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<br /> Jan 08 08 08,09a SeaPics,com 808-329-6659 p2 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> gCO N A <br /> COF17EE <br /> 1-ARMERS <br /> assoristtort <br /> <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 smd <br /> the " Guatemalan" cultivar, also referred to as Kona typica, is the predominant variety grown; <br /> <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 /> 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 hipiier vat u~ A ; <br /> wholesale and retail levels, supplemented by an increasi;,g amour t ^:r <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the high farm gate value enjoyed by Kona coffee growers and the expwidiu~- "niclie u:.u:ci" <br /> established by the Kona coffee industry merits thoughtful, respectful, and protective attcnrion f- <br /> responsible federal and state agencies, and private entrepreneurial interests involved in the development <br /> of biotechnology; and <br /> WHEREAS, although coffee is primarily self pollinated, since it may be cross pollinated approximaceiy <br /> 10% of the time, non-genetically modified coffee in neighboring orchards could bcccrn,c ;x+i'inax:i <br /> genetically modified (GM) pollen; <br /> <br /> WHEREAS , organic coffee is an expanding high value "niche" crop within the Komi Coffee industo, and <br /> organic coffee must contain no trace of GM interference and organic coffee farmers would not be a{fie 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 /> ,e:ayed acceptance or non-acceptance of aeneticaily modified coffee and sorr,e of i-er <br /> c :;rnpean Union nations, as well as the fact that several states of the United Stat?s are <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> r, , ..n, .1J <br />