Biotech research debated
By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer
With its rich soil and year-round growing season, Hawai'i is a haven for genetically modified crop research. It's also a hotbed for legislative proposals related to the industry, according to a report released today.
While Hawai'i lawmakers led the nation last year, introducing 20 percent of all state-level agricultural biotechnology bills, only two of the 25 bills passed, according to the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology.
Michael Rodemeyer, Pew Initiative executive director, said the difficulty of passing bills shows a lack of consensus among policy-makers about the need for industry regulation.
"It also illustrates where the public is on this," Rodemeyer said. "I think the public remains largely uninformed about biotechnology."
Nevertheless, Hawai'i is one of the top locations nationwide for genetically modified crop research.
"Hawai'i has really emerged as one of the leading states for field trials," Rodemeyer said. "The technology on the ground is really creating a lot of concern in the same way any new technology does, and the states really are on the front lines."
The biotech industry maintains that any risks biotech crops pose to humans and the environment are minimal. But critics contend the crops' potential dangers have not been fully examined, and the research could taint the state's image as an environmentally clean destination.
Proponents point out that the crops represent an economic opportunity for the state. The value of Hawai'i's seed-crop industry, an estimated 40 percent of which involves genetically engineered crops, has grown fivefold during the past decade to a record $48.7 million in the 2002-03 growing season.
Most of Hawai'i's crop research involves corn, with federal permits also sought in recent years for open-field tests on soybeans, rice, wheat, papaya and pineapple.
On the other side of the debate, critics question whether any dollar value is worth such potential risks as contamination of naturally grown Island produce.
Bills introduced in the 2003 Legislature represented concerns of both sides. For example, five measures tried to boost the amount of research on genetically modified products conducted at universities. Another five sought to increase information disclosed about the work.
Companies operating in Hawai'i, such as Pioneer Hi-Bred and Monsanto, are allowed to keep confidential the details about the type of genetically modified crop research conducted, and its location. The two bills that did pass last year dealt with biotech workforce development issues.
During the 2001 and 2002 legislative sessions, Hawai'i lawmakers also led the nation in biotech-related measures, introducing 23 biotech agriculture-related bills, according to the Pew Initiative. Only one passed, which made anyone found destroying genetically engineered crops liable for the damage.
In this year's legislative session, about a dozen biotech agriculture bills were introduced, including measures by state Sen. Gary Hooser, D-7th (Kaua'i, Ni'ihau). The legislation would have made public the locations of genetically modified crop tests, and banned the production of drugs or industrial chemicals in crops.
"That's the end of the spectrum that people have the most concerns about," Hooser said. "There's growing concern, but it hasn't reached the level necessary to pass additional legislation."
Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8093.
