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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Testimony Presented before the <br /> <br /> Hawai'i County Council <br /> <br /> January 24, 2008 <br /> <br /> by <br /> <br /> Susan C. Miyasaka, Professor <br /> Department of Tropical Plant & Soil Sciences <br /> College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources <br /> And Interim CTAHR Hawaii County Administrator <br /> University of Hawai'i at Manoa <br /> <br /> <br /> Relating to Comm. 882 (Res. 462-08): A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING S.B. 958 <br /> S.D.1 H.D.1 TO IMPOSE A TEN-YEAR MORATORIUM ON DEVELOPING, <br /> TESTING, PROPAGATING, CULTIVATING, GROWING, AND RAISING OF <br /> GENETICALLY MODIFIED TARO IN THE STATE OF HAWAII <br /> <br /> To Hawaii County Council: <br /> <br /> My name is Susan C. Miyasaka. I am a professor and agronomist in CTAHR at <br /> UH Manoa. I have 19 years of research and teaching experience in crop <br /> sciences at UH. I am providing testimony on my own behalf, but not presenting <br /> the official position of CTAHR or UH on this bill. <br /> <br /> I respectfully oppose Resolution 462-08 and SB 958, SD1, HD1. <br /> <br /> As the lead scientist on this now-ended research project to genetically engineer <br /> (GE) increased disease resistance in the Chinese taro variety Bun long, I would <br /> like to correct some common misconceptions: First, my team made no attempt <br /> to insert foreign genes into Hawaiian taro varieties and we have no plans to do <br /> so in the future. In 2005, Dean Andrew Hashimoto of the College of Tropical <br /> Agriculture and Human Resources signed a moratorium on genetic engineering <br /> of Hawaiian taro until appropriate dialog is held with the Hawaiian community. <br /> Second, we inserted disease resistance genes from rice, grape, or wheat into the <br /> Chinese taro variety Bun long and the resulting transgenic plants showed <br /> increased tolerance to several taro pathogens. The only existing GE Chinese <br /> taro plants are in the laboratory and we have no plans to field-test them in Hawaii <br /> due to lack of funding. An update of this research project is attached. <br /> <br /> Third, there is little risk of accidental movement of foreign genes from GE <br /> Chinese taro to Hawaiian taro varieties because: a) Chinese taro variety Bun <br /> long rarely flowers under the environmental conditions in Hawaii; b) Hawaiian <br />