GMO

Taro grower and Native Hawaiian practitioner Jerry Konanui works to propagate and save from extinction the numerous varieties of kalo (taro), a staple of the Hawaiian diet. Jerry’s mission is also to protect kalo, revered as the elder sibling (Hāloa) of the Hawaiian people, from the risks of genetic engineering.

Taro grower and Native Hawaiian practitioner Jerry Konanui works to propagate and save from extinction the numerous varieties of kalo (taro), a staple of the Hawaiian diet. Jerry’s mission is also to protect kalo, revered as the elder sibling (Hāloa) of the Hawaiian people, from the risks of genetic engineering.

Beginning with an overview of how to document taro varieties, Jerry Konanui documents plant descriptors for nine varieties of taro, harvested at the Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in Kona, Hawai‘i island. Along with the documentation, Jerry shares a wealth of cultural knowledge of these varieties passed down to him through family. His goal is to scientifically document as many of the Hawaiian taro varieties as possible for reference by future generations of taro growers.

Hawai‘i farmers, teachers, legal and medical experts and community activists share their perspectives on GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms), the genetic engineering of crops and the patenting of life forms.

Hawai‘i farmers, teachers, legal and medical experts and community activists share their perspectives on GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms), the genetic engineering of crops and the patenting of life forms.