Protect Our Keiki from Pesticide Drift& Support Healthy Soils
Protect Our Keiki from Pesticide Drift& Support Healthy Soils
Please take a moment to submit testimony in support for two important food systems bills. A bill to improve data collection and transparency on the usage of restricted use pesticides (RUP’s) and a bill to support regenerative farming practices through a healthy soils program have been scheduled for a joint hearing of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food Systems and the House Committee on Energy and Environment on March 25th at 9:00am in Conference Room 325 (and virtually). Testimony is due by Tuesday at 9am (although late testimony is still accepted).
Support SB 2100 SD2: Improve Pesticide Use Reporting
What Does This Bill Do?
Requires quarterly rather than annual reporting of all use of restricted use pesticides. Requires reporting within a square mile so that credible public health studies can be conducted. Requires the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to develop an online reporting tool for restricted use pesticides.
Why Is This Important? Sample Testimony:
Pesticide exposure can cause significant harm to public health and the environment. Restricted use pesticides have been deemed to have a high potential to drift off target, causing harm to surrounding communities, farm workers, pollinators, the environment, and other crops
Comprehensive pesticide use data is essential to accurately assess risks and ensure that communities are protected from adverse impacts. The current reporting system in Hawaiʻi does provide geographically specific enough data to conduct credible public health studies.
Publicly reported data on each RUP is summarized by island. Any resident who might have concerns about what is being used nearby has no way of gleaning more geographically specific information. California currently requires reporting within a square mile, which allows enough specificity for credible studies to be conducted to meaningfully assess risk and health impacts.
The creation of an online portal for RUP users to upload their usage data and for public reporting would require an initial investment, but ultimately would save considerable time and resources once established while providing the transparency communities have sought for decades.
Please support SB 2100 SD2.
Your name, Town
Support SB2110 SD1: Healthy Soils Program
What Does This Bill Do?
Establishes a Conservation Agriculture and Soil Health Incentive Program within the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission.
Why Is This Important? Sample Testimony:
Please support SB2110 SD1. Healthy soils provide many environmental and economic benefits, by supporting healthy crops and a productive ag sector, capturing carbon/climate change mitigation, making plants more pest and climate impact resilient and less dependent on costly inputs. Healthy soils are the foundation of a healthy and regenerative food system.
We must provide farmers with education and technical assistance to implement farm management practices that contribute to healthy soils and issue awards and other financial incentives to implement farm management practices that contribute to healthy soils.
In recent decades we have learned a great deal about the importance of microbial life, soil biodiversity and the potential for our soil to capture carbon, aiding in mitigating climate change. The impacts heavy industrial practices have in depleting our local soil health for over a century, we must move away from the outdated practices of sterilizing lands with pesticides and herbicides and killing the soil microbes and life. Instead we should support the biodiversity of insects and microbes that are beneficial to soil health and a productive agricultural sector. Please support SB2110 SD1.
Mahalo for your consideration!
Your Name, Town
