Stewards of the Land?

Dow and dirty...

According to news reports, the latest player in Kauai's transgenic seed corn industry will be Dow Chemical. 3400 acres of red Westside soil will be planted with corn and soybeans destined not for the dinner plates of Kauai's people. The seed corn business, which dominates the west Kauai landscape continues to bloom, or explode. Dow has indicated that it intends to continue the tradition of "good land stewardship that Gay & Robinson has demonstrated over past decades" (1).

What kind of stewardship record does Dow have? They are the second largest chemical manufacturer in the world and have brought us historic products such as napalm and agent orange. Both chemicals memorialized by the legacy of death and deformation to those exposed during the Vietnam War. Dow headquarters in Modland, Michigan is the source point for dioxin's that will contaminat the land and water for generations to come.

In 2003, the state of New York won a $2 million claim against Dow for advertising Chlorpyrifos as "safe." A nerve toxin and endocrine disruptor; Chlorpyrifos is still used by agribusiness primarily in developing countries and the fields of Kauai.

Dow's legacy of environmental and social injustice is too long to list in this article. They now join a list of multi-national chemical corporations participating in a Kauai land grab not seen since the Great Mahele. At what benefit? At what cost?

1. Star bulletin
http://www.starbulletin.com/business/20090429_Dow_AgroScience_to_lease_Kauai_sugar_lands.htm
2. Students for Bhopal
http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/DirtyDow.htm#DangerousNeighbor
3. Stewards of the Land?
http://www.box.net/shared/nc102hq2ai
4. Dow Chemcial Company
http://www.dow.com/