HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

270

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

requesting THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO ESTABLISH ADVISORY BOARDS REGARDING GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS.

 

WHEREAS, the engineering of crops to create genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is a relatively new science that has not yet received substantial long-term evaluation of its effects on human health and the natural environment; and

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii has more genetic engineering test sites per square mile than any other state in the nation, with over 166 United States Department of Agriculture permitted field tests in 2003, and an unknown number of United States Environmental Protection Agency experimental use permits with crops planted on thousands of acres on four islands; and

WHEREAS, preliminary safety studies raise concerns for spread and transmission of gene constructs beyond targeted crops to plants, animals, and humans resulting in long-term detrimental and irreversible effects; and

WHEREAS, genetically modified crop and seed contamination, including organic papayas in Hawai'i, appear widespread and growing; and

WHEREAS, unintended releases into the environment may be inevitable and irreversible when open-air GMOs are used for production, according to a report issued in June 2003 by Environment California Research & Policy Center; and

WHEREAS, many other countries block imports of genetically modified products due to health, environmental, and agricultural safety concerns arising from lack of verifiable safety data; and

WHEREAS, the potential risks and benefits of each GMO should be considered on a case by case basis at local levels; and

WHEREAS, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) encouraged the formation of community review boards to monitor GMO health impacts; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Health is requested to establish an advisory board for GMO-related occupational and community health matters and an advisory board for GMO-related environmental matters; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture is requested to establish an advisory board for GMO-related issues pertaining to agriculture; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each advisory board is requested to follow the principles, structures, and composition of the FDA's Institutional Review Board guidelines; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each advisory board is requested to protect trade secrets and confidentiality where appropriate, access expert testimony as needed, minimize conflicts of interest, include local input from lay people in the community, base recommendations on their own analysis of raw data, and remain independent from enticement by suggested economic impact on the community; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each advisory board is requested to review all potential risks and benefits to the community, and recommend policy initiatives relating to GMO crops including, but not limited to, disclosure, liability, labeling, and monitoring; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture; the Director of Health; the Dean and Director of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa; the Secretary of

Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture; and the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Genetically Modified Organisms; DOH & DOA advisory boards.