HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0480.040 2010-2012 Page 1 of 3
Murashige, Laura
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From: indulekha elizabeth reeves [indulekhadasidd @yahoo.com] ? o
Sent: Friday, December 02, 2011 11:52 PM c=,
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To: counciltestimony @ co.hawaii.hi.us c
Cc: cohmayor @co.hawaii.hi.us; dyagong @co.hawaii.hi.us; dikeda @co.hawaii.hi.us; e'
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phoffman @co.hawaii.hi.us co
Subject: Coomunication 480/ HSAC Package GMO labeling item 11-339 w
a —
Dear Council Member,
First I want to say how pleased I am that the council members of both Maui and Kaua'i have
heard and acted upon the voices of their constituents, the PEOPLE who make these islands,
not the corporations who in legal terms are considered an entity, yet make no one actually
responsible for its actions and affects on we the actual people...
I have sent this letter as my testimony for the meeting to propose GMO food labeling in the
State Legislature. Please read in its entirety and follow the links. I have addressed most of the
points raised by the corporate backed scientists and lawyers who are testifying against GMO
labeling.
Although I do not endorse genetically modifying our food, it must be agreed by ALL regardless
of stance, that we have the right to know what we eat. Our precious health is largely
dependent on what we eat. Corporate agriculture has paid a lot of money to make known
that GM foods are not harmful. BUT it is not scientifically proven to be safe, while many
independent scientific studies prove them to be quite unsafe.
Apparently, Hawaii's first attempt at passing a similar GMO food labeling bill was thwarted by
the defensive arguments from Monsanto's representative(s). ...The only entity (er,
corporation) with anything to lose by the passage of such laws (or along with other such Big
Agribusiness).
One of their arguments against labeling GMO's is the speculation that it will cause price
increases on the food. In actuality, however, this has been proven false by European studies
(Where they DO label any food containing GM ingredients)...
An comprehensive study out of the EU found that GMO labeling requirements, depending
on their stringency, increased food costs in Europe by a mere 0.17 percent at the most,
which is hardly significant.
Viljoen also states in an article that there is virtually no cost increase for businesses to have
their foods laboratory tested for GMOs, since such foods already have to be tested for
other things like contaminants, additives, and colors. And in most cases, producers already
know if a conventional product they sell contains GM ingredients because many popular
staple crops like corn and soy are almost always GM unless they are organic or specifically sold
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as non-GM. So any contention that testing is unreasonably burdensome and costly is pure
nonsense, he says.
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031399_GMOs_food_labeling.html#ixzz1c49LnSJc
Also in their testimony, they cite that their studies show bio-tech crops to be as safe as
conventional crops. Now, we all know that any study can be performed to skew its results
proving one way or another. But did you know that all of the studies Monsanto has ever
attempted have not been independent of their own funding or involvement?
I would like to make you aware of some INDEPENDENT scientific studies by the American
Academy of Environmental Medicine on the effects of genetically modified food. They can be
found on this website: www.responsibletechnology.org. And please urge the other council
members and political leaders to educate themselves there as well.
Another argument meant to make GMO food appear safe is shear number of farmers growing
bio-tech crops around the world. Yet many of these farms are small farms in 3rd world
villages, like in India. These uneducated and unsuspecting people were duped into using
patented seeds which they didn't even realize would not yield seeds from the harvest or
perform as promised. Like most farmers now, they are seeing that these biotech crops do not
perform as sold.
Please refer to this article on the atrocity in India: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-
1082559/The-GM-genoc_ide-Thousands-Indian-farmers-committing-suicide-using-genetically-
modifiied-crops html.
On Kaua'i we have also seen ill effects of just living and breathing near these crops, like the
Waimea school children and staff:
http://islandbreath.ogL2006Year/16-farming/0616-20WaimeaPoison.html
But what this all comes down to, whatever your own personal beliefs are, we each have the
right to choose one way or another. Without the right to even know if our food contains
potentially hazardous ingredients, then we are essentially being bullied to eat what big
corporations want us to eat. I, however, wish to support the small local organic farms that are
growing in number, exponentially here on Kaua'i. The real heartbeat of our islands, trying to
make them sustainable and community based. When their crops are being threatened by
patented seeds which are literally impossible to prevent from contaminating, will Monsanto
start suing our people, too, like they do everywhere else?
I spent 2 years living in the United Kingdom, which is a member of the European Union. From
the very beginning of the introduction of GMO into the food supply, the EU have required
labeling. If it is not a problem for them to do it, it should not be a problem for us to do it. In
fact, if it means local businesses don't want to use GM ingredients in their food, there are
many local organic options to choose from. And then the more we support our own families,
the better off we are.
If all that stands in the way of labeling our food is the greed of Big Agribusiness Corporations
like MOnsanto (voted most evil corporation), then in this time of shedding light on truth and
freedom, please represent our right to know by endorsing the bill for labeling GMO!! Please
vote in support of communication 480; the HSAC package including the GMO labeling bill, item
12/5/2011
Page 3 of 3
# 11-339.
Mahalo,
Elizabeth Reeves, a voting citizen of Hawai'i in the county of Kaua'i
12/5/2011