Pay raises for public workers?

Our stingy and greedy leaders are at it again – this time by awarding themselves a $152 million pay raise for all public workers during this Corona-virus, that they insist was already allocated into the budget before the crisis. And at a time when our people are still suffering and dying. It seems to me that we not only need to reform our police but our local government.

And they have the audacity to say we are all in this together. Political propaganda is more like it. But no worries – GOD is watching and will deal with all deception His way.

“Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.” Ecclesiastes 5:10.

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10.

“Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” 1 Timothy 6:9

“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” Mark 8:36

Our leaders clearly don’t know the Seventh Commandment: Thou shall not steal.

And Matthew 22:39: Love they neighbor as thyself.

But all believers know that it will be: “The meek who will inherit the earth.” Mathew 5:5

In the meantime, we can only pray for all their profoundly immoral and wicked souls. Amen.

LISA MALAKAUA, Hilo

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The benefits of grazing animals

Grazing ruminants, such as the cattle raised by local Maui ranchers, have benefits to the environment and our health. These benefits include sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, building essential micro-organisms in the soil to promote both soil and human health and discouraging the spread of fires.

The presence of large herbivores positively affects our beautiful island. Rebuilding of the soil creates nitrogen that takes harmful carbon out of the atmosphere. With appropriate management, grazing animals on Maui can regenerate our environment through carbon sequestration, water infiltration, soil fertility, nutrient cycling, soil formation, biodiversity, wildlife habitat and increased ecosystem stability and resilience. (Ferguson, 2013)

When measured, grains (wheat, corn), sweets (corn again, sugarcane), and legumes (peas for pea protein, soybeans), all staples in plant-based diets and major contributors to diabetes and obesity, are thought to have lower greenhouse gas emissions than meats.

Actually, they had a higher overall carbon contribution due to the low nutrient density of the food. It takes more quantity, more processing and more transportation of these foods to meet our nutritional needs. Less quantity of quality meat is needed to meet our body’s health requirements. (Drewnowski, 2014, Tongwane, 2016)

One of my personal favorite ways to get the nutrients Vitamin A, C, D and K2 is through a once-a-month serving of local grass-fed beef liver. Grass-fed meats, such as those from our local Maui ranchers, are higher in nutrients than conventional beef, including Omega 3 fatty acid, which has been shown to decrease the risk of major diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

Biological control of invasive plants and pests, as well as discouraging wildfires through replenishing grasses, are just a few of the ways grazing ruminant cattle help build a healthy environment. Without the need of as much toxic artificial fertilizer or pesticides, natural ruminant fertilizer (waste) helps support the soil to include insects and microbacteria that balance and rebuild the soil, as opposed to large-scale plant agriculture, which adds toxins and strips the soil of nutrients and beneficial micororganisms.

When the soil is stripped of nutrients, we have less nutrients in our food and also less land to use. It is speculated by some that we have only about 60 harvests left until plant-based soil exhaustion. Ruminant animals and regenerative agriculture are a great solution to promote the health of our planet and our bodies.

CYNTHIA MONTELEONE, Metabolic Practitioner to Olympic and Professional Athletes & 2019 World Champion Sprinter, Lahaina

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Beware of BBQ bugs

COVID-19 heralded some good news for this Independence Day. The scarcity of meat kept our outdoor grills safe.

Folks who grill hamburgers and hot dogs face a nasty choice. The U.S. Meat and Poultry Hotline advises grilling at high temperature to avoid food poisoning by E. coli and Salmo-nella bacteria. But the National Cancer Institute warns that high-temperature grilling of processed meats generates cancer-causing compounds.

Fortunately, we no longer need to choose between food poisoning and cancer! A bunch of enterprising U.S. food processors have met this challenge head-on by developing a rich variety of convenient, healthful, delicious plant-based veggie burgers, veggie dogs and soy nuggets.

These products don’t harbor nasty bugs or cancer-causing compounds. They are missing the cholesterol, saturated fats, drugs, hormones and pesticides of their animal-based alternatives. And, they are waiting for us in the frozen food section of our favorite supermarket, along with nut-based ice creams and other dairy-free desserts.

Let’s declare our independence from the meat industry, which exposes its workers to COVID infection. And, let’s stay away from both the COVID and the barbecue bugs!

LEX NAKAHARA, Lahaina

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Mahalo to Maui United Way

On behalf of the Lahaina Arts Guild, we would like to extend a grand mahalo to the Maui United Way ‘ohana for all their fine work.

As you may know, Maui United Way has awarded Community Impact Grants to 39 hardworking, impressive charities that serve our Maui community. Not readily evident is the extent of effort and countless hours that Nick, Makana and the MUW board have put into a months’ long process to streamline and review all the different applicant organizations.

During the process, the pandemic hit us all, and they managed to re-set the process for online interviews and inspections. It was amazing work, and many mahalos and congratulations for completing everything seamlessly. They were the first ones to tell everyone that the biggest thanks go to all those in our Maui community who have generously given to support Maui United Way, which in turn has supported all of us.

In the case of our Lahaina Arts Guild, we can increase our teacher base, purchase more art supplies and expand our reach into our public schools and low-income housing complexes.

BILL SMITH, Director, Lahaina Arts Guild