Hawaii is known for tourism, but just as important is its agriculture. Things like pineapple and bananas may come to mind, but it can also grow crops like corn. The are large swaths of land on all the islands that can sustain some form of agriculture.
What really sets Hawaii apart is the fact it is the only place in the US where there is a year long growing season. This makes Hawaii a prime place for biotech companies to grow and test their crops as well as produce seeds. For biotech companies like Monsanto and Dow, Hawaii offers the ultimate testing environment because they can test their traits and products multiple times in a year. For instance if you were testing a corn trait, you could grow that corn trait at least twice in one year instead of just once a year in a place like Iowa. This can save years off a very long product development cycle.
On the flip side Hawaii has a complex history. Native Hawaiians have a beautiful, but very independent minded culture. At least 20,000 Hawaiians voted against the annexation of Hawaii into the US, showing a strong resistance to remain independent. There is also a strong history of agriculture in Hawaii, with large plantation owners in control of the government until annexation. At that point, plantation workers took control of the government and is probably a key in understanding the resistance of big biotech companies coming in and using Hawaiian land. This is their land and land they have worked on for generations.
As is common with GMOs, the issue has become emotional and changing minds becomes very difficult. I don't think there is any dispute however that biotech companies like Monsanto and Dow offer Hawaii a multitude of jobs. Hawaii's income comes from either tourism or agriculture and different islands have different percentages. On an island like Molokai, Monsanto and Dow provided 10% of the jobs.
So even when companies are providing jobs and stimulating the economy, the resistance to the biotech companies and GMOs is still quite strong. Just this past week Hawaii made the news on the GMO front. Maui county had passed an ordinance that banned the cultivation GMO crops until more safety studies are conducted. However, a federal judge just ruled that the ban was invalid.
This is a win for biotech companies and GMOs, but shows that even when GMOs have been proven safe and there are lots of safety studies available, emotion and politics can continue to muddy the waters. The war of GMOs will continue to wage in Hawaii as native Hawaiians and newcomers debate a culture where tourism, biotech, agriculture, and politics collide.
References:
http://grist.org/food/heres-why-hawaiis-anti-gmo-laws-matter/
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/federal-judge-rules-maui-county-ban-gmo-crops-32140188
http://www.usda.gov/documents/01AMayrOfficeStatePlanning.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment