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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0385.038 2012-2014 Page 1 of 1 Murashige, Laura COUNTY CLERK COIPIT,f, r 7 From: Mitsuko Hayakawa [foodsovereigntynow©gmail.com] Sent: Monday, September 02, 2013 11:45 PM 2013 P — i 1 = 52 To: counciltestimony©co.hawaii.hi.us Subject: Please SUPPORT Bill 109 September 2, 2013 Dear Hawaii County Council Members, I am in STRONG SUPPORT of Bill 109 to prohibit GMOs on the Big Island. There is a growing amount of evidence that GMOs and pesticides harm wildlife and the environment. Genetic Engineering and Genetically Modified Organisms are not natural. The unintended consequences of using such technology may be irreparable. If Hawaii would like to increase exports to other countries, banning GMOs would provide assurance to buyers that our produce has not been contaminated by foreign genes. As more and more consumers demand organic and non-GMO products, it will be to our economic advantage that our agricultural practices move in that direction. Please support this bill to protect our environment for future generations and to prevent corporate control of our government. No amount of money can replace clean food and a clean environment.This is an opportunity for the Island of Hawaii to become a leading example of sustainability for the world. Mitsuko Hayakawa Mother of three,wife of farmer and volunteer for GMO-Free Oahu A few studies linking GMOs and pesticides to problems with bees: 2003 WILD BEI ABlINDANCE AND SEED)ROD(JCTiON IN CONVENTIONAL,ORGANIC.AND GENETICALLY MODIFICATION CANOLA"There was no pollination deficit in organic fields,a moderate pollination deficit in conventional fields.and the greatest pollination deficit in GM fields. Bee abundance was greatest in organic fields,followed by conventional fields,and lowest in GM fields."http://www.esaiournals.orWdoi/abs/10.1890/03-5271 2008 Does Cry l Ab protein affect learning performances of the honey bee Apis mellifera t [Hymenoptera Apidae)°Institute de Ecologia.Veracruz,Mexico."honey bee feeding behaviour was affected when exposed to the highest concentration of Cry I Ab protein.with honey bees taking longer to imbibe the contaminated syrup. Moreover,honey bees exposed to 5000 ppb of Cry i Ab had disturbed learning performances.Honey bees continued to respond to a conditioned odour even in the absence of a food reward.Our results show that transgenic crops expressing Cry I Ab protein at 5000 ppb may affect food consumption or learning processes and thereby may impact honey bee foraging efficiency."http:/!www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18206234 2010 Quantification of toxins in a Cry I Ac i CpTI cotton cultivar and its potential effects on the honey bee Apis mellifera L "during a 7-day oral exposure to the various treatments(transgenic,imidacloprid-treated and control),honey bee feeding behaviour was disturbed and bees consumed significantly less CCR141 cotton pollen than in the control group in which bees were exposed to conventional cotton pollen.It may indicate an antifeedant effect of C CRI4 I pollen on honey bees and thus bees may be at risk because of large areas are planted with transgenic Bt cotton in China.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20700762 2005"In an indoor flight cage we exposed bee colonies to different syrupscontaining Cry I Ab protoxin.deltamethrin or imidacloprid at 1000µg./kg,500 pg'kg and 48 pgkg,respectively""Concerning Cry I At)protoxin.foragingactivits decreased during and after exposure toCry I Ab protein""T his suggests that differ-ent behaviours, such as communication processesleading to the recruitment to the food source,and individual learning ability expressed by therecognition of scented sites,could be differen-tially affected by the toxin." lutp://academia.edu/1225695/Effects of Cry 1 Ab protoxin deltamethrin and imidacloprid on the foraging activity and the learning performances of the honey bee Apis mellifera a comparative approach "genetically modified herbicide-tolerant(GMHT)winter oilseed rape f WOSR)""Within the growing season,the lower abundance of divots in the GMHT treatment might suggest that bees and butterflies,and other animals that depend upon dicots,would not fare well if GMHT WOSR were widely adopted.Indeed.that groups of bees and butterflies were similarly affected by GMHT herbicide management in spring-sown beet.SOSR and WOSR suggests a consistent effect of GMHT management that might have a negative impact on pollinator abundance,and conceivably on pollination(Allen-Wardell et al. 1994" http:Nrspb.rovalsociety puhlishi ng org/content/272/1562/463.full Comm. No. `3 SS. 3 S Ref. To: P/Aso',re- Ref. Date SEP 04 2013 9/3/2013