HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 236 Draft 01 2000-2002 COLJNT'Y O~ ~I~.W`I ~'I°~T'E O~ ~-I~WA,I`I
I~SOLU'TION NO. ~
A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING A MORATORIUM ON TIIE RELEASE AND
PLANTING OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED (GM) COFFEE IN TIIE DISTRICTS OF
NORTH AND SOUTH ICONA IN ORDER TO ASSURE AND PROTECT THE 1gIOTIC
INTEGRITY AND MARKET VALUE OF PURE I{ONA COFFEE
WHEREAS, coffee has been grown continuously in the districts of North and South
Kona for over one hundred and seventy years and is acknowledged to be one of the highest
quality coffees in the world and the Guatemalan cultivar, also referred to as Kona typica, is the
predominant variety grown; and
WHEREAS, the close to two century-long heritage of Kona coffee has produced a
unified community uniquely rich in history and culture unlike anywhere in the world; and
WHEREAS, Kona Coffee today provides an enormous economic contribution to the
County of Hawaii and the State of Hawaii, generating approximate yields of 3 million pounds
of green coffee annually with an estimated income at the farm gate in excess of fifteen million
dollars, and a much higher value at the wholesale and retail levels, supplemented by an
increasing amount of ag-tourism dollars earned daily from the Kona Coffee Festival, farm tours,
and other expanding coffee belt activities, is produced on approximately 650 farms, employing
650 families and other farm workers; and
WHEREAS, three research institutes: the University of Hawaii College of Tropical
Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), the Hawaii Agricultural Research Center
(HARC), and Integrated Coffee Technologies (ICT) are conducting research on Oahu to develop
genetically modified (GM) coffee plants;
WHEREAS, the high farm gate value enjoyed by Kona coffee growers and the
expanding niche market established by the Kona coffee industry merits thoughtful, respectful,
and protective attention from responsible federal and state agencies, and private entrepreneurial
interests involved in the development of biotechnology; and
WHEREAS, although coffee is primarily self pollinated, since it may be cross pollinated
approximately 10% of the time, non-genetically modified coffee in neighboring orchards could
become pollinated with genetically modified (GM) pollen; and
WHEREAS, organic coffee is an expanding high value crop within the Kona Coffee
industry and organic coffee must contain no trace of GM interference and organic coffee farmers
would not be able to prove non-contamination from GM plantings in the region except at high
cost for special DNA tests; and
WHEREAS, the Specialty Coffee Association of America has stated that a genetically
modified coffee is not consistent with their definition of quality; and
WHEREAS, with delayed acceptance or non-acceptance of genetically modified coffee
and some other crops by Japan and European Union nations, as well as the fact that several states
of the United States are currently reviewing legislation that would require genetically modified
foods to be labeled, the price of genetically modified Kona coffee could be negatively impacted
due to decreased demand; and
WHEREAS, before commercialization, genetically engineered plants/organisms must
conform with standards set by state and federal marketing statutes including state seed
certification laws, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and the
Federal Plant Pest Act; and
WHEREAS, while it is recognized that the County of Hawaii has no regulatory
authority nor county department with the scientific competence to regulate the release and
development of GM crops, the Hawaii County Council may legitimately respond to the
concerns of farmers and others with a stake in the future of Kona's gourmet coffee industry, and
may further express such concerns to those agencies and institutions responsible for the
development, permitting, oversight and regulation of GM crops.
NOW, THEREFORE, SE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY
OF HAWAII that the Council supports the request by the Kona Coffee Council, the Kona
Farmers Alliance, the Kona County Farm Bureau, the Kona Pacific Farmers Cooperative, the
Hawaii Coffee Association, and the Hawaii Organic Farmers Association for the imposition of a
moratorium on the release and planting of genetically modified coffee plants in the Districts of
North and South Kona until a regulatory regime has been developed, adopted, and approved by
those organizations that includes extensive evaluation of genetic contamination from pollen drift
and other environmental consequences and secondary ecological effects in order to assure that
the biological integrity of Kona heritage coffee is preserved and the market value of Kona coffee
is protected from any adverse consequences and secondary effects associated with the
development of GMO coffee stock and its release.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution shall be forwarded by the
County Clerk to the Honorable Benjamin J. Cayetano, Governor, State of Hawaii; Dr. James
White, Branch Chief, Biotechnology Regulatory Services, USDA-APHIS; Dr. Sally
McCammon, Science Advisor, USDA-APHIS; Dr. Dennis Gonsalves, Center Director,
USDA/ARS U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center; Dr. Evan S. Dobelle, President,
University of Hawaii; Dr. Andrew G. Hashimoto, Dean, UH/CTAHR; Dr. Wayne Nishijima,
Hawaii County Administrator/CTAHR Extension Service; James Nakatani, Chairperson,
Hawaii Board of Agriculture; Dr. Lyle Wong, Plant Industry Administrator, Hawaii
Department of Agriculture; Stephanie A. Whalen, President and Director, Hawaii Agriculture
Research Center; Dr..iohn Stiles, Integrated Coffee Technologies, Inc.; Christine Sheppard.
President, Kona Coffee Council; Howard Yamasaki, President, Kona County Farm Bureau; Gus
Brocksen, Chairman, Kona Farmers Alliance; Morris Nagata, President, Kona Pacific Farmers
Cooperative; and David Gridley, President, Hawaii Coffee Association.
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Dated at , Hawaii this day of , 2002.
INTRODUCED BY:
COUNCIL EMBER, COUNTY OF HAWAII
NP/rf
COUNTY COUNCIL ROLL CALL voTE
County of Hawaii AvFS NOES Ass Ex
H1I0, Hawal`1 ARAKAK[
CHUNG
I hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by ELARIONOFF
The vote indicated to the right hereof adopted by the COUNCIL of the JACOBSON
Countv of Hawaii on
LEITHEAD-TODD
PISICCHIO
ATTEST: sAEAR??c
TYLER
YAGONG
Reference: C-728/HS&EDC
COUNTY CLERK CHAIRMAN & PRESID[NG OFFICER RESOLUTION NO.
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