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Testimony Submitted to the Hawaii County Council Opposing Resolutions 462-08 and 463-08 My name is Stephen Ferreira. I am a professor at the University of Hawaii, and I have worked with the team of scientists from Cornell, UH and USDA who developed and commercialized the genetically engineered papayas currently marketed as RAINBOW and SUNUP. I am here speaking as an individual, as I am not empowered to speak on behalf of my employer, the University of Hawaii. I am speaking against Res.462-08 (moratorium on genetically modified taro), and 463-08 (moratorium on genetically modified coffee). Biotechnology is a powerful technology because it can address problems that are difficult to solve. Virus resistance in papaya is a wonderful example of biotechnology's success. There was and remains no practical alternative solution to Papaya ringspot virus resistance in Hawaii without utilizing genetically engineered resistance that we commercialized a little more than 9 years ago. Biotechnology while powerful is also a very emotionally charged technology for some. Opponents of biotechnology use this emotional playing field quite well. This emotion suggests that the issue is complex, and perhaps goes further than the technology itself. If this is true, let's address those issues, and not the issues regarding the safety of genetically engineered products or environmental concerns. Moving away from emotion, what are the facts? The scientific and objective data is clear. Food safety is a done deal. The vast majority of scientists, based on the available, verifiable data suggests clearly that GE foods are safe to consume. No other foods are safer to consume, including organic. It is true that long term feeding studies to demonstrate or prove the safety of GE foods have not been conducted. In practice, these kinds of studies are not usually conducted unless there is reason to believe that a problem might exist. As an alternative, shorter term studies using model animal systems have addressed the issue of safety. The data from hundreds of trials is overwhelmingly clear that GE foods are safe to eat. The few studies suggesting problems turn out to be flawed in experimental design, and therefore inconclusive regarding safety both ways.... safe or unsafe. The practical experience in the US supports the same conclusion. We have now been consuming GE foods (mainly corn, soybeans and canola oil) for nearly 15 years and papayas for about 9 years. In that time, not a single person has been confirmed to have been made ill or suffered from consumption of genetically modified foods. This track record is impeccable, and better even than the record for organic foods. The issue of food safety is pretty much a done deal. There is simply to data to support the notion that GE foods are not safe to eat. p p Comm. No. O O ~o Ref. To: +a+t'/ Ref. Date JAN 24 mnav