HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0728.061 2000-2002 3823 Anuhea Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
96816
September 23, 2002
" y James Arakaki, Chair
Hawaii County Council
25 Aupuni Street, Suite 209
Hilo, HI 96720
Fax (808) 961-8912
I am writing in support of the recent call for a moratorium on
the introduction of genetically-modified (GM) coffee into the
Kona region of the Hig Island of Hawaii. My arguments will be
narrow, in that they might not apply to other crops, such as
papaya or corn. Coffee in Kona is a special case, and should be
treated as such.
My name is David I~,oss, and in my professional capacity (as
a full professor of mathematics at the UH-Manoa) I have had
occasion to talk to and work with biotech scientists both at
UH and elsewhere. I am not dogmatically opposed to research
and experimentation in genetic engineering; on the contrary, I
believe it is an important young technology with great promise
for the future, and I have nothing but the highest regard for my
colleagues in the area.
However, I am writing not in any official capacity, but rather as
an informed afficionado of so-called specialty coffee. In my free
time I operate an espresso-related email list, and in a hobby-
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ist capacity I am in daily contact with coffee professionals and
enthusiasts around the world. mom the perspective of anyone
who understands the market for superpremium coffees, the idea
of introducing GM coffee cultivars into Kona makes no sense at
all. There is no possibility that long-term economic benefit can
accrue to Hawaii from this introduction
Kona coffee is not a commodity crop; it is economically infea-
sible to grow commodity coffee anywhere in the first world, let
alone Hawaii, no matter how hardy the strain. Even most non-
commodity specialty coffees command far too low a price to be
commercially viable in this state.
Kona is very fortunate, in that the serendipitous combination
of coffee cultivar and regional soil and climate results in a dis-
tinctive coffee flavor profile that has allowed the varietal to be
elevated into the very tiny family of specialty coffees which can
command a superpremium price. Make no mistake about it, it
is the actual taste of the Kona beans -not the `mystique' of the
Hawaiian name, or any other artificial consideration -that first
put Kona into this category, and that now keeps it there.
If this cof€ee were to change - as it very well might from the
introduction of alien cultivars into the region -then it would
almost certainly lose this superpremium status, and there would
be no market for Kona beans, at least not at any level higher
than that of much cheaper specialty coffees. Extremely high
quality specialty-grade beans from countries like Costa Rica,
Panama, and Ethiopia sell to roasters for under X1.25/pound,
and are positioned to drop in price due to a global oversupply;
I do not believe that farms in Hawaii could survive at this price
level, and the reason to grow coffee in Kona could cease to exist
altogether. The price of Kona has been somewhat sheltered from
the world coffee glut entirely by virtue of its distinction.
There are some in the state who believe that one cultivar is very
much like another, and that one should choose what to grow
based on yield and pest resistance. This is an understandable
ignorance: the quality of the coffee as served in restaurants and
coffeeshops throughout these islands is (with rare exception} of
such mediocre quality, that most residents are not aware that
the choice of coffee varietal can make as profound a difference
in the flavor and quality of aproperly-brewed cup as the choice
of grape varietal can make in a bottle of wine. Fortunately for
Kona, the traditional clients of the local industry -both devotee
consumers like myself, and the coffee tasters and buyers who
purchase the beans for the US and World markets -brew the
coffee properly, and are well aware of the flavor nuances. Even
a slight change in this flavor profile would soon be detected.
I have less to say about the broader issue of GM experimentation
in general on the islands, except to suggest to the Council that
the current protocols for protection against cross-pollination are
somewhat speculative. I was on sabbatical in England for sev-
eral months in 1999; there were confirmed reports while I was
there of GM corn drifting from test fields into active commer-
cial farms, and just last month it was revealed that the UK
"G1~I inspectorate" has found such drifting from modified rape-
seed crops, planted after the earlier contaminations (and so with
more stringent protocols). I would expect our soil and wind
conditions here to be much more favorable to cross-fertilization
than that in the UK. Indeed, the experimental GM corn plots
on Kauai and Maui are currently under fire from the US EPA
3
for having inadequate protection against such cross-fertilization
(see the Pacific Husiness News from August 14, 2002). Presum-
ably the reason Dow et al have located these test crops here in
the first place is to eliminate danger to mainland corn crops;
perhaps we should follow this example and conduct anv GM
coffee trials in Iowa or Nebraska!
Finally, I would like to remind the council that Hawaii has a long
tradition of problems stemming from the introduction, both ac-
cidental and deliberate, of alien species. As botanist Michelle
Marvier pointed out in a recent article in the American Scien-
tist, "The release of organisms with novel phenotypes bears sim
ilarities to the introduction of non-native species." It makes no
sense to have inspectors from the Hawaii Department of Agricul-
ture guarding our ports against the introduction of alien species,
while at the same time inviting the cultivation of these species in
the proximity of the local crops most vulnerable to their attack.
In the absence of clear benefit to be gained from the introduction
of GM coflfee in Iona, and the presence of a plausible threat
to the current industry, it is sensible to implement the kind of
safeguard that the Dona Coffee Council has requested.
Iles lly,
avid A. I~,oss, Ph.D.
cc: Aaron Chung, Leningrad Elarinoff
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