HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0271.603 2012-2014 COUNTY CLERK
COUNT C.,7 1.T.'I
Time By k
Date—
Aloha Council Representatives,
My name is Steve Sakala and I'm a small scale sustainable farmer in
South Kona, I own a 7.5 acre farm and raise milking goats, sheep,
rabbits, chickens, ducks, as well as growing macadamia nuts and
tropical fruits. I am on the board of the Kona Pacific Charter School and
also sit as the Vice President of the Kona Chapter Hawaii Farmers
Union. I am writing you in support of Bill 79 and 1 hope to inspire all of
you the the vision of Hawaii as a thriving local community with a healthy
natural environment and a robust Pacific Nation economy.
I'm sure you've gotten lots of input on the potential harmful effects of
GMO's in our food supply. The science clear shows we need more time
to determine if GMO's are indeed safe for human consumption. I look at
this bill as a precautionary step that allows Hawaii to prohibit irreversible
damage to our agriculture/tourist economy as well as our environment.
Once GMO's are here in the genetics of our agriculture products they
will be virtually impossible to eliminate or contain.
With those things said I believe from the current trends in green local
economies, eco-tourism and natural organic food that we have an
economic opportunity of a lifetime to revitalize Hawaii and its economy.
lye included a few stats to demonstrate my point.
All countries of the European Union, Japan as well as 36 other countries
important to American trade DO NOT allow the import of GMO products
or have significant restrictions. This means that if Hawaii takes a
positive stance to support local, organic agriculture free of GMO's we
will have a niche market with these trade partners. These products will
also have very hign sale values.
Data shows that the regular food industry has a growth rate of 3-5%
annually whereas the natural and organic food industry is growing at 12-
17% a year.
The demand for organic food is demonstrated by the fact that now
Walmart, Target, Cost-co and Foodiand all have growing supply of
organic products available.
According to the Center for Responsible Travel out of Stanford
University Eco-tourism captures $77 billion of the global tourism market
and is experiencing double digit gains. According to Travel Weekly,
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Ref. Date JUL 09. nil
sustainable tourism could arow to 25% of the world's market by 2015,
taking the value of the sector to approximately $473 billion a year.
In addition, if Hawaii decides to support our sustainable economy with
true food security then much more of our money would stay local with
what economists call the Local Multiplier Effect. Studies show that with
a more localized economy, which, would result from support of small
scale agriculture and eco-tourism in a GMO free location, that each
dollar spent would have a much higher rate of recirculation locally. In
other words the money infused to the local green economy would stay
local and increase the strength of the Hawaii economy.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this very important issue. I
leave you with this. A green local economy adds value to the overall
economy over time As it will become known that Hawaii is a clean safe
place to live, travel and work there will be unforeseen ripples from the
green economy such as more money for parks, government, and other
services that will continue to enrich our home and protect the
environment for all to use and appreciate.
Bic Mahalo,
Steve Sakala