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Home My WebLink AboutRES 236 Draft 03 2000-2002 COLJN°T~ O~ ~IA~~I_`I. ~'~'A'T~ OF ~I~.W1~I`~ ~ SOI.LJ`I'ION NO. U draft 3 A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING TIIE DEVELOPIVIENT OF A REGIONAL REVIEW PROTOCOL PRIOR TO ANY RELEASE OR PLANTING OF GENETICALLY 1VIODIFIED (G1VI) COFFEE IN THE DISTRICTS OF NORTH AND SOUTII I~ONA IN ORDER TO ASSURE AND PROTECT THE DIOTIC 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 WIIEREAS, 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 WIIEREAS, 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; WIIEREAS, 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 WIIEREAS, although coffee is primarily self pollinated, since it maybe cross pollinated approximately 10% of the time, non-genetically modified coffee in neighboring orchards could become pollinated with genetically modified (GM) pollen; and WIIEItEAS, 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 W11IEI~EAS, the Specialty Coffee Association of America has stated that a genetically modified coffee is not consistent with their definition of quality; and WIIEh.EAS, 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 WIIEREAS, 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 WIIEI~EAS, 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; and WIIEItEAS, the Kona coffee industry and the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources have expressed an intention to work together on an ongoing basis to continually reevaluate the potential consequences to the release of GM coffee stock. NOW, TIIEItEFOItE, BE IT RESOLVED DY T1FIE COUNCIL OF TIIE COUNTY OF IIAWAI`I that the Council, in response to concerns expressed by the Kona Coffee Council, the Kona Farmers Alliance, the Kona County Farm Bureau, the Kona Pacific Farmers Cooperative, the Hawaii Coffee Association, the Hawaii Organic Farmers Association, as well as individual Kona coffee farmers, supports the development of a regional review protocol prior to any release or planting of genetically modified coffee in the Districts of North and South Kona. I3E IT FUItTIIEIt IESOLVED that the Hawaii County Council recognizes the success of genetically modified science specifically in the Hawaii papaya industry and is not opposed to the development and research of genetically modified coffee. 2 SE 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. John 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. Dated at Kona , Hawaii this25th day of September , 2002. INTRODUCED BY: COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNTY OF HAWAII NP/rf COUNTY COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE County of Hawaii Ayes NOES ABS Ex H110, Hawal`1 ARAKAKI x CHUNG x 1 hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by E LARIONOFF x The vote indicated to the right hereof adopted by the COUNCIL, of the .IACOI3SON x County of Hawaii on Spy t Pmt~c~r 2 5 , 2 ~0 2 LF.[THF.AD-TODD X PISICCHlO x ATTEST: SAFARIK x r-''~ t TYLER x I`~ YAGONG x /f ~ .~~~...,r Reference: 7 ~ R 7 7 _ COUNTY CLERK <~~-IAIRMAN & PRESIDING OFFICER RESOLUTION NO. ~ ~~a ~ Draf t 3 ) 3