HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0385.075 2012-2014 Page 1 of 1
Murashige, Laura COUNTY CLERK
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From: Janet Ashman [ashman.janet @gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, September 02, 2013 11:46 PM 2013 SEP -3 A14 II: 52
To: counciltestimony @co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: Testimony in OPPOSITION to Bill 109 and Bill 113
Hawaii County Council
Committee on Public Safety & Mass Transit
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
1:30 p.m.
Testimony Against Bills 109 and 113
Aloha Committee Chair Ford and Members of the Committee:
I have worked with Hawaii farmers on each island for over 20 years and have seen how hard it
is for our farmers to compete with mainland and foreign products, battle against invasive
species and diseases, and deal with the high costs in Hawaii of land, water, and labor.
Farming is hard work and a very risky business because you cannot control these things or the
weather. As we continue to suffer through the extended drought conditions and as more and
more harmful species make their way to Hawaii, our farmers need every opportunity to
continue to produce safe and healthy food and other desirable products.
There is no good reason to pass these bills. "Natural" or non-GMO does not mean good or
healthy or safe. Asbestos, arsenic, and salmonella are natural but are not safe. It makes no
sense to accept the use of biotechnology in medicine; for insulin, and cancer and head
medication, but to reject biotechnology in agriculture. We cannot let our fear of a proven,
widely accepted, but perhaps difficult-to-understand technology, destroy (at a minimum) the
reputations of our current farms and prevent our farmers from having the tools they may need
in the future to keep farming.
Bills 109 and 113 should not be passed.
Thank you for your serious consideration of this testimony and others in opposition to these
bills.
Janet Ashman
Hawaii resident
Comm. No. 33s. 7`5-
Ref. To: PHtAtie
Ref. Date SEP 0 4 2013
9/3/2013