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Murashige, Laura
From: Michael Shintaku [mhshintaku @gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 11:31 AM
To: counciltestimony @co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: Bill 113
I received the PhD in Plant Pathology from Cornell University in 1991, and am currently Professor of
Plant Pathology at UH-Hilo. My opinions are my own, and are not meant to represent the university.
Sent from a mobile device. Please excuse terseness and typos.
Bill 113 is terrible legislation. This bill aims to shut the door on transgenic crop technology despite the
very real benefits they offer. People on the Big Island can see that transgenic papaya isn't hurting
anyone. And transgenic corn, so deeply enmeshed in our food supply, also isn't hurting anyone. In fact,
transgenic corn is safer than its nontransgenic counterpart. It has loweredpesticide usage in our
fields and mycotoxin content in our food. If the concern is pesticide usage, propose a bill controlling
pesticide use, but transgenic crops are safe.
Here is a statement from the American Association for the Advancement of Science:
"The science is quite clear: crop improvement by the modern molecular techniques of biotechnology is
safe. The World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, the U.S. National Academy of
Sciences, the British Royal Society, and every other respected organization that has examined the
evidence has come to the same conclusion: consuming foods containing ingredients derived from GM
crops is no riskier than consuming the same foods containing ingredients from crop plants modified by
conventional plant improvement techniques."
As others have said, people are watching. This bill defies logic and scientific consensus. It is an
embarrassment. Please don't support bill 113.
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CD
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N a�
Comm. No. 313, 334 41
Ref. 70: Pi e 5 2013
Ref. Date
11/4/2013