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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0385.020 2012-2014 Bills 109 and 113 Page 1 of 1 Murashige, Laura From: Erik Gunther [erik©hawaiiancloudforestcoffee.com] Sent: Sunday, September 01, 2013 11:16 AM To: counciltestimony @co.hawaii.hi.us Subject: Bills 109 and 113 Dear County Council members, We strongly SUPPORT these bills...especially Bill 109 completely banning GMO on our island. Humans have been farming ORGANICALLY for 10,000 years! It is only in the last 100 or so that humans have been using chemical insecticides and fertilizers. The problems with GMO come down to a question of fairness. I am an organic farmer. If my neighbor chooses to plant GMO Corn...then my right to farm organically disappears because if I am downwind or if there are bees within two miles of my organic corn then my corn will become GMO and I will lose my Organic Certification AND my organic customers. That is just not fair! In addition the large seed companies will sue me to collect money for growing their patented corn. I would never be able to afford to fight them in court...they are worth Billions and I am not! It would be like the Mafia telling me to pay up or else!!! The other problem with GMO crops are that they encourage the use of heavy applications of herbicides and pesticides resulting in resistance to the herbicide and insecticides by the very plants to which they are applied and thereby requiring ever more artificial controls...Super Weeds! Finally, and also very importantly, the European Union, Japan and other large markets do not allow GMO. If we allow it here on our island then our farmers will be associated with GMO and will likely lose business. NO TO GMO! YES TO OLD FASHIONED HYBRIDIZING TO SELECT FOR BENEFICAL TRAITS!!! Erik & Hillery Gunther hawaiiancloudtorestcotfee.conl C) rn -7.C) --r'''te , w mss, r C) Comm. No. 3 8`5'o2D Ref.To: Pi A" r c Ref. Date SEP 0 4 2013 9/3/2013