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<br /> <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 /> Susan C. Miyasaka, Interim Hawaii County Administrator <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 COFFEE <br /> FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS AND, AT THE SAME TIME, PERMIT RESEARCH IN <br /> AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SECURE FACILITY <br /> <br /> Chair Jacobson, Vice Chair Ford, and Members of the Committee: <br /> <br /> My name is Susan C. Miyasaka, and I serve as Interim Hawaii County Administrator of <br /> the UH Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR). This <br /> testimony is presented from the perspective of the dean of CTAHR and does not <br /> represent the position of the University of Hawai'i. <br /> <br /> I am pleased to provide testimony against Resolution 463-08 that supports House Bill <br /> 1577 H.D.1, a bill currently before the Hawaii State Legislature. H.B.1577, HD1 <br /> temporarily prohibits the growing of genetically modified coffee and allows research on <br /> genetically modified coffee in environmentally secure facilities. <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 environment. The <br /> ongoing arrival of new invasive species is unpredictable and can have far-reaching <br /> consequences, as is illustrated by the current situation in which indigenous wili wili trees <br /> (Erythrina sandwiciensis) are being decimated by an invasive gall-wasp species. Crop <br /> plants like coffee are likewise vulnerable to damage by invasive species. <br /> <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 Hawai'i's <br /> coffee industry to respond to and prevent scientists at the University of Hawaii and other <br /> research agencies to provide assistance when new pests or diseases arrive It would <br /> prevent the field tests that are a required part of the process by which a new transgenic <br /> cultivar is assessed. Such field testing is regulated by the U.S. Department of <br />