Hawaii Federal Judge, Barry Kurren (and his wife) have deep ties with Monsanto, Dow, and Big Ag. The judge has recently overturned a democratically voted initiative to limit GMOs on the Big Island of Hawaii. Without an upswelling of public pressure, he’ll do it again in Maui.
Judge Kurren is the very same man who struck down Ordinance 960 — Kauai’s pesticide/GMO regulatory bill — finding that is was pre-empted by state law, and therefore invalid. You can bet he’ll use the same tactic with GMO/Big Ag backing again.
While we were busy getting ready for the Thanksgiving holidays, Monsanto and Dow decided to make their move. Judge Kurren, who has ties to the Nature Conservancy which has received millions of dollars in donations from Monsanto, ruled that Hawaii County cannot enforce a law restricting genetically engineered crops because it is pre-empted by state law.
