Seed research fears grow
By John Duchemin
Advertiser Staff Writer
The global debate over the future of food has come to Hawai'i in the form of a brewing battle on the Neighbor Islands between agricultural companies performing genetic research on crops and activists who say genetically altered foods could hurt people and the environment.
Hawai'i is home to a seed industry that generates $30 million a year. Multinational agricultural companies use the Islands to grow newly developed strains of corn and other crops in isolation, then distribute those seeds worldwide. The companies also use Hawai'i as a test site for "transgenic" crops — plants that have had genes from other species inserted into their chromosomes. Most of these crops are corn, but researchers also have acquired permits to grow transgenic soybeans, cotton and other staples in the Islands. The transgenic research has led to several concerns: • Food will be contaminated Concerns: Organic farmers and growers of Hawaiian sweet corn are worried that drifting pollen from transgenic corn will mix with their crops. They fear their crops would lose their organic standing; be tainted by undesirable tastes or colors; or become unwitting carriers of a potentially harmful gene. What research shows: Scientists say pollen drift is a legitimate concern in "breadbasket" regions such as the Canadian and U.S. Plains. But, they say, the Hawai'i corn crop is small and scattered, and food crops are generally far from the transgenic test plots. The federal government also mandates a quarter-mile gap between test plots, said James Brewbaker, a corn breeding specialist at the University of Hawai'i. Companies also are federally required to take precautions to limit pollen drift. Transgenic plots are surrounded by "border rows" of corn that help prevent pollen from escaping. Those rows, along with the test plants, must be destroyed after the experiment. The scientists also must put bags over each corn plant's tassels to isolate the pollen. • The environment will be damaged Concerns: If transgenic pollen manages to "cross-pollinate" with wild plants, some fear it could create superweeds that threaten native plants. Others worry that crops developed to kill or resist pests would work too well — either killing beneficial insects or unwittingly forcing the evolution of "superpests" that are immune to the crops' resistance. What research shows: Cross-pollination is rare, and usually happens only between similar plant species. Still, several university and industry studies in recent months have shown transgenes can spread to wild plants — including the sunflower, sugar beet and canola. An Ohio State University team found that wild sunflower weeds, when crossed with a transgenic sunflower designed to be larva-resistant, produced 50 percent more seeds and were tougher to kill. That's one reason most of the transgenic crops in Hawai'i are corn, which bears little genetic resemblance to local plants. If researchers were to use Hawai'i to grow transgenic sunflower crops, which has a wild variant here, the potential of genetic transfer to the environment would be much higher, said Stephanie Whalen, director of the Hawai'i Agriculture Research Center. Scientists say superpests are unlikely to develop in Hawai'i. The state's lush vegetation gives insects plenty of homes — so if someone invents a bug-killing corn, those bugs will probably find somewhere else to live. That means "pesticide plants" create little evolutionary pressure here, UH's Brewbaker said.
In the last decade, Hawai'i has become home to some of the most wide-ranging crop research projects in the United States. Attracted by a favorable climate and ample farmland, companies are using Hawai'i for "transgenic" research on corn and other crops, mixing genes across species to create super-plants that resist diseases and pests, produce higher yields, taste better or have other desirable characteristics — fighting herpes, in one instance.
The issues at a glance
Some residents, farmers and environmental activists fear the pollen from these crops will have harmful side effects. Concerns have grown in recent weeks because of the Environmental Protection Agency's decision last month to investigate two major research companies that might have broken environmental rules while growing transgenic corn in the Islands.
Now organic farmers and coffee growers on the Big Island are asking the county council to support a ban on genetically modified coffee; environmentalists are pushing for food labeling to identify genetically modified products; and national interest groups are taking notice of battle lines being drawn in Hawai'i.
Scientists and industry representatives say the concerns arise from a lack of information and deliberately misleading information put out by opponents. They say they are concerned that a populist "pure food" movement could jeopardize the $30 million annual Hawai'i seed research industry.
"Could these companies be driven away? Not likely — but there's always a chance," said Richard Klemm, executive director of the Hawai'i Alliance for Responsible Technology and Science, a biotechnology industry advocacy group.
Residents' fears about risks to the ecosystem and human health mirror concerns worldwide. Europe and Japan have placed restrictions on transgenic imports, sporadic acts of vandalism have destroyed experiments, and nutritional and environmental groups have begun to monitor closely biotechnology companies' procedures.
Some scientists back the activists, saying companies have been too aggressive in developing transgenic foods and more study is needed before releasing potentially dangerous crops into the environment. Several new university and industry studies also point to an environmental risk from certain crops under development that could transfer their genes to nearby wild relatives, creating unpredictable new weeds.
"I believe we can do without all this fiddling around with seeds," said Elizabeth Diamond, a 50-year-old Kaua'i artist known as "The Corn Angel," who hands out pots of organic corn for neighbors to put on their porches as a sign of protest against transgenic corn.
Experts say most scientific evidence shows scant risk of increased health problems or environmental damage from the dozens of transgenic crops in supermarkets.
In Hawai'i, most of the concern centers on test crops. The Islands have become a prime spot for cultivating transgenic plants — chiefly corn — developed in Mainland greenhouses. The experimental crops have turned former sugarcane lands in West Kaua'i, Moloka'i and other areas into living laboratories, making Hawai'i a crucial player in the biotechnology industry.
Since the start of 2000, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has granted more than 400 permits to field-test such crops in Hawai'i — second only to Illinois for the extent of such research.
Since permitting began in 1987, biotech and agricultural companies including Dow AgroSciences, Monsanto and Pioneer Hi-Bred
International have been granted more than 1,300 test sites in Hawai'i, more than any other state. Hawai'i's year-round growing season and isolation from the American heartlands make it an ideal site — a combination matched only by Puerto Rico, another popular research site.
The crops have helped add millions of dollars in revenue to Ha-wai'i agriculture. Seed research produced a record $36 million in 2000, according to the Hawai'i Agricultural Statistics Service, making it the third-largest crop in the state behind pineapple and sugar, ahead of macadamia nuts and coffee.
While a sizable portion of that money comes from conventional crop research — grown through traditional hybridizing methods — an increasing amount of acreage is devoted to transgenic testing, scientists say. On Moloka'i, the Mycogen research station, a division of Dow, has about 70 percent of its acreage devoted to breeding transgenic corn, said station manager David Gilliland.
The state government generally has been supportive, but the increased activity has brought scrutiny and criticism from nearby residents, with some environmentalists fearing transgenic pollen could escape into the wild, creating unintended and unforeseen consequences.
"The delicate ecosystem on Kaua'i is more endangered than any other place in the U.S., so it seems like a big risk to have genetically modified crops here," said Rosa Silver, a Kaua'i resident and member of the local Sierra Club chapter's genetics committee.
Silver said local environmentalists want to make transgenics an issue in the upcoming elections and are pushing for a bill to label all "genetically modified" foods.
Farmers are concerned their crops could be tainted — leading a group of Kona coffee growers and organic farmers to seek political action to ban transgenic coffee.
Hawai'i County Council member Nancy Pisicchio plans to introduce a nonbinding resolution early next month seeking a moratorium on planting transgenic coffee in South and North Kona.
Scientists say there is no transgenic coffee research in progress. But Pisicchio says Kona farmers are worried about image.
"I don't know enough about the science to know whether there's a problem or not, but there are too many people and nations that have concerns," she said.
Others say they see transgenic research running counter to the concept of a "pristine" Hawai'i. Kaua'i resident Mike Van De Veer said the island's image as a natural paradise could be harmed by the association.
"A lot of people seem to think, 'Why not have an island with no genetically altered food?' " said the writer and community radio host. "If we can get rid of this stuff, we could advertise Kaua'i as an organic island."
Van De Veer said talk of genetically modified food has dominated his weekly talk show on KCCR 91.9 FM since mid-August, when the national consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest announced that the EPA planned to investigate Pioneer and Dow for possible permit violations in Hawai'i.
The EPA said the companies might have failed to take proper precautions to prevent the spread of pollen from their sites. The companies say they have done nothing wrong. The investigation is at an early stage, the EPA said.
Many scientists say concerns will evaporate if the biotech companies — who work quietly, out of fear of vandalism and industrial espionage — do more community education.
Stephanie Whalen, director of the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, a public-private joint venture that experiments with plants in 'Aiea, said the biotech companies plan to spend more money on "bioeducation," particularly now that Hawai'i operations are facing increased scrutiny.
"We really need to get out the correct information — that if there is some risk to this, it's really not significant."
Reach John Duchemin at 525-8062 or jduchemin@honoluluadvertiser.com.
