HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0271.407 2012-2014 COUNTY CLERK
Tuesday, July 02, 2013 COUNTY OF HAWAII'
RECEIVED j,A
Time
r -.4 No
Aloha Council Members,
My name is Josephine Keliipio. I am a backyard gardener trying to grow my own
non-GMO fruits and veggies. So far I have a few varieties of fruit trees which
include banana, fig, star fruit, sour sop, mango and papaya. When I decided to
grow some papaya trees a few years ago, I paid $3 per seed to have the seeds
tested at the University of Hawaiis Ag Extension Service to make sure that the seeds
that I used were not GMO contaminated. Until I recently got ahold of this book,
FACING HAWAII'S FUTURE, I had no idea that the trees that I now have growing in
my backyard could still be contaminated by Genetically Modified Organisms and
that I will need to get them tested again. What an eye-opener. I hope you all got a
chance to read this book.
I support Bill 79 even though some of those exemptions still frighten me. I wonder
about the Horticuture exemption for example and how it would effect our decreasing
BEE population and beneficial insects. I understand that the exemptions are
necessary in order to be inclusive to our GMO papaya industry and ranching
industry.
I do have a question on the "Registration" section however, I wonder, is that a
loophole in the law that allows anyone to use GMO products so long as they get
registered? Or is that Registration specific to the exempt industries? I hope you will
be able to clarify this in your later discussions.
Lastly, I want to say that my Great, great, great grandfather, Poholopu, from
Lahaina, Maui was from the Maka'ainana or working class. He along with other
Maka'ainana spent a lot of their time working in the fields growing food. They were
able to grow enough food in these islands to sustain over ONE MILLION people.
They knew that their food was their medicine and that it was crucial to keep it
wholesome and nutritionally dense. They knew how to keep the soils rich with
essential nutrients. They knew how to respect Hawaii's fragile environment. What a
shame that these mono-crop chemical corporations don't share the same respect
•r •ur is . ds •iving u all the more reason why Bill 79 needs to passed ASAP.
.h,; •, AI
Jo: . i e eli,kVk7/ 4/07
Kailu: ona, H.wail Comm. No.
Ref.To: PUI. 02TT ZO3
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