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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0271.045 2012-2014 COUNTY C?ARK COUNTY OF LAWAI'I RECEIVED Time a.rn By Date b/H-113 testimony in support of Bill 79 prohibiting genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for Hawaii County Council Committee on Public Safety & Mass Transit .A 9:00 AM Tuesday. May 14. 2013, Hilo Chambers by Cory Harden, PO Box 10265. Hilo. Occupied Hawaii 96721 808-968-8965 mhCcinterpac.net No mo' GMOs. I hope well lead the way for all Hawaii to say that. With increased GMO plantings and contamination worldwide, some day it may be of great value to be GMO-free. "GLOBAL AREA OF BIOTECH CROPS... A record 17.3 million farmers. in 28 countries, planted...420 million acres in 2012. a sustained increase of...25 million acres...over 2011... The ISAAA [International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, an industry trade group] says the area of land devoted to genetically modified crops has ballooned by 100 times since farmers first started growing the crop commercially in 1996." (World's GMO Crop Fields Could Cover the US 1.5 Times Over, Jones, 2-26-13j GMO in Hawai'i is a big enough deal that Al-Jazeera and the New York Times both covered it recently. And a big enough deal that hundreds turned out for no-mo'-GMO marches on five islands, as the photos show. Hawaii has "the largest number of experimental biotech crop trials in the US''. "Hawaii...hosts the largest number of experimental biotech crop trials in the US..." (Boss GMO, Honolulu Weekly, 1-4-12, http://honoiuluweekly.corn/cover/2012/01/boss-Qmoll "Hawaii is home to one of the world's greatest concentrations of GMO research fields by five of the largest biotechnology and chemical companies: Monsanto, Dow AgroSciences, Syngenta, DuPont Pioneer and BASF..."[Opposition crops up to GMO foods in Hawaii, Al-Jazeera, 2-16-13, http://vvvwv.aljazeera.com/indepthlfeatures/2013/02/20132514512529904.htmll About one out of every four agriculture workers in Hawaii work for biotech. "Monsanto, Syngenta, Pioneer, and the like employ about 25 percent of the state's entire agricultural workforce." [The GMO Debate, Food For Thought- Part 2, KITV, 2-24-12, http:://www.kite.com/The-GMO-Debate-Food-For-Thought-Part-2l-/8906042/9658314/-/item/21- /cwxgs 1 z/-/index.htmll 10 million pounds of GMO seed corn are grown in Hawaii every year. "The 10 million pounds of GE seed corn grown in Hawaii, which hosts the largest number of experimental biotech crop trials in the US, is valued at approximately $250 million a year..."[Boss GMO . Honolulu Weekly, 1-4-12, http://honoluluweekly.com/cover/2012/01/boss-dmo/1 And biotech companies own or lease 25,000 acres in Hawai'i. "According to the Hawaii Crop improvement Association, Monsanto is just one of five major companies planted here in the islands. There's also Syngenta, Dow AgroSciences, BASF, and Pioneer—which is owned by DuPont. They are companies that own or lease 25,000 acres on Oahu. Kauai. Maui and Molokai, and they all test and grow genetically modified seeds." (The GMO Debate, Food For Thought- Part 1, KITV, 2-24-12, http.'//www.kitv.com/The-GMO- Debate-Food-For-Thought-Part-1/-18906042/9658316/-/item/2/-/tk3vy6z/-/index.html] The New York Times says major seed companies, which have tested biotech crops in Hawai'i for years, are "[r]ushing into a void created by the collapse of the islands' sugar cane and pineapple plantations". "Over the past decade, the five major companies that dominate the world seed industry have starkly increased their operations in Hawaii, where they have long tested experimental biotech crops. Rushing into a void created by the collapse of the islands' sugar cane and pineapple plantations, the firms are buying and leasing prime farmland to, in large part, grow corn seed. ..."They've become as strong a force as what sugar cane once was," said Carol Okada, manager of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture's Plant Quarantine Branch. `They've replaced essentially sugar cane and pineapple...' "[King Corn takes root in Hawaii, New York Times, 8-22-11, Comm. No 171• tc Ref. To:,_ Ref. Date NAY 1 d 2 M http://www.nytimes.comlgwirel2011/08/22/22greenwire-king-corn-takes-root-in-hawaii- 28466.html?pagewanted=all] But maybe the scales are starting to tip the other way. In 2003, under fire from environmentalists, Monsanto stopped developing "bio-pharma" crops in Hawai'i. In 2006 a federal judge ruled the Federal government failed to follow proper procedures when allowing the "bio-pharma"trials. "From 2001 to 2003, Monsanto was one of four companies testing biotech crops in Hawaii that produced pharmaceutical drugs, including HIV vaccines and cancer-fighting agents, as they grew. Environmental groups deeply opposed the crops, citing risks to wildlife, and in 2006 a federal judge ruled that the U.S. government did not follow proper procedure in allowing the Hawaiian trials. By then, Monsanto had abandoned development of"biopharma" crops for three years. While the company cited financial reasons, it was clear that Hawaii residents, who have not vociferously protested traditional modified corn, would not extend their embrace to pharmaceutical crops." [King Corn takes root in Hawaii, New York Times, 8-22-11, http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/08/22122greenwire-king-corn-takes-root-in-hawaii- 28466.html?pagewanted=all, In 2008 our island banned GMO taro and coffee. "In 2008, the county passed a ban on GMO coffee and taro."[Bill targets GMO crops, Hawaii Tribune-Herald. 5-8-131 In 2011, in the U.S., almost 300,000 organic farmers challenged Monsanto's right to sue if its GMO seed or pollen escaped onto their land. And a Canadian farmer made Monsanto pay him several hundred dollars, the cost of uprooting their "invasive GMO plants." And a Minnesota court let organic farmers sue for contamination by pesticides from other farms, finding that "letting chemicals cross property lines is trespassing. Can genes be far behind?" Nearly 300,000 organic farmers filed suit in March 2011, challenging Monsanto's right to sue if its GE seed or pollen drifts onto their land. And a Canadian farmer sued by Monsanto turned the tables, making the company pay back the $660 it had cost him to uproot their invasive GE plants. In July 2011, a Minnesota court let organic farmers sue for contamination of their crops by pesticides drifting from neighboring farms. The court found that letting chemicals cross property lines is trespassing. Can genes be far behind?" [Boss GMO. Honolulu Wekly, 1-4-12, http://honoiuluweekl y.com/cover/2012101/toss-Qmo/1 In 2012, back in Hawai'i, every county except O'ahu supported GMO labeling. "This year, every county agreed on a labeling provision except for Oahu..." [The GMO Debate. Food For Thought: Part 3, K/TV, 2-24-12. http://www.kitv.com/The-GMO-Debate-Food-For- Tho ught-Part-3/-1 8906042/9658312/-/4tii4y/-/index.htmt] And Kaua'i farmers sued biotech company Pioneer, saying their pesticides contaminated dirt that blew over Waimea. "...150 Kauai farmers sued biotech company Pioneer in December. The suit claims Pioneer uses pesticides on its test crops almost every day- combined with trade winds, kicking up pesticide- filled dirt that blankets Waimea." [The GMO Debate, Food For Thought: Part 3, KITV, 2-24-12, http://www.kite.com/The-GMO-Debate-Food-For-Thought-Part-3/-/8906042/9658312/-/4tji4y/- /index.html] And Honolulu Weekly noted Hawai'i imports 85% of its food, but biotech companies are using prime agricultural land for research that doesn't supply any food for us. Please keep tipping the scales away from GMOs and lead our islands into a GMO-free future.