The Kauai Country Council will deliberate an ordinance passed two weeks ago by the legislative committees from the islands of Kauai and Hawaii to restrict the ability of seed companies like Monsanto, Pioneer and Syngenta from operating on the islands of Hawaii, according to the New York Times.
Hawaii's sugar cane and pineapple fields have been replaced by genetically-modified corn crops. The warm climate in Hawaii allows for the corn crops to harvest three times per year, compared to once in the Midwest.
When the sugar and pineapple industries gave way to cheaper, foreign competition, the state began looking for a way to use the abandoned land. Monsanto, a sustainable agriculture company, among others seed companies, occupy a combined 25,000 out of the state's 280,000 acres of agricultural land, with operations on Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Molokai, according to a report given to the New York Times.
The companies explain the genetically-engineered crops and pesticides are safe and regulated by federal and state governments, and will benefit Hawaii's economy, adding $264 million to the economy and 1,400 jobs.
Michiyo Altomare, a Hawaii native told the Times that ever since the sugar cane crops gave way to the cornfields behind her house, she smells pesticides in the air and the cornfields red soil covers her counters. Her husband, Corrado suffers from high platelet levels which his doctor said may be because of the chemical exposure.
"It's a paradise over here that is being ruined by this," Altomare said.
The bill will require such disclosure and would establish no-spray zones around schools, hospitals, residences, public roads and waterways. If the bill is approved by the full seven-member council, the companies are expected to challenge it in court, arguing that local regulation is pre-empted by state and federal laws. If the ordinance passes, it could mean the end of Hawaiian cornfields for the seed companies.
Mark Phillipson, an executive for Syngenta and president of the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association which represents the seed companies, said "almost any corn seed sold in the U.S. touches Hawaii somewhere" and that companies are supported by those who say the seed business is vital to the economy, which is Hawaii's leading agricultural commodity.
