HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0393.493 2012-2014 Page 1 of 1
Murashige, Laura
From: Miranda Watson [celtichipi @hotmail.com] NOV [ 8 AN {D 37
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2013 7:53 PM [ V
To: counciltestimony @ co.hawaii.hi.us; bford @co.hawaii.hi.us; zkern @co.hawaii.hi.us;
donishi @co.hawaii.hi.us; dkanuha @co.hawaii.hi.us; keoff @co.hawaii.hi.us; gilagan @co.hawaii.hi.us;
vpoindexter @co.hawaii.hi.us; mwille @co.hawaii.hi.us; jyoshimoto @co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: Bill 113
Aloha Council Members,
Please pass Bill 113.
I don't know if you'll feel like reading all I have to say, so let me start with this:
It doesn't matter if you feel like we can prove they're bad for us or not. What matters is this is America
and we're supposed to have freedom of choice. If you allow GMOs, it will make it nearly impossible for
us to have the choice to grow food for ourselves that is GMO-free. Please protect our freedom of
choice.
That being said, I don't think anyone would deny one of the biggest fears of anyone living on the
Hawaiian Islands is "what if the boats didn't come." Something that under many scenarios is a very
realistic fear. I think anyone involved in the well being of our islands knows that a huge step in
resolving that fear is looking to moving away from an economy built on extracting our resources ( a
common statistic stating that only 8% of the good grown on the island stays here) and moving towards
feeding ourselves. An option that could be taken away by the wide scale introduction of GMOs. If you
look at the effects they have on the health of the animals that are fed GMO crops, the effect they've
had on the bees, the societal effects they've had on the farmers in India who commit suicide in terrible
amounts due to the poverty they cause, you can clearly see how this would be detrimental to our
islands. And this is a decision there is no coming back from. Once it's done, there's no undoing it.
Monsanto can't deny the court cases where the wind drift has allowed them to take their neighboring
farms due to the patents on their technology. Think of how quickly that cross contamination would
occur here. Look at all the countries including Russia, Saudi Arabia and even China have made GMO
bans. So so many countries are moving in this direction. We're supposed to be the protectors of the
world. Why don't we start by protecting our own people?
Mahalo
Miranda Watson
Comm. No. 3 9 3. 4193
Ref.To: P/Caa.7"//
Ref. Dote NUV 1 8 2013
11/18/2013