CORNY ISSUE Genetically engineered corn is fast taking over conventional crops in the Aloha State.
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Just beyond the defunct Koloa Sugar Mill on the Hawaiian island of Kauai's south shore are acres of cornfields that have sprouted over the past decade in a state made famous by its pineapples, bananas and sugarcane crops. Slightly out of place in the Aloha State, they otherwise look quite conventional, although in fact they are not: The crop is among a bounty of others in the state that are grown from seeds that have been genetically engineered or modified (GM) to produce sturdier plants able to withstand weather and disease as well as thrive in the face of insects and chemicals sprayed on them to kill destructive weeds.
In front of one plot of corn stalks is a red and white sign warning, "Danger: pesticides. Keep out." Tacked to it is a list containing 15 chemicals that may have been applied to the crop. In this case, the chemicals circled are the herbicides pendimethalin (brand name: Prowl), dicamba (Banvel) and atrazine, the latter of which is banned in the European Union (E.U.) because of its link to birth defects in frogs that live in groundwater contaminated with it.
I pass these corn fields every day when I go to the beach to go swimming," says Marty Kuala, 68, a 36-year resident of the town Koloa who worked in a plant nursery (that grew native plants such as naupaka, a’ali’i, and naio) in 2005. "It's kind of a new thing that we're starting to see these fields [of genetically modified or engineered crops] all over the place. GMOs [genetically modified organisms] are growing in the Mahaulepu area on Kauai's south shore and even in the large populated areas of Lihue, our biggest town."
This year, only 1.67 million tons of raw sugar were produced, nearly one million tons less than just a decade earlier; only 13,900 acres (5,625 hectares) in the state were set aside for pineapples in 2006 [the latest year for which pineapple stats are available) compared with a whopping 76,700 acres (31,039 hectares) in 1991.
The other crops vying for state land: flowers and nursery plants, macademia nuts, coffee, milk, algae, tomatoes, bananas and papaya.
Genetically modified food has been a source of debate since hitting the market in 1994. The E.U. had banned the imports of GM crops for 20 years, however in 2006 the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled that the ban violated international trade rules. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has deemed it safe and has so far declined to limit or block the burgeoning industry.
The extraordinary biodiversity (and, so, native plants competing for space and nutrients), along with the intractable problem of invasive species would seem to make Hawaii the least likely place to grow controversial crops, risking their uncontrollable spread. But scientists seed companies and some scientists believe say the benefits outweigh the risks of damage to the fragile ecosystem, most notably Hawaii's crop-friendly moderate year-round climate—an average of 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 degrees Celsius)—and its open acreage. And over the past 10 years, Hawaii has become the locus for genetically modified crop field trials and a microcosm for the controversies over the safety of growing and eating transgenic food.
To date, Hawaii's fertile soil has nourished more than 2,230 field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops, including corn, soybeans, cotton, potatoes, wheat, alfalfa, beets, rice, safflower, and sorghum—more than any other state. A total of 4,800 acres (1,940 hectares) of such crops now grow throughout the state, some 3,500 (1,415) of which are corn and soybeans, 1,000 acres (405 hectares) of which yield genetically engineered papaya, and the remaining 10 percent are field trials for new potential GM crops. "Hawaii is ideally suited for field trials and seed production, because of the climate and the ability to grow corn and soybeans 52 weeks a year," says Cindy Goldstein, a spokesperson for Johnston, Ia.–based Pioneer Hi-Bred International (a subsidiary of DuPont) in Waimea, Kauai. Her company has been producing GM corn and soybeans in Hawaii since the mid-1990's, when the FDA approved the crops for commercial sale.
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11 Comments
Add Commenti don't like planting GM products. you can't use seeds from one year to the next. it's like "hybrid massacre".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-t7PmonBEA&feature=channel_page
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GM is poison, not any proof of its safety. The people of Hawaii should burn these genetic monstrosities down! All Monsanto and DuPont care about is cornering the market and making absolute profit. It is time to revolt against this evil.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have lived on Kauai for almost 20 years. I find that when I eat the locally grown fresh corn I don't digest it at all, yet I can eat other imported fresh corn.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThey forgett to mention that most of the weeds they talk about are Hawaiian herbs that grow wild. We've grown sugarcane, pineapple, vegetables and fruits without using any pesticides and they have been healthy and delicious. With GMO you don't get that; it's a means for corporations to own the foodplants so they can charge you for it and control it. They have contaminated our lands that affect our aquifers and in the end our territory will be inhabitable for humans. The U.S. have always stated that Hawai'i is expendable. They have disrupted our eco-system to experiment with hazardous materials. We don't want any GMO/GE experiments in Hawai'i.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThey forgett to mention that most of the weeds they talk about are Hawaiian herbs that grow wild. We've grown sugarcane, pineapple, vegetables and fruits in our yards without using any pesticides and they have been healthy and delicious. With GMO you don't get that; it's a means for corporations to own the foodplants so they can charge you for it and control it. They have contaminated our lands that affect our aquifers and in the end our territory will be inhabitable for humans. The U.S. have always stated that Hawai'i is expendable. They have disrupted our eco-system to experiment with hazardous materials. We don't want any GMO/GE experiments in Hawai'i.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAt least the focus here seems to be the massive control the large corporations will have over what we *eat*. What we need to stay alive, to say no less.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe safety scares are (mostly, IMO) just a way to keep the general public from buying them. Ok, they are *probably* *mostly* safe, but that in no way makes it OK to decimate natural species, take over the gene pool, encourage pollution of the water table with every increasing levels of pesticide and herbicide (one of the 'selling points' is that they're resistant to the really nasty toxins it takes to kill off every conceivable competitor for resources).
And that's before you mention that you're giving control of either what you live on, or your ability to grow the product that makes your living, to a massive, faceless company that's only in it to squeeze money out of you, year by year by year.
The article did not include the many studies and large amount of scientific data showing that foods developed through biotechnology are as safe as their conventional counterparts. Numerous independent agencies have studied the safety of GM crops and concluded they pose no danger to our food supply. In 2004 a National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine report evaluating health effects of genetically modified foods concluded that assessment of food safety based solely on method of breeding is "scientifically unjustified," and noted that adverse effects from transgenic foods have never been documented. Similarly, the World Health Organization concluded that GM foods on the market are not likely to present risks for human health any more than their conventional counterparts in their report Modern Food Biotechnology, Human Health and Development: An Evidence-Based Study (June 2005).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe article highlights biotech papaya, a successful application of biotechnology benefiting the Hawaii papaya industry. Papaya ringspot virus was decimating island papaya farms when biotechnologists produced a virus resistant variety. Now, Hawaiis papaya exports are growing and organic farmers benefit from the presence of resistant papaya in growing areas, which reduces the spread of the virus by insects from one farm to the next. Accurate information and scientific evidence that sheds light on the issue helps all of us better understand the current and future potential applications of this technology. Hawaiis biotech papaya and adoption of the technology by local farmers provides an example of the benefits and successful application of agriculture biotechnology.
If you go to gmofreehawaii.org, you will get a different perspective from the organic papaya growers and the contamination that has occurred! Some of those organic growers went to Thailand to talk with government officials there to give them the truth before it ruins their organi papaya crops.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCurrently a GMO preemption bill is upcoming in Hawaii's state legislature which would set a dangerous precedent should it pass. No industry should be allowed to preempt from being regulated or banned, a product that can either negatively or unstably affect the DNA of human health and biodiversity of our food supply. This would include non allowance for an exemption from the a regulation of the right to know what is in our foods and on our lands. Consider 2 papers: The Dangers From Consumption of Foods Containing Transplanted DNA by Hugh S. Lehman, Ph.D. on website: http://www.saynotogmos.org/ud2006/uapr06.phpo. and scientist Arpad Pusztai honest studies on GMO and its impacts, as well as his response to a young ladies questions on the link between autism and GMOs. http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2008/05/monsanto-gmos-arpad-pusztai-looks-at.html
There is absolutely no excuse for cultural and environmental distruction of land. I'm offended to see this article and the statement, "scientists believe say the benefits outweigh the risks of damage to the fragile ecosystem" is an infringement of the sovereign indigenous intellectual property rights of all the Native people who first cultivated those crops.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe fact that gmo companies grossly overlook the cross contamination of organic crops, is an infringement on the basic human rights to grow our own wholesome gmo free food.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs a lineal descendant of Hawai`i, I'm offended at the insensitivity of this article.
The Papaya industry was decimated in on the island that I live on (Hawai`i) because Japan (the smart country) banned gmo foods from their country. As a person who lives on the big island of Hawai`i, I'm offended because the gmo's cross contaminated many "organic" home gardens therefore, making them non organic. PEople were hired to go into the communities to cut down the existing papaya trees and gave out University of Hawai`i gmo seeds. So the statement, " the papaya industry was saved", is a gross misinterpretation of the facts. I live here, my ancestors are from here, the papaya's on this island are no longer guaranteed "gmo free" so the biotech industry took our "choice" to eat good wholesome food and possibly decimated wonderful varieties of papaya cultivated from years of selective breeding by generations of Native ancestors. The UH papaya's have no taste and probably depleted nutritional value. I wouldn't be surprised if they introduced the ringspot virus into our fragile environment. If they can contaminate a whole industry..I wouldn't put it past them.
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