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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Testimony Presented before the <br /> <br /> Committee on Environmental Management <br /> of the <br /> Hawai'i County Council <br /> <br /> January 8, 2008 <br /> <br /> by <br /> <br /> Richard M. Manshardt, Professor <br /> Department of Tropical Plant & Soil Sciences <br /> College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources <br /> University of Hawai'i at Manoa <br /> <br /> Comm. 883 (Res. 463-08): A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING H.B. 1577 H.D.1 TO <br /> TEMPORARILY PROHIBIT THE GROWING OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED <br /> COFFEE FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS AND, AT THE SAME TIME, PERMIT <br /> RESEARCH IN AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SECURE FACILITY <br /> <br /> Chair Jacobson, Vice Chair Ford, and Members of the Committee: <br /> <br /> My name is Richard Manshardt. I am a professor and plant geneticist in CTAHR <br /> at UH Manoa. I have 25 years of research and teaching experience in crop <br /> sciences at UH, including my work in conventional crop breeding and the <br /> development of virus-resistant GMO papaya varieties for Hawaii growers. I am <br /> providing testimony on my own behalf, not officially presenting the position of <br /> CTAHR or UH on this bill. <br /> <br /> I respectfully oppose Resolution 463-08 and HB 1577 HD1. <br /> <br /> Invasive species are a constant challenge to Hawai'i's agriculture and <br /> environment. The ongoing arrival of new invasive species is unpredictable and <br /> can have far-reaching consequences, as is illustrated by the current situation in <br /> which indigenous wili wili trees (Erythrina sandwiciensis) are being decimated by <br /> an invasive gall-wasp species. Crop plants like coffee are likewise vulnerable to <br /> damage by invasive species. <br /> The five-year moratorium on testing, propagating, cultivating, raising, or growing <br /> genetically modified coffee proposed in HB 1577, HD1 would limit the ability of <br /> HawaiTs coffee industry to respond to the arrival of new pests or diseases. It <br /> would prevent the field tests that are a required part of the process by which a <br /> new transgenic cultivar is assessed. Such field testing is regulated by the U.S. <br /> Department of Agriculture and requires that precautions be taken before, during, <br /> and after the test to prevent the escape of the regulated transgenic plant from the <br /> test site. <br />