COM 0271.146 2012-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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neighboring farms with transgenic varieties. If transgenic varieties of crops are introduced into the County, those farmers who choose not to use transgenic varieties will in time, very likely suffer genetic contamination of their crops and seed stocks, and suffer loss of their markets for non-transgenic products. For the many certified organic producers in the County, such contamination may result in a loss of organic certification, and loss of premium sales for organic products. Given the commonly recognized high risk of contamination by transgenic varieties on this island, time is of the essence in passage of this general prohibition aimed at preventing agricultural and environmental contamination from genetically modified (transgenic) organisms; (17) The council aims to protect public and private property owners from expensive eradication and environmental clean-up associated with decontamination of their land from transgenic organisms brought through no actions of their own; (18) The council seeks to protect public and private property owners from the liability associated with their land or animals becoming contaminated with transgenic organisms, which may then become vectors to contaminate neighboring land or livestock through cross pollination or seed dispersal (in plants or trees) or interbreeding (in animals, insects, or fish); (19) The council seeks to protect the public health from any negative impacts caused by exposure to poorly tested transgenic organisms. Such exposure might occur through transgenic pollen inhaled or eaten, or by increased exposure to increasingly toxic herbicides and pesticides used to kill "super weeds" and "super bugs" - that are carried by the wind or otherwise. "Super weeds" or "Super bugs" are those farm pest species which quickly evolve and develop herbicide tolerance or pesticide resistance due to continuous exposure to transgenic crops bred to express an herbicide tolerance or a pesticide; (20) The council seeks to protect Hawai`i County's extraordinary diversity of native ecosystems from the possibility of irreversible genetic contamination by species- related transgenic organisms; (21) The council is also aware of the importance of promoting a close relationship with nature, and that which is natural, as part of the sense of place and cultural identity of this Hawaiian island as a place of healing and wellness; (22) The council seeks to protect the ocean fisheries and ecosystems of the Pacific Ocean from contamination by transgenic varieties being developed for private fish farms. Because past and current fish farms in the United States and elsewhere have often accidentally - and illegally - released large amounts of farmed fish into our public rivers and oceans, it is a reasonable assumption that new transgenic varieties in fish farms will inevitably escape into our public rivers and ocean; 4