and Filipino workers imported for labor over the last century. An almost mediaeval feudal system persisted though the 2oth century that led to social injustice and lack of individual freedoms. image above: Gay & Robinson sugarcane being harvested by fire on public land above Hanapepe. From GoogleEarth. On the other hand there have been virtues to the sugarcane industry. The Good - 1) The continuation of the sugarcane industry through the 20th century on Kauai has kept thousands of acres from development as suburban sprawl. That has preserved something of a rural character to much of the island. 2) Ironically, although it displaced Hawaiian communities, plantation communities preserved elements of the music, art language and skills of the Hawaiian people through intermarriage with the people brought to Hawaii to work the sugarcane. Hawaiian culture was intertwined with the cultures of the Pacific Rim and beyond. 3) The plantation system with one of self sufficiency and sustainability. Each large enterprise had its own town with shops, medical facilities, schools, etc. Plantations had their own dairy farms, slaughter houses, power plants and railroads. Plantation workers grew their own fruit and vegetables, hunted the mountains and fished the sea. Sustainability is not an empty word for the people in the G & R community. Survival - Gay & Robinson will tell you that the deal with Dow Agro-Science was a grasp at the last straw before drowning. Recent deals for growing sugarcane for ethanol evaporated. The agreement with KIUC to co-generate power, and other schemes never bore fruit. In the last year G & R made it clear that they had come to the end of the road. They were broke and on their last harvest. This has led to some unfortunate results. The Robinson family could easily lose the land they they have held control over for the last century. This has meant cutting back, shutting down and letting go. When DOW made an offer to G & R for leasing 3,400 acres, it was a matter of life and death for the family empire, and therefor a deal they could not refuse. The Ups - 1) Gay & Robinson will continue to keep the thousands of acres of land they have manages for a century. Jobs will be kept. Some worker housing that is now not occupied could be renovated and put back to use. There are plans to begin by adding a 100 acres for food production by current Kaumakani residents. 2) G & R is hoping that with this deal several of the plans they have had for their community will be possible now. After recent harvests, due economic circumstances and loss of resources, soil remediation efforts have not met previous standards. Erosion and degradation have accelerated. G & R hopes to reverse that by developing commercial grasslands and forestation of parts of the acreage formally in cane. The Downs - 1) I grew up knowing DOW as the chemical company that manufactured DDT (an insecticide), Agent Orange (an herbicide) and Napalm (an incendiary). These products were used on people and forests with negative results for decades. I don't trust DOW Chemical Company. They must prove themselves worthy of being called a "good neighbor". 2) GMO companies, like Syngenta, Pioneer, Monsanto and DOW, follow a scheme: Achieve patents over our vital food sources (corn soybean, wheat, then make farmers dependent on their seed and chemicals for the growth, health and continuity of crops. It's about globalism, corporatism and profits. It's not to save the world and make is self-sustaining (regardless of their public relations blather). DOW will not replace their scheme to follow a more local, natural and sustainable model because that won't include them as a global corporation. Outcomes? - 1) It may be that the GMO scheme of agriculture will fail. Peak Oil may preclude the logistical ability to put it in the field, maintain it and control it. Localism will be the natural course of things. The DOW lease on the land will end. They will go away and Gay & Robinson will persist and perhaps eventually thrive. Maybe. 2) Another scenario may be that the military/corporate control of the westside of Kauai will instensify and strengthen. DOW has worked hand in hand with the US military since WWII. An "understanding" between those parties would expand and buffer the military networks on the island; and reinforce the security and secrecy of the GMO corporations. Let's hope not. see also: Ea O Ka Aina: GMO seed crops take root 9/27/09 Ea O Ka Aina: Kauai's last sugar harvest 9/27/09 Ea O Ka Aina: Gay & Robinson Future 9/25/09