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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 4~`~ \ <br /> COFFEE <br /> FARMERS <br /> ASSOCIATION <br /> I 0 11ox 5436 Kai Iua Kona I1ax+mi 96745 USA okonacoffcefai mcrs.or6 in fo.<< konacolfCCF Inner s.o <br /> <br /> POSITION ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED COFFEE STOCK <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, coffee has been grown continuously in the districts of North and South Kona for over one <br /> hundred and seventy years and is acknowledged to be one of the highest quality coffees in the world and <br /> the " Guatemalan" cultivar, also referred to as Kona typica, is the predominant variety grown; <br /> WHEREAS, the close to two century-long heritage of Kona coffee has produced a unified community <br /> uniquely rich in history and culture unlike anywhere in the world; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, Kona Coffee today provides an enormous economic contribution to the County of Hawaii <br /> and the State of Hawaii, generating approximate yields of 3 million pounds of green coffee annually with <br /> an estimated income at the farm gate in excess of fifteen million dollars, and a much higher value at the <br /> wholesale and retail levels, supplemented by an increasing amount of ag-tourism dollars earned daily <br /> from the Kona Coffee Festival, farm tours, and other expanding coffee belt activities, is produced on <br /> approximately 650 farms, employing 650 families and other farm workers; <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the high farm gate value enjoyed by Kona coffee growers and the expanding "niche market" <br /> established by the Kona coffee industry merits thoughtful, respectful, and protective attention from <br /> responsible federal and state agencies, and private entrepreneurial interests involved in the development <br /> of biotechnology; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, although coffee is primarily self pollinated, since it may be cross pollinated approximately <br /> 10% of the time, non-genetically modified coffee in neighboring orchards could become pollinated with <br /> genetically modified (GM) pollen; <br /> <br /> WHEREAS , organic coffee is an expanding high value "niche" crop within the Kona Coffee industry and <br /> organic coffee must contain no trace of GM interference and organic coffee farmers would not be able to <br /> prove non-contamination from GM plantings in the region except at high cost for special DNA tests; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the Specialty Coffee Association of America has stated that a genetically modified coffee is <br /> not consistent with their definition of quality; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, with delayed acceptance or non-acceptance of genetically modified coffee and some other <br /> crops by Japan and European Union nations, as well as the fact that several states of the United States are <br /> currently reviewing legislation that would require genetically modified foods to be labeled, the price of <br /> genetically modified Kona coffee could be negatively impacted due to decreased demand; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS , before commercialization, genetically engineered plants/organisms must conform with <br /> standards set by State and Federal marketing statutes including state seed certification laws, the Federal <br /> Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act <br /> (FIFRA), the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and the Federal Plant Pest Act; and <br />