Sides to the topic: Jon Biloon has been an environmental activist for over 38 years, having helped put on some of the first Earth Day celebrations in the early 70's. He is a subsistence farmer who has planted and operated his own 11 acre farm, growing a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, flowers, and herbs, including Kona coffee. He has traveled as far as Thailand to speak out against genetically modified food crops. Besides advocating and teaching small farm and backyard gardening strategies and techniques based on a variety of sustainable concepts, he also does consulting to a wide range of farmers and natural food producers. Jon also has a local radio show on low power KCOF 102.5 FM that also streams world wide on KCOF.net, where he discusses agriculture and politics. A subsistence farmer in Hawaii, Jon Biloon shared his studies of alternative agriculture, and discussed the dangers of genetically modified (GM) foods and how agri-business is robbing individuals of health and spirituality. The genetic modification process is 30 to 40 years old and originally started out with good intentions, he noted, but now foods grown this way are associated with health risks (such risks are documented in the book Genetic Roulette). Some 70% of packaged foods contain all or part GM foods, Biloon warned. Co-existence with genetically engineered and natural foods isn't possible because the GM crops will contaminate all food, he added. In Hawaii, genetically engineered papaya has been problematic-- organic techniques could be used to treat plant disease instead, he commented. Modern agri-business fosters crops grown in de-mineralized soil, which makes food less nutritious, he detailed. People can benefit from growing some of their own food-- it can slow you down and connect you to your own humanity, said Biloon. He noted that plants such as tomatoes, lettuce, herbs and baby carrots are particularly easy to grow in pots or containers. On Thursdays, Biloon hosts a radio program called The Ag Show which is heard on KCOF-FM. March 25th, 2008 http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/2008/03/25.html 

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