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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0271.506 2012-2014 07/01/2013 14:41 8083312889 COPYPOSTPLUS PAGE 03/0G ttee177""""7"7,"$ -1(** Ha Wadi P.4 FOrrivairs „ , c=7, c-) tibia" LP LP (-) RNA FalrilletS tell vite-A .14n1(tAllk.Atau411 r— HAWAII FARMERS UNION UNITED 1768 Kalawl P1 W Wailuku Maui HI 96793 ca The Honorable J. Yoshimoto, Chair June 29.2013 Hawaii County Council TESTIlillONY IN SLIF'PORT OF BILL 79- RELATING TO GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS Aloha Chairman Yoshirnoto and Council Members, VIncrpt Mini Presgf e tic moo I am writing on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Farmers Union United (HFUU) n formal support of the position taken by our Kona Chapter in favor of Councilwoman Margaret WlIks Bill 79 to regulate GMO cropping in Hawaii County, I was also present at the Kona Chapter mernbership meeting where Councilwoman Wile sh,onFii.ra briefed us on the Bill, and it was fully debated, aic,anftsidert main As the Kona Chapters!after notes, HFUU does not oppose GMO reeearch per se_ We do, however, suppoit the right of ail farMera to farm so long as new ways of farming are not at theexperise-of already existing farrnseral farming economies. There-is no debate that GMO contamination of organic slope destroys their organic certification_ Silt it novis doesn't stop there as the roger*reported Japanese refusal to aocepta shipment of Secrea'y kono GMO contaminated, non-organic American wheat demonstrates. The plain fact,is that GMO contamination deprives organic crops of their organic certification and any market and ell crops cri iMpOrtant foreign markets such as Japan. Korea and the European Union. Fletv MAI Organic crops am now one of the fastest growing segments of agricultural production. aaaa,m- arid these markets and the farms that depend on them should not be jeopardized by a Panted technology that requires further reseerch to determine what conditions, if any, under which It can coexist with organic farming. Even Havaas non-organic crops would be denied vital foreign markets if they become GMO contaminated, which could pose a permanent barrier to the export of many of Hawaii's unique agricultural producta. Bill 79 5/1""trmr" takes a proper"precautionary''approach to this critical economic issue. The Hawaii Mknniticig- Piu Farmers Union United urges the Hawaii County Council to approve this legislation. Mahal°, HAWAII FARNIEFtt. UNION UNIrItcl Vincent Mina, President ■the tierreari!Wirer.;treltriocrthveato r gtmstrortton rfrOt terirrrirm rrrOrren4 Obroor erd priegprzw cOnttrIttlyrt/comirtumrtfil (Qtr.the brneit DONT fir-"PleriN PIStr)tVf7 MCP etzttfr,q,Mina ftm Mid WrilforfOri, .2 7 506) Comm. No. Ref.To: AYArt-t're-- Ref. Date JUL 9 2 2°13 07/01/2013 14:41 8083312889 COPYPOSTPLUS PAGE 04/06 Forbes online magazine (May 31, 2013 @ 3:02 pm) Consulted'June 28; 2013 Illegal Genetically Modified Wheat Found In Oregon Farm: Should We Be Worried? By Nadia Arrumugam Unlike specially developed herbicide--tolerant and insecticide-•resistant corn, cotton, and soy varieties grown prolifically in the United States, genetically modified wheat hasnot been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.In.fact, GM wheat isn't approved anywhere in the world. • Despite this; a farrner'in eastern Oregon'found-some errant wheat growing in an 80-acre field in which it wasn't supposed to be growing (much like a weed).and when he tried to kill it using an herbicide-known as glyphosate or, "Roundup,"it held its own. Puzzled;the unnamed farmer sent a sample of the persistent plants to a lab at Oregon State University. Upon testing, researchers found them to contain the Roundup-resistant gene revealing ` that the plants had in fact been genetically engineered. The Agriculture Department confirmed this finding on Wednesday. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? ` . . The genesis of the GM wheat is no Mystery. Monsanto MON +0.05°/x, the St. Louis-based agricultural biotech giant and the world's biggest seed developer formulated the herbicide Roundup in 1974 spearheading its weed management program. In 1996,•the•company introduced Roundup Ready soybeans specially created to use in tandem with its weed killer. Roundup Ready corn followed in 1998. Currently, Monsanto has its patented genes inserted into approximately 95 percent of all soybeans and 85 percent of all corn grown in the United States, controlling about 90 percent Of seed genetics in the country: It is no•surprise then that the company was keen to develop wheat that would thrive in fields•sprayed with•Roundup. Between 1998 and'2o05, it f eld-trialed•such resistant seeds in 16'states,including Oregon.'(Reuters reports that there were eight field trials of Monsanto's GMO wheat in Oregon from 1999 to 2000 • Nonetheless, Monsanto didn't pursue the GM wheat project and didn't seek approval to commercialize the seeds. In part,this was because of 1. 07/01/2013 14:41 8083312889 COPYPOSTPLUS PAGE 05/06 opposition from American farmers who were concerned that it would adversely affect global wheat exports since there is widespread global resistance to GM cereals. What is something of a conundrum,however, is how and why wheat from a growing program that was discontinued nine years ago,that's about 500 million acres of wheat ago, according to Monsanto, has shown up only now in a field in Oregon? The best case scenario is that rogue seeds were carried by wind from former test fields and by some inexplicable natural phenomena happened to land and grow just in this one field. A worse case scenario is that seeds have been carried intermittently over the years and wheat fields have been contaminated with small amounts of GM wheat undetected for up to a decade. Then there's the worst case scenario,for Monsanto, certainly; GM seeds routinely mixed up with conventional seeds through human error.. HOW BAD IS THIS? From a health and safety perspective there's likely nothing to be concerned about. The FDA actually reviewed the manipulated wheat a decade ago and. found it to be safe for both food and animal feed. Then there's also the fact that GM corn and soy engineered with the same Roundup gene are rife in. our agricultural system — although in these instances these commodities are used in animal feed. From an export perspective, on the other, this could be bad. Very bad. The United States is the world's biggest exporter of wheat and many of its trading partners are fiercely averse to GM wheat. There's no evidence or indication that the GM wheat has so far contaminated commercial wheat supplies but this hasn't stopped other countries from taking severe precautions. Japan, the second biggest importer of U.S. wheat, after Mexico, has already cancelled part of a contract to buy western white wheat, and has suspended imports of both that variety and of feed wheat, according to Reuters. South Korea, which last year imported 1.2 million tonnes of U.S. wheat for food, and 1.2 million tonnes for feed, has also suspended some shipments. As for Europe,just today, the European Union encouraged member states to test certain shipments. With its 27 member states, the EU imports in excess of 1 million tonnes American wheat annually. 2 07/01/2013 14:41 8083312889 COPYPOSTPLUS PAGE 06/06 The EU's consumer protection office issued this statement: "The Commission is following carefully the presence of this non-authorized GM wheat in Oregon in order to ensure that European consumers are protected from any unauthorized GM presence and make sure that the EU zero tolerance for such GM events is implemented." Should government tests determine that shipments of wheat have indeed contained GM grain, this crisis will no doubt reach fever pitch. Who else should be worried? Organic farmers. In the last few years, corn-growing farms that are certified organic by the United States Department of Agriculture have reported ncreasing levels of GMO contamination of their organic crop. This has seriously compromised their potential to sell to organic crop buyers since "organic"corn, by definition, cannot contain any engineered grain. Growers have also experience similar problems with soybean, though to a much lesser degree. Soy beans are self-pollinating plants, but there is still some potential for cross pollination. In 2011, a group of over 60 organic and non-organic farmers, seed businesses, and agricultural trade organizations across the country asked the courts to protect them against Monsanto if any of the farms or member farmers become unintentionally contaminated. (The case, which was filed in federal court in April 2011, was thrown out in February 2012, not even a month after the first hearing. It is currently being heard in the Court of Appeals in the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., according to The Texas Observer.) If GM wheat takes a hold beyond the 80-acre field in Oregon,there is little that an organic farmer can do to stop a fleck of GM pollen or a vagrant GM seed from being tossed by a gust of wind onto his land and, ultimately infiltrating his crop. 3