HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0271.062 2012-2014 Page 1 of 1
Murashige, Laura C4UN NY n CLERK
From: COLEHOUR BONDERA [colemel @kanalanifarm.org]
Sent: Monday, May 13, 2013 10:40 AM 2013 NAY 13 AN ID 39
To: counciltestimony @co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: SUPPORT of Bill 79
Aloha County Council Members:
As an organic farmer of coffee and diverse crops in South Kona, I appreciate you hearing my voice in your
decision making. Brenda Ford is the councilperson for my District.
Apologies that I cannot provide in-person testimony, although upon request I likely could provide more
detail on your review and understanding of this complicated subject area.
For your information, aside from my organic farm, I voluntarily serve as the first Hawaiian member of the 15
person National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) which provides policy advice to the USDA Secretary of
Agriculture. This is shared for the sake of transparency, and I provide this testimony to you from my
individual perspective and NOT from the role I play nor in any way speaking for the NOSB. Nonetheless, my
participation in the NOSB has meant that I can look at the impacts of choices and actions from the individual
farm scale all the way to the national level and consider best solutions overall regarding topics such as
included in Bill 79. My federal recognition to provide such a perspective is vital within this consideration.
The ordinance to amend Chapter 14 of Hawaii County Code 1983, by adding a new article relating to
prohibition of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), as put forth by councilperson Wille in Bill 79 has my
full endorsement.
For Hawaii to exist and survive as a self-sufficient and unique part of the world, we must ensure that we are
not making permanent decisions about the food and the environment which have no recourse or ability to
correct. Realistically, GMOs do not carry the experience or research necessary to be permitted to take over
our crops. This happened already in Hawaii with papayas, and the most valuable agricultural product of
Hawaii, Kona coffee, must be protected and cannot be threatened with GMO experimentation.
We MUST look out for the aina, and what this proposal does is show that this can and needs to happen
starting at the County level, from which we can move up to the state and the national levels! Good food
comes from close to home, and in Hawaii the majority of the farms are on the Big Island, and agriculture
needs to be feeding the people of Hawaii. Let's work together to ensure that our crops are healthy and safe
for the whole (including the fish in the oceans!) and remember that consumers (which we all are) do not
perceive that organic food includes GMOs and many purchase organic for that reason alone. Let's stand
strong together regarding the agricultural integrity of Hawaii and unite in support of Willes' Bill 79!
Sincerely,
Colehour Bondera
KANALANI OHANA FARM
PO Box 861
Honaunau, HI 96726
Comm. N 01-71. G2-
Ref. To: r M L
Ref. Date MAY 4 20
5/13/2013
Page 1 of 1
Murashige, Laura
From: Melanie Bondera [mbondera @kohalacenter.org]
Sent: Monday, May 13, 2013 10:44 AM
To: counciltestimony @co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: Support Bill 79
Aloha Hawaii County Councilmen,
Please vote In Support of Bill 79 for a GMO Free Big Island!!
As a certified organic farmer who has been supporting my family of four since 2001 in
Honaunau, I need you to support this bill to keep my growing environment clean of GMO
contamination.
Despite our HOFA (Hawaii Organic Farmers Association) certification, we experienced GMO
papayas coming up on our farm. Both wind pollination from nearby farms, seed source
contamination, and papaya plants being extremely weedy have led to us finding GMO papayas
on the farm. We know this because we paid to have them tested, as our certification
requires. Then we had to remove them. We continue to have to pay for testing of papayas and
do our own seed saving in order to grow and sell certified organic papayas.
From 2004 to 2008, we fought with our coffee farmers associations to prevent the research and
commercialization of GMO coffee on our island. 100% Kona coffee enjoys a price point that
allows us to support our family and raise our children on just farming in Hawaii. These
specialty markets, especially in Europe and Japan don't tolerate GMO products. We need the
premium we get from our organic certification as well. The County law put in place in 2008
allowed us to continue farming Kona Coffee.
Our family eats the taro we grow on our farm, and for our health and the health of the 'aina, we
did not want GMO contaminated taro. The 2008 law protects our family's food and our
neighbors' cultural traditions.
With GMO corn feed being grown by the 2 dairies on our island, I've stopped growing sweet
corn in our garden. I'm concerned about eating the Ellis Farms sweet corn that we love as it
may now have GMO contamination. These 2 farms could grow a non- GMO variety of feed
corn with no additional cost, and allow the other 5,498 farmers and gardeners to grow
uncontaminated corn.
As we collectively rebuild our local food system of diversified farms growing enough for local
market, allowing trans-national corporations to come into HI county and do their GMO research,
externalizing the costs of the pollution (gmo contamination and heavy chemical load) into our
land, costing our public resources to clean up and thus limiting our local agriculture seems like a
short-sighted and desperate choice.
Choose us, vote for Bill 79, and a clean, healthy local agriculture!
-Melanie Bondera
Kanalani Ohana Farm
Honaunau, South Kona, Brenda Ford's District
5/13/2013