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J ~rak~ki
Frorrt9: '°Paula Z. Helfrich" <hiedb@gte.net>
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Gordon <biradie@nethawaii.ret>; "'Carl Carlson"' <ccarlson@parkerranch.com>; "'Carol Van
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<gil. mendelson@attws. com>
Sent; Thursday, September 05, 2002 Q~:37 PM
Subject: OPPOSITION TO GMO COFFEE IN HAWAII
URGENT MESSAGE -County Resolution 236-02 banning GMO coffee
Aloha all -the Hawaii County Council is considering a resolution for a moratorium on refeaselplanting of GMO
coffee in N/S Kona. FYI no planting is contemplated at this time but the resolution ~ a n~ , gative
(;omm. No.
~ii.e No. -9/6/02
Ref. Date
Page 2 of 3
message on GMO crops which appears to be its intention. Text copy available at this office -Resolution 236-
02.
Hearing is scheduled for Sep. 10, Committee on Human Services and Economic Development (Chair is the
introducer, Nancy Pisicchio). The following write up is submitted by the Hawaii Ag Research Corporation as
background on GMO crops. FYI, an entitity known as the Hawaii Alliance for Responsible Technology &
Science (HARTS) has been formed to provide science-based information on this issue..
FYI, support for GMO biotechnology is under BIBC's agriculture and science positions. Recommend we
provide educational support for continuing biotechnology in Hawaii given our experience with GMO
"RAINBOW' papaya seed crops which have saved the industry without negative impact to adjacent
fields/crops etc. PLEASE ADVISE YOUR CONSIDERATION ASAP, INDIVIDUAL TESTIMONY MAY BE
SUBMITTED TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL AT 25 AUPUNI STREET, HILO 96720- THANK YOU. PAULA
HELFRICH
From: Whalenlnn~a aol.com
l'o: alluvio@aloha.net
Cc: SWHALEN~a harc-hspa.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2002 8:50 PM
Subject: biotech
Hi!
I am on my AOL a mail and don't know what it does to attachments. I have copied the info below-I got
carried away and it is 2 pages. I also added it as an attachment. Call me if you have any problems
Stevie
Biotech in Hawaii
Recently there has been an attempt to damage the image of agricultural biotechnology and the biotechnology
industry in Hawaii. Unfortunately, this is a tactic being used by a portion of the agricultural industry against
another. It got its beginning with the free trade restraint originating in Europe under the guise of scientific
concerns over BST, a natural growth hormone in beef, and was fueled by several food scares and lack of
confidence in the European regulatory system. The organic industry capitalized on the marketing
opportunities for their products being free of 'everything' unnatural. The reality is that being 'organic' means a
farmer follows a certain set of procedures. It does not mean that the product is any safer or better in any
way. In fact arguments to the contrary have been made.
This movement which now focuses on genetically modified 'anything' is attempting to get a foot hold in the
US. The attempt to push this ideology failed miserably in Canada. In addition it was unable to get its agenda
established and validated at the national level. What occurred was to have a regulatory process that sets
up a certification process for the grower-not the product. Having failed at the national level a current strategy
appears to be to work at the grassroots level where less information is available, where fear mongering is
more effective and where constituents can more easily influence local politicians. Labeling is the ultimate
goal of these groups.
If labeling is mandated, R&D in agricultural biotechnology will be reduced to the public sector. Agricultural
R&D has potential investment attraction is there is a large enough market to pay for the decades of research
required and the regulatory requirements. The commodity crops represent that large market. Specialty crops
gain access to the technology after the fact, not as a primary investment driving force. Just as with
pesticides the public sector has to aid the expansion of the technology to the lesser volume crops.
Labeling is not necessary for consumer choice since the consumer has the choice to purchase organic
products which do not include the process that makes a GM crop.
Why should Hawaii care at all about this issue?
Agricultural biotechnology is one of the diversifications available for Hawaii s agriculture that has a potential to
be sustainable. it continues the reputation for Hawaii's agriculture to be where cutting edge research occurs.
The facilitation of R&D in this area and the potential for a high value niche market in future products are key
9/6/02
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areas to encourage.
ff there is a future for agricultural biotechnology, it will be in the ability of the molecular biologists to engineer
plants into making industrial chemicals (biobased materials from renewable sources} and making
pharmaceuticals-biopharming-manufacturing drugs. Both of these non-food uses have the potential to be
less polluting, by-passing expensive more contaminating operations and helping to stabilize nonrenewable
consumption. Industrial uses are probably not something Hawaii will be much involved in other than early
research and seed increases depending on the crop. However, pharmaceuticals generated from plants is
very realistic for Hawaii because of the isolation it affords from the commodity crops (no chance of mix up in
the food chain) and the lower volume needed (the actual final modified crop could be grown here). Drugs for
cancer and some other ailments have lower volume demands that could be accommodated by available
acreage in Hawaii. In addition because of Hawaii's year round climate they could be produced year round
here just as is done in a traditional factory operation.
Life science companies here are expanding and looking for more sites for their future operations. (By the
way we didn't ask them to come they recognized the value of the islands for their activities and came on their
own in spite of the increased difficulties of doing business here. And, you can get an earful from those
managers about tha4 who have managed and established sites in other parts of the US as well as other
countries and were the ones trying to get operations started here.)
As for the recent issues:
Biotech firms in Hawaii violating their permits:
There have been no citations. EPA had a leak and an enforcement sensitive document was passed to an ex-
EPA person who is the president of Center for Science in the Public Interest, a D.C.-based activist
organization. It was not a citation but a request to come in and talk to the agency about potential violations.
Pioneer's position is that it is in compliance with its permit. Mycogen admits that they did not follow the
permit exactly but the procedure they did do was at a higher performance standard than what was called for
in the permit.
The environment was not in any increase risk from the actions of these two companies. In fact what people
fait to realize is that genes from corn do not pose a risk to the environment in Hawaii. Corn is not sexually
compatible with the native flora and therefore its genes whatever they are will not get out into Hawaii's unique
plant environment. As for moving to other corn plants the companies take extra caution to prevent pollen, a
gene carrier, from moving to other corn plants. The genes represent their intellectual property and are
valuable to their business. Loss of this genetic material is of utmost importance to their business activities.
Plants have sexual organs; something not often thought about by anyone but plant breeders. Genes do not
just hop around from plant to plant; they can move as part of a complex sexual system which differs in
physical characteristics from 1 plant to another. Plants do not sexually cross over any more freely than cats
and dogs, parrots and canaries, elephants and giraffes, etc. Speculating that this can happen because a
gene added to a plant's genetic material by a specific process instead of a random one is without basis.
Hawaii's has had sugarcane growing throughout the islands for over 100 years. Its genes have not jumped
around and devastated the native flora. And contrary to a recent speculation there is no concern over corn
and sugarcane crossing out in the fields. Breeders have tried to make this cross and have not been
successful.
The issue about GM coffee and the concern for the Kona market is also anon-issue. There has been no GM
coffee plant in the field in Hawaii. The only noise on the Internet being generated about this is the Kona
Coffee Council and its president, themselves.
clipper~nterpac. net
916/02