HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0385.160 2012-2014 COUNTY CLERK
CO'INT ', II
comments on GMO (genetically modified organism) measuresmi3 ' o _n PPS Zt
Bill 109, Bill 113, Comm. 394, Comm. 394.1, Comm. 404 L
for Hawai'i County Council Committee on Public Safety& Mass Transit
1:30 PM Wednesday, September 4, 2013, Hilo Council Chambers
by Cory Harden, PO Box 10265, Hilo, Occupied Hawai'i 96721 808-959-7747 mh(a interpac.net
I applaud Margaret Witte for jump-starting the GMO conversation.
I support Bill 109, but probably not putting people in jail.
How about assisting farmers transitioning to non-GMO crops? Maybe a County-facilitated mentor
program, or no property taxes till they turn a profit on non-GMO crops.
I support an ad hoc committee, but to thorougly evaluate our island's future with and without GMOs, how
about the biotech companies donate money for the County to do an Environmental Impact Statement?
On the GMO "Summit", please shine a light on the pro-GMO bias.
The Hawai'i Papaya industry Association has been cherry-picking. They ran a pro-GMO ad quoting the
World Health Organization as saying:
"...no effects on human health have been shown as a result of the consumption of such foods by
the general population in the countries where they have been approved."
But they left out this quote from WHO:
"...it is not possible to make general statements on the safety of all GM foods..." and "...individual
GM foods and their safety should be assessed on a case-by-case basis..."
[http://www.who.intlfoodsafety/publications/biotechl20questions/eni]
The Papaya Association ad quoted the National Academy of Sciences as saying:
"...no adverse health effects attributed to genetic engineering have been documented in the
human population."
But the statement is nine years old—outdated.
And the statement also said
",..there remain sizeable gaps in our ability to identify compositional changes that result from
genetic modification of organisms intended for food: to determine the biological relevance of such
changes to human health; and to devise appropriate scientific methods to predict and assess
unintended adverse effects on human health."
ihttp://www.nap.edulopenboolcphp?record id=10977&page=8;
The Papaya Association also quoted the French Academy of Science and Union of German Academics
and Scientists. I looked on the Internet and only found citations, but not the original documents.
I am limited to only about twenty foods because of severe allergies. I can get a prickly throat, or
indigestion, or dizzy spells. But with GMOs, I don't know what I'm eating. So I eat organic—which often
doubles my food bill.
Thank you for addressing GMOs.
Comm. No. 3 85. le P
Ref.To: P/PS M TG
Ref. Date SEP 0 6 2013