HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0728.055 2000-2002 ~~®i~6C~le
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P.O. Box 210
Keaau, ~-lawaii 96749
Phone (808) 966-7435
Fax (808) 966-7367
Date: September 24, 2002
CouNTY coUNCIL K ~~~d~
Chairman James Y.1~.rakaki and
County Council Members ,.~-,,,,._-------------r
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County of Hawaii _ minty C~uncu
25 Aupuni Street
Iii~lo, Hawaii 06720
R.e: Resolution 236x02
Chairman and Council Members:
I thank the Council for this opportunity to testify on Resolution 236-02. My name is
Loren Mochida, General Manager of Tropical I-Iawaiian Products (TI-IP) in Reaau,
Hawaii. TfH' quarantine treats and exports fresh papayas and processes pureed
products.
Papaya ringspot virus (PRV) has had a very significant impact on papaya
production in Hawaii. The demise of the papaya industry was forecasted in the
early nineties due the rapid spread of PRV in commercial orchards in Puna.
Fortunately for Hawaii's papaya industry, researchers at UII College of Tropical
1~.griculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), Cornell University in New Yorl~, and
U5DA-AR5 had begun to create a "transgenic" papaya with virus resisitance. They
used "genetic engineering'' or "genetic transformation" techniques to insert part of
the virus into the nucleus of the papaya cell.
This created the "Rainbow" variety, a yellow flesh papaya resistant to the PRV,
which is currently being planted on approximately 60% of the acreages in Puna.
'This is the variety that resists the PRV and saved the papaya industry froyn doom.
`T'here is a ~.ulti-million dollar research center that will be built on the Iiig Island.
The funds -6vere mandated that the Pacific flasin Research Center (I'flt3RC) be built
on the Island of Hawaii. The agriculture community and Hawaii's foremost
agriculture entities are in support of this center. What messages vri]1 the flig Island
or even the State of Hawaii be sending out should we put a moratorium on
genetically modified (GE) coffee or any other research? This center dill be a state of
the art research base with high technological capabilities along with top rase ~ h
scientists. Coz~~, Noe
F°il~ No.
-
Ref. ~o:
msg. ~ 5 X002 .
I~eveloprnent of genetically engineered crops and foods are ynonitored by three
Federal reg~~lat~ry agencies: the U.S. I)epart~nent of Agriculture,
Fnviron~nental Protection Agency, and Food and Drug Administration. Genetic
engineering is a powerful tool for manipulation of biological organisms, and as such,
can create great potential for beneficial use.
Thank you for this opportunity to testify on this resolution.
Sincerely,
,--l
_ ~
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Loren Mochida
General Manager