COMMENTARY
Biotech can help revitalize Hawai'i's agricultural industry
By Ania M. Wieczorek
It's a natural human reaction to be skeptical about change and things that are new. So it is understandable that inhabitants of Hawai'i have questions and even concerns about the development of a biotechnology industry in the Islands.
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A look at the facts is needed to balance emotional claims that are leading some people to conclude that biotechnology is bad for Hawai'i's environment and its agricultural economy.
The Hawaii Agriculture Research Center has been working on genetically engineered sugar-cane tissue. Most plantings of biotechnology crops in Hawai'i involve seeds already approved by government agencies.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is the agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture that is responsible for regulating biotech field trials. The APHIS Web site (www.nbiap.vt.edu/cfdocs/fieldtests1.cfm) shows 1,600 requests for field trials in Hawai'i. That number causes some to think that Hawai'i is overrun with biotech experiments.
However, not all requests are granted, nor are all permits acted upon. A closer look shows that 466 requests have been made since the turn of the 21st century and that only 125 permits and notifications are still in effect or pending.
Another fact that isn't obvious is that experimental crops account for a very small amount of the land controlled by seed companies involved in biotechnology. Those seed companies own or control an estimated 8,000 acres in Hawai'i, but in 2002 and 2003, only about 3,500 acres were planted, and only 40 percent of those acres were planted with biotech crops.
Most of the biotech acres were used to produce seed for deregulated crops that have been tested and approved by APHIS, the Food and Drug Administration and in many cases the Environmental Protection Agency. Only a small percentage of acres contained experimental crops yet to be approved for commerce. Experimental trials are very small, typically a few dozen plants on plots as small as a tenth of an acre.
APHIS regulates all experimental trials, some more stringently than others. In some cases, the biotech developer must notify APHIS of its intent to plant an experimental plot. The notification process is reserved for traits that have a history of familiarity — new characteristics of which we have a relatively sound understanding.
Notification does not mean that companies just go ahead and plant; APHIS must acknowledge the notification and typically imposes guidelines and limits on allowable acreage.
If the experiment involves a less familiar trait, a more rigorous permitting process is involved. This is the case if pharmaceuticals or industrial proteins are to be produced in the crop. APHIS is supposed to closely review the request and, if a permit is granted, the agency establishes strict rules as to how the experiment must be carried out.
APHIS requires wide barriers to separate the plot from other crops and it details other requirements, such as a planting time different than neighboring crops, detasseling or bagging of tassels, crop destruction before flowering or other measures deemed appropriate for the individual permit. APHIS inspectors make unannounced visits to the test site, up to five times during the growth period and after the end of the experiment.
Since January 2001, only 25 permits have been granted for tests in Hawai'i, and only three are still in effect.
Another concern of people not familiar with biotechnology is the fear that biotech crops will spread to plants in the wild. For that to be a serious concern, there have to be sexually compatible wild relatives. Corn, which has no sexually compatible wild relatives in the Islands, accounts for about 98 percent of the biotech crops grown in Hawai'i.
There are, however, wild relatives of cotton in parts of Hawai'i, so the EPA has prohibited the planting of insect-resistant biotech cotton in the Islands.
Hawai'i is an ideal location for biotech companies, because they can produce crops year-round. The industry also can be good for Hawai'i. Many of the farmers who suffered when the sugar industry collapsed a few years ago now are producing grain for the seed companies or are finding jobs in biotechnology.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service estimates that biotech companies last year contributed $48.7 million to the Hawai'i economy in jobs, leases, purchase of inputs and equipment and in shipping. All of agriculture contributes an estimated $2.9 billion to the state's economy and generates 42,000 jobs directly and indirectly.
The biotechnology regulatory system appears to be well-conceived and, if properly implemented, should adequately address the environmental concerns that many people are wondering about. Because of this regulatory oversight, there is no reason why biotechnology should not be a key component in ensuring that agriculture remains a major factor in the state economy.
However, we encourage people with concerns to contact us to voice their misgivings, and feedback will be provided to them. This type of communication can provide an important channel for information flow between concerned citizens and the federal authorities.
Ania M. Wieczorek leads the agricultural biotechnology extension and awareness program at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa.
