HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0271.512 2012-2014 Page 1 of 2
Murashige, Laura COUNTY CLERK
COUNTY nr HAWAII
From: Sherrie Moore [sherrie @hawaiiantel.net]
Sent: Monday, July 01, 2013 1:56 AM 2013 JUL - 1 AM 35
To: counciltestimony @co.hawaii.hi.us
Cc: mwille @co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: Bill 79
Sherrie Moore
RR3 Box 1302
Pahoa, Hawaii 96778
To the Committee on Public Safety and Mass Transit re. Bill 79: I urgently request that you pass this Bill
in as strong a form as possible, to protect the citizens of Hawaii County and our aina from the dangers
of GMO crops and the associated overuse of toxic herbicides that these crops require. I am not a
newcomer to this issue, I've been researching it for seventeen years, since I became aware of the fact
that the all powerful USDA and their Big Island facility PBARC (Pacific Basin Agricultural Research
Center, at that time known as USDA Agricultural Research Center) were pushing this technology.
I learned that the studies being used by the USDA (and since, also by the FDA and EPA) were exclusively
'in house' studies, done by scientists employed by Monsanto and Syngenta and other chemical
corporations getting into food production. NO independent studies were looked at by these
government agencies, although studies linking GMO's to cancer and other deadly diseases and birth
defects have been around since the early 1970's and new independent studies making this link have
been done as recently as late in 2012.
Especially disturbing is the claim that 'Roundup Ready' crops require less use of that toxic herbicide.
How can anyone believe that seeds and crops openly designated as 'Roundup Ready' are developed for
any reason other than to be able to use more Roundup, it simply defies all reason that people don't
make the connection. And just as we supposedly 'extremist' environmentalists predicted from the
beginning, the growing of Roundup Ready crops has in fact led to the natural development of Roundup
resistant weeds, as many as nineteen different varieties. And what is the chemical industry's proposed
solution to this? Dow Chemical has applied for approval of a herbicide that will kill Roundup resistant
weeds, a toxic herbicide just one molecule different from their infamous Agent Orange.
On the subject of Roundup, which is a huge issue in this debate, Monsanto's claim that Glyphosate
(Roundup) is benign, does not contaminate soil and water and simply 'disappears' from the
environment, is a blatant lie. As more independent studies on Glyphosate are being done, it becomes
more and more clear that this is in fact one of the most toxic and persistent chemicals used in any
herbicide or pesticide in existence.
There is a reason why sixty-two countries worldwide require labeling of food products containing
GMO's, and that a growing number of countries (I believe 22 at last count) are banning these products
and their production completely. There is a reason why thousands of farmers in India are suing
Monsanto in the Indian version of a class action lawsuit, to get GMO corporations out of their country
and for damages to their own non GMO crops, due to GMO pollen drift.
I realize this is a lengthy comment, but I haven't even gotten into the shockingly unethical business
practices of Monsanto, actually suing traditional farmers for copyright infringement when their GMO
Comm. No. a v. 5/A,
Ref. To:. P t 1 c-
7/1/2013 Ref. Date JUL 0 2 2013
Page 2 of 2
pollen drift contaminates those farmers' crops, as just one example. Is this really the kind of
corporation we want operating in our state? And the business practices of Syngenta and the other
chemical corporations masquerading as 'farmers' are just as shady and unethical and if they didn't
have all the money in the world for high priced lawyers to keep them just barely, technically within the
law, their business practices would be deemed illegal.
In conclusion, please listen to the will of the overwhelming majority of the people of our island who
have educated themselves on this issue rather than bought into the lies of the chemical corporations
and their government agency enablers (at the USDA in particular) and begin the process of ridding our
island and our state of this plague of chemical corporations getting rich at the expense of our health
and welfare, and the health and welfare of our aina.
Mahalo for your time and attention to this urgent matter.
Sincerely,
Sherrie Moore
7/1/2013