HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0883.005 2006-2008
p/EMc
Murashige, Laura
From: Una Greenaway [una@hawaii.rr.com]
Sent: Monday, January 07, 2008 9:48 PM
To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: testimony for January 8, Environmental Management Committee 2 P.M.
Attachments: testimony Jan 8,2008 HI Co Council.doc ~ ~ C ~ zI
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testimony Jan
8,2008 HI Co Cou...
Please submit attached testimony to the Environmental Management committee
thank you Una Greenaway
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I Ref. Dote AN 70
January 8, 2008
2 P.M.
Testimony
Hawaii County Council
Environmental Management Committee
Chairman Bob Jacobson
Chair Jacobson and the Committee:
My name is Una Greenaway. I have been an organic Kona Coffee farmer for the past
thirty years. I farm a wonderful five-acre historic farm in the ahupua'a of Kealakekua.
My husband and I tend coffee trees that were planted 100 years ago by Mr. Kunitaro
Motomura. Our coffee is marketed under the name Kona Old Style, and that it is. We
had the great fortune this year of winning first place in the Kona Coffee Cupping
Competition in November. We are now now officially the best coffee in Kona.
I have been the person who has shepherded through the legislature, the bill HB1577 HD1,
a five-year ban on outdoor plantings and field trials of gmo coffee in the state of Hawaii.
In the past 2007 session, it was passed by the House of Representatives, with a vote of 45
for, 4 against and 2 excused. When it crossed over to the Senate, it stalled there and did
not get a hearing. This past September, after relentless calls to his office, and planning,
Senator Ron Menor came to visit Kona and to meet with representatives from the five
main coffee organizations. Senator Menor realized after listening for two hours to
farmers' reasoning and facts, that we do not want gmo coffee in our state at all. It would
greatly jeopardize our very successful crop, and the markets that we sell to. He gave us
his word that as far as he was concerned there would be a hearing in the 2008 session.
The organizations in support of this bill are: Hawaii Coffee Association, Kona Coffee
Council, Kona Coffee Farmers' Association, Kona Farmers' Alliance and the Kona
Pacific Farmers' Cooperative.
Coffee is a self-pollinating plant, meaning that it does not need an insect to spread its
pollen to create the next generation. But when it flowers the bees in the area are in
heaven. The trees literally hum. Beekeepers here on the island tell me that when a bee is
hungry it can travel a six-mile diameter. In Kona the average size of a coffee farm is five
acres. There are hundreds of farms in a six-mile diameter. It would be impossible to be
in contact with all of the farmers in your pollen range. The reason that I mention this is
this, the biotech industry has promoted "good neighborly communications" as a way to
prevent contamination from gmos. Unfortunately this would not work in our case.
In February 2007, Dr. John Stiles of Integrated Coffee Technologies on Oahu, testified
in front of Bob Herkes' Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, that he would
have gmo coffee plants ready for field trial in 12 - 18 months. If allowed to do so, it
would create a perception of contamination, around coffee in our state, regardless of the
reality. In 2006 in the Midwestern U.S., it was discovered that six states' long grain rice
crops had been contaminated by a gmo strain that had never been grown commercially. It
had merely been field trialed at Louisiana State University in 2000. It was found mostly
in Arkansas and Missouri. There have been over 1.2 billion dollars worth of class action
lawsuits from this debacle. The Japanese and Europeans are quite aware of this problem.
The French made the discovery that the contamination had occurred. This is essential to
understand because it is becoming common knowledge that a field trial is sufficient to
cause rampant contamination with gmos. A large percentage of Kona Coffee goes to
Japan. I know, because I have had many inquiries since winning the competition. No
one will want to pay top dollar for a gmo coffee. No gmo crop has ever been grown in
the world without finding an avenue to contaminate its conventional counterparts. It
always happens.
Councilman Yagong is the only current member of this council that was in office when
the last gmo coffee resolution was passed by the Council in 2002. Thank you Mr.
Yagong for your foresight and willingness to do the right thing in 2002. As you may
recall, the entire biotech industry came out in force to fight against the resolution to ban
gmo coffee in the Kona districts. We ended up with a resolution that said we would not
have gmo coffee until a regional regulatory protocol was in place. One year later the
coffee industry met with the Department of Agriculture and CTAHR, and informed them
that we did not want a protocol, we just did not want it planted at all. To this date, we
have nothing in writing to prevent someone from getting a permit to plant a field trial, or
to do a commercial planting in our state. We must have this protection. That is what this
bill is asking for. As my county council, I ask you to please support this bill. Protect our
county's most viable and historic agricultural product. It is your duty.
Mahalo,
Una Greenaway
328-8888