HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0271.981 2012-2014 J Yoshimoto
From: Chris Manfredi <cmanfredi @kaufarmandranch.com>
Sent: Monday,July 29, 2013 8:47 AM
To: counciltestimony @co.hawaii.hi.us; mwille @co.hawaii.hi.us;vpoindexter @co.hawaii.hi.us;
keoff @co.hawaii.hi.us; dkanuha @co.hawaii.hi.us; bford @co.hawaii.hi.us;
zkern @co.hawaii.hi.us; gilagan @co.hawaii.hi.us; donishi @co.hawaii.hi.us;
jyoshimoto @co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: Ka'u Farm Bureau Bill 79 Testimony
Attachments: KFB_Bill_79_testimony 7_29_13.pdf
Aloha members of the Hawaii County Public Safety and Mass Transit Committee,
Thank you for considering the attached testimony from Ka'u Farm Bureau on Bill 79.
Please contact me should you have any questions. o
W CD
Thank you, r- o
w
Christopher A. Manfredi
Ka'u Farm Bureau
PO Box 1109
G Sa'7C
95-4968 Mamalahoa Highway v _
Na'alehu, Hawai'i 96772
Phone: 808-929-9550
Fax: 808-929-9555
cmanfredikaufarmandranch.com
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1 Ref. To: P A,10 2r ..
Ref. Date 0 2 2013 .
Ka'u Farm Bureau
PO Box 1109
Naalehu Hawaii 96772
808-929-9550
July 29, 2013
Re: Bill 79 Relating to Genetically Modified Organisms
Aloha Chair Ford and members of the Committee on Public Safety and Mass Transit,
Ka'u Farm Bureau is member of Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, with a network of more than 1,900
members statewide. We assist and advocate for agricultural producers as our community transitions
from a plantation system to a more resilient and diversified one.
We are an organization of local farmers and ranchers. We believe in supporting all forms of agriculture.
As modern farmers and ranchers we understand that we need all available tools to grow resilient and
sustainable industries in Hawaii.
We welcome the opportunity to engage in respectful debate on this important issue. We also
understand that many proponents and opponents of transgenic technologies are passionate about their
opinions and beliefs. We prefer that this issue be decided with passion set aside so that scientific
analysis of the facts concerning biotechnologies may be brought to the forefront.
Additionally, Bill 79 has no funding component. It is an unfunded mandate, creating a layer of regulation
with no hope of implementation nor enforcement. Hawaii County Department of Research and
Development has a history of doing exceptional work in support of our agricultural businesses, but it
lacks the resources necessary to carry out the mission envisioned in HB79.
We prefer that a working group be formed that includes all stakeholders, including organic and
conventional local farmers and ranchers, the scientific community, business leaders, State, County and
Federal policy makers and regulators and the Farm Bureau; the largest agricultural advocacy
organization in the state and the nation. We ask that this working group report its findings to the County
Council annually for every year of its existence, to examine evolving science as it emerges and to make
recommendations on the impacts of legislation concerning transgenic organisms.
We respectfully request that you do not pass Bill 79. Rather, take the time to examine the issues in a
deliberate way with the benefit of peer reviewed studies that focus on purported health risks and
benefits of transgenic crops and all the impacts this legislation represents.
Thank you for the opportunity to offer testimony on this important issue.
With Aloha,
a 14/ ..
Christopher Manfredi
President