HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0728.018 2000-2002 September 9, 2002
fancy Risicchi®, Chair
Committee on Human Services and Economic ®evelopment
Hawaii County Council
25 Apuni Street
Hilo HI 96720
~eaar Chairwoman ~
Re: Resolution 236 ~ Communication 723
Please approve this important resolution and forward it to
foil council for review. ~i 'rte resolution viii I~ip protect th+e Kona
coffee industry and the more than ~ farmers plus workers who d nd
on Kona coffee for their fvlihood.
the high value of Kona coffee is not just due to its superb taste,
but is enhanced by its over 100 year continuous history as a heritage
coffee. Introducing cnetically modified plantings into Kona would
have the effect ~ reducing our market drastically as European and
Japanese markets would likely be cut off for us. In addition, in
those areas where genetically modified plants are still a ed, the
price would fall steeply as the coffee would no longer be a
"heritage" cee with all the history and mystique that attache to
that l I. given "controlled" plantings would be harmful due to
cross-pollination with neighboring orchards. Organic farms would be
very hard hit as any trace of gene~c pollution automatically makes a
crop non~certifiabie as organsc.
Kona coffee is currently sold as one of ~e premium coffees of the
world, and regularly achieves the highest prig point of any coffee.
it is only this high value that allows Iona coffee farming, with its
intrinsic high labor cost, to be a viable means of making a living.
if the price were to fall, then many farmers would 90 out of business
and the farms would be abandoned, like many have been on the other
Hawaiian islands which have never been able to sail their coffer at
similar prices to Kona.
fihank you for your help in this matter
Sincerely,
Mary Marvin Romer
I.O. Sox 10702
Hilo, Hi. 90721
~ornm. No,
File No.
ftef. fio• ~ ~
def. ~~t~ E 1 0 2002