HONOLULU Quarterly Volume V, No. 1, Mar. 1994
* supporting human health, animal rights, and ecology *
Twenty years ago, when I first moved to Hawaii, one of my dreams was to learn to scuba dive. I took a certification course and soon fell madly in love with the ocean and its beautiful inhabitants. Every creature fascinated me, from tiny coral polyps to majestic sharks and manta rays. At about the same time, a man I was dating encouraged me to improve my diet, so I started making some changes. I went through a phase when I would no longer eat meat or poultry, but would still eat fish when it was socially expedient. I described myself as "basically a vegetarian". But every time I went diving, I watched the sea creatures and tried to reconcile the uncomfortable feelings I had about eating my underwater playmates.
Fish are often the last animals that people quit eating on the way to becoming vegetarians. Fish are so different from us. They are cold and wet and slippery and they don't scream or grimace when they are in pain. However, they do have fully developed brains and nervous systems and their skin is similar to the mucous membranes of our own body: exquisitely sensitive to touch or injury.
Many health professionals encourage us to eat fish, citing evidence that fish fats reduce the risk of heart disease. But on a low fat vegan diet, the risk of heart disease is not just reduced; it is essentially eliminated. And fish fats are not harmless. They thin the blood, increasing the danger of uncontrolled bleeding when injured. Fish oils decompose rapidly, producing harmful free radicals which damage cells. This cellular damage is thought to be the first step in the development of cancer and is also believed to accelerate the aging process. The composition of fish flesh is like that of other animal tissue; it contains no fiber or carbohydrate, and as much cholesterol as beef. Some fish is high in fat, and all fish contains excessive amounts of animal protein, which damages the kidneys and drains calcium from the bones. Eskimos eat twice as much calcium as Americans do (in the form of fish bones), yet have the highest rate of osteoporosis in the world due to their high protein intake. Because of the contamination of rivers and oceans, fish are a living repository for the world's most harmful chemicals, from PCBs to methyl mercury. No place on the earth has "safe" fish, because ocean and air currents circulate toxic waste even to industry-free areas like the arctic circle.
The Atlantic fishing area off the coast of Newfoundland has collapsed due to overfishing; the Russians and Japanese are fighting over the last remaining fishing grounds in the north Pacific. As the fish go, so go the animals like seabirds, dolphins and seals which depend on fish for their existence. We may be too late to save these splendid ocean creatures, but each of us can do our part to help the planet and ourselves by not eating fish.
Tuesday, February 22:
Peter Burwash, health and fitness author and lecturer, internationally acclaimed motivational speaker and media personality, president of the world's largest tennis management organization, and former VSH Board member, will speak on "Living Healthier and Smarter in the '90's" with a new and improved slide presentation in the Ala Moana Hotel Hibiscus Room at 410 Atkinson Drive. 7:00-9:00 P.M. Tickets are available at Down to Earth Natural Foods at 2525 S. King St., The Source Natural Foods at 32 Kainehe St. in Kailua, and by mail by calling 538-6168. $10 in advance and $12.50 at the door. All are encouraged to attend.
Monday, March 7:
Informal dinner at 6:00 P.M. at Crepe Fever, 1200 Ala Moana Blvd. (Ward Center) All vegetarian dinner menu, largely vegan. No reservations necessary. For more information call 528-5412.
Tuesday, March 8:
Monthly meeting of the Society. Neal Pinckney, Ph.D., retired clinical psychologist, professor emeritus at Univ of Calif Sacramento, and director of A Healing Heart program will speak on the topic, "A Walk for Life: From Severe Heart Disease to the Great Aloha Run." 7:00 P.M. at St. Clement's Episcopal Church, 1515 Wilder at Makiki Street.
Sunday, March 13:
Adopt-A-Highway cleanup from Koko Marina to Sandy Beach. Meet at 9:00 A.M. in front of Foodland at Koko Marina Shopping Center, 7192 Kalanianaole Hwy (at Lunalilo Home Rd). Hats, water bottles, and sunblock recommended. For more information call 528-5412.
Sunday, March 20:
Potluck dinner on the Great American Meat-Out day. Time and location not yet decided upon. Bring your own plates and utensils and a dish containing no meat, fish, or fowl. Bring also a list of ingredients in your dish, as many members eat no dairy, eggs, or honey. Information: Freeman Wright 528-5412.
Tuesday, March 22:
Dick Allgire, host of KITV-4's Cook Healthy Fast will present "The (Health) Truth Shall Set You Free," at the Ala Moana Hotel Hibiscus Room at 410 Atkinson Drive. 7:00-9:00 P.M. The evening includes a cooking demonstration with take-home recipes, a nutritional slide show, and Dick's original health songs featuring Dick's vocals and acoustic guitar. Tickets are available at Down to Earth Natural Foods at 2525 S. King St., The Source Natural Foods at 32 Kainehe St. in Kailua, and by mail by calling 538-6168. $10 in advance and $12.50 at the door.
Tuesday, April 5:
Join us at 6:00 P.M. for an informal gourmet Chinese dinner at the largely vegan Buddhist Vegetarian Restaurant in the Chinese Cultural Plaza. 100 N. Beretania. No reservations necessary. For more information call 528-5412.
Tuesday, April 12:
Monthly meeting of the Society. Dr. Eva Wright, Professor of Nursing, University of Hawaii, will present "The Leading Edge of Modern Nutrition." 7:00 P.M. at St. Clement's Episcopal Church, 1515 Wilder at Makiki Street.
Wednesday, April 20:
Have you still not visited Henry Ford IV's Nuuanu mansion, leased to the Hare Krishnas? Wednesday is vegan night at the dining facility there. All you can eat for $7.50. 6:00 P.M., 51 Coelho Way, off the Honolulu-bound side of the Pali Hwy in Nuuanu. No reservations necessary. For more information call 528-5412.
Saturday, May 7:
Potluck picnic at Keaiwa Heiau State Recreational Area with optional hike on Aiea Loop Trail to follow. Top of Aiea Heights Drive off Moanalua Rd. Arrive at 12 noon. Bring your own plates and utensils and a dish containing no meat, fish, or fowl. Also bring a list of ingredients in your dish, as many members eat no dairy, eggs, or honey.
Tuesday, May 10:
Annual membership meeting. Officers will report on major decisions made over the past year; input from members is encouraged. 7:00 P.M. at St. Clement's Episcopal Church parish hall, 1515 Wilder Ave at Makiki St.
Tuesday, May 24:
The old La Salsa at Restaurant Row, 500 Ala Moana Blvd, #5-D, is now called Salsa Rita. Parking is free after 5:00 P.M. Join us at 6:00 P.M. for a Mexican supper at this old favorite. Enter parking lot on Pohukaina St. No reservations necessary. For more information call 528-5412.
Every Sunday from 7:00-9:00 P.M., K108 AM radio presents "Nutrition and You", with a "paradox" Terry Shintani, M.D., and triathlete Ruth Heidrich Ph.D. Call in to the show at the new number 524-1080. Events of the Vegetarian Society will be announced on the program.
On KITV-4's 5:00 news, Dick Allgire's Health Report presents vegetarian ideas, and on Thursdays Dick presents his vegetarian recipes.
VSH President Elaine French prepares her recipes on "The Vegetarian Chef", Wednesdays at 8:00 PM, on cable access Channels 22 (Oceanic) or 8 (Chronicle). The first five episodes are available on VHS tape (see Items, p 2). The seventh episode "VSH7" should premiere this month. Watch for "Vegetarian" in your TV schedule.
Healing Hearts, an ongoing weekly cardiac support group facilitated by Neal Pinckney Ph.D. assisted by Ruth Heidrich Ph.D. and utilizing the advice of Doctors Ornish, McDougall, Shintani, Harris, and others, meets at Castle and Kaiser Hospitals. Groups are filled presently but new groups will begin in March. Information at 696-2428.
Fine Dining at the Bottom of the Food Chain
NOT QUITE MALIBU
Our latest foray into the heart of the Waikiki jungle seeking sustenance took us to the California Pizza Kitchen (CPK), a light and crisply designed eatery a giant step up from or rather in another universe in quality and pricier than Pizza Hut, Domino's, et al. This place impressed us before we ordered our food by having great parking with direct entry into the restaurant via a staircase. With 2 hrs. free validated parking, entered from Ena/Canterbury Pl., you can't beat it! Bright, modern, and comfortable interiors loaded with windows looking out towards Ala Moana and lots of mirrored walls lend an almost out of doors atmosphere.
The food, ah, yes; hope you're hungry because the food is bountiful and beautiful. The veg foods aren't segregated on the menu, but a little searching leads you to some creative flavors in both the vegan and ovo-lacto categories. Unfortunately, all of the soups have a chicken stock, so moving along to the salads, the organically grown Field Greens is vegan as is, but one could omit the cheese from the Mixed Leaf, Romaine & Watercress or Greek salad for variety. We shared a half salad, and that was plenty for us. The whole salad may feed two or three hungries. We tried the cheeseless eggplant pizza with sun-dried tomatoes and chopped spinach, served with a mustard sauce. Yum! The Vegetarian pizza comes with smoked mozzarella, but can be ordered vegan. Remember to ask for the whole wheat-honey crust. The Pasta Primavera, loaded with veggies is another good bet as is the Arrabbiatta with eggplant. Several other veggie pasta dishes provide variety. Round out your meal with espresso and dessert, either the high test Key Lime pie or lighter sorbet, or apple crisp.
The service was skillful and available when needed. Our only complaint was that the light rock music was a little obtrusive for conversation. Other locations are at Kahala Mall and Pearlridge. The Waikiki CPK is on Ala Moana at Ena Rd., across from the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Call 955-5161 for details.
-Eva Wright, R.N.
We spoke to Tish Uyehara, Communications Officer for the Hawaii State Department of Agriculture on 2/11/94. As of this date the Kahuku Agricultural Park, a hot item this time last year, will include no dairy, pig, or chicken operations. Bids are now open for farmers wishing to plant horticultural food crops and develop the area for diversified agriculture. After looking at the costs, the dairy interests decided to either fold or move to an outer island. Taxpayer outlays for the dairy installation would have exceeded $39 million. Thanks to VSHer Kat Lambert who helped us track this project from its inception. Thanks also for the courteous treatment we always received from Yukio Kitigawa, Paul Schwind, and Tish at the Ag. Dept. even though we represented an adversarial position.
Meet the Members
"In Canada everyone grows up on skates, so from the time I was a little kid until 1968 when I was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League I played Left Wing." But Peter Burwash was also a tennis player; by 1967 he had already started out on the pro circuit. In 1970 Peter encountered a doctor who stated flatly that an athlete should eat no meat, fish, or poultry for six months before competition to perform to potential, so he gave it a try.
"I did it for no reason other than to get a competitive edge," says Peter, "but later I became very much committed to the moral and ecological sides as well."
There were two significant transitions. "I became a vegetarian without any knowledge or support structure," says Peter. "People told me it was a stupid thing for an athlete to do and I had heavy withdrawal symptoms. I was a heavy meat eater and I hated fruits and vegetables. It was tough, but if I had known what people know today it would have been a lot easier. I really believed it was the right thing to do. I had visited slaughterhouses by then. In the end I had the highest fitness index of any athlete in Canada. That was in 1971 and that was the convincing factor."
1971 was also his best year when he won 19 singles and doubles titles and the Canadian National Championships. He continued until 1974, playing in 134 countries. In 1972 he began doing motivational speaking (See page 3 for his next talk). "People like to be enlightened intellectually and motivated through the heart. I've tried to cover both of those ends, to open their hearts and their minds. Everybody needs teachers. That's where the medical profession has really failed. When a doctor really does try to educate it's as if the rest of the profession wants to cut that doctor off at the knees."
But most people don't want to hear the bad news that staying healthy means going veggie. How does Peter get around that? "I try to get people to relate to me. I was not always in good shape and I used to eat meat so if I have a room full of MacDonald's or Burger King executives, I try to get them to look to the future. I'm sensitive to the fact they're tied into the meat, chicken, or fish industry. But if you sit down with them there's not a single one of them that says it's the right thing to do. They have jobs, they have mortgages to pay, they have to take care of their kids. I play to their common sense and I try not to let my enthusiasm turn into a passionate talk. That helps."
In 1982 he met a young Pan Am flight attendant named Lynn, a co-worker with VSH Pres Elaine French. Peter and Lynn found they were both vegetarians. One thing led to another, and in 1984 they were married. Lynn Burwash doesn't do the speaking engagements but she's 100% committed to vegetarianism, too. "In her own quiet way she influences a lot of people, says Peter. "Vegetarianism is an important bond."
Four-year-old daughter Kimberly influences a lot of people, too. Seeing a shopping cart loaded with meat she asked the lady, "Why are you eating that? Those are my friends!" Super brat? Not really. "Kids in their naive way can have a huge impact," says Peter. "We've never encouraged her to say it, it's just there. In my mind the discipline and sensitivity of vegetarianism raises a child's consciousness. It's a different level of child."
Kimberly proved that in our recent VSH channel 22 TV extravaganza Veggie-Jox. Ruth Heidrich, Dick Allgire, Bill Harris, Peter, and Lynn went through a half hour of mental and physical feats and Kimberly took 30 seconds and stole the show just by being, well...Kimberly.
-Bill Harris, M.D.
The silly season is once more upon us; the Hawaii legislature is in session. The offerings for this year from the Senate Agriculture Committee AGE (Chair: G. Hagino, Vice Chair: D. Ikeda) and House Agriculture Committee AGR (Chair: Marshall Ige, Vice Chair: Avery Chumbley) include:
Senate Bill S.B. 2876: Kahua Slaughterhouse (Introduced by Sen. Hagino)
"Appropriates $450,000 to the department of agriculture for the purchase of the Kahua slaughterhouse in Ewa, the only operational USDA approved facility on the island of Oahu that has the capacity to slaughter approximately 28,000 hogs and 5,000 cattle annually. The Kahua Meat Company, owner of the Kahua slaughterhouse, has announced the closure of this facility as of November 30, 1993. ...the livestock industry will require the State's assistance to purchase the Kahua slaughterhouse and to construct a new slaughterhouse to maintain the viability of the livestock industry." Goes next to Senate Ways and Means Committee (WAM).
S.B. 2010 Making an Appropriation for the Construction of a Slaughterhouse on Molokai (Baker, Hagino)."There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ ____, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 1994-1995, for the construction of a slaughterhouse on Molokai." Goes next to WAM.
House Bill HB 424 titled: "Relating to agriculture." (M. Ige)
1. $500,000 to construct a slaughterhouse on Molokai.
2. $200,000 to study the feasibility of a rendering plant on Molokai,
3. $250,000 to construct a cattle facility, rendering facility, and meat processing facility on Maui.
4. $50,000 for a cooling facility in Ka'u on the island of Hawaii.
Goes to House Finance Committee (FIN)
HB 2417. RE: MEAT PROCESSING FACILITIES (M. Ige, A. Chumbley)
"There is established in the state treasury, the meat processing facility loan revolving fund to provide loans for...any qualified owner of a meat processing facility who is unable to obtain sufficient funds at reasonable rates from private lenders." Deferred in House AGR hearing on 2/3/94 but might still go to the House Finance Committee (FIN).
HB 2879: Yearling Beef (M. Ige)
This one's almost too silly for even the Hawaii legislature. It appropriates "out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $45,500...for fiscal year 1994-1995...to the study, promotion, and marketing of Hawaiian yearling beef...which contained a lower amount of fatty and saturated fatty acids, and a higher amount of the beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. Thus grass-fed yearling beef could be marketed as a healthier choice for consumers who eat meat." Goes to House Finance (FIN). (In fact, all omega-3 fatty acids originate from linolenic acid which is synthesized only in the chloroplasts of green plants -Ed.)
Killed in the House Finance Committee (FIN) last year but seen lurching about with Frankensteinian bolts through the neck:
HB 422: State funds for a livestock facility in Campbell Industrial Park (M. Ige, A. Chumbley)
HB 915: $5 million in general obligation bonds for the design and construction of a cattle slaughterhouse on the island of Oahu. (M. Ige)
HB 1209: Allocating $209,000 for a slaughterhouse on the big island at the site of the old Hamakua sugar plantation. (M. Ige)
Please call (better yet write or FAX testimony to) the chairpersons and members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee (WAM) and ask them to block SB 2010 and SB 2876. Ask the House Finance Committee (FIN) to block HB 424 and HB 2879 and urge them to drive a permanent white stake through HBs 422, 915, 1209, and 2417. Then call the Vegetarian Society of Honolulu at 395-1499 and tell our answer machine you did it, so we can track the effectiveness of our phone campaign.
A simple, "I don't want my taxes wasted on the meat biz," will suffice for the legislative assistants you'll be talking to but this is a splendid opportunity for personal expression since you have almost unlimited reasons for blocking these bills. They'll cost you money for a product you don't use even while taxes are rising and necessary public services are falling, they favor unhealthy food, pose serious environmental threats, and raise ethical issues as well. The other side has only the desperation generated by a diminishing market for animal food. Consumption of Hawaiian beef and pork(1)
per capita(2) fell by 15% and 27% in the past decade. Figures suggesting a constant intake of these products in Hawaii were extrapolated from mainland figures(3) not from local food disappearance data. These bills are bail-out measures for an industry on the ropes, but no amount of government welfare can save a product which is losing its market.
-Bill Harris, M.D.
Update on Marshall Ige, introducer of many of the above bills.
(If passed, his bills would have cost Hawaii taxpayers ~ $1.5 million.)
May 28, 2002
Marshall Ige sentenced to six months
A state judge on Tuesday ordered former state lawmaker Marshall Ige to serve six months in jail after he earlier pleaded no contest to theft and tax charges.
Ige, 47, was ordered to report to Oahu Community Correctional Facility on July 1. He also received five years probation from Circuit Judge Sandra Simms.
Ige pleaded no contest earlier this year to charges he threatened a farmer with eviction unless he paid $7,000 in advance rent in 1999, even though the farmer's lease was paid through June 2000.
Ige also admitted he failed to notify state tax officials that he received a $30,000 payment from a California couple to have their daughter's criminal record expunged.
Ige served 16 years in the House and four years in the Senate representing parts of Kailua and Kaneohe. He resigned last year.
© 2002 American City Business Journals Inc.
The Island Vegetarian
Members who want to have more involvement in VSH plans and activities are invited to attend our Board of Directors' meetings on Sunday, March 6 and Sunday, May 8 at 3:00 P.M. at St. Clement's Church. Please bring your valid membership card for identification.
The tenth annual Great American Meatout will be held on March 20th. We have a detailed packet of information and suggestions for a VSH member willing to plan our local observance of the day with the activity and/or publicity that you find most appropriate. Please call us at 395-1499 if you would like to be our 1994 Meatout Coordinator.
The annual Vegetarian Summerfest will be held July 20-24 at the University of Pittsburgh in Johnstown, PA. For more information, contact the North American Vegetarian Society; P.O. Box 72; Dolgeville, NY 13329.
The 31st World Vegetarian Congress will be held August 8-13 in the Hague, Netherlands. For more information, write to World Vegetarian Congress; Holland '94; Larenseweg 26; NL-1221 CM Hilversum; The Netherlands. Fax + (31) 35836152.
The American Anti-Vivisection Society is soliciting nominations and applications for its 1994 Student Animal Advocate Award. If you want to nominate a deserving secondary school student, write to AAVS Student Animal Advocate Award; 801 Old York Road, #204; Jenkintown, PA 19046-1685.
Michael Klaper, M.D. was invited by NASA to participate in a three day workshop at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The Subject was Human Nutrition in Controlled Ecological Life-Support Systems, and the entire workshop was organized to study vegetarian diets and vegetarian food production for long space missions.
Castle Medical Center will have an International Vegetarian Food Festival March 20th 2:00-4:00 PM, with guest chefs, samples, recipes, and regional American foods. $8.00 fee. Call Jeanne Gerhard at 235-8737 for details..."State raids airport-system funds: Officials snatch $65 million for purchase of a racing facility and Hawaii Meat feedlot" was reporter Ian Lind's headline in the S-B on 12/23/93. We followed this up with Harold Masumoto, the State's planning chief, and were assured that while this (questionable) deal went through, the feedlot is closed. Some of our legislators are trying to revive it (see pg 7)...Ruth Heidrich was inducted into the Gold's Gym Hall of Fame and won the Quarterback Club's Senior Athlete of the Year award...Barnum & Bailey goodbye: we caught Cirque du Soleil at Treasure Island in Las Vegas 2/4/94 and the circus will never be the same. No more bored, smelly elephants, and macho lion tamers trying to convince us their lives are on the line with those worn out pussy cats. Cirque features only the most exciting animals; humans performing world class feats in a flawless, seamless, and imaginative 90 minute show. Inventive costumes, good music, several hilariously funny clowns and no animals. With luck we'll get a road show version out here, in the meantime animal rights types should take heart, the old animal shows are on the way out...Rep. Patsy Mink spotted another glitch at the USDA. Their rules reimburse farmers who lose 40% of their harvest of corn, wheat, or rice but give nothing to the Kauai fruit growers who lost most of their banana and papaya trees when Iniki hit. It's just another reason to dismantle the USDA and let agriculture float on the free market...the Vegetarian Resource Group will hold its Summer Vacation and Conference at Deep Creek Lake in Maryland 7/7-10/94. If you're headed that way call for more info at (410)-366-VEGE...
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
Anyone wishing to serve on the Board of Directors of the Vegetarian Society of Honolulu (a 2 year term beginning June 1st), please submit your name to the nominating committee by March 15th.
Address: Nominating Committee, Vegetarian Society Of Honolulu. P.O. Box 25233 Honolulu, HI 96825
A Board of Directors applicant must be vegetarian and a dues paying member of VSH. Members wishing to serve on the Board must be willing to do specific jobs. Applicants already exist for all positions except those of Secretary and Assistant Treasurer. New applicants are encouraged to apply for one of these two positions, although they may apply for any other position if desired. The Nominating Committee will meet in March/April. VSH now has over 400 members and is one of the largest vegetarian clubs in the U.S.
1. Hawaii Agricultural Statistics Service. Statistics of Hawaiian Agriculture 1991. PO Box 22159. Honolulu, HI 96823-2159. December 1992 p87.
2. Famighetti R. The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1994. Funk and Wagnalls Corporation. Mahwah NJ 1993. ISBN 0-88687-745-8 p 364.
3. See note 1, p 105.