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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> r <br /> Hawaii Farm Bureau <br /> F E D E R A T I O N <br /> 2343 Rose Street, Honolulu, HI 96819 <br /> Phone: (808) 848-2074; Neighbor Islands: 1-800-482-1272 <br /> Fax: (808) 848-1921; e-mail: info@hfbf.org <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> January 5, 2008 <br /> <br /> Chair Bob Jacobson <br /> Hawaii County Council <br /> Committee on Environmental Management <br /> Hilo, Hawaii <br /> <br /> Res. 463-08, A Resolution Supporting HB 1577 hdl to Temporarily Prohibit the Growing <br /> of Genetically Modified Coffee for a Period of 5 Years, at the same time, Permit <br /> Research in an Environmentally Secure Facility <br /> <br /> Chair Jacobson and Members of the Committee on Environmental Management: <br /> <br /> My name is Alan Takemoto, Executive Director of the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, <br /> which is the largest non-profit general agricultural organization, representing 1,600 farm <br /> family members statewide. <br /> <br /> The HFBF does not support moratoriums or restrictions on responsible, federally and <br /> state approved genetic engineering research. It is our policy as well as the American <br /> Farm Bureau's policy to support all growing practices and research and development for <br /> organic, conventional and biotechnology methodologies. <br /> <br /> We understand that Kona coffee is unique and the importance of their marketing <br /> advantageous should be enhanced and maintained. However, we do not believe that we <br /> should be legislating such a ban on safe research and technology that may set precedence <br /> that will negatively impact the overall agricultural industry in Hawaii. We believe that <br /> all methods and tools should be made available to the farmer or rancher so that they <br /> remain competitive in the global marketplace. <br /> Our organization believes that miscommunication and misunderstanding of the <br /> technology has spurred concerns in the agricultural community. As such, we have <br /> coordinated a series of farmer to farmer dialogue on coexistence between organic, <br /> conventional, and biotechnology. We believe this process of communication and the <br /> recognition of many commonalities between farmers have brought a bought some <br /> positive results. <br /> <br /> We ask that Res.463-08 be held in committee. Thank you for the opportunity to present <br /> testimony. <br />