THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

129

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE RESOLUTION

 

Supporting the Efforts of the hawaii biotech policy forum to convene key stakeholders on the use of genetically engineered crops in hawaii.

 

WHEREAS, the use of biotechnology in plant and food production is a rapidly growing phenomenon that is impacting local, national, and global food products and markets; and

WHEREAS, genetically engineered ("GE") plants are able to tolerate herbicides, resist insects and viruses, and produce modified fruit or flowers; and

WHEREAS, biotechnology can create additional characteristics that allow farmers to produce food more efficiently and effectively than traditional methods, and the potential economic and social benefits, including the ability to grow crops in less than conducive geographic and climactic areas, are potentially significant; and

WHEREAS, for example, a GE papaya was used to prevent the potential collapse of Hawaii's entire papaya industry, and biotechnology can improve the overall health status of fish and livestock, reduce the costs of production, and improve the quality of food derived from these animals; and

WHEREAS, in Hawaii, the seed crop industry alone is valued at $51,000,000 and employs 1,190 people in relatively high-wage jobs, and forty percent of this industry involves GE crops; and

WHEREAS, there are potential risks and uncertainties associated with the use of GE plants or animals, such as concerns that genetic engineering will introduce new toxins and allergens into the food supply; cause adverse effects on the environment by the introduction of novel genetic traits inadvertently passed on to wild plants or animals; or cause some pests to be resistant to pesticides of non-targeted plants; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's distinction of hosting the most "open-air" field test sites of GE crops in the nation has mobilized GE-free movements and public interest groups around Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, this recent activity resulted from a ruling by the U.S. District Court of Hawaii that compelled the U.S. Department of Agriculture to disclose the locations of permits for open-field testing of pharmaceutical crops in Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, this ruling could cause biotech companies in Hawaii to look elsewhere to conduct their field tests; and

WHEREAS, whether in Hawaii or the nation as a whole, the socio-economic balance and disputes between a GE-free or GE-inclusive agricultural policy, or any variation thereof, will be fiercely debated, and the social, environmental, economic, health, and safety impacts of such a policy are enormous; and

WHEREAS, the purpose of the Hawaii Biotech Policy Forum (HBPF), a project of the Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs and the Pew Initiative on Food & Biotechnology, is to provide a fact-based and collaborative process to potentially seek a "prevailing community consensus" on the use of biotechnology for food production and use on the island of Kauai; and

WHEREAS, the HBPF seeks to provide Hawaii's community, including the respective stakeholders on both sides of the issue, with the opportunity to have an educated dialogue about genetically engineered plants and livestock, and potentially to allow Hawaii to choose its own path on the use of genetically engineered food products, where the outcome could range from a GE-free environment, to permitting the use and development of genetically engineered foods, or any variation in between; and

WHEREAS, the HBPF will develop a thorough and deliberative process to include:

(1) The availability and dissemination of sound fact, data, and research to provide the necessary background and education of stakeholders on genetically modified foods; and

(2) A neutral and transparent process to assist stakeholders in developing a prevailing community consensus on the use of food biotechnology; and

WHEREAS, the HBPF sponsored process will yield the following potential outcomes:

(1) The development and presentation of a body of knowledge on global, national, state, and particularly, Hawaii-specific benefits, risks, concerns and issues relating to the use of biotechnology in food use and production; and

(2) A collaborative and community-based process to potentially develop a "prevailing community consensus" on the use of biotechnology in food production and use for the island of Kauai; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, that the Legislature supports the efforts of the Hawaii Biotech Policy Forum to convene key stakeholders to discuss the use of genetically engineered plants and livestock on the island of Kauai; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that key stakeholders of the HBPF sponsored process include, but are not limited to, farmers, environmentalists, policy makers, regulators, land owners, biotechnology companies, and others who are impacted by and are concerned with the complex and competing scientific, regulatory, environmental, and safety concerns of genetically engineered organisms; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that HBPF is requested to submit a report of the results of the stakeholder meetings to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2006 Regular Session; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to Hawaii's Congressional Delegation; the Hawaii Department of Agriculture; the Mayor of Kauai; the Kauai County Council; the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources of the University of Hawaii; the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center; the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation; the Sierra Club; GMO Free Hawaii and GMO Free Kauai; Hawaii Organic Farmers Association; Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs; the Pew Initiative on Food & Biotechnology; and the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Genetically Engineered Crops; Hawaii Biotech Policy Forum.