Posted on: Saturday, September 11, 2004

EDITORIAL
'Engineered' papayas valuable for Hawai'i

It's easy to sympathize with local papaya growers who are concerned that efforts to develop genetically modified fruits in the Islands may harm their efforts to sell "organic" papayas to customers here and overseas.

If there is customer demand for fruits that have not been genetically modified, or engineered, then there should be a way for farmers to grow that fruit without fears of cross-pollination.

But this specific "access-to-market" issue should not be confused with the value that has come from genetically altering or engineering papayas.

Without the successful efforts of University of Hawai'i scientists and others, Hawai'i would be virtually without a commercial papaya industry. The fruits have been altered to resist the devastating ring spot virus.

Reputable scientists have concluded that genetically modifying plants has no more impact on quality or safety than natural breeding.

Over time, scientists may be able to breed a virus-resistant fruit through time-honored tools of cross pollination. Would the resulting plant be any more dangerous than one produced through the short-cut of genetic modification?

If the conversation is about protecting a market that resists modified fruit, that is one thing. But if it turns against the valuable work that scientists have been doing to protect and improve Hawai'i's crops, it is misguided and wrong.