HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0271.578 2012-2014 Page 1 of 1
Murashige, Laura COUNTY CLERK
COUNTY nr HAWAII
From: geomike5 @att.net
Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2013 7:33 AM 2013 JUN 28 AM 9: 149
To: Wille, Margaret; Ford, Brenda; Eoff, Karen; Kanuha, Dru; Kern, Zendo; Ilagan, Greggor;
dinushu @co.hi.hawaii.us; Yoshimoto, J; Poindexter, Valerie
Subject: GMO ban necessary
Hi Margaret,
There are perhaps scores of reasons being bantered about why Hawaii should allow GMO development. They
range from "It creates jobs"to "It will maintain agricultural sustainability." It is hard to support a ban based against
such numerous arguments.
But there is one compelling reason why GMO and related research should be banned in Hawaii and it is not just for
the benefit of Hawaii but for the entire agricultural world.
Hawaii is isolated.
GMO is an emerging field of science with uncertainties regarding its safety in plants and animals. It is unknown how
a modification in the genetic sequence of one organism will affect others over time.
You may have heard the expression "Junk DNA," a label given the vast number of DNA sequences that were thought
to be evolutionary leftovers and not related to cellular function or reproduction. That notion is now firmly proved
false. That so-called junk DNA has a central role in regulating genetic expression. (For a recent review, see:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/250006.php). If one or a few genetic sequences are modified there is no
concept how to modify the regulatory DNA that surrounds the modified sequences.
Until such time that GMO can be shown to have no influence on other organisms, and that may be tens to hundreds
of years, and in and of itself not create toxins for other plant and animal species, including humans, either directly or
indirectly, it should be banned from Hawaii. Hawaii must remain as free as possible from the influence of GMO. It
must remain, in effect, as a seed bank for natural evolutionary processes and heirloom plants even if specialized for
tropical climates.
In this fashion, Hawaii serves to protect the nation and indeed the world from any adverse effects of GMO. That is it
is important to recognize that Hawaii must become part of that safety net, not only for the residents of Hawaii but for
people everywhere. Granted, as other invasive species have entered the Islands, eventually, even with full diligence
to ban their entry, GMO will arrive. But banning them now buys time, and might help preserve our natural health and
food stocks.
It is too great a risk not to implement some safety provisions against an uncertain future with runaway GMO
research.
Please vote to keep Hawaii GMO free.
Mike Reimer
GeoMike5 @att.net
Comm. No., 27/• 5 78
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