HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/31/2013 Public Hearing Transcript re: BILL#2491 PUBLIC HEARING
JULY 31, 2013
A public hearing of the Council of the County of Kaua`i was called to order by
Gary L. Hooser, Chair, Economic Development (Sustainability / Agriculture / Food /
Energy) & Intergovernmental Relations Committee, on Wednesday, July 31, 2013,
at 1:30 p.m., at the Kauai Veterans Center, 3215 Kapule Highway, Lihu`e, and the
presence of the following was noted:
Honorable Ross Kagawa
Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura
Honorable Mel Rapozo
Honorable JoAnn A. Yukimura
Honorable Gary L. Hooser
Honorable Tim Bynum, Ex-Officio Member
Honorable Jay Furfaro, Ex-Officio Member
The Clerk read the notice of the public hearing on the following:
"Bill No. 2491 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE
KAUAI COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED, BY ADDING A NEW
ARTICLE 22 TO CHAPTER 22, RELATING TO PESTICIDES AND
GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS,"
which was passed on first reading and ordered to print by the Council of the County
of Kaua`i on June 26, 2013, and published in The Garden Island newspaper on
July 26, 2013.
The following communications were received for the record:
1. Tchouboukjian, Tiffany, July 31, 2013
2. Whitlock, Ned, July 31, 2013
3. Wooton, Ryan, July 31, 2013
4. Barca, Nicolai, July 31, 2013
5. Ching, Jon, July 31, 2013
6. Oso, Barame, July 31, 2013
7. Jaskova, Marketa, July 31, 2013
8. Errico, Vera, July 31, 2013
9. Meharg, Amy, July 31, 2013
10.Bachcater, Ricardo, July 31, 2013
11.Schwed, Craig, July 31, 2013
12.Bronstein, Eric, July 31, 2013
13.Scheraldo, Vinny, July 31, 2013
14.Thorne, Cherie, July 31, 2013
15.Hopman, Arius and Sterling, July 31, 2013
16.Brun, Arthur, July 31, 2013
17.Brontser, Margery, July 31, 2013
18.Folta, Kevin, July 31, 2013
19.Savage, Steven, July 31, 2013
20.Watanabe, Cade, July 31, 2013
21.Murashige, Conrad, July 31, 2013
22.Williams, Greg, July 31, 2013
BILL NO. 2491 2 JULY 31, 2013
23.Iona, Stephanie, July 31, 2013
24.Beall, Matthew, July 31, 2013
25.Trujillo, James, July 31, 2013
26.Smith, Dane, July 31, 2013
27.L'Hote, Yoshi, July 31, 2013
28.Campbell, Eric, July 31, 2013
29.Barnes, Walter, July 31, 2013
30.Kilar, Kyler, July 31, 2013
31.Wyse, Thomas, July 31, 2013
32.Ma, Kristen, July 31, 2013
33.Waimea Nurses and Medical Assistants (See List), July 31, 2013
34.Rojas-Garcia, Gerardo, July 31, 2013
35.Oyama, Ryan, July 31, 2013
36.Heckman, Bruce, July 31, 2013
37.Davis, Steve, July 31, 2013
38.Petition to Support Bill No. 2491 (See List of Signatures), July 31, 2013
39.Kelley III, Lindsay, July 31, 2013
40.Semeff, Stephanie, July 31, 2013
41.Pope, Antonio, July 31, 2013
42.Tausend, Peter, July 31, 2013
43.Valdez, Pablo, July 31, 2013
44.Price, Evan, July 31, 2013
45.Rita, Leslie, July 31, 2013
46.Barton, David, July 31, 2013
47.Kuehu, Jason, July 31, 2013
48.Shimatsu, Jaqcueleen, July 31, 2013
49.Shimatsu, Rodney, July 31, 2013
50.Riha, Robert, July 31, 2013
51.Beckett, Wendy, July 31, 2013
52.Raelson, Jim, July 31, 2013
53.Rogoff, Steve, July 31, 2013
54.Chatkupt, S., July 31, 2013
55.Wichert, John, July 31, 2013
The hearing proceeded as follows:
Chair Hooser: Before we begin, I would like to address a
few housekeeping measures. Can people in the back hear—raise your hand if you
can hear, yes? Okay, great. It is my intention...it is this Committee's intention
that we will take public testimony and conclude this Public Hearing at
approximately 10:30 p.m. The last Kaua`i Bus returning to Vidinha Stadium will
leave this building at 11:30 p.m. For those who decide to walk back to your
vehicles, please exercise caution as you are doing so at your own risk. For those of
you here with us inside the building, there are restrooms and a drinking fountain in
the back of the room. Please be considerate with one another when you return to
your seats after getting up to use the facilities. For those of you outside on the
Kauai Veterans Center's grounds, where there are speakers, which you should be
able to hear me today—the County has provided portable toilets for you to use. This
building has reached capacity. Staff will not permit any further entry into the
building at this time. People outside who require restrooms must use the outside
portable toilets and we will not allow standing room or saving seats inside.
Now for the way the business will be conducted—we have a short stand-up
line that you see against the wall. We have invited five (5) people from the various
BILL NO. 2491 3 JULY 31, 2013
sides of the issue, a total of ten (10) people, to take turns offering differing
viewpoints at the beginning of the hearing. We will begin by hearing from these
people, immediately followed by the line of people who are behind them from the
prior hearing of the first reading. When this line is nearing its end, we will make
an announcement, and then we will begin to line up speakers based on rows of
seats. We are going to start in the front of the room, closest to the stage right here,
and we are going to go row by row, all the way to the back. Please follow the
Council Staff who will be giving you instructions. Please wait for the Staff to assist
you. We will go all the way to the back of the room by row. Anyone who wishes to
give testimony will be told to form a line. If you do not want to present testimony,
you are welcome to remain in your seat. Please keep track of when your row will be
called next because that will be your opportunity to testify. If you need to use the
restroom, please take your own breaks as needed and be courteous to those around
you. If you are only here to observe, and obviously you are welcome to do so, and do
not want to speak, you can remain in your seat for the entire duration of the Public
Hearing if you want to. However, please be aware it would be helpful for someone
waiting outside whenever a seat vacancy occurs because Staff may periodically offer
to bring people from outside in who want to observe and not speak at this time. For
those not present when the row is called, and you are not in your seat, you miss
your opportunity to speak. You will have to wait until the end of the Public Hearing
in order to speak.
Everyone will be given an opportunity to speak at some point. Please pay
attention when it is your row's turn. Based on the amount of people here in
attendance, because not all attendees can come in here, we will first process
everyone in here who wants to speak, and then we will reach outside and let those
people come in and form a line to also testify. As testimony from those inside is
occurring, Staff will periodically attempt to locate vacant seats and as people leave
the Public Hearing, make those seats available to people who want to observe only.
We will not be taking breaks for the duration of this Public Hearing, except every
four (4) hours to take a tape change. It takes five (5) minutes to change the
videotape. Those five (5) minutes is not to get up and walk around because it takes
too long. Our objective is to allow as many people—you got up early and took your
time to come out here and we want to hear what you have to say, and so we are
trying to give as many people as possible that time, which is why this meeting is
structured the way it is.
For those that are in the building, you will not be permitted to leave and
reenter. We need to keep track where everyone is, so if you leave you will need to
stay outside. This event; this Public Hearing today is taking a tremendous amount
of work by Council Staff. It was originally scheduled for Kaua`i Community College
and as most of you know, that option was taken away from us. It was double work
for the Council Staff. On behalf of the Council and the community, I want you to
help me thank the Council Staff for all of their work on putting this together.
Thank you. They have spent hours and hours, and sleepless nights worrying about,
fretting about, and planning the details. I ask for your patience because as we move
forward, there may be things that we did not think about, and there are a lot of
people here, so I ask for your patience. Please hold the applause in the future if you
can because your applause or cheering will slow things down. Please be considerate
of all the speakers, even those of differing viewpoints. We will not be allowing any
disruptions. We cannot afford disruptions. It is not fair to everyone who is here so
we will not be allowing disruptions. Be considerate of the people waiting behind
you. When possible, be brief. If other people have already made your point, you do
not have to take your full three (3) minutes. You can say whatever you want to say,
BILL NO. 2491 4 JULY 31, 2013
and then leave and let somebody else speak. Finally, we should applaud the Kaua`i
Veterans Center because they have really stepped up to the plate, last minute, to let
us be here today. Let us thank them. They really came through. They have faith
in us as a Council and in our community that we are going to conduct ourselves in a
way that we are all proud of and respect their property here. Please honor that.
Because the purpose of the Public Hearing is to hear what you have to say,
we are going to be asking Councilmembers to limit their questions. This is a Public
Hearing. We are here to listen to what you have to say. If you ask us to direct
questions, we will not normally be answering that. We will take notes and answer
those later if you provide E-mails. It is to hear what you have to say. We will have
another Committee Meeting on Monday, August 5th. There will be an opportunity
for vigorous discussion and dialogue there. There may be some questions but we
are asking Councilmembers to please refrain from asking questions, as much as
possible, again, to allow more people to speak. We will now begin to allow speakers
to approach the microphone. You must state your full name for the record. It is
helpful if say if you "support" or "oppose." Every speaker will have three (3)
minutes to speak in the beginning. We have the ability to amend our rules or to
suspend our rules and change that time period, but we are going to start with three
(3) minutes. We are going to try to get everybody. As the evening wears on, it is
possible that the majority of the Council may decide that, "Listen, we have heard a
lot. Let us shorten that time, whether it is two (2) minutes or a minute and a half
(1.5)," but that decision has not been made. We will try to get through as many
people as possible. Before we call the first speaker, I would like to recognize the
Mayor of the County of Kaua`i, Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr. for joining us today.
Mayor, please stand-up. I have spoken to the Mayor personally on this issue and I
know it is very important to him as it is to many people in the community. I
appreciate him being here today. We would appreciate it if you provide your contact
information so that we can make it to Councilmembers who wish to follow-up and
respond. Mr. Clerk, could you call the first speaker?
JADE K. FOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA, Deputy County Clerk:The first speaker is
Steve Savage.
STEVE SAVAGE: Hi, my name is Steve Savage. I am an
Agricultural Scientist. I have been here for about a week. I want to thank everyone
for their hospitality for the week that I have been here and particularly thankful
that you would let me speak as a Californian here. I have been working in
Agriculture for about thirty-five (35) years. During that time, I have considered it a
great honor to know all sorts of farmers from lots of places around the world and
enjoyed meeting many farmers here this week. In all of that time, I have never met
a farmer of any type, large, small, conventional, organic, whatever, who did not
have to sometimes use pesticides. They never did that because they enjoyed that, it
is just that the reality is there are pests. I realize there is a lot of controversy about
some of the pesticides used on the island. All I would like to do is somewhere some
information, which is available from public resources, websites, and whatnot, and I
would be happy to share with anyone on how to find that information.
The pesticides that are on something that are called the "Restricted Use
List," it is not restricted in the sense—that it is a unique set of things. They are
restricted in who can use them and who can use them is restricted to the people
with the highest level of training. Everybody who uses pesticides commercially has
to have training but if you use these, you have to have the highest level. If you go
through the list of those things and see what they are, they are first of all, not really
BILL NO. 2491 5 JULY 31, 2013
unusual things for other crops. For instance, if I look at the California Use Data in
2011, two point eight (2.8) million pounds of the same things were used on more
than one hundred fifty (150) crops in California. The things that are used here
particularly, I think people have focused a lot on what is used in the Corn Seed
Industry. If I look at the data from the United Stated Department of Agriculture
(USDA) about what gets used where the tens of millions of acres of corn are grown
in the Midwest, it is basically the same list of things and at very similar use rates
throughout the year. It is not extraordinary chemicals and it is not extraordinary
rates. The reason things are on the Restricted Use List can vary, and some could be
on that list because they are particularly toxic and they require particular care for
the person spraying them, for workers, or for anybody in the area. That is actually
a very small part of what is on the list here. Most of the things that we are talking
about here are herbicides that are not particularly toxic to people. In fact
ninety-eight percent (98%) of the active ingredients used here are less toxic than the
caffeine in your normal coffee, gram for gram. Again, there is a lot of information
about these pesticides that can sort of demystify them a bit. I guess the last thing I
would say that it has been fifty-one (51) years since the publication of "Silent
Spring," and that book initiated an environmental movement that actually
accomplished a tremendous amount...
Chair Hooser: Can you please summarize?
Mr. Savage: I think we are not talking about the 1960s
when we are talking about the chemicals here. There are a lot of rules. There is a
lot of regulation in place.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. We have a question
from Councilmember Yukimura.
Ms. Yukimura: Dr. Savage, I know you will not be at our
Committee Meeting. I have two (2) questions that I would like you to answer, not
now, but later. I just want to get on the record. I would like to have any factual
information from you relevant to the findings in the Bill. I would also like you—on
a panel last night, you said that Restricted Use Pesticides are sometimes labeled as
such because of danger in water.
Mr. Savage: Right.
Ms. Yukimura: I would like you to submit the proposed or
the required buffers actually based on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s
requirements for each of the pesticides that are on the list.
Mr. Savage: Okay.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Thank you, Councilmember.
Next speaker, please. Please walk up while your name is being called.
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Chris Broussard, followed by Kevin Folta.
CHRIS BROUSSARD: Greetings to the County Council. Gary
Hooser, Tim Bynum, and all concerned citizens of Kaua`i who have taken the time
to be at this forum. Thank you for allowing me to have a moment to speak to this
BILL NO. 2491 6 JULY 31, 2013
issue. My name is Chris Broussard. I have lived and worked here since 1990. I am
here to testify in support of Bill No. 2491 and in doing so, I wear two (2) hats. I am
the Vice President of the Hawai`i Nurses Association (HNA). I want this Committee
and all present to know that the nurses of Hawai`i fully support the passing of this
Bill. Protecting our citizens, water, land, and ocean should be the number one (1)
priority. As a Registered Nurse (RN) having worked at Wilcox Hospital for over
twenty (20) years, I am very concerned over these hazardous chemicals that are
being indiscriminately spread on this island, exposing those of us who are most
vulnerable to their effects. I have seen patients of all ages who suffer various
health problems, some very serious, after being inadvertently exposed to these
chemicals that the Ag companies are assuring us are "safe." These patients come to
our hospital suffering from respiratory problems and difficulty breathing, and some
have neurological problems. Some cannot walk steady. They have tremors and
they have overall body weakness. Their blood tests can be abnormal. They have
problems with some of their organs; their kidneys and livers are not functioning
properly. Some of these patients have been shipped to Oahu for further treatment.
Some of them may never fully return to their prior state of health due to this
exposure. We note that these chemicals are especially harmful to young children
due to the fact that their bodies are growing and developing at a fast pace, and that
continual exposure over time will most surely lead to other types of illnesses,
possibly leukemia and brain tumors.
As a health care worker, the other alarming fact to me is that when a person
comes into our hospital needing care for chemical exposure, we do not even know
what to treat them for because the disclosure from the Ag companies as to what is
being sprayed into the air is hidden to all us. The Ag companies refuse to say what
they are spraying around our schools, homes, and near our streams. This is absurd
to me. Knowing what the chemical is and being able to properly treat the patient is
absolutely imperative in order to ensure a successful outcome for that patient.
What is truly at the core of this issue is our right to know what we are being
exposed to that can cause us harm. What is drifting through the air that we
breathe? What is placed in our soil and our water, that eventually is put into our
bodies by the food we eat, the fish we catch, and the waters we swim in. The fact
that corporations want to hide this information sends a very obvious message:
"There is something worth hiding." Nowhere in this defensiveness is a stated
corporate concern for transparency for the truth, for caring about the mina and its
peoples. I am, and HNA, whole heartedly support all the concerned people of Kaua`i
and the right to know what chemicals are being introduced to our air, water, and
soil. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker.
Please, I know people are very excited and passionate on both sides, but we really
need to move through and it holds things up. We can cheer inside but let us move it
forward. Thank you.
KEVIN FOLTA: My name is Kevin Folta. I am the Chairman
of the Horticultural Sciences Department at the University of Florida and a
Professor in the Department. I was asked to come here to talk about biotechnology.
I should state upfront that I have not been compensated for any testimony.
Biotechnology and the way that it is out framed inside Bill No. 2491—the way that
it is framed in Bill No. 2491 is inconsistent with what we know about the technology
and its safety. We have been able to look at biotechnology or what we call
"Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) Crops" or what we refer to as "Transgenic
Crops" are some of the best studied and most analyzed plants on this planet. They
BILL NO. 2491 7 JULY 31, 2013
are planted over ninety percent (90%) of the acreage of corn, canola, cotton, and soy
in the Continental United States and many other places in the world. The
technology is safe and is used because it helps farmers compete. It allows them to
use les pesticide, as much as sixty percent (60%) less pesticide as estimated by the
USDA. All of these are public statistics. Some of the provisions of Bill No. 2491 will
severely curtail the use and deployment of biotechnology throughout the world
because Kaua`i is a winter nursery. This is the place where you can grow three (3)
or four (4) seasons a year of a given crop to accelerate breeding and opportunities to
improve genetics. Some of that happens to contain biotechnology or transgenic
seeds. The moratorium that is presented would make it almost impossible for any
of these companies to do business here. Forcing the companies to work and citing
closures would be impossible because of the nature of this work. The issues that are
concerns about pollination and escape of the materials have really been shown to be
mitigating strictly by proper planting by smaller zones and understanding how far
pollen really drifts, as well as being sensitive to those plants in the environment
that they can outcross with that do not exist here.
In addition to all of those types of concerns as they were listed—when you go
to the idea of disclosure by disclosing where these crops are located precisely, you
open them up to vandalism, but also for escape because people opposed to the
technology would be compelled to find the seeds and distribute them elsewhere to
cause harm to the companies that have it. I will conclude by saying that I do not
really wear a red shirt or blue shirt. I am not here being pro or anti but I am here
because of science. Science is not a democracy. It is not about how many people
stand up for it or against it. It is about what the facts and the truth really are. This
is a good, sound technology as evidenced by its safe use for over fifteen (15) years.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Councilmember
Yukimura has a question for you.
Ms. Yukimura: Dr. Folta, last night you talked about the
rats experiment that was used to say that GMO foods are damaging. I just want a
yes or no answer, if possible. You showed that the control rat had tumors, as well
as the ones that were treated with GMO?
Mr. Folta: Yes.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Please
speak close to the microphone. I am being asked to instruct everyone to speak close
to the microphone. Thank you.
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Next speaker is Dr. Shabert, followed by
Margery Bronster.
JUDY SHABERT: My name is Dr. Judy Shabert. I am a
Physician, Obstetrician/Gynecologist, Nutritionist, and Public Health Advocate with
a degree in Public Health from Harvard University. I have published medical
scientific research. My husband and I currently farm north of Anahola. I am in full
support of Bill No. 2491. In the 1970s, while a medical student at the University of
Hawai`i, a young woman was transferred into the obstetrical high-risk unit and
delivered a grossly malformed baby, who deformities were incompatible with life.
She had exposure to glue and paint in early pregnancy. In the 1970s, we barely
BILL NO. 2491 8 JULY 31, 2013
knew of the risk of environmental toxins. Her infant was a wake-up call to all of us
about the things that we had to learn. We now know a great deal about chemicals
and pesticides that cause miscarriage, malformations, neurological deficits, and
cancer. We know that we need to be protected from these chemical pesticides and,
in fact, the EPA has a list of Restricted Use Pesticides that are so toxic that
companies need special permits to use them. These toxic chemicals may be used on
our island and we do not know which is why we need to pass this Bill. This
weekend, I counted sixty-five (65) Restricted Use Pesticides that have been
approved by the Government within the last few years for use by the four (4) big
chemical companies on our island. Are they being used? We do not know and that
is why we need to pass this Bill. Four (4) times a year, Waimea schools are checked
for pesticide residue. There are always pesticide residues found. What happens
when a young, pregnant teacher is exposed one day to a huge drift of toxic pesticide
chemicals? She may have a miscarriage or worse yet, bear a child with neurological
disabilities. How would you feel? How would you guys feel if you did not vote to try
to protect those students and those teachers? Let us look at some of the chemicals
that our local companies can use on crops here. Pioneer, for example, is able to use
chlorine gas as a pesticide. Perhaps you have heard of it along with its partner
mustard gas? Chlorine gas was used in World War I in chemical warfare. Is it
being used on Kaua`i? We do not know. We do know that chlorpyrifos is being used
on Kaua`i. There is scientific evidence that chlorpyrifos harms developing brains
and reduces cognitive development in children. Syngenta has had a product called
"TH Bravo C" which is a combination product known to cause cancer and fetal toxin.
Is it being used on Kauai? We do not know. The workers who spray these
chemicals in the field wear hazmat suits. They do it for a reason. These chemicals
are known toxins. We have a right to know what is being sprayed, how much is
being sprayed, and when it is being sprayed.
Chair Hooser: Can you please summarize?
Ms. Shabert: We want you to pass this Bill. Please, for all
of our sakes. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Councilmember Yukimura has a
question for you.
Ms. Yukimura: Dr. Shabert, can you please submit any
factual information relevant to the findings in the Bill?
Ms. Shabert: Of course.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes, later, not now. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: We have another question, Dr. Shabert.
Mr. Kagawa: You gave great testimony. I like your
passion but you do not need to point to us. We can do without that. Thank you.
Ms. Shabert: You are the ones who are going to vote and I
include all of you. It is not meant to be insulting.
Chair Hooser: Thank you, Dr. Shabert. The way the
protocol works is the conversations are between the Chair and the speaker, and
recognized. It is not a back and forth normally. For all of us on all sides of all
BILL NO. 2491 9 JULY 31, 2013
tables, let us take a deep breath and realize why we are here. Thank you. Next
speaker, please.
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Next speaker is Margery Bronster, followed
by Cade Watanabe.
MARGERY BRONSTER: Thank you, Councilmembers. I am here
speaking in opposition to the Bill. I represent DuPont Pioneer and I have been
asked to look at this Bill as I have been asked to look at hundreds, if not thousands,
of other State and County bills. What happened when I looked at it was that I
believe that for a number of very serious legal reasons that this Bill, as proposed, is
unconstitutional. There are limits...
Chair Hooser: Please, audience, we have got a long, long
day. Laughing and making comments that are inappropriate, rude, and mocking
any speaker on any side is not acceptable. The longer we do this, the longer it is
going to take. Please help us out here. You may continue, Ms. Bronster.
Ms. Bronster: Thank you very much. Three (3) minutes is
certainly not enough time to get into a full and complete discussion and analysis of
the serious constitutional and legal impediments to this Bill. I would like to make
an offer that I would meet with any of you, your Council, and your consultants to
share some of the more in-depth information, but I would like to take the time today
just to highlight some of the concerns that we have observed.
I believe that this Bill does not pass constitutional muster for three (3)
primary reasons. The one (1) is that it is preempted. You have heard many people
talk about Federal and State agencies, Federal and State laws that are regulating
GMOs and pesticides within this County. When the Federal government regulates,
and particularly when the State does, it does not leave unlimited discretion in the
Counties to pass new laws. Some of those laws that apply are the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (FD&CA), the Plant Protection Act, and the Hawai`i Pesticide Law.
When the State passes a law of statewide concern, it prevents the Counties from
acting. The Hawai`i Pesticide Law has been updated as recently as this past
Legislature. If you take a look at that recent legislation, you will see that not only
is the State intending for that law to be of interest throughout the State; it is
planning on doing additional work. I want to remind you to please look at the
written testimony that I have given, but I would like to remind you of the provisions
of the State Constitution that you as public officials have sworn to uphold. One (1)
of those provisions relates to Agricultural Lands. Our founders found Agriculture
so important that it specifically states...
Chair Hooser: Can you please summarize?
Ms. Bronster: The State shall conserve and protect
Agricultural Lands, promote diversified Ag, increase agricultural self-sufficiency,
and assure the availability of agriculturally suitable lands. It left the Legislature
the right to pass laws, not the Counties. Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Questions?
BILL NO. 2491 10 JULY 31, 2013
Ms. Yukimura: Yes. Ms. Bronster, not now, but subsequent
to this Public Hearing, could you please tell us how the Preemption Doctrine is
affected by the Public Trust Doctrine?
Ms. Bronster: Absolutely. That is a very good question and
I would be happy to share that with you.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you.
Chair Hooser: I have a question. This Bill has been looked
at by a number of attorneys, local attorneys, national attorneys, and attorneys who
have gone to the Supreme Court and won, and have come to a different conclusion
than you have. Would you agree that different attorneys looking at the same Bill
may come to different conclusions?
Ms. Bronster: Councilman, I think this ultimately could be
decided by the courts. I think that would be an unfortunate outcome. If you want...
Chair Hooser: The question was do you think that different
attorneys looking at the same issues can come to different conclusions?
Ms. Bronster: On this Bill, I do not think so. If you would
like to share with me those opinions, I would be more than happy to comment.
Chair Hooser: They are public documents that were from
the last testimony. Thank you very much.
Ms. Bronster: Thank you.
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Next speaker is Cade Watanabe, followed by
Stephanie Iona.
CADE WATANABE: Good afternoon, Chair and Councilmembers.
Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to testify before you today regarding
Bill No. 2491. My name is Cade Watanabe and I stand before you today on behalf of
Unite Here! Local 5, a local labor organization representing nearly ten thousand
(10,000) hotel, health care, and foodservice workers throughout our State. You have
our organization's written testimony before you, but I would like to offer some
additional comments in support of the measure, and share with you why our
members have taken such an interest in this Bill. Like you, we believe our
community deserves the right to know what impacts the GMO industry and related
pesticide use is having on our community. We believe that Bill No. 2491 is a
reasonable and fair attempt at informing and protecting our community's health
and natural environment. As you know, the measure before you will not ban GMOs
or negatively impact small farmers that play an important role in our local
economy. Rather, the Bill would simply take into account and address the
widespread community concern that has already been documented with the
respected use of pesticides near our schools, hospitals, and homes. We thank you
for this opportunity afforded to us today to voice our concerns and reestablish our
trust and faith with respect to a Government acting in the interest of the people.
We here should not be confused. The powerful players maneuvering about in our
community have imposed on us the fear and threat of losing jobs. It should not be
used against us as if it is an either/or proposition. We deserve jobs and it is
reasonable for us to demand good ones that keep us and our families safe. As a
BILL NO. 2491 11 JULY 31, 2013
Union, we have been told many, many times before that "one (1) job, however bad, is
better than no job." Do not be fools. Support the project. Believing that would be
foolish. It does not do us or this community any good if the jobs that we have are
not enough to sustain our families, if they make us ill, destroy our lands, or result in
us inheriting a quality of life that is lesser than that of our mothers and
grandfathers. Our members fight for decent health care and wages and at the same
time, we fight for protecting our precious Ag lands because we care about the kind
of food our kids eat and the opportunities that they will receive. We stand up for
the right to organize into the Union and at the same time, we fight for more public
input and transparency in Government because our kids need to see that our voices
as workers matter. We struggle to secure good jobs for the future and at same time,
we know we must always ask, "What kind of jobs?" In our experience, some of the
same powerful interests at play here, the same global corporations, big banks, and
private equity firms can and will do everything to squeeze workers and divide the
community.
Chair Hooser: Can you please summarize?
Mr. Watanabe: We do all of this because we care about the
Hawai`i our children will inherit and that is why we helped to launch a new
movement called "Aikea" or "I care." It is a simple phrase that reflects a movement
that is filled with the hope and determination needed to take pride in protecting the
people and aina with aloha. Jobs are important and so is our health. We here
should not be persuaded to thinking that it is an either/or proposition. We should
set some terms. We believe that Bill No. 2491 is fair and reasonable. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker.
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Next speaker is Stephanie Iona, followed by
Dr. Rick Goding.
STEPHANIE IONA: Good afternoon, Chair. For the record, my
name is Stephanie Nalani Iona. I was born and raised in Hawai`i and resident of
west Kaua`i. I wrote this speech and I have a lot of good things that I wanted to
say, but then I looked at the three (3) minutes and thought, "Well..." so I am going
to "cut to the chase" as we say in Hawai`i. I have lived on the island of Maui. I have
been on Kaua`i for the last seven (7) years on the west side. What I have known the
west side to be is nothing but very honest, truthful, and hard-working people. They
are not the scientists. They are not the experts, but they are experts in what they
do every single day when they come to work. They are trained by these seed
companies to do the right thing. Robin Young lives in Kekaha; father, has children,
and would never spray insecticides to harm his children. Lance is head in one of the
seed areas in Waimea. He is in charge of the pesticides that spray on our fields. He
is the basketball coach. Why would he harm our children? Plain, simple logic. The
experts are not all of us. The experts are the people who work the fields in Waimea
every day, fight for their families, do a good living, and do what is right. I respect
anyone who says that they need the right to know. My grandchildren tell me that I
need the right to know. Study it, investigate it, and ask the right questions.
Ishihara Market—go to the bench. Ask Lance, Robin, or anyone from the seed
companies. They will tell you what they know and work on every single day. I am
hotel industry. I am sixty-four (64) years old. For forty (40) years, I have given to
this industry that was supported by Agriculture. We support the cookies from
Kaua`i Kookie and the Kauai Coffee that we serve to our guests. I am not saying
that their jobs are not as important as ours. We are Kauai. This must be hurting
BILL NO. 2491 12 JULY 31, 2013
so many of us that are wondering why we are on two (2) sides of the issue. Because
I am standing here? Somebody wants to take my picture, here I am. What I want
to say is that Kaua`i is a beautiful place. We all work together in harmony. We
need to get the facts and the facts are that can the County handle what the Federal
government and the State of Hawai`i is already regulating with these seed
companies and who will be paying the brunt of the change? I am assuming all of us.
Thank you on behalf of everybody. I do not stand here alone. I stand with all the
people from the west side that are doing a great job and are against this Bill.
Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Next speaker is Dr. Goding, followed by Greg
Williams.
RICK GODING: My name is Rick Goding and I support the
Bill. I have been a physician on this island for nine (9) years. I see patients in
Waimea, Lihu`e, and Kilauea so I interact with the people throughout the island.
My concern about this issue first began several years ago when our Cancer
Fellowship trained surgeon stated that she was troubled by the incidents of cancer
on the island, specifically on the west side. She also expressed concern that she was
encountering clusters of very rare cancers. I also heard the pediatricians lament
the asthma on the west side. Over the last several months, I have investigated the
situation with an eye towards scientific and unbiased evaluation of the data and
extensive conversations with physicians on the north and west shores have revealed
to me there is a strong anecdotal evidence that there is a statistical difference in the
incidence of cancer, asthma, and birth defects between the east side and west side
with a strongest differences seen between Kapa'a and Ha`ena corridor and the
`Ele`ele to Kekaha corridor, while no thorough scientific data gathering has been
done yet. The most senior OB/GYN physician on the west side states that he sees a
much higher than expected incidence of severe birth defects such as heart,
neurologic, gastrointestinal, and craniallfacial than would be expected in a
population this size. The most senior OB/GYN on the east side states that he can
only remember one (1) serious birth defect in the last decade. The physicians on the
north shore who treat children do not see asthma and nose bleeds at the extreme
levels that are consistently reported by the west side pediatricians. One of the
oncologists on the island gave a lecture when the cancer center opened about the
high cancer rate on the island, specifically on the west side using Hawaii State
Cancer and practice read data. There is also strong recent research showing that
diabetes rates are increased dramatically by pesticide exposure, even when a diet
and sedentary lifestyle are taken into account. In my practice, I see a tremendously
high rate of diabetes and I am certain most people in this room know someone on
the island with diabetes. My personal research, which was only performed recently
after the list of Restricted Use Pesticides was finally provided by the seed
companies have shown that the problems we are seeing correlate with the types of
pesticides applied. Much of the data was contained in the 2012 Systematic Review
of Pesticide and Health Effects published by the Ontario College of Family
Physicians and one hundred forty-two (142) articles referenced by this
comprehensive study. I have letters from many physicians here, which I would like
to submit to the Council for public record. Again, we have not, as a medical
community, collected the data and done comparative studies. This is something
that I believe will be done in the near future as a large majority of the medical
community, especially on the west side has very serious concerns about the issue.
This will be an arduous task but there are some very serious concerns. We as
BILL NO. 2491 13 JULY 31, 2013
physicians can see what is going on in our practices. Full disclosure of pesticides
and herbicides used both in the past and moving forward is essential for the
physician community on Kaua`i. I want to address one (1) thing that was
mentioned earlier in the rat study. There were tumors in all subsets of rats, but the
controls had tumors at one-half the rate of the GMO and...
Chair Hooser: Can you please summarize?
Mr. Goding: In summary, as Upton Sinclair said, "It is
impossible to get a man to understand something when his job depends on his not
understanding it." Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Dr. Goding, Councilmember Yukimura has a
question.
Ms. Yukimura: Did you say that you have statistically
significant data?
Mr. Goding: Anecdotal.
Ms. Yukimura: That is not statistically significant.
Mr. Goding: That is not correct. What we have is we
have a group of physicians on the west side, who see things in their practices, and
they can tell you just like I can tell you what I see in my practice.
Ms. Yukimura: Yes.
Mr. Goding: We have a group of physicians on the east
side with the same specialty who see differences. We have not gone through the
institutional review board approval process because that is a Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) violation. Yes, as a medical
community, we need to do the hard-data research. But anecdotally, it is there.
Ms. Yukimura: Can you provide your information to us?
Mr. Goding: Yes.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Greg Williams, followed by Dr. Lee Evslin.
GREG WILLIAMS: Chair Hooser and members of Committee,
my name is Greg Williams. I am speaking in opposition to the Bill. I have been
part of the Kaua`i Agricultural Community since 1974 and currently work at Kaua`i
Coffee Company. I will let some of my colleagues testify later on some of the
specific flaws that we found in the Bill. Right now, I want to focus on the many
challenges our coffee farm faces and why the Council should not rush to pass this
Bill without further consideration. Before making any decisions, I would like to ask
that you spend more time listening to the concerns of the Kaua`i farmers and Ag
workers, and work with us to better understand how this Bill will create some
unnecessary obstacles that will not improve public health or safety. I have lived
here on Kaua`i for thirty-nine (39) years and my wife's family has lived here for
several generations. I am currently the Orchard Operations Manager at Kaua`i
BILL NO. 2491 14 JULY 31, 2013
Coffee Company and would like to share just briefly some of my experiences
farming that same tract of three thousand (3,000) acres that we have for the past
forty (40) years, basically. After graduating from college, I came over here to work
at McBryde Sugar as an Irrigation Engineer and help to convert a lot of the fields
from furrow irrigation to drip. It was a great job but as you know, sugar declined
over the years. We can see the writing on the wall in the 1990's at McBryde that
sugar was not going to be able to sustain us forever. We started looking at other
crops at the time and to diversify, coffee being one (1) of them. We also looked at
tea, patchouli, and macadamia nuts. Coffee turned out to be the best economic
choice so we continue to confront unique, economic challenges on the west side to
bring commercial crops to market. In 1987, McBryde was able to successfully
transform into Kauai Coffee. Today our farm is Hawai`i's largest diversified
agricultural project that was ever started in the last fifty (50) years and the largest
coffee farm in Hawai`i, as well as North America. We are proud to produce about
half of this State's coffee production. We all know that farmers face weather
challenges and Kaua`i Coffee is not alone; suffering a severe setback in 1992 when
Iniki struck. We had eight point five million dollars ($8,500,000) worth of damage
at that time, but managed to turn ourselves around along with a lot of other
businesses on Kauai and were able to get rolling again. Kaua`i Coffee is committed
to a positive path forward and one that brings both sides together. We are listening
to our neighbors and community members and willing to roll up our sleeves, work
on appropriate product and crop specific buffers, but certainly consider the five
hundred (500) foot buffer to be very excessive, particularly in relation to roadways,
waterways, and ditches that...
Chair Hooser: Can you please summarize?
Mr. Willams: The five hundred (500) foot buffer would
pretty much crisscross our farm and we would lose about fifty percent (50%) of our
acreage. We are used to doing it the way we can maintain it now. We are open to
reporting systems that make sense and not unnecessary reporting burdens for our
highly qualified personnel. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
The Committee especially appreciates testimony that offers suggestions on maybe
how to improve the measure. If you do have specific suggestions, send them in
writing to us or mention them here today.
LEE EVSLIN: I am Lee Evslin. I am a Board Certified
Pediatrician. I have lived and worked on Kaua`i, both as a Physcian and Kauai
Medical Group Hospital Administrator, for thirty-four (34) years. I have four (4)
children and six (6) grandchildren. Three (3) generations of our family live on
Kaua`i. I am here to lend support to Bill No. 2491. My support for the Bill is based
on recent findings and publications by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The
academy is made up of most of the Board Certified Pediatricians in America. In
November of 2012, the academy came out with a policy statement on pesticides.
They stated that, "One (1), pesticide exposure may be much more of a problem than
we have realized in the past. Two (2), new evidence shows that the unborn child,
the infant., and the growing child appear to be particularly sensitive to the effects of
pesticides and that pesticides may specifically affect the health of these children in
ways ranging from behavioral problems to chronic illnesses and to cancer such as
leukemia. Three (3), pediatricians should make a point of becoming knowledgeable
and concerned about pesticides usage in the house and yard and go on to suggest
that farming communities are of particular concern. Four (4), parents who are
BILL NO. 2491 15 JULY 31, 2013
involved in spraying activities should be particularly careful about the effect of
bringing these toxic materials into their house, on their clothing, and on their
bodies. Five (5), they state very specifically that pediatricians should support efforts
to make pesticide-free zones around schools and other public places and that we
support the right to know where and what is being sprayed. Six (6), they also
stated that although Roundup has long been thought to be safe for humans, there
are numerous reports in the medical literature about adverse effects after recent
exposure. The above information is very straightforward and seems impossible to
refute. Of course we should make pesticide-free zones around schools and other
public areas. Of course we should have the right to know where and what
pesticides are being sprayed. Of course pediatricians should spread the word that
household spraying, yard spraying, and pesticides on the clothes our parents are
spraying may be dangerous. A letter in support of this Bill and supporting
statements by the American Academy of Pediatrics was signed and sent to the
Council. It was signed by me, Dr. Wotring, Dr. Carolan, Dr. Weiner, Dr. Yu,
Dr. Carreau, Dr. Nelson, Dr. Knox, Dr. Goding, Dr. Riola, Dr. Niide, Dr. Grande,
Dr. Hopkins, Dr. Splittstoesser, and Dr. Gamby. One (1) final point is that there is
new research that we may find is the most worrisome of all. Pesticides like
Roundup have been thought to be safe because they affect the metabolic pathway
found in plant cells and not found in human or animal cells. The problem is that
our health is very dependent on the so-called "good bacteria" that live in our skin
and in our intestines. There are ten (10) bacteria for every one (1) human cell. In
other words, there are ten (10) times more bacteria than human cells in our body.
These good bacteria act to clean out waste, protect us from infections, digest our
foods, and even produce vitamins. We cannot live without with good bacteria in our
body. There is frightening new research suggesting that every one of these bacteria
has the type of metabolic pathway that Roundup does adversely affect. When the
good bacteria are killed, bacteria that are not good for us can flourish and they not
only do not help your body, but produce toxins that can harm our body.
Chair Hooser: Can you please summarize?
Mr. Evslin: My message to the Council and the people of
Kauai—enough. Eighteen (18) tons of pesticides being sprayed annually need
controlling. It is dangerous and we will look back thinking, "How did we allow this
to happen?" This Bill represents an important step in bringing control to these
dangerous practices. Thank you for listening.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. I believe there is a question for
you. Councilmember Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: Dr. Evslin, thank you for being here.
Because you moved quickly, I just wanted you to please read that list of Kaua`i
physicians who signed the letter.
Chair Hooser: He was asked a question by the
Councilmember and we will ask the speaker to respond.
Mr. Evslin: It was signed by most of the pediatricians:
Dr. Wotring, Dr. Carolan, Dr. Weiner, Dr. Yu, Dr. Carreau, Dr. Nelson, Dr. Knox,
Dr. Goding, Dr. Riola, Dr. Niide, Dr. Grande, Dr. Hopkins, Dr. Splittstoesser, and
Dr. Gamby.
Chair Hooser: Thank you, next speaker please.
BILL NO. 2491 16 JULY 31, 2013
CHRIS KOBAYASHI: Aloha, my name is Chris Kobayashi. I am a
farmer and I support this Bill. We grow taro, mixed vegetables, and fruits in
Hanalei. When this Bill first came out, I thought it was real, no-brainer Bill
because I thought it talked about the right to know and disclosure of pesticides. It
has turned into something much, much bigger, which is actually good. I think there
is a lot of awareness rising in the island. I would like to speak about the bees
because we are also beekeepers. Bees are important pollinators and the work
contributes to at least one-third of the food we eat every day. I would like to say
that the five hundred (500) foot buffer zone is really inadequate because bees can fly
two (2) miles or even further. They cannot read "pesticide danger" signs. I am
noticing that there are a lot of people saying that this Bill is going to kill
agriculture. I am a farmer and I do not believe that is true because the Bill clearly
states who the use or the amount of use—please, it is not going to kill all the small
farmers. Small farmers are doing what they can without being subsidized by the
Government and or getting tax breaks. They are growing food for our community
and feeding people at the farmer's market and a few stores and restaurants. We
pay our General Excise (GE) Tax and our property taxes. Land and water must be
made available to new start-up farmers. I know I am going a little off this thing,
but we need to look beyond just the Bill and start to think about creating healthy
farms and food for our island. Before we can do that, we need to fix the soils; the
toxic soils. We need to remediate the soils and here is a source of more jobs for
people for what we can do for our island, in order to grow. I also feel that the
burden of remediation should lie on the companies that actually poison the land, so
to speak, because it should not fall back on the County and for us to clean up after
they are gone because the "Plantation Days" are over already. We do not have to
repeat that kind of work. We should not have to be cleaning up somebody else's
mess. This Bill is the start to healing our island. It is time for the seed companies
who say they care about Kauai to show and act like they really do care, start to
work together, and grow small farms. If we can all learn to collaborate, it is just a
new thing. We could do a new thing for our island. I am saying to please pass the
Bill and please do not think that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the
EPA is going to help us. They are lobbied up in Washington by and have a
revolving door with big corporations similar to these seed companies. Go Google it.
The information is online. I firmly believe that we need to self-govern, as much as
possible. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
I want to remind people to speak into the microphone. Some of you are kind of faint
up close and I am sure the people in the back are having a hard time.
ELIJAH FRANK: Aloha, Kaua`i County Councilmembers.
Thank you for this opportunity. My name is Elijah Frank and I am in strong
support of Bill No. 2491. If Council Bill No. 2491 is passed, our County will have a
say in what the future of Kaua`i agriculture will look like. Today, the five (5)
chemical companies that make up Hawaii Crop Improvement Association are
enacting total control over our agricultural lands. They can grow whatever GMO
crops they want to and spray whatever chemicals they want upwind from our
schools and communities, and not a single member of our Kauai County
government can have any say in this matter whatsoever. If we as a County wanted
to be fifty percent (50%) food self-sufficient by 2025, could we? How much of our Ag
land should we designate to growing food for local consumption to reach our
self-sufficiency goals? Do we want organic farming to be part of our Kaua`i
agriculture? If the present direction of our Ag continues for any longer, we will not
BILL NO. 2491 17 JULY 31, 2013
have a say in this matter. The future of Kaua`i Ag will be dictated by the Hawai`i
Crop Improvement Association. How many millions of pounds of chemicals will be
poured into our soils in the next twelve (12) years? Eighteen (18) tons of Restricted
Use Pesticides and an estimated eighty (80) tons of General Use Pesticides are used
on Kaua`i annually. By the year 2025, that would be two million three hundred and
fifty-two thousand (2,352,000) pounds of chemicals. If the Hawai`i Crop
Improvement Association doubles their current capacities, that would be nearly five
million (5,000,000) pounds of chemicals used on our Ag soils. This Bill is not
anti-farming; it is for protecting what we love. I have aunties and uncles who do
care deeply about this land and I see sadness in their eyes when they see what is
happening today. They tell me that the land is part of them and they are connected
to it. They say that "if you take care of the land, the land will take care of you."
This year on Oahu, the Hawai`i Crop Improvement Association attempted to pass
many bills that would take away our rights as a County to determine our future and
to protect the health and lives of our people. They lobby for Senate Bill No. 727,
Senate Bill No. 590, and many others. Specifically, Senate Bill No. 727 is part of
Hawai`i Revised Statutes which dictates our general powers as a County. In that, it
says that Kaua`i County has a right to write ordinances that would protect the
health and life of the people of Kauai. Senate Bill No. 727 took a line and just
crossed out a few words. It crossed out the words "protect," "health," and "life." The
Hawai`i Crop Improvement Association supported a Bill that would take away our
right as a County to protect health and life. Our Mayor wrote opposing this Bill and
several of our County Councilmembers, as well as almost every County Council in
the State of Hawaii. If they are doing great things and they are part of our
community, all we are asking for is disclosure. There is nothing to hide. Let us find
out what the truth is and go on from there. Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
If the next speaker could come every few seconds, it adds up between the gaps
between speakers. Thank you.
FELICIA COWDEN: I am Felicia Cowden. I am from Kilauea and
I speak for myself. I fully support all aspects of Bill No. 2491. There are many
things that I could say, but I want to narrow it to a slice of my life that is maybe
different from many other people here. I want to speak as a Public Affairs
Programmer for KKCR Radio. I have a two (2) hour show that has become a seven
(7) day a week responsibility. This issue, even more than the Public Land
Development Corporation (PLDC) has had my phone ringing, my Facebook busy,
and everything constantly all the time...people trying to tell me their stories. I
never really focused on GMOs, even a year ago. I felt like it was a west side issue.
KKCR is perceived as a north shore/east side station. This issue has made KKCR
and this whole island be one (1) island. I get so many calls. People are downloading
for two (2) hours. I have got it on speakerphone while walking around my house,
listening to folks from the west side who feel so helpless, abused, and scared. Also,
naming dates, specifics, people, and all of these things that I cannot turnaround and
resay on the radio. I say, "Please just call it in." They say, "No, I cannot." I hear
from roommates, families, and insiders. I actually have a lot of faith in our County
Council and I imagine that you are having the same experience that I am. These
are people who work with inside that company who are giving me tips. I knew
about all of these blue shirts being made and it is two thousand (2,000) and what is
going on here and there. I hear it and even though people are paid to come and
present their unambiguous support, there is a lot of ambiguity in that support. I
speak to the west side people in this room and across the island that we do love you.
Nobody wants to take your jobs. The goal is to help these pretty predatory global
BILL NO. 2491 18 JULY 31, 2013
corporations be kind within their expression here on the island. These are not
small farms. These are not small farmers. We are all good. We are all people. We
will be one people, but listen to the unpaid in a different way than the paid. Thank
you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
MARK LAUCHNER: Thank you for the opportunity to address the
Council here today. My name is Mark Lauchner. I work for the Syngenta and I am
the Station Manager at Syngenta. I am not here to address you as a Station
Manager. I am here to address you personally. What this Bill has—what the effect
is on me and my family here—the buffer zone that I look at is five hundred (500)
feet from any road, schools, and waterways. I looked up to see what that affect was
for Syngenta, and that left us with about ten percent (10%) of our land left to work
on. When I look at this, I am saying that is going to put me out of my job and that
is going to put the rest of my family out of a job. When I talk about my family, it is
my family, it is not just me and my wife; it is everybody here out here that is in a
light blue shirt and dark blue shirt. They are all my family. This is going to put all
of us out of a job. That is the way I see it with the buffer zone at this point. Thank
you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much for your testimony.
Next speaker, please.
MIKE AUSTIN: Thank you for the opportunity to speak to
the County Council. My name is it Dr. Michael Austin. I am a past resident of the
Garden Island for nine (9) years and member of the Hawai`i Seed Industry for
eighteen (18) years. I stand opposed to Bill No. 2491. Today I stand before you to
say that we are here to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth as
members, allies, regulatory agencies, and concerned citizens opposed to this Bill to
provide testimony. The truth is that Bill No. 2491 is bad for Kaua`i and its people.
This Bill is being touted as a pathway towards transparency, but in reality, it is
predicated on fear and misinformation that is designed to terminate the seed
industry on Kaua`i. Most egregious are provisions that call to an end of planting
GMO seed until an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and a five hundred
(500) foot pesticide buffer zone that virtually wipe out and nullify ground we
historically plant. Bill No. 2491, if passed, will affect Kaua`i by eliminating the
sustainable economic benefits to both residents and County alike. The truth is that
the seed industry is a vital link to modern agriculture and an industry based on
science and scientific breakthroughs; a twenty-first century industry that is heavily
regulated by the USDA, EPA, Hawai`i Department of Agriculture, as well as
internally. An industry in which two percent (2%) of the people feeds ninety-eight
percent (98%) of the population. Major agricultural breakthroughs have helped to
feed a rapidly growing human population. In my lifetime alone, the world's
population has more than doubled from three billion (3,000,000,000) people in 1959
to over seven billion (7,000,000,000) people today. The truth is that Bill No. 2491
refutes the truth. It clearly refutes the scientific achievements that agriculture has
made over the years. It clearly refutes the safety and regulation that goes into our
pesticide spray programs. It clearly refutes that GMOs are safe and clearly refutes
the truth that really exists. Instead, Bill No. 2491 endorses conjecture,
misinformation, and an unsubstantiated fear. Bill No. 2491 is bad for Kaua`i and
bad for Kaua`i's people. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
BILL NO. 2491 19 JULY 31, 2013
SARAH THOMPSON: Hi, my name is Sarah Thompson. I have a
Bachelors Degree in Biology and I also have Masters Degree in Entomology, which
is a study of insects from Purdue University. I also hold both a private and
commercial Restricted Use Pesticide License in Hawai`i in the categories of
Agricultural Plant/Pest Control, Chemigation, and Demonstration Experimental
Use. In addition, I am a registered voter on Kaua`i. I am speaking here on behalf of
myself, as, as well as Dow AgroSciences in opposition to County Council
Bill No. 2491 as it is based on assumptions and allegations that have no scientific
basis and would hurt Kaua`i's agricultural industry as a whole. Currently, the
debate over Bill No. 2491 makes pesticide usage in our agricultural industry seem
careless and irresponsible. That portrayal is not correct. As the Production
Research Integrated Pest Management Specialist of Dow AgroSciences Kaua`i, I can
say with great confidence that the safety and the environment are a top priority for
my company, as well as me and my coworkers. Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
is a highly regarded decision-making process used by conventional and organic
farmers alike. IPM carefully considers all cultural, mechanical, biological, physical,
and chemical Pest Management techniques available and combines those
techniques to form a cost-effective, environmentally sound and socially acceptable
program. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United
Nations, this emphasizes the growth of a healthy crop with the least possible
disruption to agroecosystems and encourages natural pest control mechanisms. In
my capacity as a IPM specialist, my company relies on me to utilize the IPM
approach to evaluate the situation first and make recommendations to minimize
pesticide usage and other interventions to levels that are economically justified and
to reduce risk to public health and environment. In addition to following all State
and Federal Safety Regulations, Dow AgroSciences ensures that our Staff is highly
trained to make responsible and sustainable choices in the best interest of all of us;
our families, friends, and community. Another important pest management tool is
the use of GMOs. Advocates of Bill No. 2491 are quick to use fear and
misinformation in an attempt to sell their beliefs and subsequently dismiss the
benefits of GMO crops, such as the rescuing of Hawai`i's papaya industry, reducing
soil compaction, reducing air emission, reducing fossil fuel use, reducing farm
runoff, and most pertinent to this Bill, reducing overall pesticide usage throughout
the United States. In spite of the fact there are seed operations on Kaua`i, they are
conducted according to why they accepted agricultural management practices
throughout the United States, and in compliance with every Federal and State
regulation, we now face a new threat. Bill No. 2491 proposes unique and extreme
conditions for farming and discriminates against proven and acceptable agricultural
production practices. If you support an agricultural future for Kaua`i, please join us
in opposing Bill No. 2491. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. We have a question
for you from Councilmember Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: Are the seed companies involved in
agricultural production?
Ms. Thompson: Yes, we farm crops on land and that is
agriculture.
Mr. Bynum: Who do you sell those crops to?
BILL NO. 2491 20 JULY 31, 2013
Ms. Thompson: We sell those crops around the world to
consumers who buy and eat them every day.
Mr. Bynum: Corn grown on Kaua`i are sold to consumers
around the world?
Ms. Thompson: Yes, it is.
Mr. Bynum: Corn grown on Kaua`i?
Ms. Thompson: Corn grown in Hawai`i is sold to consumers
in the United States.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. I think Councilmember
Yukimura has a question also.
Ms. Yukimura: You said you are speaking for yourself and
Dow?
Ms. Thompson: Dow AgroScience, correct.
Ms. Yukimura: You mentioned that pesticide use is
lessening?
Ms. Thompson: Correct.
Ms. Yukimura: Is that a United States figure or a Kaua`i
figure?
Ms. Thompson: It is an overall United States usage.
Ms. Yukimura: Is there evidence or data on the amount of
pesticide use year-to-year in Kaua`i in terms of the amount?
Ms. Thompson: We are required by law to record every
pesticide application. Yes, we do have those records.
Ms. Yukimura: Do you feel that pesticide use is lessening on
Kauai?
Ms. Thompson: I can speak for Dow AgroSciences and yes,
we are decreasing pesticide use dramatically.
Ms. Yukimura: On Kauai?
Ms. Thompson: Yes, on Kaua`i.
Ms. Yukimura: Can you provide records showing that?
Ms. Thompson: I certainly can. I would be happy to.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Again, we
want to move on so please keep your passions—yes, go ahead, introduce yourself.
BILL NO. 2491 21 JULY 31, 2013
RUSSELL NONAKA: Aloha Chair Furfaro, Mayor, and members of
the Kaua`i and Ni`ihau County Council. God bless the United States of America
(U.S.A.) and the First Amendment. My name is Russell Nonaka. I am part of the
Kaua`i agricultural, born and raised on farming to this day... four (4) generational
of farming on Hawaii. I have been a registered voter for over forty-five (45) years. I
am opposed to Bill No. 2491. I am opposed to the Bill because it is not good for the
future of agriculture worldwide. I have worked for seed companies for more than
thirty-five (35) years. Safety is their highest priority and it is changing everyday for
better ways to protect the workers, aina, and the environment. This kind of Bill is
bad and will hurt the future of agriculture worldwide and only more cost to the
economy: food, shelter, clothing, and also jobs will drive up cost to produce
agricultural products. The anti-GMO activists reject science technology and have
distorted the facts to us and scare the public into supporting this Bill. Also, if this
Bill passes, it is going to be the final nail in the coffin. It is aloha to the seed
companies. They are following the pineapple and sugarcane companies out of
Hawai`i. We do not want to see this kind of devastation that will happen. This is
not going to stop GMO production worldwide. All of these are negative
advertisements to the media: number one (1), what are one thousand five hundred
(1,500) jobs versus poisoning future generations and the environment? Number two
(2), seed companies do not care about the pollution and the environment. Number
three (3), they are only here for the wealth and not for the local economy. Number
four (4), the seed industry are bogus and controlling government like the FDA, EPA,
USDA, DOA, et cetera, with big money and payouts. Also, seed companies are
(inaudible) when passing bills... pesticides... to the congressional system. I have a
question: why not bring all of their scientific research evidence and data to Court?
A wise man once said, "Money is the root of all evil." God bless the USA. Why are
you laughing? Imagine if we do away with GMO production worldwide. The
population is not seven point five billion (7,500,000,000). In 2050, the population
will be nine point five billion (9,500,000,000). Do you think GMO organic
productions...
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. If you could •
summarize really quickly, I would appreciate it.
Mr. Nonaka: Okay. In closing, Mr. Chair and
Councilmembers, and all of you representing the people of Kaua`i and Ni`ihau, it is
in the best interest of the people in closing this bad Bill on the next election ballot.
Let the people vote for the future of Ag on Kaua`i. Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
I also want to recognize Governor Abercrombie's Representative, Wanda Shibata.
She is here today. Thank you, Wanda, for joining us on behalf of the Governor. I
also want to recognize Kaua`i Police Department's (KPD) Police Chief, Darryl Perry,
and the KPD officers who are helping us out today. Thank you.
ARTHUR BRUN: Hello everybody. My name is Arthur Brun.
Jay, Ross, Nadine, Mel, and JoAnn—please let us talk some sense into you from the
local people. We are the working people of the west side. I am born and raised on
the west side and lived there my whole life. I have been involved in the community
my whole life. I have five (5) kids. Do I look like I have anything wrong with me
because of GMOs? Because of pesticides? None, nothing is wrong. My son is
diabetic. GMOs are used to make the insulin so that my son can survive. Please do
your studies. Here is the paper. All the research right here, your website that you
can go on...
BILL NO. 2491 22 JULY 31, 2013
Chair Hooser: Please let the speaker finish. He only has
three (3) minutes and the more you clap, the less he can speak.
Mr. Brun: The research is right here. We do genetically
modified with the insulin so my son can survive. He has had diabetes for ten (10)
years. He would be dead right now without genetically modified insulin. Please, do
what is right for the people. Even though the insulin is not here, what we do here
will affect everything in the mainland. Another thing, look who is supporting this
Bill. Go to the people that vote. First of all, take the people that vote. Take the
citizens of the island. Then take a drug test after that and see who is left. We the
people...
Chair Hooser: If you could focus on the issue, I would
appreciate it.
Mr. Brun: We the people. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
EVAN MEEK: Aloha Kaua`i County Council. My name is
Evan Meek. I am a father, husband, president of a local nonprofit, and long time
resident of Kaua`i, as well as lifelong visitor to the islands. I have always had a
deep connection to Hawaii since I was a small child. While I can go into an
emotional rant on how chemicals are ruining the reefs, soil, and general health of
the people, I would prefer to stick to the facts in the hopes that it would help you all
make an educated decision today which benefits all of the residents of Kaua`i. The
Bill before you exactly as it is, is about the Council of Kaua`i helping the people of
Kaua`i take the health of their communities and families into their own hands.
Recent attempts at the State level and Federal level have failed to gain basic
information about the chemicals being used and the protections necessary to
mitigate adverse effects to the surrounding people and the property on Kauai. I
cannot imagine why our elected officials would oppose a Bill that would allow the
local people to protect their own health and future, other than fear of losing a fairly
large industry on Kauai, the biotech industry. On that same note, I cannot imagine
why an industry that says it cares about the people and families of Kauai, and it
gains so much from the use of our island, would be opposing the disclosing of
information that is freely accessible to them at any time, all under the threat of
moving off-island and canceling jobs. This Bill is not anti-farming, as is being
claimed by the opposition. It is quite the opposite. This Bill could ensure that we
have fertile land and waterways in which to produce more food for the people of
Kaua`i and ensuring that none of their experimental chemicals make their way into
the watershed, drift into your communities, or most importantly schools. These
companies have already been caught lying and withholding information from
residents, Councilmembers, and attorneys for the Waimea case. As far as lying to
the Council, we know that Hooser's attempt to get the records of these chemicals
being sprayed (inaudible). As far as my claim of lying, it was found only through
discovery in the Waimea case that atrazine had been sprayed, even when we were
guaranteed that it was not by those same companies. I believe that to assume that
all of these claims that everyone is making today against these companies are true
is illogical, but I think we have a responsibility to definitely look at what is going
on. There are countless peer reviewed studies as far as no scientific information, as
well as warnings on some properly labeled chemicals that warn of the harm to
humans when in contact with a lot of chemicals being sprayed on our island. Many
BILL NO. 2491 23 JULY 31, 2013
of these peer reviewed studies are available through the United States National
Library of Medicine and National Institute of Health on "pubmed.gov." These are
independent scientists doing actual research that is not funded by the biotech
industry.
Chair Hooser: Can you summarize quickly?
Mr. Meek: I have a deep connection with biotech. I
worked with it. I think that the biotechnology industry has a very important future
in the production of food on our island, but we are here telling you that we need to
do more research. These are companies that rely on profits and they are here to
protect their profits. We are here to protect our people. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker.
BLAKE DROLSON: Aloha Councilmembers. My name is Blake
Drolson. I live in Moloa`a. I am a founding member of GMO Free Kaua`i and I am
grateful to be here today. I appreciate the community dialogue that has been
taking place on both sides of the issue here and elsewhere. One (1) line has stuck
with me, and that is of the biotech workers saying that they would not harm their
children. As a father with a small child, I completely understand the desire to
protect one's children. I want my child to be safe. I want their children to be safe. I
want all children to be safe. What I want to ask with the utmost respect for
everyone, is how can we be sure that the children of Kaua`i are safe from the affects
of pesticides and GMOs? How can we be sure that the children of Kaua`i are safe if
we never take the time to check that they are being harmed? Have we tested the
air, water, and soil for pesticide residues? Have we done any health surveys to
check for clusters of disease? Have we done medical screenings, blood work, and
other studies to see if people living around the fields carry contaminants in their
bodies right now? I think it is well understood that these chemical pesticides are
dangerous to people when they are exposed to them, especially over the long-term.
Children seem to be especially vulnerable to their effects. It has been shown that
these chemicals can spread throughout the environment. We have, on Kaua`i, a
biotech industry that uses chemicals that are very serious, in large amounts, and
have the potential to affect the people of Kaua`i in adverse ways. Instead of letting
these companies operate in a free-for-all manner, it is reasonable for the community
to want basic information about their operations with these dangerous chemicals. I
believe Bill No. 2491 is very reasonable in asking for that information with small
buffer zones for safety, while allowing the companies to continue with their current
operations. We need this information to make sure that the people of Kaua`i and
the children of Kaua`i are not being harmed. Without this information, how will we
have any real idea about what is happening? How will we really know that the
children are safe? This is an historic vote for Kaua`i and I hope you consider the
need to protect the health and wellbeing of the people of Kauai when making your
choice. This is a Bill where your vote may set a path for Kaua`i and define your
legacy as lawmakers. Please make sure that the children of Kauai are kept safe
and pass Bill No. 2491. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
HAYLEY HAM YOUNG-GIORGIO: Hi, I am Hayley Ham Young-Giorgio
from Ha'ena. I am here to give testimony to the County Council but I also want to
get a message to all of the people who are here. The main objective of this Bill is to
give the public information and protect them from harm. We would not be here
BILL NO. 2491 24 JULY 31, 2013
unless—we have already been abused. I am also here because I am an expectant
mother. My knowledge on genetically modified organisms and pesticides is ever
growing. As an expecting parent, how can I feel secure when I hear about the very
real living conditions on the west side and the degree of health issues that the
children have been suffering from? How can I feel secure about the health of my
child when five (5) of the largest chemical companies are here on Kaua`i using our
sacred land as an experiment? How can I feel secure when I learn this testing along
with the general use of pesticides can compromise the intelligence of my child?
Study comparisons have found pesticides linked to childhood Cancer, Autism,
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), birth defects, Asthma, and
Diabetes. If I were to be exposed to pesticides during my pregnancy, my child is
already at-risk of Cancer and reproductive health issues. The data behind chemical
production and disease is blatant. The study "Failure to Yield" proves that the
genetically modified organisms are not what is feeding the world. When it comes
down to it, it does not make sense to saturate life with poison. It certainly does not
make sense to argue that that poison does not have an effect on the surrounding
environments or people exposed to them, whether they may be air, water, or food.
These chemical companies need to be held liable for the harm they are causing. At
the very least, labeling of GMOs and disclosure of chemicals used in their facilities
should be standard. The choices that we make as consumers with the food we eat is
our responsibility, but the sovereignty over the air we breathe and water we drink
cannot be compromised. Dow, Syngenta, Monsato, BASF, and DuPont Pioneer; they
have deceived us long enough. County Council, please give us the right to know and
pass Bill No. 2491. Many thanks for your time.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
RAYMOND CATANIA: My name is Raymond Catania. I live in
Puhi. Aloha. How are you brothers and sisters out there, especially those of you
who work with your hands like me, who labor everyday and bust our butts in order
to support our families? I was the one out there this morning passing out flyers to
workers from the GMO companies trying to tell you brothers and sisters that we are
not out there to destroy you or take way your jobs, but we just like to have a safe
community. This is my testimony. My support of Hooser's Bill No. 2491 on GMO
pesticide disclosure is not in any way attacking the laborers or ordinary
fieldworkers. My questions and concerns are aimed at the corporate bosses of the
five (5) GMO companies. My point of the view is the working class point of view.
My ancestors, like many of those who work on the GMO fields, came from the
Phillipines to labor on the plantations on land that was stolen from our brothers
and sisters—the Native Hawaiians or the kanaka maoli. We are tied together by
the land and together we were in some mighty battles from multiracial unions. We
won because we did not let the bosses divide us and that is what the GMO
companies are doing. They are dividing the working-class. I am a State retiree
from the Department of Human Services and Hawai`i Government Employees
Association (HGEA) member. I still have to work part-time to support my family.
My wife works in a hotel. She is also a Nurse's Aide. My two (2) kids work in
restaurants and stores that serve the tourist industry. I am saying that I do not
want anybody to lose their jobs because I know because I worked in the Department
of Human Services for twelve (12) years, and when a family member loses their job,
everything goes to hell. We are not saying that we want you guys to lose your job.
We want you to keep your job, except that we want usage of pesticides exposed so
that the people in the community know what is going on. My main concern is for
the workers. Anybody that is going to be working in those kinds of fields; they have
got to know what is going on. Also, do the workers themselves, you brothers and
BILL NO. 2491 25 JULY 31, 2013
sisters, have a right to speak up against the boss and tell them that you have
questions about pesticides? Are you also able to speak up and organize your fellow
workers for a union if you want that? For me, this thing is a very serious issue,
especially since a good friend of mine who is a Registered Nurse, who used to work
at Kaua`i Veterans Memorial Hospital (KVMH) told me that in 2008 and 2010,
young people came into the emergency room because they were sick from the spray.
These are very real concerns. I am not just blowing hot air. We have to be
concerned about all of our children. There is one (1) last thing that I would like to
say; all the money that the GMO companies spend on ads, amounts dished out to
community groups, and for the opening of bank accounts for schoolchildren is no
substitute for honesty and full disclosure. They have to come clean.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much.
Mr. Catania: Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Next speaker, please.
MARK WILLMAN: First of all, I would like to say "to God be the
glory" and thank you, Council, for giving me the opportunity to speak with you
today. Aloha. My name is Mark Willman. My wife and I, Valerie, are both
Christians. We both believe that the Bible is the living word of God. In Genesis,
Chapter 1, Verses 28-30 says, "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and rule over
it." I have given every green plant as food for everything that has life. Let me tell
you a little bit about who I am. I have been involved in agriculture for forty (40)
years. I am from a family of farmers. I am at least a third generation farmer.
Since thirteen (13) years old, I stayed with my grandparents during the summers
and worked on the farm in Illinois. I wanted to become a farmer. I wanted to go to
college to learn how to be the best farmer. I went to the University of Wisconsin
and majored in Agronomy, the study of crops and soils. I would go home and work
on the farm in various jobs. I took a Plant Breeding course in my midcareer and
found out that through the application of simple genetic principles, crops have been
selected to help farmers be more productive while reducing their environmental
impact. I changed my career to be a plant breeder. I attended the University of
Illinois where I received a Masters and PhD in Agronomy. I continue to do more
research at Purdue University as a Post-Doctorate and took a position as a Popcorn
Breeder in Indiana for fifteen (15) years. I received a Masters of Business
Administration (MBA) from the University of Notre Dame by going to school on the
weekends while I worked full-time, after I was recently married. In 2013, I moved
to my wife's hometown of Richland, Washington where I remained in agriculture,
while also teaching Biology at a community college. In 2004, we moved to Kauai
and have been into agriculture here. I am on the Board of Kaua`i Bible Church. I
am a Deacon in that church and have been involved in many, many community
activities ranging from judging science fairs, Habitat for Humanity, food drives for
the food bank, and Church on the Beach. I have heard and understand the concerns
to proponents of the Bill to large chemical corporations to a clean and safe
environment for themselves and for their children. I also have the same focus and
concern. After reviewing the facts, I believe these companies are responsible to the
community and their practices are safe. In fact, I believe that what they do here is
good for the people and good for the environment. Kaua`i, this type of agriculture is
safe. It is more productive and it is healthy. I oppose this Bill and there are four (4)
reasons why I oppose this Bill. This Bill divides the island. Jesus said in all three
(3) gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke, "A family splintered by feuding will fall
BILL NO. 2491 26 JULY 31, 2013
apart." I do not want this island to fall apart. I want this island to be safe, unified,
healthy, and prosperous.
Chair Hooser: May you please summarize?
Mr. Willman: The Bill overregulates ag and will hinder it.
Agriculture is good for the island and the Bill's opponents speak the truth with
aloha. My prayer is that the Bill will not pass and that all parties involved would
work together to find a creative solution to ensure an already safe and healthy,
united Kauai. May the spirit of my Lord Jesus guide you in your decision. God
Bless Kaua`i.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
If the next speaker could always be ready to step forward, promptly, it really helps.
Introduce yourself and speak.
AURELIUS MCNAUGHTON: Thank you, Gary. My name is Aurelius
McNaughton. I am a resident of Kauai and I represent Indigo Foundation. I am
obviously for this Bill. First, I want to say to you Councilmembers, you are going to
hear a lot of information today. Some of it will be presented as fact and some
presented as opinion, and you will see a lot of very emotional testimony. Thank you
for all of your hard work. This is a very important decision as you know. The GMO
question is all over the global stage. It is an issue that everyone is watching. You
are all aware that all of the voters are watching you, as you make this very
important decision. I would like to use my testimony to avoid opinions and
emotions. I am not going to drop a lot of facts on you. You are more than intelligent
to sift through all of that. What I would like to offer is truth. Truth is something
that you feel in your heart. Truth is at the heart of this Bill. There is nothing in
this Bill that threatens productivity of these companies. It is a very, very tame Bill.
It simply requests that this information is disclosed. It does not attack conventional
farming techniques. It does not attack Roundup. This Bill is about the very serious
Restricted Use Pesticides. It is very specific. These twenty-two (22) different types
of pesticides are not approved by the FDA. Their very use here is experimentation.
These chemicals come with warning labels that are one hundred (100) pages long. I
know most of you read the Bill, but did you ever read a warning label that is one
hundred (100) pages long? That cannot be good. That cannot be good for your
family. Just the fact that these companies oppose the Bill should make you want to
read it twice. Why would they care about disclosing that information, if these
things were not bad for us? Why would sixty (60) countries worldwide ban these
exact chemicals after spending billions of dollars to study them? The entire rest of
the world knows that these are bad. If you love Kaua`i, you would want to know
more. The truth is that this Bill does not affect jobs. Anyone who is afraid of losing
their job should read the Bill again. The fact that a five hundred (500) foot buffer
zone could put a mega multibillion dollar company out of business is a complete
fallacy and fantasy. It is simply coming from fear. For those of you who have not
read the Bill, and I know you are out there, I want to spend some time—it starts off
with Section 1, Article 11 of our State Constitution. It reads, "For the benefit of
present and future generations..."
Chair Hooser: Please wrap up quickly.
Mr. McNaughton: I will. "For the benefit of present and future
generations, the State and its political subdivisions shall conserve and protect
BILL NO. 2491 27 JULY 31, 2013
Hawai`i's natural beauty and all natural resources including land, water, air,
minerals, energy sources..."
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much.
Mr. McNaughton: Please pass the Bill for Kaua`i.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please. It is
awkward to cut people off, but it is three (3) minutes and I am trying to be as nice
as I can. I appreciate your consideration. Thank you.
MAHANA DUNN: Aloha. I am grateful to be here. Thank you,
Councilmembers, for devoting this day to all of us being here. This is a very
emotional Bill for everyone. Thank you. My name is Mahana Dunn. I am the
founder and director of Indigo Foundation, a nonprofit for sustainable and healthy
Kaua`i and based on the north shore. I first moved to this island eighteen (18) years
ago. I have a deep and abiding love for the island. There are so much people here
who are talking about facts, and that is wonderful, but I am here to talk about
heart. I love this island as much as I do my own family. The trees, the sunshine,
the water, and the aina here; it is for all of us whether you were born and raised or
came here yesterday. This island is Earth and for us all. I want to give the
Councilmembers a big mahalo for just taking the time to listen to all of us. No
matter what side you are on, this is the most important issue concerning our
island's safety for all of us. How many people have keiki? How many people
actually eat food? Everyone. This is important for everyone. I just want to begin
with something that comes direct from all of our ancestors; Native American,
Native Hawaiian—the earth does not belong to us. We belong to the earth. Each
and every one of us, if it is not for the earth, none of us would be here. I do not
know how many people remember this commercial back in the early 80s, but it
showed a man walking along a clay pavement. You hear the "whooshing" and you
hear a little girl say, "Grandpa, what were trees?" That is what I feel is going on
here. If we continue to poison this island, we do not know the consequences of this.
We do not know what is going to happen. Economy cannot trump ecology, ever.
What happens if you get cancer? What happens if your aunty gets cancer? What
happens if your children get sick and die? Then what? People are worried about
losing their jobs. None of us want anyone to lose their jobs. I want to say on behalf
of everyone wearing red today, we love you all. We love everyone on Kaua`i. We
give thanks that this Bill is being passed. Mahalo ke akua. God bless you all.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
MARIA GALLO: Aloha, my name is Maria Gallo. I began to
call Kaua`i home twenty (20) years ago. She welcomed me. I am a Kilauea resident
and a registered voter. First, I would like to thank all the Councilmembers for
taking the countless hours that you have taken to study this information already
and for the time to sit here and listen to the voices of the people of Kaua`i. Mahalo.
As I said in my written testimony, I believe not only do Kauaians have the right to
know, but we also have the responsibility...the responsibility to know to serve and
steward this land that sustains us all. I urge you all to vote "yes" and pass this Bill
because it is your duty to protect and preserve the health of the land and the
citizens of this island. If we stay focused on the facts, this Bill would provide buffer
zones which for the children and families affected by the dust and pesticide drifts,
and providing these buffer zones is protecting the health of the citizens of Waimea.
"Yes" to this Bill. If we stay focused on the facts, this Bill would call for an
BILL NO. 2491 28 JULY 31, 2013
independent EIS, which would give us facts that we can use to protect the people
and the land. Again, this is our duty. Let us not get confused by the propaganda
going around that is not factual. There is nothing in this Bill that has anything to
do with not supporting Kaua`i agriculture. There are many shirts here today that
say "We support Kaua`i agriculture," but this is confusion; this is not facts. We need
to avoid confusion because most of these companies affected by this Bill do not grow
food for Kaua`i. They grow seeds for export. The fact is that is not supporting
Kaua`i agriculture. Maybe the individuals do, but the companies do not support
Kaua`i agriculture. I have also seen shirts that is a "zero risk is responsible use." If
that is true, that responsible use and zero risk is the main priority of these
companies, then they would also be in support of this Bill and this Environmental
Impact study because then they would show us. The study would show us that they
are being responsible, using things responsibly, and there is zero risk to our health
and safety. I have heard people that claim to have Masters, stand up here just a
few minutes ago, and say that the public is scared; this Bill is scaring the public.
Yes, this Bill is scaring the public. Yes, the public is scared because we value our
health; not only the health of the people in the red shirts, but the health of the
people in the blue shirts and everyone. We value health and that is why we are
scared. I wonder why the companies are scared. This Bill gives us countywide
power. This Bill gives us power right here, not the widely accepted truths that
comes down all the way from the FDA or whoever. This gives us power right here
in our County and that is what we are here for. Mahalo, and please pass this Bill.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
JUAN WILSON: Good day, Council. My name is Juan Wilson.
I am reading the testimony of my wife who could not be here today. She was having
some respiratory difficulty. I live on the west side of Kaua`i in Hanapepe Valley. I
asked the Council to consider what the west side residents are exposed to.
Virtually, all of the agriculture land from Hanapepe to Polihale is being leased by
GMO companies. We are being exposed daily to unknown amounts of dangerous,
Restricted Use Pesticides. This Bill is basically about the right to know. We need
to know what pesticides we are dealing with when they are being applied, where
they are being sprayed, and in what quantity. We have the right to know which
fields are used for experimental pesticides and growing experimental GMO crops.
We also have the right to buffer zones around residential areas, schools, and public
places. This is acceptable practice in other locations and the people of Kaua`i have
that right. There should also be a ban on open-field testing. To test experimental,
unapproved pesticides and GMOs in open-air field tests is utterly ridiculous. This
should be done in laboratories or controlled greenhouses. The GMO companies
could still grow their seed stock for those crops that have been tested and approved.
The GMO territory has been expanding at an alarming rate. Dow has leased land
all the way to Hanapepe. Pioneer has leased fields within the land of Kaua`i Coffee
fields. There are fields along the bypass near Kipu, and more and more leased
fields on other parts of the island. There should be a moratorium on further
expansion of GMO fields until there is an Environmental Impact Statement. It is
hard to believe that these experimental pesticides are used and GMOs are grown in
our delicate island environment which has so many unique and endangered species.
Tourism is still a much bigger business than GMOs are on Kaua`i. It is interesting
that the Huffington Post ran two (2) articles this month pinpointing Kaua`i as the
epicenter of GMO experimentation. The title of those articles is "The Poisoning of
Paradise." Is this the image we want our island to project to tourists? I ask you to
approve this most important Bill No. 2491 for the same of the aina and for the
people of Kauai. Thank you.
BILL NO. 2491 29 JULY 31, 2013
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
RITA MANDERFELD: Aloha. My name is Rita Manderfeld. I am
here to support Bill No. 2491 in its entirety. I have been a resident of Kaua`i for
almost ten (10) years now. I recently began a family here. I have one (1) little girl,
who I had to find childcare today to stay home and I brought the other one with me.
I find it extremely concerning that Atrazine is detected in the water and Lorsban in
the air. This form of organic phosphate insecticide potentially causes brain and
neurological damages in young people. Exposure during pregnancy retards the
mental development in children and has been banned from home use since 2001,
according to the EPA. These are just two (2) toxic chemicals that have been
detected of the many used. I am also very concerned that without this Bill, we are
putting our ohana at extreme health risk. I am also very concerned about being in
the middle of a high Restricted Use Pesticide area when I give birth to my second
child. These concerns are backed by the EPA's warnings of exposure to fetuses. I
am curious; do these companies have a bond on the land that they use? What
happens if they do decide to pick up and leave over disclosure? Do they leave us
with land polluted with chemical pesticides and experimental GMOs? There is
much land already that was contaminated by plantation use that did not get
cleaned and that our County cannot afford to clean that is being left polluted and
unused. Yes, these companies use their tax deductible dollars to support our
functions in our County, but is this so we follow a "do not ask, we do not want to tell
you" policy? There is cause for apprehension. These chemicals are being sprayed
without concern in proximity of our schools, homes, hospitals, and drinking water.
The least our community deserves is Environmental Impact study, pesticide use
disclosure and a substantial buffer zone for our community and our children. Are
we willing to take the risk of being the experimental community? I do not think so.
It is extremely important that we protect our fragile aina and `ohana. I believe this
Bill is a clear step towards doing that, not towards having people lose their jobs. I
ask you to vote to protect what we hold dear and vote "yes" on Bill No. 2491. Thank
you for your time.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
If the next speakers could move the line forward and be prepared to come forward
right away, it helps. Yes, go ahead.
CRAIG METTEAUER: Aloha, my name is Craig Metteaurer. I am a
thirty (30) year resident of Kaua`i. I want to first thank Gary for introducing this
Bill. Our sons grew up together. Gary is a true man of Kaua`i and Hawai`i. He
introduced this Bill for that reason, to protect us. He introduced this Bill in its
lowest form. It does not do everything that the people that are for this Bill want to
do, but he knows it is going to pass. This Bill will pass this session. It is just the
future sessions that we are going to worry about. Now, I came of age in San
Francisco in the 60s. Those of us who were aware in those days were aware of the
social injustices and the problems created by the industrial revolutions in the 40s
and 50s and what that stuff had to do with the environment. We warned people.
We were trying to tell people forty (40) years ago, forty-five (45) years ago, about the
environment. Nobody listened. Look where we are now. Look at what this world
environment is about. It turns out that we were right. In 1989, there was an
article in The Garden Island that said that "Star Wars" was coming to the island. I
left San Francisco in 1972 and left it all behind when I saw my grassy playgrounds
covered with asphalt. I left it all behind and sailed to Lahaina, just like the eagles
saw it. In Maui at that time, Kaho`olawe was a big thing. I was young. I did not
BILL NO. 2491 30 JULY 31, 2013
quite understand but in the years following, I realized what the Hawaiian culture
was all about. It was about protecting the land. When I moved to Kaua`i, I came to
Nukoli`i and saw the problems out there with the Hawaiian culture and iwi out
there. The Star Wars situation, the sonar boom box, the Hyatt and iwi out there,
the Superferry, and now this. This island has had to go through so much. It just is
a constant disrespect for the Hawaiian culture. It is just that some would consider
it as just continued genocide. Please pass this Bill.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please
KEITH HORTON: Good afternoon, Council. My name is Keith
Horton. I am the Dow AgroSciences Operation Leader for Field Activities at our
Kaua`i site. On behalf of Dow AgroSciences, I oppose Bill No. 2491. I have worked
in the industry for sixteen (16) years and almost ten (10) of those years were here on
Kauai. I have degrees in Zoology and Genetics. There are a lot of misinformation
about pesticides in the debate over Bill No. 2491 that sound scary and suggest that
pesticide use lack oversight and regulation. We do not automatically spray
pesticides at Dow AgroSciences when we see an insect or a pest. We know that
there are certain levels of some pests that we can live with without crop injury
affecting the quality or yield. Frequently, we use other methods other than
pesticides to control pests like mowing, cultivation, field placement relative to wind
direction, and fallow periods. We also work to preserve the beneficial insects, like
lacewings and ladybugs that can control some of the pests. If a pesticide is needed,
we carefully choose the right tool for the job. It might be a General Use Pesticide
which can be used with people without advanced training or it might be a Restricted
Use Product, often referred to someone as an RUP, which requires someone like me
who is certified and specially trained to supervise its use. That training includes
legally required testing through the Hawaii Department of Agriculture on topics
like product application, drift management, and labeling updates. A Restricted Use
Pesticide may be restrictive because it has certain properties that require workers
handling it to use additional protective equipment for their eyes or it could be that
special precautions need to be taken to avoid sensitive sites, like shallow
groundwater tables. Restricting the use of such products that people are trained to
understand and follow these precautions seems to me like regulations that are
working, rather than a broken system. Some people are against any kind of
pesticide use. I wish we did not have to use pesticides. The long-term of
biotechnology is to reduce and hopefully eliminate the need of pesticides, but we
currently must use them to protect crops and help feed communities, just as every
farmer does. Organic crop producers use many types of pesticides as well. The
pesticides that they use are biologically active and range in toxicity or they would
not work. Above all of this, I am a parent. My family comes first. My daughter
made her first visit to the farm when she was two (2) months old. As a family, we
watched the sun touch Ni`ihau that night. I felt perfectly safe having her on that
farm. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. We have a question for you.
Ms. Yukimura: May someone please turn off the first mic? I
also have a question.
Mr. Bynum: Hi there, thank you for your testimony.
Mr. Horton: Thank you.
BILL NO. 2491 31 JULY 31, 2013
Mr. Bynum: You work for Dow?
Mr. Horton: Yes I do.
Mr. Bynum: Does your company grow corn on Kaua`i that
are sold to consumers on the mainland?
Mr. Horton: We grow corn that is going to farmers on the
mainland.
Chair Hooser: Councilmember, if you could speak into the
mic...
Mr. Bynum: Does your company grow corn on Kaua`i that
are sold to consumers on the mainland'?
Mr. Horton: No.
Mr. Bynum: The other person who has your same job
said, "Yes."
Mr. Horton: She has a different job. We sell seed to
farmers.
Mr. Bynum: Okay. Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: I have a question. Can you please tell me if
at this point, you have to report every incident of pesticide spraying in terms of
amount and type, date, and time?
Mr. Horton: Yes, we do. That is part of the worker
protection standard. Regardless if the pesticide is Restricted Use or General Use,
we have those application records like wind speed, temperature, and target pest so
it is a pretty long list of the things that we keep.
Ms. Yukimura: That is public record?
Mr. Horton: It is, should the State deem an inspection is
necessary and check those records. If they want us to produce those records, we
ultimately produce those records.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay. Now if this Bill passes, it is my
understanding that those records will be disclosed as public record. Is Dow against
that?
Mr. Horton: I would say that for me personally, I am not
against it.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay, so who can speak for Dow?
Chair Hooser: Thank you, Councilmember. We can send an
official communication to Dow and ask them that question, perhaps.
BILL NO. 2491 32 JULY 31, 2013
Ms. Yukimura: Okay. I am just trying to get clear about
what information is available and what information would be available under this
Bill.
Mr. Horton: I do know that from the company
perspective, we will report whatever the law requires.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay. Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. I want to remind the
people here, again, if you could let the speakers speak, but also if you leave your
seat to go outside, you are not able to come back in and you lose your seat. This is
just a reminder. The restrooms are in the back and a drinking fountain is in the
back. We will try to move forward. Chair Furfaro, do you have a question?
Mr. Furfaro: May I suggest for the members for a series of
detailed questions that they might have, it is best that it goes into your Committee
when it goes to your Committee rather than having an open discussion about that
at this time.
Chair Hooser: The Chair has suggested that if members of
the Committee have detailed questions that we postpone or refer those questions to
the Committee, which we will be meeting on Monday, where we will have a detailed
and robust discussion. There is an opportunity and there is valid opportunity and
occasion for clarification if a Councilmember wants to clarify something that the
speaker says. It is perfectly appropriate to ask for clarification; however, if we are
going to get into detailed discussions, this is not the time. It is a Public Hearing
and we are trying to get all people. I think that is the message that Chair Furfaro
was trying to communicate. Thank you. Next speaker, please.
LES WYNNE: My name is Les Wynne. I oppose this Bill
because I think it goes too far. I think the State already oversights us and I believe
the Federal government already oversights us. I think this is just pure politics. I
think that all these people who talked before me and a lot of these other people—
they tell you that the west side is a horrible place, there are pesticides everywhere,
and it is not a good place to live. I do not believe that. I know a lot of good people
there who take pride in their work. We would not spray if we thought it was going
to hurt somebody. They are our neighbors. I oppose the Bill and that is all I have
to say.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much for taking the time to
testify. Next speaker, please. Introduce yourself and if you could address the
Council...
JOANNA WHEELER: Thank you. Hi, my name is Joanna Wheeler.
I have been here for fourteen (14) years. I am originally from Peru. First of all, I
want to thank you for what we are doing and for taking your time to consider this
important issue. I am Peruvian and we have the same ancestors as Hawaiians do.
We are about loving the aina. We also have Spanish there and (inaudible) the
Spaniards came to conquer without caring about the indigenous people. I feel that
this is kind of what is happening right now. Many are saying that they are
mothers. I am a mother and obviously we are concerned and many mothers are
talking about this, but we are being told again and again that the scientists are on
our side, and basically we are not smart enough to understand what are the true
BILL NO. 2491 33 JULY 31, 2013
dangers. Let us just talk about Dow. Coincidentally, I am from Latin America
obviously, and Dow, as an example, is one (1) of these companies. In 1956, they
created a chemical called "Nemagon." This is all public record because they have
been sued many, many times. It was very dangerous. They went ahead and still
produce this. The EPA, who are the ones regulating this, approved this. They took
it to Latin America to poor areas in Latin American and African countries. One (1)
of these places was Nicaragua in one (1) of the plantations. After several decades of
using this—although, there was a point when the EPA said, "Okay, do not use it
anymore." Dow continued to sell it illegally in these Countries. This is all public
record. Thirty-three percent (33%) of the women became cancerous versus one
percent (1%) of the regular populations. Seventy-six percent (76%) of the men
became sterile. It was a horrible thing. Now these people are telling us—how are
we supposed to trust them? To this day, we are in the Veterans Center—thank you
to the Veterans...I am so honored to live in Hawai`i in the United States. The
Veterans have fought for all of us. To this day, Veterans are being affected because
of the effect of Agent Orange in their lives. There are still thirty (30) that Dow left.
There are still thirty (30) burials in this beautiful island. How are they going to
be—they are talking about "science" but statistics are also science. Statistically, all
over the world; India and Michigan...there is contamination in the Michigan lakes.
Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
BOBO HAM-YOUNG: Aloha everybody. Just recently, my mother
died. She was very much in support of the `Ghana `O Kauai. She supports
everything and I think she would support this Bill also. I had my daughter up here
so she kind of clarified everything. I am just talking about how we have to keep our
aina going. We do keep our hearts okay, but we need to have body, spirit, and
everything work within each other. We do not divide anybody around here because
Kauai is beautiful. It is one (1) of the most pristine, magical places that I have ever
lived, which I never lived any other place before. We are `ohana and I am sorry that
we are split down here. I do support Bill No. 2491. I hope everybody does. Mahalo
to the Councilmembers. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
STEVEN BENJAMIN: Hello. Aloha. Thank you for being here and
committing your time to this. My name is Steve Benjamin. My wife and I live in
KOl0a. We are self-employed, cleaning vacation rentals. In the past, I was a
Program Manager for Electronics Contract Manufacturing. I have read the Bill and
I hope you will pass Bill No. 2491 because this is about lives and the right to
know—the right to know what is being put on the land that is blowing in the wind,
running into the streams, and that our keiki play in...the rivers and the ocean that
everyone swims in. We have the right to know what is in them. The chemical seed
companies say, "Trust us. We comply with all of the laws." How many lies have
they been caught in? How many times have they lied to us here on Kaua`i already?
If they have nothing to hide, why are they fighting this Bill so hard? How many
people paid for the blue shirts themselves? For the red shirts, we paid for them out
of our own pockets. Why do they fly in employees? What is the breakdown of paid
people here, who are on the clock, versus citizens who have spent their own time to
come and support the Bill from all walks of life that are not connected to the seed
companies in any way? There is no doubt that some of the chemicals they are
testing are proven to impact health and cause diseases. We have the right to know
what they are. I am asking the Council to defend Kaua`i, stand up against these
BILL NO. 2491 34 JULY 31, 2013
huge corporations, and make them tell us what they are spraying in our backyards.
The aina and the people are suffering. It is not just the west side. They are using
who knows what all over: Maha`ulepu, Puhi, along Highway 583, the road out to
Wailua Falls and Kapahi. Where is it going? What is it doing to the land and the
people? We have the right to know. Please pass Bill No. 2491. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker.
MICHAELA BOUDREAUX: Hello Council. Thank you all for your
service. Thank you for representing us as well. I have been a resident since 1987. I
stand before you because I have been looking into this for eight and a half years
(8.5) years. I have been educating myself and others. Four (4) years ago, I really
noticed that pesticides were a very big issue all on its own. As a person who when I
walk down the street and I am near anybody who has sprayed anything, my upper
lip tingles and my tongue tingles. I had a job where I had to spray something and
immediately my boss said, "No, you do not get to do that job anymore." Some people
are strong and can handle more. We need to take care of everyone. Thank you all
for what you are doing here. Rachel Carson started talking about this in 1960 and
we have a "Clean Air Act" and "Clean Water Act" because of it. Unfortunately, that
has been diluted and it is confusing to not have a real discussion, but hear things,
"Oh, it is safe." I want a real discussion. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
CELESTE HARVEL: Aloha everyone. My name is Celeste Harvel.
I live on the north shore but I am concerned about the whole island. I have aloha
aina for this place. I think Dr. Evslin stated very well that our children, our
pregnant ladies, and all of our kids are being harmed by these chemicals they are
spraying on our island. We do not need to have all of these chemicals sprayed on
us. I have witnessed what I call "a war on nature and environment." I have seen
healthy ecosystems destroyed by corporate industry, and lain to waste by chemical
nuclear/industrial pollution, overdevelopment, and even (inaudible). We have been
losing valuable farmland and farmers at an alarming rate. We need for sustainable
food sovereignty. We need bees, butterflies, and diverse life; not tons of chemical
poison spray and open field GMO experiments with toxic, non-edible, monoculture
crops. This does no good for Kaua`i. Our farmland and water should only be used
for growing food for our island. Our precious farmland is being contaminated and
even our water. Please ban chemical GMO companies. Stop them from spreading
all over. Clean up and remediate our fields and water. Give the future a chance,
please. It is in our hands now to do what is pono. I have aloha aina. Who has
aloha aina? Mahalo. I know you all have aloha aina. Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
ERIN BLAKLEY: Hello. My name is Erin Blakley. I live with
three (3) of my children on Kaumuali`i Highway, just west of the GMO field in
Lihu`e... in between the plantation and the test field—that is my home. One
morning last March, I was driving my children to school. I saw a number of people
holding hands and praying on the side of the road in front of a sign that was in front
of the corn field. The sign read "This is a GMO test plot." Five (5) months ago, I
had no idea what GMO was. When I started educating myself, I became very
concerned for the health of not only my children, but all of the children that are in
close proximity to the test plots. My heart broke when I read about the children
that are getting sick in Waimea. Please, if I may, Section 1, Article 11 of the
BILL NO. 2491 35 JULY 31, 2013
Constitution of the State of Hawai`i reads, "For the benefit of present and future
generations..." that means us, our children, and our grandchildren. "The State and
its political subdivisions shall conserve and protect Hawai`i's natural beauty and all
natural resources including land, water, air, minerals, and energy sources." In my
humble opinion, the land that the Constitution is referring to near my home is not
being protected. In fact, for lack of a better description, it is being raped and left to
die. The water in my opinion is questionable. The air we breathe is not protected.
When the Restricted Use Pesticides are being sprayed and then blown by the
beautiful trades, blown on my unsuspecting children, pets, and myself, on and in
our home. The Article goes on to say, "It shall promote the development and
utilization that these resources in a matter consistent with conservation and in
furtherance of the self-sufficiency of the State." I looked up the definition of
"self-sufficiency" and this is what I found: "able to remain oneself or itself without
outside aid; being capable of providing for one's own needs." Finally Article 11
concludes by saying, "All public natural resources are held in trust by the State for
the benefit of the people." Please help me understand how any of this makes sense.
If I may direct a question to the fieldworkers of Pioneer, Dow, and Syngenta; I do
understand that we all need to make a living but respectfully, have you ever looked
past your paychecks and into the eyes of your children? Have you ever wondered
exactly what you are being exposed to everyday when you go to work? Do you not
feel that you have the right to know too...
Chair Hooser: Please let the speaker speak.
Ms. Blakley: After all, are you folks not really in ground
zero even more than us? In conclusion, I would like to mention my grandfather,
who also lived with us. He is a strong pillar to his children, grandchildren, and
great-grandchildren. I will never forget the morning when he told me that he
wanted to see his doctor because he had a lump growing on the side of his neck. It
indeed turned out to be a cancerous tumor that grew pretty fast. When the tumor
became a gaping hole...
Chair Hooser: May you please just give your final sentence?
I appreciate your testimony. It is obviously from the heart. I think everybody here,
on all sides, do too but please may you give a one (1) sentence conclusion?
Ms. Blakley: Please pass the Bill for future generations of
this beautiful island. We are literally fighting for our lives.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
CHARLOTTE CASEY: Aloha. My name is Charlotte Casey. I am a
Waimea Valley resident and a mother, and I support this Bill. My children were
born and raised in Waimea next to Pioneer. I never knew the word "GMO" or the
words "Restricted Use Pesticides" when we poured our savings into buying our
home. I now worry day and night about what they are breathing. They fall and
play in our backyard, carefree, and I worry about the air being pumped in and out of
their little lungs. I worry about the bubble bath that they want to soak in for hours
so I cut it short because I worry about what is in the water. Will my daughter be
infertile because I let her soak too long? Prove to me it is safe. We love where we
live, yet we have watched the landscape change. I live in fear of what is being
sprayed on my house daily. My children's bedroom windows have been shut for four
(4) years. I do not want to open them because I am scared. Tell me that is normal.
The majority of their peers are on Nebulizers to aid in breathing with problems like
BILL NO. 2491 36 JULY 31, 2013
asthma, as do my children when asthma does not run in my family. Tell me that is
normal. Random nosebleeds have soaked their pillows at night. I had to have half
my thyroid removed because there were growths on it and I live with a visible scar
across on my neck. I contracted pneumonia in my lung this year, much with the
shock of my doctor. I am a healthy, young woman. He could not say if it was
related to the biotech pesticides. He could not say for sure. I certainly do not know
either, and that is what we are asking to be disclosed. Of course I want a buffer
zone protecting my children when they are in school. Of course I want a neutral
EIS to tell me what my family is breathing. Why would they not provide that? Of
course I want your experiments contained in greenhouses. We have the right to
know. What is the future of our beloved west side if this Bill does not pass? Good
families are leaving because they just do not know. You tell us that eight hundred
(800) jobs will be lost. Well, what about the other sixty-seven thousand (67,000)
lives that live here and the visitor industry that we depend on? Who wants to visit
toxic Kaua`i? The world is watching. We need this Bill. We are fighting for our
children and yours. Please pass this Bill and we will never stop fighting. Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
MERIDEE WINTERS: Aloha. Thank you so much for the quality of
your intention and also the impeccableness of your integrity. Thank you everybody.
My name is Meridee Winters. I come to you as an expert in education. I am an
author, business woman, owner/director of a school with over seven hundred (700)
students and fifty (50) teachers. I teach educational principles at the college and
post graduate level, and have taught thousands of children and teachers. I live in
Kilauea where I write books on exponential intelligence for gifted and alternative
learning styles. How many people here have heard Israel Kamakawiwo`ole sing
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow?" Our island, in fact, is that most special place. We
are in paradise, yet now, we are at the epicenter. Did you know that certain
pesticides, when sprayed into the air, end up in rain clouds? When we look at
rainbows, we want to feel joy and magic; not think of pesticides and poison. What if
the words to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" were changed to "somewhere over the
rainbow, schoolchildren are being poisoned. Somewhere over the rainbow, rivers
and groundwater is being polluted. Somewhere over the rainbow, the land and air
are contaminated." In my own direct experience over the last decade, I have seen
an increase in the instances of autism, aspergers, and other pervasive
developmental delays, as well as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and ADHD. All
of these have been well-documented to be caused by pesticides. I have E-mailed you
the information. In my own direct experience, I have been forced to shift much of
my academic focus to aid the increased numbers of children and families affected by
this. When children play a game and begin to lose, they can start over. There is no
"get out of jail free card" for a child poisoned by pesticides, nor their parents,
siblings, and community. I am asking you to please pass the bill. We have the right
to know. Councilmembers, the spotlight is on you. Kaua`i is a small island on a
large world stage and you have the opportunity to become esteemed world leaders.
Please pass the Bill. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
If you could address the remarks to the Council and speak into the microphone,
please.
SADAYA JARET: My name is Sadaya Jaret. I am a business
professional on the north side of Kaua`i, but I love the whole island as we all do. I
am almost sixty (60) years old, which almost makes me a kupuna, so I like to let
BILL NO. 2491 37 JULY 31, 2013
people know that so maybe they will consider my opinion a little bit more. I have
been involved in several industries and my degree is in Leadership Studies, which I
went back to school in my forties to obtain. I know from personal experience that
skills and intellectual capital can transfer. At the last meeting, I spoke to both
friends and farmers, with blue shirts on, about job loss. "Let us be curious," I said.
I told the farmer, "Alright, how many people?" He said, "One thousand (1,000),
three hundred (300) families...maybe perhaps seventy-five thousand (75,000) a year
would be happy to transfer their jobs to organic sustainable business." Well, I got
on the phone and I had some conversations with an American investor who is
changing Africa. He is also interested in Kaua`i... not just him, but let us get
curious. Even those big corporations, in fact, could likely find funding to transfer
jobs to make it happen for all of us because we do care about everyone having jobs.
As long as there is a proper path to profit and sustainable organic production, then
these jobs could be shifted to better jobs. I also have a personal interest. Two (2)
years ago, I had a brush with breast cancer as many women do in their mature
years. My doctor said to me, "Okay, all of your organs are stressed. Your blood is
not moving." She said, "Little or no fish, little or no raw, or little or no chicken
because of metals and hormones. Everything is hard to digest. Also no grains
because they carry disease and pesticides, no dairy because they are hard to digest
and they have an acid content, no sugar, no fruit, no alcohol, no smoking, no
prescription drugs, et cetera." Everything stresses digestion. Pesticides stress
digestion. What is left? Small amounts of organic beef, root vegetables, organic
greens mostly steamed. My own research shows me that when all organs are
stressed, GMOs are a factor. Two (2) years later, here I am with strictly no GMO,
mostly just small amounts of organic and veggies, and also a little bit of meat here
and there. I am fifty percent (50%) out of the weeds. I am fifty percent (50%)
healthy. With two (2) more years, I could be one hundred percent (100%) healthy.
When I think about everyone's health, I think about Dr. Hew Len, who talks about
ho oponopono, and what he tells us is that, "We solve problems by seeing that they
are a part of us and by taking self responsibility. I am the `I am.' I come forth from
the void into the light. I am the breath that nourishes life. I am the emptiness,
hollowness beyond all consciousness." Thank you for listening. Please pass the Bill.
Chair Hooser: Thank you for very much. Next speaker,
please.
DANNY HASHIMOTO: Aloha. My name is Danny Hashimoto. I am
kanaka maoli. I have been around for a brief sixty-five (65) years here on Kaua`i,
my home. I have seen a lot happen. I am really grateful that we have an
opportunity now and my greatest mahalo to Gary Hooser for proposing this Bill. I
think it is well-crafted. I think it is very timely, of course. To sum up, the evidence
is clear. People are getting sick. We all know of the dangers of all of these pesticides
so it is pretty clear. I am here to thank you for doing the right thing. I think we
can all remember the words "I rnalama i ka aina, i malama i ke kai." 'We take care
of the land and we take care of the ocean." Of course, we live up to our sacred creed
as Hawaiians: "Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono."Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker.
MATTHEW OLSEN: Aloha. My name is Matt Olsen. I live in
Kalaheo. The date of the last meeting was my two (2) year anniversary of moving
here. I love it here. It is a beautiful place to live, and one (1) of the reasons that I
live here is because of the purity and just the nature of the place. There are two (2)
issues that I have not heard discussed much in this meeting. One (1) has to do with
BILL NO. 2491 38 JULY 31, 2013
the fact that pesticides do not just kill people, the coral, the aina, the insects; they
kill a lot of things; it is just a matter of proximity and concentrations, but it also
kills jobs. When I see all of these blue shirts out here, and I am against the GMO
companies, I am really concerned about the people. I look at my own experience. I
am not a farmer and never have been but my father and my brother was. When I
was a small kid in California, we would drive out to Iowa...six (6) kids, two (2)
adults—we later got a van. Part of what we would do there is walk the beans. My
brother had a farm and we would walk the beans and weed the bean fields. We
would have to pick those beans. At my brother's farm, we would do it for free but
we would also—my dad had a lot of relatives in Iowa and we would also go out to
different farms. We would get paid five dollars ($5) an hour, which was high at the
time. It was over minimum wage at the time. There were sixty (60) to seventy (70)
kids going out to these fields to weed the bean fields. That does not happen
anymore. My brother, who continued farming in Iowa, told me about two (2) years
ago in conversation that there is no more walking the beans. It is all done with
Roundup. Not only does no one walk the beans anymore, but no people have those
jobs anymore. Nobody can make five dollars ($5) or seven dollars ($7) an hour, or
whatever they would make professionally. It just does not happen. Those jobs are
gone. Pesticides make things a lot more convenient so that you do not have to go
out and weed the bean fields, but they also take away jobs. There are going to be
more jobs without the pesticides, not less. That is the main point of what I am
saying. The other narrow point I wanted to make, which is not so narrow...
Chair Hooser: Can you give a one (1) sentence summary?
Mr. Olsen: Support. Bill No. 2491. That is all I have to
say. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you so much. Next speaker, please.
Please introduce yourself for the record and address your comments to Council.
DESIREE HOOVER: Aloha. I am Desiree Hoover. I live in
Kilauea. I would first like to thank both Mr. Bynum and Chair Hooser for having
this Bill. It is a much needed Bill. Thank you very much. I have done
environmental activism before and there was a study that showed for every phone
call that the official gets...it actually represents five (5) people because people have
an issue to call—one (1) letter would actually represent ten (10) people. One march
with people marching in protest is fifteen (15) people, so I am sure waiting in line
for an all-day event must be twenty (20) people. Just to remind you, us folks with
the red shirts are taking time off work with no pay. I just wanted to let you know
that there is no pay here. The Hawai`i State Constitution says, All government is
founded on the authority of the people, cannot be deprived of any rights or
privileges secured to other citizens, protect Hawai`i's natural beauty and all
resources. Our elected officials are bound to hold that Constitution; that is their
duty. Our rights, protection of us and the land, which is what this Bill is about,
cannot be deferred. Officials cannot play the political game of deferment so nothing
ever happens. There is an emerging show of people who feel that any official who
does not uphold this duty will be held accountable. Locally, this is being watched
very carefully. Here is recommendation I would like to make concerning the EIS:
Number one (1), have a time limit on it. I propose three (3) years. Every study
about this island has revealed that pesticides are present. It has been proven that
even small amounts can and do harm children. GMO is invasive. Almost all of the
papaya here are now GMO. South Korea is no longer buying papayas from us
because of this. Japan now tests our papayas. We cannot wait. The EIS must have
BILL NO. 2491 39 JULY 31, 2013
a time limit. Number two (2), at the end of that term, if it is not proven safe or is
still unknown, ban it until proven safe. Our ecosystem is so unique and fragile.
This small island cannot have "unknowns." Number three (3), research for the
safety of this island, not just the EPA standards. Studies have stated that some of
the EPA levels may be too lenient. An example is Atrazine. Small amounts, which
is under the EPA levels, can be dangerous. Number four (4), make sure it is
transparent. That is very important for the validity of the EIS and people definitely
have the right to access it. We have to act locally. We cannot depend on Federal
government or the EPA. They are infiltrated with GMO lobbyists and take too long.
The EPA was written up by the United States Government Accountability Office
(GAO) that it is severely lacking its inability to regulate pesticide use, even though
there is a Toxic Substance Control Act. This has definitely gone national. Bill No.
2491 is in Forbes, Huffington Post, and Al Jazeera. It has gone global...
Chair Hooser: Please summarize.
Ms. Hoover: My main sentence is that I am standing up
for the island, herself. It is a giving, unique island. The only way she can protest
this is to die or get sick, herself. I do not want that to happen. Thank you. Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Please introduce yourself and
speak into the microphone.
LARRY SCHNEIDER: My name is Larry Schneider. I am from
Kilauea. I taught surgery at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
and the University of Arizona. I founded a medical device company with a
FDA-approved product. We have gone through the regulatory process. Historically,
I have reviewed tens of thousands of published peer reviewed papers to access the
validity of the papers. Most importantly, I am a father. Both sides are passionate
and believe that they are correct. That is the difficulty of trying to obtain objective
information. My personal quest was to try to gain objective information. In the
process in the past month, I have written about eight hundred (800) papers. I have
visited facilities and I can tell you that I am more concerned than ever and my
objectivity is gone. I am a supporter of Bill No. 2491. Obtaining useful information
has been very difficult. When I tried to get a paper that was specific to what they
were doing, a twenty-seven (27) page document was available and twenty-four (24)
pages looked like this... the remaining three (3) have most of the content blacked
out. There is nothing ascertainable about what is being done. The question one has
to ask is that if there is such lack of transparency, what is going on? I have my
suspicions and I will speak about that at the end. Agencies such as the EPA and
FDA require self-regulation of the investigators; the chemical companies to report
the adverse side effects in their preliminary studies. A bulk of the information that
the agencies will investigate later on, comes from independent information turned
over to them that tells them to go and look at this. One (1) of the things that this
Bill will do by enforcing disclosure will be to open up information so that some kid
who is going to the University of Hawai`i, who is getting his Masters Degree, can do
an objective study during the pursuit of his degree or doctorate, but it will be a
conduit to allow exploration and identification of information. Disclosure is the key.
If the science is good, keep it. If the science is dangerous and bad, chase them off
the island. Now in regards to Bill No. 2491, it can be tweaked, but buffer zones that
I have reviewed that they have accepted from the EPA have been six hundred sixty
(660) feet in a quarter mile. Five hundred (500) is not a problem. Disclosure is the
key. It has to be safe and one needs to know what they are doing. If it is safe,
disclosure should not be an issue. I am going to have to cut short of what I have to
BILL NO. 2491 40 JULY 31, 2013
say, but my suspicion is that the reason that you get documents like this, and that
there is such a passionate display from the people that are present there, is because
they have internal documents that they cannot disclose because the real economic
risk is not to the workers, it is to the potential litigation and the class action suits
that their own workers will file on them when they find out how dangerous the
process is.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
HALEEM HAMID: Aloha County Councilmembers. It is going
to be tough to follow Larry, but I am going to try. My name is Haleem Hamid. I
live in Po`ipu with my wife and three (3) kids. I am a business owner here on Kaua`i
and I am also a registered voter. Just upwind from us are experimental GMO test
fields. I drive by them every day, in between the Koloa Sugar Mill and my house. I
worry about what may be blowing down on us. First, it seems that whenever the
corn started to blossom, our family would start to notice the tickle in our throats or
weird sores inside our noses. Then, we noticed it was when they plowed the field
and that dust started to accumulate inside of our house. Now, learning about the
amounts of pesticides being used, I am beginning to think that they are the causes
of what we have been dealing with. Either way, as I learn more about what kinds of
things are being sprayed, i.e., Restricted Use Pesticides, I become increasingly
afraid of what long-term effects, as well as the immediate effects we already
experience, might plague my children and even their children's children from being
exposed right now. Before it is too late, we need to address what is going on here.
It seems like these companies started out as chemical manufacturers during the
time of war. Hello—chemical warfare. Now they are using the land of this island to
test many of these same chemicals on food, no less, but that is not the point. These
chemicals are bad news. As a taxpayer and a voter, I do not want them anywhere
near me or my family. For that matter, I do not believe that these types of poisons
should be put anywhere on Mother Earth. Protect your constituents, yourselves,
and your families. Please pass this Bill and we can all work towards a sustainable
future and not depend on imported chemicals that poison everything in their paths.
One (1) last point, I looked up the suffix "cide" in the dictionary, as in "pesticide,
herbicide, and fungicide." It meant "killer" or "to kill." Many of the opponents of
this Bill argue that the EPA and FDA set guidelines that determine what amounts
of these poisons are allowable. Many countries have outright banned some of these
deadly chemicals altogether, basically saying that there is no safe level whatsoever.
Who in their right mind would want to release any of these killers into the land,
especially in the name of farming? I heard a quote yesterday that said, "Real
farmers grow soil." Think about that. On this precious land; on this precious
island, the land is sacred as is the water and the air we breathe. I believe that the
State and Federal agencies have failed us here on Kaua`i and that only now we can
save ourselves. A heavy decision is upon you now, my County Council. Many are
watching from far and near. Please choose the health of your citizens over
corporate profits that do not even help our local economy. Thank you for your time
and efforts. I would like to end on a quote by Upton Sinclair, and this is in regards
to all the workers that I feel so bad for that do not seem to realize what is really
going on. "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job is
dependent on not understanding it."
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker. Speak into the
microphone and please introduce yourself.
BILL NO. 2491 41 JULY 31, 2013
RON MACDONALD: My name is Ron MacDonald. I live on the
north shore of the island. I thank you for the opportunity to speak to you guys.
There are a number of things—one (1) of the other speakers mentioned the
plausible deniability of the companies of having any part in creating any problems
for our health on this island, but they have gone ahead and created a Monsanto law
that makes it so we cannot sue them for any long-term health effects that are
generated out of this industry. If they could foresee that far into the future, the
effects of this food, it does appear that they have an understanding that there are
some detrimental effects to the people happening right now. If a catastrophe of that
sort happens in our food industry, like what has happened at Fukushima, that is
still emitting radiation into our air as we speak. Where would we be if our food
supply got injured by all of this poison in there? We do not know how to fix it. We
do not know how to fix Fukushima right now. Still, we are having problems with
Chernobyl. These are big industries that have come forward and say, "We can
handle it. We can take care of everything." As it turns out, they do not have a
handle on it. They do not know what to do with a lot of these problems that are
being created. Yes, this radiation from Fukushima is being released into our air,
water, and eventually into our food supply. The blue fin tuna in California are full
of the radiation from Fukushima now and are not a marketable fish anymore
because of this release into the atmosphere. For the companies that will not
disclose the chemicals to us, there is the question of"Why?" Why can they not tell
us what is going on and how it is being used? Why? The reason they are not
disclosing it is because it will not stand up to scrutiny, which is why they have
made this Monsanto law. In closing, I would like to say thank you, Council, for
being here and listening to us talk. You are elected to protect us on the island of
Kaua`i and I think that is what this Bill is about, which is protecting all of us from
that. Anyway, I would like to thank you very much for the opportunity to speak to
you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
ANGELA FLYNN: Aloha. My name is Angela Flynn. I live in
Kilauea and I support Bill No. 2491. This Bill is about curtailing involuntary
exposure to Restricted and Experimental Use Pesticides. This is needed as evidence
accumulates on the harmful effects of such exposure. However, both proponents
and opponents note that Kaua`i has become ground zero for the testing of
genetically engineered plants and organisms, and the biotech industry wants to
maintain this. Why is this so? The biotechs like Kaua`i because Ag land comes
cheap for them. Fields of GMO crops, not intended for human consumption, grow
on approximately twelve thousand (12,000) acres of prime farmland. Six thousand
(6,000) of these acres are leased from the State and the biotechs owe one hundred
thirty thousand dollars ($130,000) in back taxes. They transfer end products to
subsidiaries and get enterprise zone and General Excise Tax (GET) exemptions, and
consequently pay zero GET tax. On July 22, I was told during a town hall that it
will destroy the biotech companies. Can Kaua`i really make such a global impact?
Here are some 2012 sales: BASF, thirty billion dollars ($30,000,000,000); DuPont
Pioneer, thirty-four billion dollars ($34,000,000,000); Dow AgroSciences, thirty-six
billion dollars ($36,000,000,000); Syngenta, fourteen billion dollars
($14,000,000,000). No, ending operations on Kaua`i would not destroy these
companies. What is destroying them is a global rejection of GMO products. At the
town hall, biotechs' reps told me that they do not use Experimental Pesticides.
However, Councilmember Gary Hooser reported at the last hearing that this is a lie.
I was also told that they only apply pesticides when the conditions are correct.
However, the label says not to apply when children are present. What does this
BILL NO. 2491 42 JULY 31, 2013
mean? Some feel it is okay to spray when there is not a child in a field, while others
feel that a school within a few hundred feet means that children are present. This
is why we need an EIS. It is not enough to go on the assurance of those who profit
off of manufacturing and spraying poison. I recently moved to Kaua`i for the
reasons that many people move and visit here, and that is Kaua`i's representation
as `The Garden Island." We have a world treasure and it is worth saving. An EIS
will allow time to review and reconsider when and where pesticides can be applied.
We need to do this for ourselves and for everyone who comes here. The pesticide
named 2, 4-D is not approved for use on lawns and gardens in Sweden, Denmark,
Norway, Kuwait, and the Canadian Provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Its use is
severely restricted and (inaudible). The EPA approved the continued use of 2, 4-D
in 2005. Since then, Dow has been authorized to conduct seventy-six (76) field tests
in twenty-seven (27) states, totaling twenty-seven thousand seven hundred two
(27,702) acres. This blanketing of GMO test fields is poisoning us all.
Monocropping is unhealthy and leads to crop failures. A New York Times article,
"A Race to Save the Orange by Altering its DNA," examined the dilemma facing
farmers as a look to genetic engineering to save their crops. However, biotech fixes
have shown to be failures due largely to their over resilience of pesticides and
monocropping. (Inaudible) was a conventional orange farmer in Taipei. The
seventy-two (72) year old veteran farmer changed to organic methods after seeing
his friends die in the field and become ill because of pesticides...
Chair Hooser: Okay, thank you very much.
Ms. Flynn: We need to look at the big picture. It is not a
race to save the orange or corn. It is a race to save the humans.
Chair Hooser: That is enough. Thank you. Next speaker.
We have a lot to go through. When you are notified that your three (3) minutes are
up, please summarize in one (1) sentence after that. Thank you.
LISETTE LANGLOIS: Thank you. My name is Lisette Langlois and
I live in Waimea. I want to thank you for caring enough to put such an emotional
item on our agenda because it is a very emotional thing. I am sixty-eight (68) years
old and I live on the west side. I have cancer. If anybody have ever voted for who is
the least likely person to get cancer, it would have been me because I am very
health conscious. I am on the suit and will do the best we can. We represent
everyone on the island. We are not alone. A few years ago, my son came for
Christmas and he brought a young girlfriend with him. She had a scarf on and
when she got to my house, she took her scarf off and had no hair on her head.
I took the opportunity to ask her gently if she shaved her head. She said, "No," and
that she was born with no hair, no hair on her eyes, no hair on her ears; no
protection because her father was in Vietnam and he was very exposed to Agent
Orange. Now we are hearing that we probably have Agent Orange being used on
the island, maybe just one (1) part of Agent Orange. We want disclosure. We do
not take these things lightly after watching our own children suffer. This was like a
child. I was like an aunty for her. She had meltdown, after meltdown during that
week because my sister and I were the only aunties that had been willing to listen
to the life of a young girl, who felt like a freak all her life because she had no hair.
She knew that by getting on the internet, she could find other people, and she did.
She found other people and they formed a support group. We do not need that. We
do not need that for our children, your children, and my children. We ask this with
emotion. We ask this with kindness. Please help us. We are in your hands. Thank
you.
BILL NO. 2491 43 JULY 31, 2013
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much for your comments.
Next speaker, please.
MARIA CLARK: Hi, my name is Maria Clark. I am a
Massage Therapist. I have been practicing massage for over eighteen (18) years
here on Kaua`i. I live in Anahola and I am a registered voter. I am here today to
speak up for the children that are being poisoned by having chemical sprays used by
the biotech companies. Some of these chemicals are restricted and have been
banned in other countries. This is not agriculture. This is mad science. It is being
done on open-air fields. Our children are not an experiment. I am here today to say
"enough." Each one of us here in this room has to stop this madness; stop the
spraying near schools, residents, hospitals, playgrounds, and near our water
steams. It is our kuleana to protect our children and our children's children. We
will stop this madness now, otherwise we will make history as the lamest brain
civilization that has ever lived on the surface of the Earth, but we are not. We have
brilliant human beings. Together, with each one of you here, we will change this.
We will bring balance back to Earth. Please vote "yes" on Bill No. 2491. Malama
pono. Aloha aina. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
JENNIFER SCHWARTZ: Aloha Councilmembers. My name is
Jennifer Schwartz. I am a mother of a wonderful two (2) year old. I have been
living on Kaua`i since 2007. I am very proud of my background and very proud of
where I am from, but Kaua`i is my home now. Whether you are from Kaua`i, the
mainland, or abroad, the true stewards of Kaua`i are those who fight for the
conservation of the island's resources and for its self-sufficiency. The Hawaii State
Constitution says that we need to promote diversified agriculture and increase
agricultural self-sufficiency. If the great majority of our farmable lands are being
used to grow seed crops or being shipped off-island for cattle feed and corn for high
fructose corn syrup; that is not feeding the local community or honestly the world
for that. matter. The important Ag land study, which was presented earlier this
month, says that approximately twenty-one thousand (21,000) acres of important
Ag lands need to be used towards growing food for local, human consumption in
order to create a self-sufficient and sustainable Kaua`i. With all of that being said, I
feel that this Bill is such a modest attempt to improve our quality of life on Kaua`i
and it addresses our most basic rights to protect our health and well-being. As a
mom, I was especially alarmed when I saw this report that the American Academy
of Pediatrics published in 2012, indicating that "number one (1), regardless of low
concentrations of exposure, many of these chemicals accumulate in our bodies over
time, therefore only showing adverse effects later in life. Number two (2), children
are uniquely vulnerable because they eat, drink, and breathe more per pound of
body weight than adults do. We cannot say it is safe for them to consume any level
of concentration of these chemicals. Number three (3), tolerance levels established
by the EPA and enforced by the FDA only reflect exposure to single agents, but
these chemicals are being found in combination." No studies have been done to
assess the impact of this cocktail of the chemicals on our health, especially in
children. The very least we can do is apply buffer zones. We also need to know
what GMOs are being grown and tested here. The safety of GMOs is still being
widely debated by the medical and scientific community worldwide. The least we
can do is ask seed companies to test their GMO crops in an enclosed area to avoid
cross contaminating traditional and organic farms. We are the true supporters of
Kaua`i farmers. This Bill reflects the desires of a very large amount of people on
BILL NO. 2491 44 JULY 31, 2013
Kaua`i. We are counting on you, Councilmembers, to protect us and to defend our
best interest.
Chair Hooser: One (1) sentence, please. Thank you.
Ms. Schwartz: We will remember whose interest each of you
chooses to support. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much.
MICHELLE SCHMIDT: Aloha Council. My name is Michelle
Schmidt. I am a Waimea Valley resident. I am super nervous. I have two (2) small
children that attend these schools that we all talk about and hear in the news often.
I own a home in Waimea Valley. I moved here after college. I have been living here
for fifteen (15) years. I moved here after college and taught in Kauai schools for
five (5) years. I taught at schools on the west side and I also taught in schools in
Lihu`e. I then had my children and I stayed home with them. I opened a small
business, which is now thriving on the tourism industry. I can tell you one (1)
thing—the tourists are telling me...when I tell them...they ask me where I live and
I say, "Waimea." They say, "The GMO town." They say that to me and I ask them
where they are hearing this and they say at the pool and on the plane. Is this what
we want Kauai to be? This is real. I am not making this up. This is from what is
happening. I have a small orchard on my property. I do not sell anything. I just
give to friends and my family. Maybe one day, I would possibly love to do that but I
do not. I can also tell you firsthand that all of these asthma related things, nose
bleeds, and cancer in our town is happening. We are not just making it up. It is
really happening. Our kids have nose bleeds. I had one lady last meeting tell me,
"Why do you not just move?" I invested my lifesavings in my home. I cannot sell
my home without disclosing that there are pesticides in my area. That is the truth.
Now, if I have to disclose that to sell my home, then why can you not disclose? Let
me know what is being sprayed in my home, around my home, and at my childrens'
schools. I just do not understand that. I do not understand why this was not set in
place before these companies were even allowed to come in here. Pretty much
overnight, they were up on my hillside. I look over my thirty-seven (37) fruit trees
and I see dust fields. It is true. It is happening. I am not making this up. I am not
being paid by anybody to be here. This is just from my heart. I am very nervous
but it needs to be told. This is what is going on. Our community is a dying
community. One (1) of my children goes to a private school and they cannot even
get kids to go to it because there is no one moving into our community with small
children. Why would you? Why would you want to move into a town that is being
surrounded by GMO fields and schools that are being surrounded by GMO fields?
This is my home and my community, and I love it.
Chair Hooser: Please summarize with one (1) sentence.
Ms. Schmidt: I just ask you to pass this Bill. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
SARAH WALL: Aloha. My name is Sarah Wall. I am a
registered voter. I did have several talking points that I was going to talk about but
this was placed in my hand from someone in a blue shirt. My talking points were
that I care about the health of everybody, no matter what color shirt you are
wearing. I care about the health of this island, first and foremost. I do not care
BILL NO. 2491 45 JULY 31, 2013
about the health of a poison company's bottom line. I care about people. This was
put in my hand and I am going to read it. It was put in here by somebody who was
wearing a blue shirt that says, "I cannot stand up and testify in fear that it may
affect my loved ones' jobs. I wanted to sing a song, `DDT is good for me.' This was
the song used to sell Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), which we now know is
not safe at all. We were told by the chemical companies it was safe to use in our
homes, around our kids, and even on our pets. When it finally came out how bad
this stuff was, a town was left with a toxic mess that to this day, generations later,
is still too toxic to use. Not somewhere you want to go on vacation or even visit. Do
not let this happen to Kaua`i." That was just somebody else's testimony that was
wearing a blue shirt. Just to reiterate, I do not think this Bill is enough, but I see it
as a starting point. I am grateful that we are at least having this conversation.
Again, I care about everybody's health, no matter what color the shirt is. I do not
want this to polarize the island. I want us to keep the island pono and safe, and not
poison. To me it is kind of a no-brainer. There are lots of jobs. We do not have to
use poison and do it with GMOs. There are still plenty of work we can make work.
Thank you again. Again, I will be watching to see how you guys vote so I know how
I am going to vote the next time.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
TODD ANDERSON: My name is Todd Anderson. I am a north
shore resident. I used to live in Puhi. A lot of you know where I live because I
shared a wall with Dickie Chang and a lot of you guys would come to his birthday
parties. My first experience with the GMO situation was that they were going to
plant the fields up wind from where I lived and for all of you who has been there,
there is a constant wind that blows up that valley. I had a real concern because I
live on the end of the housing development and my window is right over the field.
Once I saw that they put the fence line in, it was literally about one hundred fifty
(150) feet from where I slept every night, having dinner, and everything else. I
called Syngenta. I called Grove Farm. I called the Mayor. I called the Department
of Agriculture. I did not get lip service from everyone, but from Syngenta, they said,
"It is going to be an eighty (80) acre buffer zone." I said, "No, it is one hundred fifty
(150) feet from my window. That is not true." After telling me a lot of half-truths, I
contacted the Department of Agriculture like I said, and I found out what the rules
were for them applying the pesticide because I figured that was my only defense,
which is to catch them doing something wrong. I called Syngenta back and told
them, "Okay, if you guys are going to plant this field, I will be there any time you do
anything and videotaping you with the wind gauge. I know what the rules are for
pesticides being applied, so I will be watching you like a hawk." Every time they
would be out there doing anything, I would be there with my video camera, filming
them—I would not even be really filming them, I was just showing them that I am
watching. I did not even have film in the camera. Anyways, so I kept doing that.
There were a couple of times where they would stop what they were doing and make
a phone call. The ultimate result was that they never planted the field after they
has spent a lot of money to put all of the water in, the fence in for the pigs, and
everything else. I just think that this Bill is real important because I think
disclosure and buffer zones is the key. I think people should know what they are up
against and what they are being exposed to, especially if you are just going home at
night to have a nice dinner and there is a big field of poison maybe blowing your
way. I really support this Bill and I hope you guys vote it through. Thank you for
your time. I appreciate.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
BILL NO. 2491 46 JULY 31, 2013
JOSEPHINE BONAPARTE: Aloha, Josephine Bonaparte. I am in
support of Bill No. 2491. I just feel that this is a step in the right direction. It is not
the solution for me. I am a farmer. I live in Anahola on the farm lots. We have
seven (7) acres with my boyfriend and his family. We grow a lot of fruit trees and
chickens. I just feel there are other agriculture that we can do to benefit Kaua`i. We
are importing all of this food here, even bananas, which have always puzzled me
because we grow the most beautiful bananas here. We should supply our own
people with bananas and other fruits grown here. We have so much beautiful land
that could be used to grow food for our people. I just do not agree with the GMO
concept at all. Syngenta and Monsanto are affiliated with the pharmaceutical
companies so when we get sick from all of the poisons being dusted upon us, then
we have to depend on the pharmaceuticals to "band-aid" the problem, but not fix it.
Please, pass Bill No. 2491. Protect health and life. Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
PUNOHU KEKAUALUA: Aloha. My name is Punohu Kekaualua. I
just came here to testify because I live right in Kekaha. I think it is pretty much
bull what they are doing done there with all of these chemicals. Poison is a poison.
It is going to hurt us no matter what; no matter how much they use or how less they
use, it is still a poison that is killing us. It is not only killing us but killing much
more like our islands, streams, and reefs. You see it. It is all commonsense. You do
not have to go to school for this kind of stuff. It is right there in front of your face. It
is so simple. Again, I am here on behalf of my family, myself, and the rest of the
community. I love all of you guys. I have a lot of friends who work for you guys.
My family even works for you guys. It is sad to see what is going on right now. One
day you will understand what is really happening. "Ua mau ke ea o ka `aina i ka
pono." It is all over your shirts. Unfortunately, there is nothing pono about this
right now. Nothing. You guys hear that? If your ancestors were here today, they
would tell you straight that what you guys are doing...it is unrighteous.
Chair Hooser: Again, please address your comments to the
Council.
Mr. Kekaualua: I am just here to share my mana o and
whatever I can share for you guys to better our community. This is totally sad what
is going on. Thank you, Council, for being here today. I appreciate it.
Chair Hooser: Thank you so much. We are going to do a
little transition. The Council Staff is going to start instructing the rows starting at
the front. Please wait until they tell you, but for those who want to speak in the
first row, once the Council Staff addresses you, you will stand against the wall at
the end of the line. That will be after the Council Staff addresses you. I want to
remind people to address your remarks to the Council and try to resist the
other...people should only be getting up from their seats to use the restroom and the
drinking fountain. It really makes everybody's life easier if you return to the same
seats. Thank you. Next speaker, please.
JILLIAN SEALS: Aloha k&kou. My name is Jillian Seals. I
stand before you as a registered voter of Kilauea town. I am also a mother,
obviously. I am an organic farmer. I have been farming on Kaua`i for fifteen (15)
years. I moved here shortly after my mother passed away at the young age of
fifty-five (55). I recall hearing the song "DDT is good for me" out of her mouth as I
BILL NO. 2491 47 JULY 31, 2013
was growing up and not really understanding that. She was a naturalist and
herbalist and brought us up in a very healthy lifestyle. My goal as a mom was to do
the same thing. Unfortunately, I lost any mom at a young age from cancer. Moving
here for me was to come here to a beautiful place where there is clean air, clean
water, and clean soil. What is left of it? My job now is to kahu ■ ina. I have a
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in Kilauea town that supports
the whole north shore of Kauai. It also supports Kilauea town. I am also the only
organic farmer in the whole County who accepts food stamps. My job; my goal; my
kuleana is to take care of the aina and the people. When I hear "GMO" and
"poison," that is not what I signed up for in this lifetime. That is not what I am
here to give my kids. I want to see my children have healthy children. I want to see
my grandkids be healthy. I want to leave something behind for them that they can
be proud of. I am in complete support of Bill No. 2491 and I am very grateful, Tim.
Thank you, Gary, for proposing this. I look about in the audience and I see many
smiling, shiny faces. My farm workers are here today, not on payroll. I actually
canceled my vacation to come back here to support and be here and bring my keiki.
I canceled my Community Supported Agriculture today so my CSA members are
waiting for their food one (1) more day tomorrow. We will harvest and we will
deliver. It is clean and they know their farmer. They know where their seeds came
from because they can look me in the eye and feel good. Thank you. I support Bill
No. 2491. A hui hou.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker. When
the Staff asks—not everybody has to go up if you do not want to speak so not
everybody has to leave. For those of you who want to speak, when they ask you to
come up, please introduce yourself.
SAGE SEALS: Hi, my name is Sage. I am Jillian's son. I
want to address all the keiki on the island. I think that Bill No. 2491 is great and I
think we should pass it. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much.
PUA LA`A: Aloha kakou. My name is Pua La`a. I am a
kanaka maoli. I am a kama'aina. I am a voter. Honorary Councilmembers, thank
you for having us have this meeting. First I would like to say, "Mahalo ke akua no
ka mea apau a hiki is oe kOkua id it a ho omaika`i, ho opono, no`u `olu olu a me ka
ha aha a. Hiki is oe kokua makou i na ho ola aina. Ma lama aina. Malama pono.
Urnauma." Councilmembers, I would like to ask you to please just look up for a
moment at the flags hanging above you. You have the U.S. flag and you have the
Hawaiian flag. You have a right—you have a duty—you are our elected leaders and
you have a constitutional duty to uphold the righteousness of this land. You have a
constitutional duty to protect the innocents, the people, the citizens, the children,
the future generations that are yet unborn, and as well as the things that cannot
speak like the plants, animals, and the land. There is nothing more precious than
health, and the health of our resources like our land, our water, and our air. These
are our inalienable rights to have pure and clean land, food, and water. I implore
you to please, at this time, pass Bill No. 2491. Later, we will do our best to
completely eradicate all GMOs off this island. Pesticides are designed to kill. I am
asking you to step up for life and I am asking you to have the vision for the future.
We do not know the harmful effects of these pesticides. We cannot foresee and if it
was known, they have been hidden. These companies are in it for profit. Our
beautiful island is not for their profit. I have much empathy for the employees of
the agrochemical business. I am certain that many jobs will come from a clean and
BILL NO. 2491 48 JULY 31, 2013
healthy agricultural business. I want to make note that Hawai`i is a tourist
destination. Social networking has been very effective in taking down many—
across the world right now, social networking is happening. What you have is all of
us on social networking spreading the word, and the tourism industry will suffer.
There has been die-off of ha`uke`uke and the wana, the sea urchins, which precedes
coral die-off. I was at Papa'a Bay three (3) months ago and there was complete
calcification of the limu. I implore you...I beg you from my heart, to please stop the
pesticide use and the GMO industry on this island. Mahalo ia`oe. Mahalo ke akua.
Aloha.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker. Please
introduce yourself.
DESIREE PARSONSON: Aloha. My name is Desiree
Duclayon-Parsonson. I grew up on the west side of Kaua`i. I am currently living in
Lihu`e. I just want to thank Tim and Gary for supporting this Bill, all of the people
who are in support of it. I was fortunate enough to grow up in the taro patches of
Hanapepe and Waimea Valley, and in the salt patches at Salt Pond. I would like to
see this part of my culture carried on through my ohana and its island people. I am
supporting Bill No. 2491 because of my concerns for the future of our island and its
people; pro-GMO and non-GMO. I simply want a peaceful resolve of this matter.
We are all `ohana on this tiny island and this little State. True, I, myself, still use
GMO products. If I knew what they were and they were labeled, I probably would
not. My concern is the ramifications of these chemicals and pesticides that are
being used on these crops and what it will do to human life in the future, that we
only have noticed within—well, basically that we have a mild sense of at present. I,
myself, have noticed that within my own home and family how often over the last
five (5) years, symptoms such as scratchy throat, coughing, sneezing, and allergies
have been more common than normal. I do not wish to experience the end result of
what can and will happen if we remain on this course. I do not want our beautiful
islands to turn into a desolate place where no one can survive because of depleted
water and soil. The aina is our mana and we need to protect with all of our being
so it can care for us. I, too, have family and friends who are pro-GMO and
non-GMO. I realize employment is crucial for all of us to survive. With all of the
money that these big companies have, I urge the idea of changing over to the use of
organic products and farming as a possible solution. It has always been said in
every circumstance, safety first. Simple. Remember, we cannot eat money. I say
not to be afraid to stand firm; stand pa'a in support of this Bill because we do have
the right to know. Only we as a people, as a whole, standing together hand in hand
can protect ourselves. I say research the facts for yourselves because knowledge is
the key, and do not let us stray. Malama ka aina. Remember the story of Erin
Brockovich? This is very much the same scenario. We need to do something now
and not wait until it is too late. I agree with what Josephine said and we have a lot
of land to grow food here, to be self-sufficient. I beg Council to think about what we
are doing here on this island and support the Bill.
Chair Hooser: Thank you so much. Next speaker, please.
TIMOTEO HEULEN: Aloha Councilmembers. My name is Timoteo
Heulen. I am a kanaka maoli and I was born and raised on Kaua`i. In Hawaiian
Studies, they tell us to always protect your backbone because in the Hawaiian
culture, your backbone represents your bloodline, your family line, all the way from
the first, down to you. Now, saying that we know that eating genetically modified
foods makes you sterile and changes your Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA). For this
BILL NO. 2491 49 JULY 31, 2013
reason alone, I have to stand up and support Bill No. 2491 to protect me, the kids to
come, and all living things. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
JONATHAN JAY: Aloha. My name is Jonathan Jay. I thank
you, esteemed members of the Kaua`i County Council, for this testimony today. I
thank you for your time and your attention for listening to my testimony, as well as
the testimony of so many other people, both for and against this Bill. Above all, I
thank you for your dedication to be of service to our island community. Although
this is a Bill that affects everyone in our community, only seven (7) people will get
to vote on this Bill. I am a registered voter. There are lots of registered voters out
in the audience today but on this matter that stands before you, we have no say.
We can only ask you to hear our words and listen carefully. Before you today is an
important, well-considered, and long overdue safety Bill; Bill No. 2491 regarding
the experimental GMO and restricted chemical Ag industry practices. This
reasonable safety Bill recognizes that the people of Kaua`i have the right to know
what is being sprayed on our island, waters, and air. This sensible safety Bill
proposes that experimental GMO crops cannot be raised under open air conditions,
but should be closed, controlled, and inside of containers. This prudent safety Bill
proposes that buffer zones be set up around schools, waterways, hospitals, public
bus stops, and other areas of concern so that the risk of the drifting dust and
overspray that could come into us our or keiki is reduced and limited. Since we can
all certainly agree that this is invaluable, ladies and gentlemen of the County
Council, I urge you to pass this vital safety Bill. Today you will hear passionate
testimony both for and against the safety Bill. Passions will run deep, but I urge
you to listen closely with your hearts to the testimony that you will hear from all
sides. There are those who will say that the safety Bill is too timid and that it does
not go far enough in protecting our lands, water, keiki, the workers, and our delicate
tourism economy. You will also hear concerns from those in the chemical Ag
industry that the safety Bill goes too far and that it is too expensive for their multi-
billion dollar industry to bear. Between these two (2) views, a balance must be
struck. Safety Bill No. 2491 strikes that balance between rights and
responsibilities. The public has a right to know how much Restricted Use Pesticides
are being used here on Kauai. The GMO and chemical Ag industries have a
responsibility to operate in a safe and transparent manner with the chemicals and
experimental crops from inside our community. I want to take a special time now to
recognize and extend honors to those within the GMO and chemical Ag industry
that recognize and honor this balance, who are concerned with the health and safety
of their workers, as well as the downwind residents of Kaua`i. Kudos to those who
do not put profits at the expense of our community. In summary, I want to request
that at the end of the day when you make this choice on the Bill, that you use a
precautionary principle. When in doubt, safety first. Please pass this Bill. Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
PHOEBE ENG: Thank you for the opportunity to testify
today. My name is Phoebe Eng. I am a resident of Waimea. I will use my time
today to read the testimony submitted by twenty-three (23) mothers, grandmothers,
and others, all from long time Hawaiian families in Waimea and Kekaha. I hope
the next time that these twenty-three (23) will be up here by themselves, fully in
their power, and they will because the next time they will come here and the next
time it is because the west side is changing. This is their letter, "Dear
Councilmembers. We as long time residents of west Kaua`i from Kekaha to Waimea
BILL NO. 2491 50 JULY 31, 2013
to `Ele`ele and Kalaheo, our ohana, friends, and supporters voice our strong support
of Bill No. 2491. Our kuleana as Native Hawaiians and our ohana is to protect
what we love and what sustains us for our families, our land, and our water, always
and forever. Our children and grandchildren attend the schools very close to the
fields where these pesticides are sprayed. Many west side children have asthma
and other ailments. We are concerned that without disclosure, our communities are
being subjected to health risks that cannot be researched. We therefore support the
Bill's commitment to investigating whether the links that is there between pesticide
exposure in our communities and disease rates. Disclosure without the
commitment to conduct research and therefore, ultimately shield us from the risks
of exposure is a lost opportunity. Many in our community and our `ohana are
employed by the companies that spray the pesticides. Many of them remember
living and working in the sugar plantations but the kind of pesticides that are
sprayed and untested, unregulated combinations in greater frequency, is different
in scale from what we grew up with. We care that our ohana know fully about the
pesticides they are spraying and handling. We do not want them or their children
to suffer unknown risks. Please let us know that you care about the west side, as
the community most impacted by the estimated amount of eighteen (18) tons of
Restricted Use Pesticides used annually on our island. Malama pono. Signed," and
I will recite their names. These are the powerful women of Kekaha and Waimea:
(Inaudible), Bobbie Kamakele, Inoka Karrati, Lois Palacio, Cassidy Fernandez,
(Inaudible), Shane Fernandez, Taylor Lazaro, Elise Lazaro, Vincent Palacio, Bonnie
Hanoi, (Inaudible), June Kamakele, (Inaudible), (Inaudible), Denise Karrati,
Blossom Young, (Inaudible), Phyllis Karrati, John Young, Dawn Nakamitsu, Neal
Nakamitsu, Fafaola Ta'ala. Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
GARY PIERCE: Aloha Council. My name is Gary Pierce and
I live in Kilauea. I have a Bachelors in Science in Biological Science, Pre-Med with
a Minor in Marine Biology from University of Southern California. I also have a
Masters in Business Administration from Pepperdine University and a Masters in
Health Administration from the University of Northridge. Monsanto is responsible
for more than fifty (50) US Environmental Agency EPA superfund sites.
Monsanto's deadly legacy includes production of Agent Orange, DDT, Phencyclidine
(PCP), and dioxide. Roundup, a herbicide, has been shown to cause birth defects in
amphibians, embryological deaths, endocrine disruption, organ damage in animals
at even a low concentration. In my opinion, Monsanto is an "eco-terrorist."
Monsanto is a "capitalistic terrorist" and has killed tens of thousands by its
depraved indifference; need I say, Bhopal, India... national, primary drinking water
regulations, which I will submit to the County, is a technical fact sheet on
glycophosphates. It says, "Kidney damage and reproductive damage." It also says,
"Inadequate evidence that glycophos has the potential to cause cancer," which is a
lie and that, "It does not expect to bioconcentrate in the water," which is another lie.
I have an article, very recently, as of April 25, 2013, "Roundup herbicide could be
linked to Parkinson's, cancer, and other health issues studies shows." This is from
Rueters and the Huffington Post. I will submit this to the Council as evidence.
Persistent herbicides—they persist in compost, manures, hays, and grasses. It is
documented by Tort Law. I have another article for that. Roundup toxicity is much
worse than what Monsanto and the Government claims. Bill No. 2491 is a start to
the limiting of the spraying and creates a five hundred (500) buffer zone. In my
opinion, another zero should be added. It should be at least a mile. I have a Purdue
Weed Science Study from 2009. Herbicides volatilize at seventy percent (70%) or
greater. In calm conditions, these herbicides can drift for more than one (1) mile.
BILL NO. 2491 51 JULY 31, 2013
This does not include particle drift, which is the dust for vaporization. Please save
my job because I work in the hospitality industry. Will tourists want to visit and
even swim in waters polluted by toxic chemicals? I pay my taxes and on one (1)
condominium alone. I paid five thousand dollars ($5,000) in GET tax and Transient
Accommodations Tax (TAT) tax. I also just paid my Property Tax.
Chair Hooser: Please conclude with one (1) sentence if you
can.
Mr. Pierce: Yes, Sir. Please pass Bill No. 2491. Do not
let Kauai be the experimental petri dish of the Pacific. Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
MALIA CHUN: Aloha mai `oukou pakahi apau. Aloha to
each of you. Mahalo nui to Gary Hooser and Tim Bynum for having the courage to
swim against the tide and propose this Bill. My name is Malia Kahalii Chun. I
raised my two (2) daughters of moku of Kona, in the ahupua'a of Waiawa, Kekaha.
Five (5) years ago, I was blessed with the opportunity to build a home there as a
single mother for my two (2) children. Little did I know I would be raising them in
the middle of a GMO test field. Little did I know that five (5) years later, my
daughters and I would be experiencing symptoms of asthma, bloody noses on
occasion, and burning of our eyes and noses. I am here on behalf of my kupuna that
stand behind me, my two (2) daughters, and all of the keiki of Hawaii Nei. I believe
it is our human right to know the chemicals, pesticides, and herbicides that are
being sprayed on our land, air, water, and in our ocean. I come here in support of
Bill No. 2491. It is my kuleana as a mother to protect the health and wellbeing of
my keiki, as well as all of the keiki of this pae aina. It is my kuleana as a kanaka
Hawai`i to protect the natural resources of this island. If what biotech companies
are doing is pono, Bill No. 2491 would not be an issue. If what they were doing was
pono, labeling our mea'ai, our food, would not be an issue. For those of you brothers
and sisters who are employed by these companies, the time of being makapo, being
blind, is over. Educate and inform yourselves on the facts. Do not take your
employer's word for it. Your work is not feeding our community. If it was, we
would not be importing ninety-one percent (91%) of our food. To say that those who
support Bill No. 2491 are anti-agriculture or that it is trying to destroy jobs is a
fallacy that is built on fostering fear and misinformation. Let us talk about
pedigree. Long before, there were doctors, lawyers, and scientists with acronyms
behind their names—they were kanaka maoli that farmed this land for hundreds
and hundreds of years without using pesticides and without squandering our land
and natural resources. We are pro-Ag. We are pro-Ag for agriculture that is both
responsible, clean, and pono. Genetically modified agriculture is not the answer for
our future. We need to sit down as a community and start to generate smarter,
more responsible solutions to sustain our island. I do not live in fear because pono
always prevails. Real quick, I want to share a poem that my daughter wrote.
Chair Hooser: Please, wrap it up if you can.
Ms. Chun: Yes, this will wrap it up. "GMO is hewa, yes
that means it is wrong. Big companies take our aina from mauka to makai to
poison everyday what we drive by. What our kupuna tried to save is all going to
die. They kill us keiki everyday until we have no tears to cry. What I ask for akua
everyday is like ha for our ohana to rise, to rise, to rise." Mahalo.
BILL NO. 2491 52 JULY 31, 2013
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
ANTHONY AGUTAR: My name is Anthony Aguiar. I support Bill
No. 2491. Let us talk about what Gary is asking for. Input—how I feel about this
Bill, and how to improve it? Buffer zones come to my mind. I ride my bike
everyday from Kekaha to Polihale, and then to Hanapepe. I have seen the buffer
zones around the seed companies' offices is greater than the five hundred (500) feet
required by this law. You folks go out there and go look. G&R and Dow chemical,
they are on a hill. They have nothing growing around them. Closer to Waimea—
what is that seed company over there? They are within five hundred (500) feet but
still, they have an office building that is completely, hermetically sealed. You
cannot get in it. It sucks you in. They have filters on the air condition and it sucks
everything out. Between Kekaha to the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF);
there are two (2) companies out there. I forgot their name. I think it used to be
called Syngenta, but the road...the Kaumuali`i Highway on either side has no GMO
fields. Zero. I walk my dog in the evening time in the old cane haul road. The only
place you have GMO fields is on the mauka side. Very few fields. As it gets closer
to Polihale, you have the GMO fields but everything else, you do not have. I ride
bicycle out there and I know which way the wind blows. From PMRF, it blows from
the ocean. I know because like I say, I ride my bicycle when I go out there. I go
facing the wind and it is nine (9) to twelve (12) miles an hour. When I come back, it
is twenty (20) to twenty-two (22) miles an hour. The wind is always blowing off
there. The Base has no problem. All of that is blowing over to Kekaha. What the
girl said is true. It is not something that we are making up. It is something I
experience all of the time. The other thing that I would like to cover is those
enclosed testing. We need those. A farmer in Canada had grown his corn field next
to another corn field from the GMO. The GMO corn got onto his field. The farmer
lost in Court and had to pay a couple of million dollars. We need that so that we
will have them closed in. We do not know what is getting out onto us. In closing, I
back up Bill No. 2491. Every provision in it—I do not want to change a single thing.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker. Stand by the
microphone, please.
DOUGLAS WILMORE: Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of
Council, my name is Douglas Wilmore. I live in Kilauea. I am a physician, trained
surgeon, and a scientist who has directed a medical research lab at Harvard in the
field of Human Nutrition and Metabolism for about twenty-five (25) years. I come
to you as an individual, who knows the science of biotechnology; has studied toxins
in a variety of settings, including with humans; and has vast experience in peer
reviewed publications. I am in favor of Bill No. 2491. There are three (3) important
points which the Council should keep in mind, which I would like to share with you.
First, keep your focus on pesticides and their toxicity. Pesticides cause cell death in
plants, microorganisms, and humans. You have heard all sorts of other things
about the world food supply, the GMO technology, and alike. The key issue here are
cell poisons called pesticides and their effect on Kaua`i's citizens. Keep that in
mind. The second point is that plants and pests develop resistance to pesticides,
very much like how patients develop resistance to antibiotics. As you give
pesticides year after year, you have to gradually increase the dose, and soon they
become ineffective. You have to change to a more toxic pesticide or even a
combination of pesticides, as has been previously mentioned, are not usually tested
at all for safety in humans. Realize that this science involves the increased use of
pesticides which will be going on all the GMO crop areas. The third area that I
want you to consider has been mentioned by others, and that has to do with the
BILL NO. 2491 53 JULY 31, 2013
effects of using these pesticides on Kaua`i, on the tourist industry. A large number
of people on this island work for the tourist industry. Many tourists come here to
experience the fragile, pristine, and relatively undisturbed natural environment
that we have here on Kaua`i; not to be exposed to a chemically-laden island
saturated with a variety of highly toxic poisons tested for a potential world market.
What would be lost in the tourist industry if nothing is done by the Council and if
the Council just votes "no"? What will be lost if we then have the idea that people
believe that this is "The Pesticide Isle," not "The Garden Isle"? I ask you please to
vote in approval of this Bill. Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
ELAINE DUNBAR: Good afternoon, Council. I will be brief. The
language of Bill No. 2491 is, by all standards, very modest and minimal.
Bill No. 2491 has received an inordinate amount of scrutiny. The chemical
companies have not had a fraction of that scrutiny, and it is about time. Pesticides
are poisons. Poisons are toxic. All of that stuff is going into us and going into the
ocean. What is there to debate? It is a well-established fact. It is about time for
the chemical companies to step forward and stop blacking out their documents
because he who seeks equity must do equity. It is as simple as that. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
ROBERT PA: Aloha. My name is Chief Robert Pau'ole Pa
from the Kingdom of Atooi. I am here on behalf of my children, too. Bill No. 2491—
we have to pass the Bill. It is a no-brainer. It specifically says everything in it. If
you have not read it, you guys should really read it because it is an amazing Bill.
Thank you for doing that. Our waters, our way of life; by doing this and not
protecting this, is changing our way of life, our heritage, and our community. Our
community is against it. Our community wants the best for everyone. We know
that we can perform. We know we can farm more food that we can provide for not
only Hawai`i, but the whole universe. We have the capacity. We have the land. If
you are going to poison the land today, it will not be good for us tomorrow. We have
to protect this, please. Please pass Bill No. 2491. I am for it. It is really hard to
sleep at night to see what is being done to the ocean, being done to the horses, and
the cows. Everything has its little effects on everything. It is not just the human
beings. When you go back to how we were once before, la au lapa'au. We had our
way of life. We had our medicine. We did not need anything. We did not need
insulin from them because coconuts took care of all of this. Coconut oil is the
number one (1) thing in the world that was grown here that we once used it but we
do not use it anymore. There are things we can do by looking at that and bring back
that way of life, and using that system again. It benefits everybody. It is hard to go
against everybody. No matter what color shirt we have, we are all the same. We all
have to think that way. We all have to live together, no matter what happens.
Mr. Sun Cho Lee—at the end, we all must live in one (1) place. Let us malama each
other, love each other, and respect each other. We can move forward at that point.
Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you so much. Next speaker. Please
introduce yourself and speak into the microphone.
ANGELA PRIGGE: My name is Angela Prigge. I work at the
Sheraton hotel in Po`ipu and also sit on the Executive Board for our Union, Unite
Here! Local 5, representing ten thousand (10,000) workers in the State of Hawai`i.
BILL NO. 2491 54 JULY 31, 2013
Our members see this and tell ourselves, "Look at what this is doing to our
community." It is dividing us. It is dividing our community. All for what? Jobs?
Really? Well, in our Union, this is not new for us. We fight for good jobs on a daily
basis. We believe in equality and social justice. Our members are not afraid to get
out on the streets and demonstrate civil disobedience actions because of what we
believe in. Our members are not afraid to get out and walk out on the boss because
we feel that our rights were violated. When we hear that our friends, families, and
our children are being killed and affected by these harmful herbicides and
pesticides, our members will not stand in support of this. We believe that
Bill No. 2491, while it is not eliminating GMOs altogether, it truly gives the
opportunity to ourselves and our future generations to come and the opportunity for
the right to know. We owe it to ourselves and our children that much. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
Introduce yourself and go forward.
WAYNE JACINTHO: Aloha Council. My name is Wayne Jacintho.
I was born in Pakala and raised in Kalaheo. I graduated from Waimea High School.
Go Menehunes. I hold in my hand two (2) packages of sliced wheat product that you
can make toast or you can make sandwiches. In this package there is whole wheat
flour, water, high fructose corn syrup, yeast, wheat gluten, canola oil, molasses,
vinegar, calcium sulfate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, (inaudible) mono and
diglycerides, mono calcium phosphate, datem, soy flour, calcium propionate,
(inaudible), ascorbid acid, and soy lecithin. In this package the ingredients are
organic unbleached whole wheat flour, water, yeast, and salt. Bcause of bad
companies doing really bad things, food labels are mandated. They do not say "none
of your business." What am I going to choose to spend my hard-earned money on?
This "industrial, diabetes, childhood obesity, agrochemical loaf' or I can buy
"bread." I want mandatory labeling for Kaua`i. I want to know the ingredients that
are going into Kaua`i. As far as the Bill goes, we might wiggle on buffer zones, but I
cannot imagine not giving the people of Kaua`i the right to know the ingredients
that are going into their island. This is a fundamental human right. I think I know
why the agrochemical companies are absolutely terrified about this Bill. It is
because if we know when, where, what, et cetera, they have lost plausible
deniability. We will be able at any moment knowing what they do and when. We
can test and we can learn. Please pass this Bill.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
STEPHANIE SENEFF: Aloha. My name is Stephanie Seneff. Thank
you, Gary, for Bill No. 2491. I support it and I endorse it strongly. I live part-time
on Kaua`i so I have a passionate interest on what happens on this island. I am a
Senior Research Scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). My
recent research has involved trying to understand what is causing the autism
epidemic in America; currently one (1) in fifty (50), one (1) in thirty-one (31) boys. I
have a B.S. Degree in Biology and a PhD in Computer Science from MIT. I have
researched and published many papers on autism. My research has led me to
conclude that exposure to environmental pesticides may be the most important
factor contributing to the autism epidemic. I believe these chemicals also play an
important role in the obesity epidemic in America and the world wide die-off of frogs
and bee colony collapse syndrome. This problem relates directly to the GMOs
because the majority of the GMO crops are engineered to be resistant to herbicides.
The GMO corn, soy, cotton, canola, and alfalfa make up core crops at the base of the
processed food industry. Their production has shot up in the last fifteen (15) years
BILL NO. 2491 55 JULY 31, 2013
with significantly greater applications of herbicides, in contrast of what was said
earlier. This means that a much larger residue ends up in the food chain.
Remarkably, the autism rates in America's school system have gone up in locked
step with increased uses of GMO corn and soy, as have many other diseases. The
fields around Waimea are flooded with a chemical toxic soup with unimaginable
consequences to long-term health of not only the people, but also the soil, water, and
the surrounding seashore. Atrazine, Chloropyrifos, Paraquat topped the list of
Restricted Use Pesticides applied by the chemical companies here. Paraquat causes
dermatitis, nose bleeds, Parkinson's disease, and multi-organ failure. Chloropyrifos
disrupts semantic growth, reduces Intelligence Quotient (IQ) with prenatal
exposure, birth defects, and learning disabilities. Atrazine causes breast cancer,
prostate cancer, miscarriage, and fertility issues. One can only imagine the
increased medical burden to the citizens of Kaua`i in years to come. It is
unconscionable that these chemical companies have been spraying these toxic
chemicals right next door to public schools. The word for crisis in Chinese has two
(2) symbols, one of which means "danger," and the other means "opportunity."
Kaua`i is facing a crisis right now. Along with it comes an opportunity to do the
right thing. Consumer demand for organic foods has been growing exponentially.
The demand has quadrupled in the last decade, according to the USDA. I envision
a future Kaua`i where ecotourism is an active industry that combines vacationing
on a beautiful island paradise with education on how to grow safe, sustainable crops
efficiently. Organic foods will be high in demand once people become fully aware of
the dangers of these chemicals. We should be ready with an answer. Future
generations will look back on Kaua`i's world history in one (1) of two (2) ways. It is
our choice to make. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Ms. Yukimura has a
question for you.
Ms. Yukimura: Dr. Seneff, I am familiar with your very
interesting work correlating Roundup with autism. I would like just a "yes" or "no"
answer if you can do that. Do you have research correlating other pesticides with
autism?
Ms. Seneff: Roundup works synergistically with the
other pesticides to make them much more toxic than they would otherwise be.
Ms. Yukimura: Do you have research to show that?
Ms. Seneff: It shows it in the paper. It is due to the
suppression of certain class of enzymes that metabolize these other toxins, so they
stick around longer and they cause more damage.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Councilmember Bynum has one (1) more
question for you.
Mr. Bynum: I just wanted to know if we can get a copy of
your written testimony.
Ms. Seneff: I sent testimony, but I could give you this as
well. You can keep this if you want to.
BILL NO. 2491 56 JULY 31, 2013
Mr. Bynum: Okay. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Introduce
yourself for the record.
VICTOR ZUE: Aloha Councilmembers. My name is Victor
Zue. I am a part-time resident in Kaua`i. Eight (8) months out of the year, I am the
Chair Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. Ever since
the first time my family visited Kaua`i thirty (30) years ago, we have been
enchanted by the island's beauty and by its people. We have returned numerous
times (inaudible) years. Finally in 2010, my wife and I purchased a home in the
north shore, intending to retire to Kauai in the not too distant future and become a
registered voter. Some opponents of Bill No. 2491 have made claims that adoption
of the Bill would result in a loss of many jobs and I beg to differ. To execute and
enforce the law, many jobs that currently do not exist would need to be created like
compliance assurance, licensing, safety monitoring, and many more. This of course,
assumes that the agrochemical companies would stay in Kaua`i. Job loss would
only happen if these companies were to leave. In that case, we must collectively
help to find ways to minimize the impact on those individuals. I count myself as
one of those to help them. I believe the impact of inaction is much more drastic
than what would happen to those who are directly affected in Waimea, including
the workers and families living in nearby. According to the statistics compiled by
the Kauai Economic Development Plan 2005 to 2015, tourism related activities,
accommodation, foodservices, and retail contribute to over forty percent (40%) of
Kaua`i's economy. It is not even counting arts, entertainment, recreation, real
estate, and construction. We already have seen the problem facing Waimea covered
by the national and international press. If tourists begin to worry about the impact
of poison in the air, at entry point of the world-famous Waimea Canyon, they might
just decide that it is not worth their while to take a chance and visit Kaua`i. In fact,
I had a personal experience speaking to a tourist, a mother of two (2) young
children, on a plane ride back from Oahu this past Sunday. She was aware of the
situation and expressed concerns about visiting the canyon. The impact of this
potential outcome could be much worse in the island than the 1992 Hurricane `Iniki,
which was a natural disaster that devastated Hawai`i's tourism for years. Today,
there is a real danger that many disasters can lead to similar outcomes, but
fortunately, it is not too late for us to do something about it. Agriculture represents
less than three percent (3%) of Kaua`i's economy. With many farmers that I met at
local farmer's markets using safe and healthy farming practices, all of these people
across many economic sectors will be hurt greatly by silently condoning these
dangerous practice of a few. Is this a risk that we are collectively willing to take?
Chair Hooser: Summarize, please.
Mr. Zue: Together with my Kaua`i brothers and
sisters, I intend to fight for the future of Kaua`i for as long as it takes, until we right
the wrong. Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
HANOHANO NAEHU: Aloha. My name is Hanohano Naehu. I am
a Hawaiian freedom fighter from the island of Moloka`i. We came here to support
this Bill and support the County Council. We have been educating and raising
awareness on this issue for the past twelve (12) years. Twelve (12) years ago, we
were lucky if we had ten (10) people inside a building like this. Now, it is full. We
BILL NO. 2491 57 JULY 31, 2013
have seen this on Molokai, time and time again. The community divided. The
workers coming out to support their job, and then all of the aloha ■ ina people
trying to support the aina. All of these doctors, Bachelors Degrees, and Zoology
and Biology majors; they are coming up here and intentionally misleading you guys.
They call that "lying." When you look into the history of these companies, they are
professional liars. As I was noticing, this crowd—all of the workers, do not be mad
at all of the "koko oles" that tell you that your guys' job is doing wrong. They are
mad at the koko oles that is telling you that there is nothing wrong with your job.
They are the ones who are lying to you.
Chair Hooser: If you could address your comments to the
Council, I would really appreciate it.
Mr. Naehu: I want to encourage you guys to stand strong
because all of the research that we have been doing, these companies are so rich
that in lesser countries, the people who oppose them disappear. They disappear.
We have been worrying about our lives because of how much noise we have been
making. Hooser, you know we come down with Uncle Walter to the State Capitol
and chant down Babylon every single year...every single year. Now, you guys have
an opportunity to be the leaders. It kind of makes us mad because we think the
world revolves around Molokai. For once, we want to support, encourage, and be
right there for all of Kauai. Moloka`i loves you guys. Moloka`i is behind you guys
one hundred fifty percent (150%)/two hundred percent (200%). Be the leaders.
There are so much of us that back up you guys, love you guys, and encourage you
guys to do the right thing. Today, is July 31st. In the Hawaiian Kingdom, this is
known as "La Ho`iho`i Ea." This day was about Great Britain lowering their flag
and putting back the Hawaiian flag. It is about somebody in power doing the
honorable thing. In the Hawaiian Kingdom, this day celebrates a higher authority
doing the right thing.
Chair Hooser: Thank you so much.
Mr. Naehu: Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
PAUL MASSEY: Aloha County Councilmembers and
concerned citizens of Kauai. My name is Paul Massey. I am a seed farmer on the
north shore of Kaua`i and I am a registered voter. I am in strong support of
Bill No. 2491. This Bill has many important aspects that seek disclosure, buffer
zones, containment, and a moratorium on expanded acreage of experimental and
production GMOs until an Environmental Impact Statement is completed. Time
being brief, I will just address pesticide disclosure. All Kauaians deserve the right
to know precisely when, where, and what Restricted Use Pesticides are used so that
we can judge for ourselves what impacts we face. We are told to trust the USDA,
EPA, and HDOA as they have approved these chemical products for use in our
precious and fragile island environment. Why should we be concerned? Just listen
to some of the stated effects of the twenty-two (22) Restricted Use Pesticides used
annually on the Garden Island, as stated on their product labels and material data
safety sheets. "Do not breathe sprayed mist. Harmful if inhaled. Fatal if inhaled.
If person is not breathing, call 911 or an ambulance. Then give artificial
respiration, preferably mouth to mouth. May be fatal if swallowed. Causes
irreversible eye damage. Do not use around home gardens, schools, recreational
parks, golf courses, or playgrounds. Prolonged or frequently repeated skin contact
BILL NO. 2491 58 JULY 31, 2013
may cause allergic reactions. Skin exposure may result in tingling, itching,
burning, or prickly feeling. Remove clothing immediately if pesticide gets in. Toxic
to fish, aquatic invertebrates, small mammals and birds. Extremely toxic to fish,
aquatic invertebrates, oysters, and shrimp. May cause long-term adverse effects in
the aquatic environment. May have a high potential for runoff into surface water
for several months post-application. Adjacent desirable tree shrubs or plants might
be injured. Acute health hazards. The interaction of many equipment and
weather-related factors determine the potential for spray drift. Untreated spilled
material can dry into a highly irritating dust. Severe poisoning results in
pulmonary edema. May lead to dizziness. Purple or blue skin color.
Unconsciousness. Death. No specific antidote known for this poisoning. Toxic to
wildlife. Prolonged exposure may cause chronic effects. Blood transfusions may be
necessary. Highly toxic to bees exposed to direct treatment on residue of blooming
crops or weeds. Pesticide wastes are acutely hazardess. Marine pollutant. In case
of kidney failure, extra corporeal (inaudible) dialysis is necessary. Waste resulting
from the use of this product are toxic"...
Chair Hooser: Please summarize the last sentence.
Mr. Massey: In summary, the Restricted Use Pesticides
chemicals, by their own description, pose grave risks to human and environmental
health. Please protect our right to know what is being done to our air, land, water
and people by passing Bill No. 2491 in law. Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
GABRIEL MONAYHAN: My name is Gabriel Monayhan. I am really
glad to be here and really happy to hear everyone that is coming forth to speak. I
feel that my voice does not stand alone and that I hear my voice in everybody's voice
today. I am really glad that we have this opportunity. I want to speak for people
who cannot be here, who are on dialysis, and people who want to speak up and say,
"What the..." because of these chemicals that have been poison to them. These are
brave souls; people who want to live and people who I love. I am in support of the
Bill. Hawaiians were growing food before this. Actually, I love to grow food. I am a
subsistence farmer. I love it when I turn the soil and I see the worms bouncing in
the soil. I love to put compost and woodchips on top. It is a wonderful thing to see a
lot of different varieties of food and medicine growing in a small plot of land and to
see how the soil is improving. I am very happy to hear that this Bill is actually on
the table. Mahalo everyone.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. We are going to hold
the speakers right now. We have to do a tape change. It will be less than five (5)
minutes so this is not a time for everybody to play musical chairs or anything like
that. Please hang tight for five (5) minutes, and then we will go back to the
program. Thank you very much for being so patient during this Public Hearing.
Thank you.
There being no objections, the public hearing recessed at 5:25 p.m.
The meeting reconvened at 5:32 p.m., and proceeded as follows:
Chair Hooser: We are back. May we have the next speaker
come up, please?
BILL NO. 2491 59 JULY 31, 2013
ANN WILLOW JORGENSON: Aloha. My name is Ann Willow Jorgenson. I
am speaking for myself today. First, I want to say thank you so much to Gary
Hooser for writing this Bill. We really appreciate it. Thank you to the whole
Council for hearing my testimony today. Thank you to everyone that spoke on
behalf of this Bill. You guys have given some really inspiring, articulate, and
moving testimony today. What I want to say is that I have a Masters of Science and
Zoology and a Bachelors of Science and Biological Oceanography. I am here to say
that Science is in. There is no question. You guys have heard several medical
professionals give you peer reviewed and scientific literature. This is the primary
literature and it is not in dispute. We have identified that this is a major human
health concern. It is not only a major human health concern, but it is a concern for
our ecosystem as well. Some pesticides such as Atrazine are harmful at levels less
than point one (0.1) parts per billion. Atrazine is a pesticide that causes male
hormones like testosterone to turn into female hormones like estrogen. We call it
an "endocrine disruptor." What this does is it causes reproductive cancers to
humans, birth defects...
Chair Hooser: Can I ask everyone to stop the side
conversations and have respect for the speaker? Everybody, please settle down.
Thank you very much. We will add on a little bit to your time. Thank you.
Ms. Jorgenson: It causes reproductive cancers and birth
defects, and the scientific literature is in to prove it. There are peer reviewed
papers with over fifty (50) coauthors from around the world, finding the same things
happening in different model organisms in different countries. It is not in dispute.
These pesticides are a major human health concern. I also recently became aware
of the link between Roundup and autism. Glyphosate is correlated with autism
over the past thirty (30) years with a (inaudible) correlation coefficient of point nine
eight five (0.985). What this means is that ninety-five point eight (95.8) of the
autism cases over the last thirty (30) years statistically can be correlated as being
directly caused from the application of Roundup to soy and GMO fields. This is
brand new research that is just coming out now. We all know that correlation does
not necessarily equal causation but we also understand the mechanism. We have
had several medical professionals talk to you about the importance of "gut flora,"
the gut bacteria that process amino acids. That is what the Roundup effects
directly. Glyphosate affects the gut bacteria and that affects our amino acids, and
that is the pathway from which it is believed to be linked to autism. All I am really
here to say is that this Bill is common sense. We have a right to know. We need an
Environmental Impact Statement. We want to know what is in our air, land, and
our water. We want buffer zones around our schools and children. This is just the
right to know, common sense. The science is in. There is no question. There is no
reason to argue this Bill. Please support this Bill.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
LANI KAWAHARA: Councilmembers—Council Chair Furfaro,
Committee Chair Hooser, and Councilmember Bynum; thank you very much for
introducing this Bill and for allowing us and giving us a vehicle in which to discuss
it. I wanted to be here today to give my strong support for this Bill. I also want to
recognize you for being here and taking all of this testimony in.
Chair Hooser: Did you introduce yourself for the record?
BILL NO. 2491 60 JULY 31, 2013
Ms. Kawahara: My name is Lani Kawahara. I am not a
Scientist; I am not a Biologist; I am a Librarian. One of the most important parts of
this Bill to me is the right to know. Nothing pisses off a Librarian more than not
being able to get information that should be publically available. If it is for the sake
and health of our community, our children, our families, and our friends, then there
should be nothing to hide. There should not be a difficult time to get this. It should
not be refused. My Councilmember should not refuse being able to get that stuff. I
should not be able to see three (3) pages of seventeen (17) pages blacked out. I want
to know all of the information there is available. The public and everyone else here
needs to be able to know all of the information in order to make informed decisions.
Just for the Bill itself, specifically, with this Bill, you have an opportunity of a
lifetime to be able to affect this island, community, the children, and even maybe
the world. You seven (7) have worked really hard to get where you are. You have
worked hard to be decision makers and to be in these seats. I trust that you will be
able to go through the information to be information specialists, be able to read
what is given to you, being able to determine what is relevant or accurate, be able to
determine where it comes from, and if it has an agenda. I ask you,
Councilmembers, to please support this Bill. I know that you will do your due
diligence and do your studies, and read your information. It is my hope that all
seven (7) of you will support this Bill in its entirety. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker. Please introduce
yourself for the record.
DON HEACOCK: Aloha. My name is Don Heacock. First of
all, I want to say that I am not going to read my testimony. Everyone has already
said it; you have read it. I want to add things that nobody said yet. First of all,
many of them pointed out—I was going to focus on the impacts of the three (3) most
used pesticides here on aquatic organisms. As the Kaua`i District Fisheries
Biologist for the past thirty-two (32) years, I have been looking at the impacts of
pesticides, metals, and other environmental contaminants on fish for my whole
professional life. I can tell you that in the last five (5) days, I have read over two
hundred fifty (250) papers that have talked about the acute and subacute toxicity of
these pesticides to fish, invertebrates, marine plankton, and almost everything you
can think of. I want to touch on some misnomers. One of the consultants that was
paid for speaking in Waimea and Kapa'a last night brought up the issue that many
of the pesticides used are less toxic than the caffeine in a cup of coffee if you
compare them gram for gram. In a way, that is kind of true, except caffeine does
not cause genetic damage and intergenerational problems. It does not do that or we
would have probably all have three (3) legs and five (5) whatever. Anyway, you get
the idea. The reason we are here though...I want to echo with my Hawaiian
brothers and sisters, Ms. Chun, and I forgot the other young man who got up here,
but when you understand what "Ua mau ke ea o ka `aina" really means, it means
that we protect the life of the land and our people, the keiki o ka aina, by doing that
which is pono; not just economically correct, but ethically correct, morally correct,
culturally correct, and all of the "correct." According to a recent paper published by
Patrick (Inaudible) and Sam (Inaudible), a Native Hawaiian, and a few others;
when Cook arrived, there were seventeen thousand (17,000) acres of taro and
fishponds on this island, on Kaua`i. They fed over one hundred thousand (100,000)
people. Everyone had a job. Nobody went to bed hungry and everyone had a roof
over their head. Please pass this Bill. We need disclosure. We need the buffer
zones, even though I think they are too minimal. This Bill is a great place to start.
Lastly, we need a full blown Environmental Impact Statement to cover all of the
BILL NO. 2491 61 JULY 31, 2013
potential impacts to all of our brothers and sisters, and `o opu in our streams.
Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Mr. Heacock, Councilmember
Yukimura has a question for you.
Mr. Heacock: Yes, Ma'am.
Ms. Yukimura: Don, with your background as an Aquatic
Scientist, I wanted to ask you this question. It has constantly astounded me as I go
through all of the information that at least so far, I do not know of any testing of the
water, either the oceanic water or fresh water, and whether there are any levels of
toxicity or substance in the waters. Do you know of any tests in the areas where the
farming is occurring?
Mr. Heacock: Yes, I know that the Surfrider Foundation
has collected data recently. They just have not presented it yet to you. Their data
has found some of these pesticides in runoff water on the west side.
Ms. Yukimura: Are they going to be presenting it?
Mr. Heacock: I assume they will. I was giving it kind of—I
do not feel confident in telling you because I did not collect the data. I heard it from
a very good source.
Ms. Yukimura: Again, it is transparency of information so it
can be reviewed by everyone. Thank you.
Mr. Heacock: Sure, it was Dr. Carl Berg who shared that
information with me.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. I believe Dr. Carl Berg did
present testimony showing that some substances were found in streams. I think
atrazine and some other things. It came in yesterday or the day before. We will
take the next speaker. I just want to remind the audience that we have this
enthusiasm creep that is getting more enthusiastic. I just want to ask you if you
could kind of calm it a little bit so we can move through the speakers. Thank you.
ANDREE LECOCQ: County Council, my name is Andree Lecocq.
I have lived in Hawai`i since 1974. I have been a landowner on Kauai since 1982. I
have been an organic farmer for the past fourteen (14) years. I am also a beekeeper.
My first priority is not as a farmer, it is as for the health of the people of this island.
When someone comes sick to the hospital and the doctor is not able to diagnose
correctly because they do not know what that person has been exposed to, I think
every doctor has the right to know when a person comes in who is in these fields,
working in these fields, or living near these fields; they need to know what is being
sprayed so they can properly help their patient. For the doctors alone to help the
people who come sick, I think the chemical companies...if they are going to be fair,
they should disclose everything that they spray and when they spray it. I am sorry
if I am shaking but a long time ago, I broke forty (40) bones. I was in a wheelchair
twice in my life. When I found out that Kealia Kai could possibly be leased to
Syngenta, on March 23rd, I actually ended up in the hospital with atrial fibrillation.
I felt like I should say it was the GMO companies who put me in the hospital. It is
stressful. I feel so bad for the people of Waimea. I do not even live in Waimea.
BILL NO. 2491 62 JULY 31, 2013
Now when I go to Waimea, I am so sad. I am so sad for those people. I live in
Kapahi. What is going to happen with the great-grandchildren? If these kids are
drinking a little bit of atrazine in the water, who knows what is going to happen to
these kids who are small, who are going to have kids, who are going to have future
kids? If they tested frogs and know that frogs in three (3) generations can have
problems, we are playing with something that is too important. You have to protect
the people of Waimea and you have to protect the rest of the island or this thing is
going to spread like a cancer. If they go to Kealia Kai—I spoke with the Realtor
who represents Kealia Kai on March 23rd, the day I went to the hospital. He said,
"We are going to lease it to the highest bidder." I was thinking to myself, "Think of
all of the trade winds at Kealia. They are the strongest winds on the island in
Kealia. It is going to blow through the interior of the island." What is going to
happen? We need a moratorium. I want to tell you lastly as a beekeeper, Albert
Einstein said, "If the bees die, humanity dies in five (5) years." Two (2) months ago,
Europe banned two (2) of the chemicals that the GMO companies are using. Europe
banned them and over a month ago, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, told
John Kerry, our Secretary of State, that he better take care of the bees or it is going
to be a world war. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker. Just a reminder,
your seat is your order. If you leave your seat and do not come back to the same
seat, you lose your chance when we finally move up the round. Please, hold onto
your seats.
LOUISA WOOTON: Aloha. My name is Louisa Wooton. I have
been farming on Kaua`i since 1979. Last night, I attended the "talk story" in Kapa'a
that was sponsored by the Hawai`i Crop Improvement Association. The Farm
Bureau also had a representative who was a panelist there. The "talk story" was on
the future of farming. I went with my son, Ryan, who is by my definition, the future
of farming. We got to hear from the President of the Farm Bureau, who is a
colleague of mine, and I have great respect for him, about the history of the
monoculture/agriculture here in Kauai. We have seen after occupation, a
monoculture from sugar to pineapple to papaya, and all of these systems have failed
because they are not sustainable. What these systems have left for us is the legacy
of arsenic in Kilauea town; we have toxic myocytes in Koloa and Lihu`e; and a
brown field in Kekaha. I believe it was only a year that our board, the Kaua`i Board
of Water Supply, was in a class action settlement with Syngenta because atrazine
was found in a well here on Kaua`i. Now, we are being offered monoculture again,
or we are "experiencing" it. We are not being offered; it is being shoved down our
throats. To me, they are telling us that this is the "farming of the future," but
really, this is insane. I guess we can quote Albert Einstein again. We all know his
definition of "insanity," which is doing the same thing over, and over again, and
expecting different results. There is nothing about the seed farming on Kaua`i that
is sustainable. In addition to the Restricted Use chemicals, it requires oil
dependent, salt-based fertilizers, which is not even addressed in this Bill. We also
do not address the undetermined amount of non-Restricted Use Pesticides. The
farming methods themselves do not support biodiversity, soil building, or any
environmental protection. We may or may not be the epicenter of GMO research,
but we are definitely ground zero for the most endangered plant and animal species
in the world. You must pass this Bill and give us some chance to reign in this
insanity, which has been sold to us as "farming." In my opinion, the Bill is not
strong enough. For the future of Kaua`i, we need to protect our land and water. I
respectfully ask all of you to reach down and pass this Bill. Thank you.
BILL NO. 2491 63 JULY 31, 2013
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
COLETTE FERRIS: Hello. My name is Colette Ferris. I am here
on behalf of myself and my husband. We are certified organic farmers. We live in
Kilauea. We service the community with two (2) sunshine markets delivering to
local stores and also ship our tumeric and ginger to all fifty (50) States and into
Canada. Obviously being certified organic, you know where I stand. I want to tell
you what the social media is doing. I talked to people because I ship to all fifty (50)
States all of the time, and they want to know what is going on in Kauai. We are
not an isolated, little situation here. At this point, even my farming is dependent on
tourism. If I do not get a good showing of tourists at my markets, I do not do well.
If I do not get a good name for Kaua`i where I am shipping out, people want to
know—they want my pictures up in the stores. They want my picture, farm name,
and what is going on. They ask me, "What is going on with your GMO situation
there?" I understand what it is like to be scared to lose a job. I was homeless at one
(1) time with three (3) children. I know that fear. I know what good, hard work and
concentration towards a goal can do. There are so many different opportunities in
the agricultural industry that we do not need to depend on GMOs to make it
agriculturally here. If we put our minds together—we have brilliant minds. I want
to honor each one of my friends from Waimea and Kekaha that work for these
companies because they are hard workers. I know what it is like to be in the fields.
I am still in the fields. Please, think ahead. Think what we can do to replace what
may happen if these big companies pulled out. I am not saying they would, but if
they did, that is the fear. If these companies pull out, we can diversify our Ag and
rehire. There is opportunity besides the GMO. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
SUSAN HEITMANN: Hello Councilmembers. My name is Susie
Heitmann. I am a Registered Nurse here on Kaua`i at Wilcox Hospital. My
husband and I have lived here on Kaua`i for over thirty-six (36) years. We have five
(5) children and nine (9) grandchildren, all of who call Kaua`i home. As a Nurse at
Wilcox these past three (3) years, the conversations in the Nurses' lounge between
the healthcare professionals, I have noticed has turned more and more to our
growing awareness of the increase in cancer on our island, and especially on the
west side. Of utmost concern is the fact that Kauai has the highest rate of
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in the State. This is a particular cancer that has been
proven to be caused by pesticides. Even in Lihu`e, where most of my family lives,
my son-in-law and my daughter are waking up at night in just the recent past with
asthma attacks and allergies that they have not suffered with since childhood. All
this Bill is asking for is our right to know what pesticides are sprayed and when,
and for a moratorium on new experimental crops and poisons until an
Environmental Impact study can be properly done for our aina, keiki, and for the
future of Kauai. I believe that fifty (50) or sixty (60) countries have banned GMO.
Is it because they are misled or because we are turning a deaf ear to the warnings
all around us? I also want to say that I have lived on the west side for thirteen (13)
years. I have lived eight (8) years in Makaweli and five (5) years in Kekaha. I love
the West side as well. I have family members there and I am deeply concerned for
them and for the whole island. Thank you for listening to me and thank you for this
day in making it possible. I urge you to vote in favor of this Bill.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
BILL NO. 2491 64 JULY 31, 2013
NOMI CARMONA: Aloha Councilmembers and Chair. My name
is Nomi Carmona. I am the President and founder of a local nonprofit called "Babes
Against Biotech." We have eight thousand seven hundred fifty (8,750) members
since we founded just a year ago. Our first march was one hundred fifty (150) and
our last march was two thousand five hundred (2,500) in Waikiki. We have a reach
of about four hundred fifty thousand (450,000) in social media internationally,
including all of our partners. What we do is campaign for funds and notify the
public of Legislatures who are voting in favor of GMO corporations. We actively
campaign against them and support those who have the integrity to stand up to
these companies who are poisoning the aina. The FDA, EPA, and USDA will not
protect us. They are full of GMO Lobbyists from Syngenta, Monsato, et cetera.
Those are the same Lobbyists who are here today against our disclosure and the
same ones who fought to strike your ability to protect our life and health at the
County level. If you remove the Federal subsidies that GMO crops receive, organic
farming is three (3) times cheaper than GMO farming. You do not have to buy
chemicals, pesticides, and fertilizers. Permaculture is perfect just as nature made
it. Can we really afford to sacrifice all of this experimental Ag land where we are
importing ninety percent (90%) of our food? I highly doubt it. Our State
Legislators, as of August 2012, had accepted over three hundred ninety-one
thousand dollars ($391,000) from GMO companies and Lobbyists. I call that
"selling out." The giant chemical companies that this Bill does affect do not pay
General Excise Taxes or Enterprise Zone Taxes so we are basically just allowing
them to do whatever they want at the cost of our health. Pesticides have been
linked to sterility, miscarriages, birth defects, cancer, eye problems, skin disorders,
and kidney damage, but the most important thing that I would like to bring forth
for the workers who spray these pesticides is that the National Academy's report,
depending on the dose of pesticides can cause a range of adverse affects including
cancer, acute and chronic injury to the nervous system, lung damage, reproductive
dysfunction, and things that you have heard already. The most important thing I
want to point out is that one (1) of six (6) children of people who sprays pesticides
for a living...occupational hazards...one (1) of six (6) kids whose parents sprays
pesticides will get brain cancer before the age six (6). Do you really think these
companies are telling you the truth? Do you think I am just doing this for fun? I
have given up my whole life to stop these companies from destroying the aina. I
care about the children. Everybody in here care about the children. I think these
workers have been misled. Prenatal and early childhood exposure to pesticides is
also associated with pediatric cancers, decreased cognitive function, and behavioral
problems. I have a petition. I will send you a link to it. As of now, it has thirty-two
thousand (32,000) signatures to ban GMOs. We launched it in March. I want to
point out that while Kevin Folta was not paid directly by HCIA, they are taking
care of his airfare, accommodations, and food. I will go ahead and wrap it up.
Pesticide, herbicide, insecticide, suicide, homicide, genocide, and matricide of
Mother Earth. Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
ALLISON LUM: Aloha people of Kauai. My name is Allison
Lum. I am with The Aikea Movement. This is a movement that is new. It is less
than one (1) year old. Our goal is to unite our people to build power to change our
future. I came over here this morning from O`ahu because I wanted to come here
and stand united with the people of Kaua`i. I am very honored and proud to stand
with these people. The question of the day is about leadership and power. I think
the people of Kauai have an opportunity to play a leadership role, as does the City
Council. I want to recognize the City Council's leadership on this issue and share a
BILL NO. 2491 65 JULY 31, 2013
little bit about myself. My grandmother grew up on Hawai`i island in the sugarcane
plantation. Something that is not new to all of us, I think here in Hawai`i, is living
under fear. Developers, banks, and corporations—they come into our communities
and they promise things like jobs. We live under fear but I want to point out a lot of
what other people have pointed out as well. These are false choices. You can either
have a job and put food on your table for your family or have poison in your food and
your community. These lies, of course, are built on the premise of an illegal
takeover that is unjust. This has been said since plantation days, but are we going
to stand up? Are we going to let them put us against each other? No, we are not.
We cannot do that. We cannot let the current direction continue where eighty-five
percent (85%) to ninety-five percent (95%) of our food is imported. Corporations are
given handouts while our land is spoiled by greed. The GMO corporations are not
paying any GE Tax. We actually have the power as a people in Hawai`i if we are
united as one (1) people. They also said that we could not take on the PLDC, the
Public Land Development Corporation. Guess what? We actually kicked ass all
over the State of Hawai`i. In 2012, we knocked down four thousand one hundred
(4,100) doors. We talked to fifteen thousand (15,000) voters. Seven thousand
(7,000) people decided to vote together, to win together, and to reclaim Hawaii for
our future. I challenge all of us in this room to unite together as one (1) people and
to be willing to act because that is what power is about. I challenge this Council to
take the leadership stand that you can for Hawaii and for all of us here in Hawai`i.
Please do the right thing. Please pass this Bill. Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please. I just
want to ask the audience if we could pay attention to the speakers. This is a Public
Hearing; it is not a party. I understand that everybody is passionate but please be
respectful and if you could be quiet, it would be helpful for us and be helpful for the
speakers. If I could ask everybody's assistance with that, I would appreciate it.
JOHN AANA: Aloha Councilmembers. Mahalo for the
opportunity to testify. My name is John Aana. I am a taro farmer from the west
side. I support Bill No. 2491. I have grown taro on family property in Makaweli
Valley for almost forty (40) years, since 1976. There are GMO fields located on the
eastern bluff overlooking Makaweli Valley. We are just a handful of taro farmers
who are trying to hold onto the cultural traditions that have been passed down to
us. We grow taro primarily to make poi. In 1993 after Hurricane `Iniki destroyed
the Waimea Poi Mill, my cousin and I with the help of friends and family, started
Makaweli Poi Mill. With a good supply of taro from farmers in Waimea Valley,
Makaweli Valley, and Hanapepe Valley, we produced thousands of pounds of poi
every week. We supply poi for hundreds of baby luau, weddings, graduations,
funerals, and many other occasions. Twice a week, we send our poi to markets
across the State and even to the mainland. The point I am trying to make is this;
over the years, we have produced a hell of a lot of food for a lot of people. We have
been feeding this community for generations. We as farmers produce real food for
real people every day. These GMO companies who are trying to sell themselves as
"farmers," how much food do they produce? Absolutely nothing. Big fat zero. They
produce no food for this community, but they sure are willing to leave us with their
chemicals in our land and water. What I am trying to say to you, Councilmembers,
is this; you need to protect the real farmers who are producing real food for real
people every day. If you fail to pass this Bill, you will be putting farmers like us in
jeopardy; farmers who actually produce food for our community. If our land and
water is contaminated, then we will not be able to produce good, healthy food. It is
your duty, Councilmembers, to protect our residents, land, water, and environment
from the harmful effects from these chemicals. Bill No. 2491 is at least a chance to
BILL NO. 2491 66 JULY 31, 2013
start regulating this rampant use of chemicals. If you fail to pass this Bill and
those companies are allowed to continue the use of these chemicals unregulated,
then we have no future. Our land and water will be left a chemical wasteland.
Instead of being called "The Garden Island," we will be known as "The Chemical
Island" or "The Pesticide Island," and tourists will no longer want to come.
Chair Hooser: Please summarize in one (1) sentence.
Mr. Aana: Okay. Councilmembers, for our
grandchildren and our great-grandchildren, please pass this Bill.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
JESSICA PEARSON: Aloha Councilmembers. My name is Jessica
Pearson. I would just like to give thanks for showing up today and being present
with all of us while listening to us. My kumu of la au lapa'au told me and
encouraged me, as all of the speakers before me have, to speak my truth. Every day
here on Kaua`i, I am blessed and filled with gratitude for the position to be a
caretaker of the land, be an herbalist, eat organic food I grow from seeds, drink
clean water, breathe fresh clean air, and walk barefoot on the Earth. I feel her
lush, fertile soil between my fingers and toes as I prepare plants and pule for the
food and medicine I grow for myself, my community, and future generations. I find
myself sitting in wonder watching life grow and babies being born around me. This
is so pure and rich. It sounds like paradise. It is. It is Kaua`i, a pesticide free
Kaua`i. I came to speak today not for the human race, but for the Earth; the spirit
of Kauai that which reflects our bodies and elements which sacrifices life to feed,
shelter, and water us humans. The Earth is the greatest example of how to live,
how to grow, how to share, how to love, how to heal, and how to be self sustainable.
The Earth is alive; heart beating, breath flowing, and blood moving. We, the
human race, the Earth's caretakers, reflection, and voice have great responsibility.
As a caretaker and reflection as a human with a beating heart, I ask you, would you
like to be stripped of your skin and covered with pavement? Would you like your
flesh to be pumped full with chemicals and treated as an experiment? Would you
like your blood poisoned with pesticides? Would you like your children stripped of
their rights to give birth to a healthy, pure life? Would you like to be sterilized,
unable to give birth to a healthy new life? As I write these—these are obvious now
that these are reflections to us humans as well, from past and future testimonies. I
am here to speak for those without a voice: the land, the dying bees poisoned, the
wildlife, the fish, the ocean, the reef, the pigs, the goats; all poisoned and dying.
These are my teachers.
Chair Hooser: Please summarize in one (1) sentence if you
can.
Ms. Pearson: I will ask you to be a reflection of the Earth,
take responsibility as humans to save your home, and to pass this Bill. If our home
is dead, where will we be? Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
KATHRYN GILJE: Good afternoon, County Council and
community. Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak with you today. My
name is Kathryn Gilje. I am the Director of The Ceres Trust. I have traveled from
the mainland for this day only, to come here and voice our support for this Bill. We
BILL NO. 2491 67 JULY 31, 2013
support efforts across the U.S. to prevent pesticide exposure and GMO
contamination. We also provide significant support for land-grant university
scientific research, as well as farmer-to-farmer training in an organic, local, and
diversified agriculture. I also come here for my own personal reasons and my
experiences with GMOs and pesticides. I grew up in the Midwest. I studied
Agronomy at my land grant university—crops and soils. I spent time extracting
DNA from potatoes and working to genetically modify potatoes. I lived on a farm
surrounded by neighbors that grew GMO corn and soybeans. I saw how this model
of industrial agriculture led to farm closure after farm closure, economic hard times,
and health concerns that are now rampant in our communities. Rather than go and
work for Dow, Monsanto, or Pioneer, who are all options for me as an Agronomy
student with a lot of experience in GMO and pesticides. I cofounded a worker right
center that passed the first worker right (inaudible) Agricultural Worker Rights
Legislation in Minnesota. I eventually moved to California to direct the Pesticide
Action Network due to my deep concern about health and how these agrochemical
corporations are taking over food, farming, and the land. Today on behalf of The
Ceres Trust, I am here to offer our strong support for Bill No. 2491, and to express
my gratitude to each of you for seriously considering this important measure. Our
two (2) key reasons; first, children's health—I will not read to you what others have
read to you, but I do recommend that you read The American Academy of Pediatrics
full technical report and set of policy recommendations. It is the most compelling
piece of work I have seen on children's health on pesticides in a long time. It will
direct you to support this Bill. I would also say that the Federal legislation at this
moment is not doing enough. Just in the last two (2) weeks, farmer unions
including the United Farmworkers "Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste,"
Farmworker Justice, and the Pesticide Action Network, Physicians for Social
Responsibility have filed a legal petition with the United States EPA to protect
children's health, for workers, and from pesticide drift. There is a lot that needs to
be done in order to protect children from drift. The second reason I am here today is
because Kaua`i has the opportunity to, rather than go down this course of action,
invest in local, Native Hawaiian, organic, and diversified agriculture. This is not
what the GE industry is doing. GE is not part of sustainable agriculture. In fact,
the amount of pesticides has increased by four hundred (400) pounds since their
release. I urge your strong support of this measure. I thank you for the opportunity
to travel and be here with you today. I am happy to provide any of the scientific
studies that can back up my testimony. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Ms. Yukimura has a
question for you.
Ms. Yukimura: Kathryn, what is your last name?
Ms. Gilje: Gilje, spelt "g, i, 1, j, e."
Ms. Yukimura: Can you later give us any factual
information relevant to the findings in the Bill?
Ms. Gilje: Absolutely.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: Next speaker, please.
BILL NO. 2491 68 JULY 31, 2013
JOURNEY ZEPHIER: Aloha. My name is Journey. I am thirteen
(13) years old and I want to testify on behalf of the keiki of Kaua`i in support of
Bill No. 2491. I attend Kanuikapono Charter School in Anahola. I am in support of
Bill No. 2491 because this Bill is really for the kids and the keiki of Kaua`i in
keeping us safe. Most people think the kids do not really know what is going on or
that we do not understand the issues like this. We really listen to everything adults
say and do. We know when you are being dishonest or lying to us, or doing
something good for the land or not good. We, kids, are taught not to throw trash on
the ground, respect the aina, and to take care of the rivers and the ocean. When we
see and read about the poisons of pesticides being sprayed all over the island, we
know that adults are not "walking your talk." You are being dishonest with us. I
think the word "right" is hypocritical when a company says, "We love Kaua`i," but
argues buffer zones and sprays poisons by schools, hospitals, houses, and making
people sick. We feel in our hearts that those people are lying to us and being
hypocritical because poisoning our water, land, and people for money is not love; it
is greed. We look up to you guys as adults to show us what is being honorable, what
is truthful, and to show what "malama aina"is. We, the keiki of Kauai; we deserve
to live; we deserve to be healthy; we deserve to have clean air, water, and food to
eat; we deserve to drink water from the drinking fountain at school without
pesticides and atrazine in it; we deserve to be able to breathe and not get asthma
and cancer from pesticide drift; we deserve to be born without birth defects and
learning disabilities from toxic pesticide exposure in mom's womb; we deserve to be
able to run barefoot in the grass and swim in the ocean without getting rashes or
sick from pesticides; we deserve to grow up and have kids of our own and not to be
infertile from atrazine and other pesticide effects; we deserve to be protected; and
most of all, we deserve to inherit an island that is safe to live on, a place where our
kids and grandkids can be born healthy and to grow in the future. We should not
get sick at school. Everyone can google, even kids. We can see that Restricted Use
Pesticides are banned in Europe and lots of countries because they make people sick
and mess up the environment. That is why it is not okay to spray it on us.
Chair Hooser: Thank you so much for your testimony. We
really appreciate you coming down today. Thank you.
ERIKA SCHNEIDER: Aloha. My name is Erika Schneider. I am a
mom from Kapa'a and I am in support of Bill No. 2491. I believe it sets an
important foundation of creating minimal buffer zones and discovering what
pesticides are being used here on Kaua`i. It allows time for Environmental Impact
studies to determine the extent of which GMO experiments and pesticides are
having an effect on our people and our environment. I have heard the testimony of
healthcare workers from across Kauai describing a horror story of health impacts.
Their testimony of cancer, birth defects, infertility, asthma, immune system
disorders, endocrine disorders, learning disabilities, miscarriages, and more are
sobering but not unfamiliar. If you do research online, you will find that similar
health effects are being documented by healthcare workers and research around the
world in communities that surround GMO fields. I know there were a lot of
scientists who came here today and have said that they are independent and they
are just here out of the goodwill of their heart, telling you that GMOs are safes,
pesticides are safe, there is enough regulation, and there does not need to be
Environmental Assessments. What you do not understand is that even though they
say they are independent, when you dig around on them, which I have done, every
single one of them has ties to the biotech industry whether it is having research
that they have done that was funded by biotech or whether they have gone to a
university to obtain their PhD from a university that has received millions of
BILL NO. 2491 69 JULY 31, 2013
dollars in fellowship money from (inaudible). About five (5) or six (6) years ago in
Wisconsin, I lived near GMO test fields. I really did not have too much problems
because I was not living there very long, until there was a major flood. The mud
and the water washed down through our community, and my boyfriend at the time
walked through that mud inspecting the damage on our property and then came
into our house and walked through our house. That was the beginning of a
nightmare for our family that I cannot even begin to describe. Everyone in the
family became sick and the symptoms spread to his ex-wife, children, and everybody
in his business. The symptoms included rashes, itches, pain, memory loss,
dizziness, neurological issues like tremors and shaking, fatigue, and skin issues
that ranged from open sores that would not heal to itchy burning rashes that made
you feel like you were on fire from head to toe. We went to the medical community
for help and we could not find help. Doctors did not know what was wrong with us.
They knew that we had been exposed to something but they could not figure it out.
In conclusion, we turned to the EPA for assistance and was referred to a genetic
scientist there, who after doing extensive testing and research with us, gave us a
chilling diagnosis: exposure to biohazardous nanomaterials and genetically modified
organisms. I am still sick to this day.
Chair Hooser: Thank you for your testimony. As people are
waiting to come up, if you could think about your testimony and if it has been said
earlier on some of these, please minimize saying things over and over again. It is
almost five (5) hours and we have a long way to go. I know a lot of people worked
hard on their testimony. I want to respect your ability to present it, but please
focus on the new material and if you could be brief, that is great. Thank you. Next
speaker.
KYLE SMITH: Hello. My name is Kyle Smith. I am an
Attorney for residents in Waimea. You have heard many of them speak today
already. I brought some remarks but I will try to just focus on what I feel is
different or new. First, this is such a great event. The Council deserves a huge
amount of credit because not every Council does this right here. We have people on
both sides of the issue; people in blue who work for these companies and people in
red who are really concerned about it and have a lot of fear. You have fear about
jobs on one (1) end and you have fear about health on the other. The point I wanted
to make today is that...I made this point before for some of you—that is false choice.
These are very important questions for the community. To determine how the
community moves forward, it takes good leaders. What leaders need to make good
decisions is information. That is what this Bill does. This Bill gives you
information and gives the community information. The fact of the matter is that if
DuPont Pioneer had turned over the pesticides they were using three (3) years ago
when I got involved, we might not be here today. If any of these companies had
turned over their pesticide list that they were using when Councilmember Hooser
asked for them, we might not be here today. We are only here after there has been
a chain of events of some of these companies. It is not the workers' fault; it is none
of your guys' fault. You guys are doing your very best job out there. The companies
that employ you are not taking care of the community here. What do we know? I
saw the sign out here—before you say, "No GMO." What do we actually know here
today? We have a lot of people who are frightened on both sides. We have local
doctors who are telling you that they want and need this information to treat their
communities. You have companies who have already violated Kaua`i ordinances,
which are there—I am talking about Ordinance No. 808, which are there to protect
the people and land of Kaua`i. We know that pesticides used by these companies
are turning up in Waimea Canyon Middle School. We know that. That is
BILL NO. 2491 70 JULY 31, 2013
established. It is established by a State of Hawai`i, Department of Agriculture
study...the Waimea Air Quality Study. We paid one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000) and did not even look at all of the pesticides. These are the reasons why
the State is not doing its job and protecting Kaua`i and why Kaua`i needs you to
step in so that people and you will know more about what is really going on. I will
rest at that point. I just think there are concrete reasons why this Bill should move
forward, and I am totally in support of it.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. We have a question
for you.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you, Mr. Smith. Do you feel that the
provisions in the Bill regarding dust are sufficient?
Mr. Smith: No.
Ms. Yukimura: Can you please submit suggestions for how
we can strengthen that?
Mr. Smith: Sure. Absolutely. I will tell you that, like a
lot of other people have said, I think there are different aspects of this Bill that you
could argue about is not enough or too much. I would really urge, like the doctor
said earlier, to focus on the pesticides, focus on getting that information out, and
make science based decisions on these buffers. The reality is that for the regulated
plant materials, the buffer is six hundred (600) feet, right? I would suspect that
most pesticides can travel in the air farther than pollen. Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: I think Councilmember Bynum has a
question.
Mr. Bynum: Part of your efforts has also been seeking
data, correct? Information?
Mr. Smith: That is correct.
Mr. Bynum: You recently received a lot of data?
Mr. Smith: Right. What we received is that the
Restricted Use Pesticides sales records are public records. That is what the State of
Hawai`i did the Air Quality Study upon. What was not disclosed, at least by
DuPont Pioneer, is all of the other pesticides. There are roughly ninety (90)
different types, approximately sixty (60) active ingredients. Those we fought—the
only reason we got them is because people in Waimea who were being impacted
stood up and got that information. People should not have to file a lawsuit to find
out what pesticides their neighbors are using next door. It is as simple as that.
Mr. Bynum: I just want to know if that is data that you
can share with the Council.
Mr. Smith: Absolutely.
Mr. Bynum: Thank you.
BILL NO. 2491 71 JULY 31, 2013
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Chair Furfaro has a
question.
Mr. Furfaro: I met with you and Mr. Jervis for about two
(2) hours last week with my Staff. Have you provided the documents?
Mr. Smith: We did. When I checked with your Staff,
they said they did not get it from us. I went back and checked if the E-mail was
sent. It is a huge file, but what I will do is, if anyone on the Council wants it, we
will provide those files.
Mr. Furfaro: I would like you to get it to me at the request
that I made. If you have to "U.P.S." the file, please do as such.
Mr. Smith: You will have it.
Mr. Furfaro: Thank you very much.
Mr. Smith: Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
HOWARD WILLS: My name is Howard Wills. I live in
Princeville. I have been here on Kaua`i for eight (8) years. First, I want to thank all
of you for being here and going through this long delivery of information to use so
you can weigh what you need to do. I am here to say for myself and my family, and
many friends that we are in favor of this Bill. The Hawaiian Islands are small land
masses, and when you are introducing pesticides, herbicides, GMO products, and all
of these poisonous types of organisms and chemicals, we will potentially kill our
land, water, water table, ocean reefs, fish, and ourselves. I ask that you please vote
in favor of this. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
WALTER RITTE: Aloha. My name is Walter Ritte from
Moloka`i. One (1) of the biggest reasons we are here today, and we came the last
time, is to support. We really want to support. I have been involved with the GMO
issue for the last eight (8) years of my life. It sort of took over my life. The last time
I got hooked like this was with the island of Kaho`olawe. We had similar kinds of
meetings like this when we fought with the military about the use of that island.
This is nothing new. What I am seeing here today—I wanted to come to Kaua`i
because I wanted to see democracy at work. I want to congratulate all of you
because this is probably the best vision I ever saw. I have been going to all of the
islands and following this issue for all of the islands. For all of you to be here is
really, really great. Whether you have a red shirt or a blue shirt, it does not matter;
what matters is that you are here. I am anxious to hear what the blue shirts have
got to say. We have been listening to a lot of the red shirts and some of the blue
shirts. If democracy is going to work, then this is how it is going to work. I am a
farmer on Moloka`i. I am a homesteader. We have the same problem on Moloka`i as
you do here on Kauai. The largest employer on our island is Monsanto. They are
the largest employer, so our fight is among ourselves—the win-lose situation is a lot
greater because all of my cousins work for Monsanto, and also my aunties and
uncles. When we go to parties, we always end up talking about GMOs. It never
stops. For you guys to take this on—we went to the State. The State punted this
BILL NO. 2491 72 JULY 31, 2013
issue. We wanted labeling because we just wanted to know what our kids were
going to eat. We are here today talking about pesticides and that is a really mild
issue compared to the whole issue of GMOs throughout the world, but it is a critical
issue. What I want to give to you is just my opinion and it is guidance to what is
going on. Hawai`i Island—they want to ban this thing because they do not have
GMOs growing over there because there is too much lava. They do not have the
good soils that you guys have on Kauai and that we have on Moloka`i. Everybody is
doing their share in all of this, but the spotlight is on you guys. If you go on social
media or anywhere, the spotlight is on you guys. The people of Kauai have come
today and they have spoken. I have heard it all day long. You guys have unreal
information. There is no reason why you are not going to make a good decision.
There is absolutely no reason why not. You are going to make a good decision
because you got really good input from the people of Kaua`i. From Moloka`i, I want
to say to all of you—imua and thank you so much for being politicians that really
got...I do not want to say the word, but really tough guys taking on this issue.
Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
BILL HOOKER: Aloha. My name is Bill Hooker. I have a
five (5) acre permaculture in Kapahi. I come from a long line of farmers and
ranchers that make that a living in a hard land called "Oklahoma." I do not think a
lot of people realize what kind of place this is. This is incredible. I also had the
experience of spending about fifteen (15) years with two (2) of the largest
corporations in the world. I love farmers. They have good hearts. They are
connected to the soil. I do not trust corporations because they are connected to one
(1) thing and that is a dollar. We are going to blow all of this down and cut through
all of the garbage—it is about a buck. We loved people in the corporations that
trusted us. We would get the attorneys to mark up our documents, black them out,
and send it to them, and we laughed all the way to the bank. We loved those types
of people. Here is the bottom line. I am going to talk about all of the statistics and
data. I worked at a research facility for the government for a few years. If you
believe that stuff, I have a little bird sanctuary next to Ni`ihau I will sell you. There
it is. The truth has no agenda. Do the right. thing. You people face problems with
jobs and relocating. Let me tell you what—a little bird does not worry about the
branch it lands on because it does not trust the branch; it trusts its wings. Do the
right thing. This is the island of the undefeated. Act like it.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
ROBIN ERICKSON: My name is Robin Erickson. I am a nine and
a half(9.5) year resident here. I have a small business. I am a taxpayer, registered
voter, and I belong to several community organizations. Everything that I wanted
to say has been said. I just implore you that those of us in favor of the Bill are
educated. We are business owners. We do vote. We are watching. We implore you
to support this Bill. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
ROBERT RIHA, JR.: Aloha Councilmembers. My name is Robert
David Riha, Jr. I support Bill No. 2491. I am an organic farmer and chef residing
in Moloa`a. I support the Kaua`i Community Seed Exchange. Being a farmer for
over ten (10) years in Hawai`i, I understand that inorganic materials put onto the
Earth, our fragile island, would only be unhealthy and disruptive for the land and
BILL NO. 2491 73 JULY 31, 2013
the people. I feel that the buffer zones are clearly not enough distance from the
schools, houses, hospitals, roads, and streams. Our winds carry pollen and seeds
further than the buffer zones. If spraying harmful soil (inaudible) and pesticides,
the smell and effect can be felt outside the buffer zones. We need to take care of the
people and the land in a healthy way. We can be the best example of a "green
State." We are "The Garden Island." Let us have a healthy garden. The large
international chemical seed companies could create more jobs to recondition the
land and clean the waterways. Kaua`i is scared. People here have farmed using
harsh chemicals for far too many generations. The people and the land are getting
sick. We need to give back to the land the nutrients and love that has been taken
from it. Soil remediation is a must. We can do this by growing organic sugar beets
because they pull toxins out of the Earth. Local organic pests have proved this soil
has lower levels of DDT after growing beets. The beets can then be distilled as a
fuel and used for tractors, cars, trucks, motorcycles, lawn mowers, et cetera. It will
be beneficial for the community. I sincerely believe that we can do a lot more
Earth-friendly activities. Mahalo and aloha.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
ANDREA BROWER: Thank you for being here, Councilmembers.
Thank you, Chair, for scheduling this hearing. My name is Andrea Brower. I am a
PhD candidate. I have a Masters in International Development in Science, and I
am born and raised on Kauai. In 2008, we set a new historical record. Over one
billion (1,000,000,000) people went hungry on this planet. At the same time, we
harvested record amounts of grain. Some of the companies in this room boasted
record profits and we had enough food to feed ten billion (10,000,000,000) people. I
have spent the past year dedicated to studying the problems of our global food
system. Hunger, farm worker exploitation, soil erosion, fossil fuel dependency—the
list is really quite long. The more I research, learn, and work with people in other
countries, the more clearly I understand that today, we already have all of the
knowledge and resources we need to be feeding every person on this planet in a
healthy and sustainable way. The choice between the environment, health, and
jobs is manufactured. That does not mean solving the problems of our global food
system is simple or totally straightforward. Things are definitely complex. There
are also very clear paths toward a more sustainable, healthy, equitable, and
democratic global food system. There are very clear paths taking us in the opposite
direction. What is very straightforward and supported by decades of conclusive
research is that the related processes of deregulation or regulation in favor of
corporate agribusiness; antidemocratic, nontransparent science that is done purely
in the interest of profit; the privatization of our genetic commons; and corporate
concentration of wealth and power in every part of food chain, from seed to shelf;
are undermining our very ability to build a more healthy and fair global and local
food system. We hear a lot these days about these big, evil greedy corporations and
sometimes it all goes in one ear and out the other. What we need to understand is
that these corporations are operating in a system that legally and economically does
not allow them to prioritize anything but profit, and that policy trends in the past
decade have facilitated their ability to externalize their costs and squeeze workers
and small producers on one (1) end and consumers on the other; all the while, reap
what I consider to be "immoral profits." This Bill is about holding accountable an
industry that is accustomed to forcing the general public to pick up their costs and
covering their tracks so we cannot hold them liable for our health and
environmental remediation bills in the future. This Bill is about our right to
information regarding what they are doing to our land and our bodies, and then our
right to make evidence based on democratic decisions from that information. I will
BILL NO. 2491 74 JULY 31, 2013
just digress really briefly on the point of information because somebody from Dow
came up here and accused Bill supporters of using fear and misinformation, and
then proceeded to list a bunch of factual lies. There are some things that are
debated in the scientific community still. There is a lot of misinformation on the
so-called "anti-GMO side." I agree, but there are scientific facts and there is social
scientific consensus on a number of issues that they are purposely skewing...
Chair Hooser: Please summarize if you can.
Ms. Brower: Is it three (3) minutes already?
Chair Hooser: Yes.
Ms. Brower: I am sorry. I just want to say that promises
of collaboration and voluntary action cannot be a substitute for our mandated right
to know and decide. I have talked with many of you and I do trust that you will do
the right thing.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Councilmember Yukimura has a
question for you.
Ms. Yukimura: Hi Andrea. Thank you for your testimony.
Can you submit what you have to us?
Ms. Brower: Yes, and with further detail, I shall.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay. I also want to ask if you could submit
any factual information relevant to findings in the Bill.
Ms. Brower: Sure.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
ROBERT BROWER: She is a tough act to follow. My name is
Robert Brower. I am a long time resident of my adult life on Kauai. Both of my
kids are born and raised here, and educated on the East side. It has been my
privilege to have lived here for thirty-eight (38) years. I have been a licensed
General Contractor in the State for twenty-eight (28) years. As a General
Contractor, I have learned to think analytically. It is my job to take someone else's
conceptual idea and turn it into something tangible and functional. My business
success depends on separating the sensible from the non-sensible. Bill No. 2491 is a
sensible start to some much needed problem solving. When I heard the DuPont
lawsuit attorney's discovery and added that to the public record of RUPs purchased,
I was astonished at the ungodly amount. I am not a farmer but something did not
compute. There is no corn on the planet that needs twenty-two (22) different
restricted herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides to grow and give seed. It may
however, require a little watering after receiving twelve (12) doses per day for two
hundred fifty (250) days per year, at the rate of eighteen (18) tons of concentrate per
year. I got all worked up about all of these statistics and I decided to try and
navigate my way through the smoky mirrors. I contacted the EPA and then I also
had to do some navigating through their system to finally get to somebody. I did
meet Mr. Dean Higuchi, who is the Head Administrator of the Honolulu EPA
BILL NO. 2491 75 JULY 31, 2013
Satellite Office. Mr. Higuchi has three (3) employees, and they not only do Hawai`i,
but they do Guam, Midway, American Samoa, and all American Protectorates in
the Pacific. He told me that they have no pesticide people in Hawai`i—he wishes
they did, and only one (1) on the West Coast. He also said that they are sorely
understaffed and they are getting more understaffed due to the Republican House
wanting to cut their budget. Mr. Higuchi suggested that I further my research and
talk to Mr. Thomas Matsuda, Head of the HDOA Pesticides Division. Mr. Matsuda
was very helpful. He gave me a condensed education of the process of becoming
certified to apply these restricted chemicals. He also told me that HDOA has one
(1) person based on Kaua`i to do inspections and he said that inspection logs are not
public information until a later date. I have the logs I just submitted and out of one
hundred five (105) days that are not redacted, only twenty-one (21) were (inaudible)
at the chemical companies. Twenty-one (21) out of one hundred five (105) days.
This is not enough oversight. They are on their own. Is that acceptable to us? I do
not think so.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. I have a question.
Mr. Brower: Yes.
Chair Hooser: Because of the muffle of the mic, how many
days were inspected?
Mr. Brower: One hundred seventy-eight (178) days were
inspected and seventy-two (72) were redacted or crossed out. Of the one hundred
five (105) days not redacted; there was nine (9) at Syngenta, seven (7) in Pioneer,
three (3) at Kaua`i Coffee, and two (2) at BASF. There are eighty-four (84) days at
various golf courses, farm supply stores, nail parlors, nurseries, small farms, Home
Depot, and the County of Kaua`i. Twenty-one (21) out of one hundred five (105)
days, these inspectors went to the biochemical companies in two (2) years. This is a
period of January 6, 2011 to December 28, 2012, so a two (2) year period.
Chair Hooser: The Department of Agriculture inspections
over two (2) years spent twenty-one (21) days inspecting the seed companies.
Mr. Brower: Correct. The logs are right there.
Chair Hooser: Okay. Thank you very much. Next speaker.
JOSE BULATAO, JR.: My name is Jose Bulatao, Jr. I am a retired
teacher from Kekaha. I listen very carefully to instructions, Gary, and you said not
to repeat anything that has already been said so I am saving you that (inaudible) if
you will, of saying the same things over and over that you have already heard, time
and time again. I want to bring some new perspectives for the Councilmembers and
for the audience to consider. People may think that I am going to be real off the
wall and even have the nerve to come up with these ideas, but it may be well worth
our time to consider the realm of possibilities in at least considering adapting some
of these ideas. I really would like to think that all of us here, in spite of one's point
of view, hopefully that we all malama aina or we have that shared responsibility to
really take care of this place. It is a given. We who are here at this time have that
responsibility. We cannot get away from it. Having said that, I would like to have
the GMO people here in this room—the workers, their bosses, and up the corporate
level if you will, to consider the possibility of using the money that the corporation
generates to help remediate the island and put away those sums of money we need
BILL NO. 2491 76 JULY 31, 2013
so that whatever happens, even while you may still be here, or when you leave that
you make that commitment to remediate this island because that needs to be done.
It has been said. I would also like to have the GMO companies consider the
possibility of putting funding sources aside that may be needed by the people who
live here that if they are negatively impacted by the presence or the use of
pesticides in the community that affect our finite resources, that money be put aside
for healthcare, insurance, health facilities to be built, for services and amenities to
be rendered; that you have that responsibility and you have that opportunity to be
part of the solution if we will be negatively impacted by the use and application of
pesticides. In closing, I would also like to suggest to the Council that as you move
forward with this idea, should you pass this as-is or as amended, whatever happens
if we are going to move forward with this opportunity to do something wonderful
about preserving our environmental integrity, that you use the abilities and you use
the background of so many people who are (inaudible) who are academically
inclined, who have the experience to form a task force to move forward with making
things pono. Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
WENDY BECKETT: Hi. My name is Wendy Beckett. I am a
registered voter from Kapa`a. Much of what I was going to say has already been
said so I am not going to say it. I understand how controversial this issue is. I
understand the fear of people losing their jobs. If we damage our land and our
health because we fail to understand what was being done to us by these
corporations and by these pesticides, how will we feel then? How will we feel if our
children are sickened because we refused to question big ag companies' methods of
farming? I have heard a lot of people say that the sugar people started this. During
the sugar era, they used a lot of pesticides but nothing compared to the amount or
the toxicity of the kinds of pesticides that are being used now by the big four (4) out
in Waimea. Jobs—people are concerned about their jobs. I do not think there has
ever been a time...or if there has been, it has been very brief, where there has not
been a huge need for agricultural jobs on this island. This island is about
agriculture. I am borrowing a statement from Martin Luther King, "I have a
dream." My dream is seeing miles and miles of fields and crops that are self
sustainable, healthy for the workers who worked those crops, that provide the kind
of living that people can take care of their families, and then ultimately takes care
of everyone and the aina. This is a very special place, this Kauai. She is sacred
land. She is the spiritual heart of these islands. The most sacred land in all of the
islands is right there in Wailua. It is our job to take care of her and that is what I
am respectfully asking of all of you on the Council, is to please remember the oath
that you took when you took office, and that is to protect Kauai. Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
DOROTHY KULIK: My name is Dorothy Kulik. I moved here on
July 18th. My voter registration application is being processed. Bill No. 2491 is
excellent except for Article 22, Section 11, which governs penalties. From an
individual perspective, your penalties may seem steep, but it is petty cash that does
not even warrant shareholder attention. Adequate enforcement is essential to
success. Accordingly, I move that the Council put to a vote the penalties I propose,
the full language of which has been submitted to you, and may be viewed by the
public upon request. It calls for a ten million dollar ($10,000,000) fine on the first
offense and one hundred million dollar ($100,000,000) fine on the second offense.
On second and third offenses, (inaudible) the corporate bail to prove it is sham used
BILL NO. 2491 77 JULY 31, 2013
to perpetrate a fraud on the people. Individual board members must be held
criminally and civilly responsible and I have submitted testimony that shows that
there is German law that shows it is applied to public corporations as well as sole
proprietorship corporations. On third offense, the biotech must be banished from
the island. Also, I have heard that Ms. Yukimura suggest that biotechs be allowed
to participate in their regulation. This would put a "monkey wrench" into the works
to serve their own purposes. Please do not allow the fox to watch the henhouse.
Therefore, I move that Ms. Yukimura's suggestion be removed from consideration.
Finally, Bill No. 2491 is eventually going to lead to litigation that will challenge the
unconstitutional Monsanto Protection Act. When that occurs, it is imperative that
at trial level, we plead the rights pertained by the people under the Ninth
Amendment of the Constitution because if that is not plead at trial level, it cannot
be raised at appeal. The Ninth Amendment, which covers all of the rights retained
by the people, is what Bill No. 2491 is all about. Finally, under the Tenth
Amendment of the Constitution, this Council has the right to make any regulations
or any laws concerning Kaua`i and does not have to rely on the Federal government.
Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. I want to ask the audience to
please subdue your enthusiasm so we can move on.
Ms. Yukimura: Mr. Chair?
Chair Hooser: Yes.
Ms. Yukimura: May I just make a one (1) sentence
comment?
Chair Hooser: Sure.
Ms. Yukimura: Ma'am, I just want to say that you
misunderstood my suggestion, but I will explain it later on. I will not take the time
today.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Again, if the audience could be a
little more respectful, I would appreciate it. Next speaker, please.
K. HOKU CABEBE: Aloha. `O wau `o Hoku. Mai Wainiha mai
au. I am here in support of Bill No. 2491. The right to know, school buffer zones,
and the EIS is of utmost importance to me, as this land that I have been blessed to
be of and my daughter who I am blessed to have and hold, is in danger from
chemical companies that have infiltrated our island home. Upon my first discovery
of the possibility of harmful effects of GMO on the aina, my heart hurt and my
na au told me that this was not right. The more I learned about these companies
and the communities they come into, the more my fears are validated. It is not hard
to find a personal story of the destruction caused by chemical companies. About a
week ago, I found out that my daughter's school, Kawaikini, which is in the beloved
moku of Puhi is in very close proximity to a large GMO field. I have transported my
daughter back and forth, thirty (30) miles, from the North Shore for the last eight
(8) years since she was two (2) years old at Punana Leo 0 Kaua`i. The news that
she has been sitting next to a poison farm and could possibly be affected like the
keiki at Waimea school has simply devastated me and has made me question myself
as a parent and what is safe for my child. I have endured very long days and drives
so that my daughter has the best opportunity for a strong Hawaiian education in a
BILL NO. 2491 78 JULY 31, 2013
setting as loving as the one that I grew up in with Hawaiian values, Hawaiian
history, Hawaiian culture, and Hawaiian language. The time, effort, and sacrifice
to have her attend Punana Leo and Kawaikini has been great but so very worth it
because my daughter loves her school and she thrives. It is with the heaviest of
heart that I even contemplate whether it is safe for her to attend kula. With all the
lying and denying of the effects of the products, I do not trust that my daughter is
safe while sitting in a classroom next to a GMO field. As a Hawaiian with deep,
spiritual faith and knowing that I was able to be raised in the Hawaiian way of
lOkahi, malama aina, malama kai, malama kupuna, and malama keiki right here
on these beautiful Hawaiian islands where over one hundred (100) years ago,
businessmen much like the ones who are here today representing DuPont Pioneer,
Monsanto, and the rest, they overthrew our Queen, they forbid us from speaking
our language, they overtook our aina, and they tried to break our `ohana.
Absolutely, they did not take our mana. E ola. E ola no `ohana o ka ninau. Please
pass Bill No. 2491 so that my daughter can be safe from chemical drift and toxic
chemical waters while at school. Mahalo nui loa me ka ha aha a.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
MARK ANDERSON: Aloha. My name is Mark. I grew up on the
island. I actually went to Kaumakani Elementary School as a kid. I support the
Bill. The testimony has been so eloquent. I do not need to add any more to that.
Yesterday, I called up some of my friends and they could not come—a lot of my
friends could not come here. I said, "Let me be your voice. Just give me your name
and I will mention that you are in support of the Bill." I had this huge flood of
people calling me. I do not even know how they got my name. Anyways, I am
representing these people as in support of the Bill: Bob Layer, Ann Darlington, Teri
Nash, Richard Spacer, Ken Koeller, Leo Alkana, Andy Fitts, Vickie Fitts-Bishop,
Shosanah Shantara, Bernardo Lizarraga, Qadafi Cherry, Danny Viernas, Allison
Lacock, Fern Merle-Jones, Glenna Foster, Melia Foster, Katie Foster, Makani
Foster—these are all adults by the way. Merlin Edmunds, Taylor Darling, Clarke
Darling, Harvest Edmunds, Jim Edmunds, Mason Edmunds, Jennifer Edmunds,
Iao Edmunds, Kate Brenpin, Katheryn Lathrop, Sean Lathrop, Ahn Eu, Michael
Olanolan, Mildred Olanolan, Kegan Algren, Christine Inks, Kevin Reale, Rainbow
Bernhelm, John Wickman, Bernadette Wickman, Denise Dennis, Julie Mai, Savina
Mai, James Wilson, Jennifer Murray, Gregory Cotton, Matt Rosener, Nicole Miller,
Monique Dehne, Sarah Smith, Sebastian Romero, Ted Edwards, Vanessa Slater,
Clay Mason, Joel Downs, Waioli Chandler, Tim Madden, Allissa Madden, Thomas
Deebe, Denise Ham Young, Rick Ham Young, Sandra Pardoso, Tulasi Adeva, Desire
Keaweehu, Ian Frauler, Kawika Smith, Sharee Anderson...
Chair Hooser: You can submit the names.
Mr. Anderson: Anyways, there are one hundred forty (140)
people. I just put it out to my friends. My point is that there is a huge support for
this Bill. This is our moment to really make this happen. I just want to make that
point that there is a lot of support for this Bill. I will submit it here. Aloha. Thank
you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
STEPHANIE KRIEGER: Aloha. My name is Stephanie Krieger. I
have been a Kaua`i resident for sixteen (16) years. I have my Bachelors Degree in
Biology, Marine Science, and Chemistry from the University of Miami at Florida. I
BILL NO. 2491 79 JULY 31, 2013
own and operate a small business that supports our island beekeepers and
independent farmers. I am testifying to you today with the hope and intention that
you support and pass Bill No. 2491. For the past thirteen (13) years, I have been
creating and developing my business that is dependent on the raw materials and
resources provided by our local farmers and beekeepers. Knowing each one
personally, some of them here today, I know how hard they work to maintain the
integrity of their farms and apiaries. I source our honey and fruit from all regions
of Kaua`i and only sell our product within the State of Hawai`i, keeping all profits
within our small community and economy. The large agricultural companies'
exorbitant use of chemicals within their own operations threatens the integrity of
the apiaries and independently owned farms from which I source my raw materials.
Some of our County Council and community members have taken recent fieldtrips
to some of these west side biotech companies. They toured the premises and met
several of the Supervisors and Department Heads. For those of you who attended
these excursions, did they tell you about the extensive background checks that were
required for employment or show you the chemical wash stations that are used in
the event of employees exposed during chemical application? Do they tell you how
many days during their employment that they have not been able to work due to
illness? To say that the chemicals that are currently in use within these operations
are not harmful not only puts the employees of these companies at risk, but also the
surrounding community and watershed. To say that there has not been enough
evidence to warrant a ban on these uses of chemicals is an unjust statement to our
community. Let us learn from the notorious past history of tobacco companies
which twenty (20) years ago, experts showed no link to lung cancer. With the sugar
industry that took a turn for the worst in the early 2000s, I envisioned a change
that would be progressive, sustainable, and would support our island residence and
areas of employment, quality of living, and overall health. Fast forward thirteen
(13) years and we are still struggling with our island's identity. I never ever
imagined that today we would be defending our beautiful island of Kaua`i from the
chemical poisoning that is happening on the west side and creeping steadily south
and east. I fully support all of the articles and sections of Bill No. 2491. We are an
island nation that rests in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, two thousand five
hundred (2,500) miles away from any other land mass. We need to protect our land
and watershed and nurture our children and community so they can grow into the
caretakers that will support our future. In our time of need, if our own island
people cannot feed each other, who will feed us? We have the right to know. Thank
you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
GARY SEALS: Aloha. Thank you for all of the effort you put
into this day. It has been an enduring process. As a father, farmer, fisherman, and
a taxpayer on the island, I fully support Bill No. 2491. My deepest concern is of the
unknown and what seems to be agreed on by all of us here is that we do not know
why our children are coming home sick with reoccurring nosebleeds. We do not
know why the reefs on the West side are dying at an astronomical rate. We do not
know that our large scale Ag lands are being stripped of nutrients and left full of
disposable black plastic and irrigation materials. Simply looking at the word itself,
"restricted pesticides," and the hazmat suits that are required to apply these
pesticides, gives me a pretty solid understanding of why those incidences are
happening. On one hand, we have strong opposition of this Bill by large off-island
corporations who are importing over half of their employees to our island and
putting economic gain over the health of our children in the vitality of our island.
On the other hand, we have small scale organic farmers, doctors, teachers, business
BILL NO. 2491 80 JULY 31, 2013
owners, and parents who are taking time off work while getting childcare and doing
anything it takes to be here and show you that what you are doing is right by
supporting this Bill and asking for transparency, asking for a moratorium on time
so we can get to the bottom of it and come up with factual, scientific backed up
answers. The time that it takes to prove this and do a complete Environmental
Impact Statement is what is necessary. Thank you for pushing forward on that. As
our elected officials, we obviously trust you and come election time again, we will
put it out there one (1) more time. Thank you for pushing this Bill forward as it
completely states.
Chair Hooser: Can you repeat your name for the record?
Mr. Seals: My name is Gary Seals.
Chair Hooser: Thank you, Gary. Next speaker.
BLAIR SMITH: Mahalo for considering Bill No. 2491 and
spending the time to read and listen to the abundance of testimonies flooding your
mailboxes and here today. My name is Blair Smith. I am here as a pregnant
mother, Nutritionist, and a deeply concerned citizen. There are many reasons why I
support this Bill. The huge amounts of pesticides being used by these seed
companies are deeply concerning. I feel that open-air testing of experimental crops
should never be allowed. The impacts to the health of our community, land, and
natural resources are downright scary. There is already irreversible damage that
has been done to our precious island. The question is at what point will we demand
that it stop? Without healthy reef, we have no nourishment from the sea. Without
healthy soil, we have no nourishment from the land. Where does this leave us?
This leaves us completely vulnerable and helpless. These companies are not
farmers. They are corporations with corporate interests. They are not here growing
food for the island and their practices threaten our ecosystem and the land needed
by true farmers to grow nutritious food. I found it really interesting that the second
scientist who spoke in opposition to the Bill listed some crops that he said were
predominant. The GMOs like corn, canola, and soy—these are the same foods that
as a Nutritionist, I look at first to remove from a person's diet when they come to
me with problems. Often, their symptoms are relieved just simply by removing
these foods. These are not nutritious foods. To grow food which nourishes our
bodies requires life in the soil. Toxic pesticides wage war on life, killing the soil not
just for this generation, but for many more generations to come. I also would like to
reiterate what Dr. Evslin mentioned about beneficial bacteria and the detrimental
effects of these pesticides on...ninety percent (90%) of our cells are bacteria. We are
only ten percent (10%) human. We need to take care of our little bugs that are
helping us out. This is not just a discussion about growing practices and what
builds healthy soil and food, it is about the community of Kaua`i having a right to
know what these companies are doing. It is about transparency. This is an
extremely reasonable Bill and yet these companies are fighting us hard on it,
threatening people's jobs, and paying out large amounts of money to generate
opposition. If their practices were safe and they cared about our community as the
recent radio commercials claim, they would have no problem being transparent.
They would have no problem enclosing experimental crops so they do not
contaminate our farmland and environment. They would have no problem
providing the necessary information for a comprehensive environmental study.
Thanks.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker.
BILL NO. 2491 81 JULY 31, 2013
DAVID KEENER: I would like to begin by thanking the
Councilmembers for being here to hear us. Thank you, Gary, for not being in
Washington. We appreciate that. You are here locally. My name is David Keener.
I am in favor of Bill No. 2491. There have been a lot of great things that have been
said here today, much of which is in my testimony so I am just going to cut to the
chase on a couple of key things of mine. I grew up in farm country. My
great-grandparents and grandparents had a seven hundred (700) acre farm. I have
worked on several farms. I grew up with farmers. I know what farmers do. I know
what they are involved with. The first thing I can say about this is that these
companies are not farmers. They are corporations. My sister personally worked for
Dow for just shy of eight (8) years and lost her job to a layoff, and so did two
hundred (200) other people when they moved a division of the plant to a new area to
save costs, save money. There was no Bill that was pushing them or causing them
to lose money, or resources that they were working with; it was simply bottom line
figures and the expense of my sister and two hundred (200) other workers. Recently
Dow has made a decision to layoff two thousand four hundred (2,400) employees
worldwide to save five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000). From a company
that makes over thirty billion dollars ($30,000,000,000) a year or more, does five
hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) not seem like a drop in the bucket for two
thousand four hundred (2,400) people's livelihood? The people who come to the
table today—I respect all of you. I understand why you would come for your jobs.
DuPont is no different. They are going to layoff one thousand five hundred (1,500)
people, once again, for the same kind of reasons. I guess I would just like to put out
on the table that these companies are not about people. They are not about our
communities, the health of it, or our ecosystems. They are about the bottom line. It
is no different if you work for them or if you do not. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
KYLE LANDRU: Hi, my name is Kyle Landru. I grew up in
Central Montana as a generational cattle rancher/farmer. The first thing—when
you splice a fish gene with a flower into a soybean, that is not farming, it is mad
science. If caffeine is just as dangerous as Atrazine, I would challenge Steve do a
drinking contest. I will drink my coffee and he can have his Atrazine. The final
thing I wanted to say is thank you guys for being here and to pass the Bill.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
VICTORIA HOLLOWAY: My name is Victoria Holloway. Thank you
for being here. In 1999, I was pregnant with my second child, living in Anahola,
and I randomly discovered a website called "Mothers for Natural Law." They were
on the mainland trying to raise awareness around GMO issues. At that time, I had
no idea that there were GMOs on the island. I found out that there was and I was
horrified. I was even more horrified that I did not know that and that nobody I
knew, knew that back then. I started doing my research and all this time I was
pregnant, the more research I did the more horrified I became. I felt passionate
about sharing what I was finding and I was doing a little table with awareness
outside Papaya's Natural Food thinking, "Okay, the first step is to at least get the
word out." One day, a couple came over to me and they said that they would like to
talk to me when I packed away my table. I said okay and later that afternoon, we
just sat a little down the way. They were a young couple and they had a baby on
their lap. They had come from the mainland wanting to live on Kauai and wanting
to farm. They saw this farming job advertised and they responded and found
BILL NO. 2491 82 JULY 31, 2013
themselves on the west side. I do not remember which company they were working
for but there they were and they became more and more suspicious as they were
there because they actually did not realize that it was a GMO/biotech company at
first. They just thought that they were coming to farm on Kaua`i. As things became
clearer, they got more confused by what was going on and realizing that this really
was not something that they wanted to do, but it was a job and they were a young
married couple so they stayed with it for a little while. They were out in the fields a
lot during the flowering of the corn plants and so on. Then they discovered that
they were pregnant and they did not realize they were pregnant when they landed
on the island. They told me that when the baby was born—they lifted up its foot
and there was an extra toe. Of course I cannot say—or they could not say either
that it was a result of anything that they had been exposed to or that the mom had
been exposed to in the fields. This is the first time I actually shared this story. It
has always stayed with me. My heart beats fast even now just because it was
shocking to see that. The baby seemed really healthy aside from that, which is a
blessing but since this is all coming up again—at that time, I actually stopped
researching, learning, and sharing because I began having so many nightmares
from what I was learning. That is how bad and horrible the information was. It
was so scary. I could not stay with it. When my baby was born, I wanted to be able
to give her "peaceful milk." I felt like I needed to sleep at night. Since this has
come up again recently, I have been researching more and I can provide more
information after this. There is a lot more research being done around birth defects
connected to GMOs. I just want to put that on the table. Please pass the Bill.
Thank you for bringing it to us. Aloha.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
HEATHER KILAR: Hello. My name is Heather Kilar from
Waimea. I am a registered voter. Thank you for hearing my testimony this
evening. I oppose the Bill for several reasons. Number one (1), the buffer zone will
eliminate too much of the farmable land. Number two (2), the moratorium will
prohibit some of the research that I am working on. Number three (3), the Bill is
expensive and that is not how I would choose to spend our County money. First,
Section 22-22.5 would eliminate important farmland. As mentioned by the speaker
from Kaua`i Coffee Company, this will be quite devastating, especially for them.
Second, the moratorium required in Section 22-22.7 will not allow me to continue
my research. My function within my company is to produce via hand pollination,
different combinations of biotech crops. These crops that I am working on are
already approved. They are being grown in the United States but I am making new
combinations. For example to explain this, one (1) plant has the trait and one (1)
plant does not have the trait so we cross them together. That forms a new
combination. We are testing the combinations to find out which has the best yield.
The moratorium says that "new research would be stopped," but every time during
each season, I am testing new combinations. That is "new." In my department, we
also test new combinations for Africa in a joint effort with my company, (inaudible)
an organization based in Africa, and with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation. We have all come together to work to produce drought-tolerant, low
nitrogen using varieties to improve the food security in Africa. Again, this project
requires new seeds each season to find the highest yielding combinations. This site
for this project is in Kekaha, a sandy desert-like soil, and the buffer zone of
Section 22-22.5 would eliminate this yield test site. Another project our department
is working on is biofortified Sorghum. Some places in the world have very harsh
climates where almost nothing grows, except Sorghum. In these places, there is
Vitamin A deficiency, leading to blindness in many children. Currently, this
BILL NO. 2491 83 JULY 31, 2013
research is in a regulated phase. Section 22-22.10 would not allow field production
in yield testing of this important biotech crop. Finally, Sections 22-22.8, 22-22.9,
22-22.11, 22-22.12 require the County to expend a lot of money on enforcing rules
that are redundant. In summary, I do not support this Bill because it will hinder
my very important and safe research work that will better people's lives around the
world. Finally, my greatest testimony to the safety of my industry is that I have
two (2) beautiful and healthy children, both of which I carried while working as a
Field Supervisor at my company. I oppose this Bill. Thank you for hearing my
testimony.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. We have a question for you.
Ms. Yukimura: Ms. Kilar, thank you very much for giving us
very specific information about how you think the Bill will affect your work. You
have said in your first reason that the buffer zone is too big. I think we are getting
more and more testimony from the seed companies as well as Kaua`i Coffee, about
how diminished your land area would be. Can you tell us either now or in a
subsequent E-mail of how the buffer system that you are presently using is safe
because we want to give you as much land as possible, but we want to make sure it
is safe too. Perhaps, it is best so that other people get to testify, but if you could
give us that.
Ms. Kilar: I can look into it.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay.
Ms. Kilar: I am not going to promise but I can look into
it for you.
Ms. Yukimura: There may be someone else in your company
who can give us the answer.
Ms. Kilar: Okay. Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you.
Chair Hooser: I have a question also.
Ms. Kilar: Sure.
Chair Hooser: It is helpful for us to make good decisions if
you have recommendations on what would be the appropriate buffer zones. If you
are able to do that—we do not have to have a big discussion but if you are able to
provide that information, that would be very helpful so we can make good decisions.
Ms. Kilar: Just a quick answer to that is that my family
does have a farm in Iowa, and I was looking at what do they have for buffer
regulations in Iowa, so something we might want to consider is looking at what are
other places that have farming going. It is coming up with a number that is
appropriate.
Chair Hooser: Okay. Please provide that if you can. I have
one (1) more question. You mentioned that the Bill said that new research would be
stopped. I do not believe the Bill says that. If you can send that by E-mail to the
BILL NO. 2491 84 JULY 31, 2013
Council and let us know where it says that—it is my understanding that the Bill
says that experimental genetic modification, by definition, can be done in an
enclosed area and that other deregulated crops can be grown as usual on your
property. If you can send me...
Ms. Kilar: There might be some misinformation about
the clarity of the wording of the Bill. I think that there is definitely some grayness
in the Bill of the words.
Chair Hooser: If you could look at the Bill and look at the
definition for "experimental GMOs" and how would that affect you, and then let us
know in writing, that would be very helpful.
Ms. Kilar: Okay. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
KYLER KILAR: Thank you, Councilmembers. That is my
wife and I get to be a "home dad" because of that. You are going to see why this
came about the way it did and it will change everything that you heard. Thank you
so much. My name is Kyler Kilar. I do live in Waimea with those children. I walk
the streets in the valley every single day. My kids do not have nosebleeds. I do not
know if I am the hybrid (inaudible), but that is my every single day. Once upon a
time on Kaua`i, there lived a little red dirt hen. She spent all her time walking
about and scratching for food. If she found some, she would call out to her chicks.
While the cat napped, not even bothering to scare the rat. The pig did not care
what happened, as long as he got to eat. One day, the little red dirt hen found a
seed. She asked, "What is this?" When she found out, she knew it needed to be
planted but she was busy hunting for food. Then she thought, "The pig has plenty
of time. The cat and the rat had nothing to do." She called out, "Who will help me
plant the seed?" "Not I," said the cat from the North. "Not I," said the pig from the
South. "Not I," said the rat from the East. "Then I will do it myself," she said. She
did. She went back to feeding her chicks. When she realized the seed was ripe and
ready to be harvested, she called out again, "Who will help me harvest the grain?"
"Not I," said the cat. "Not I," said the pig. "Not I," said the rat. She got the sickle
from the shed and harvested the golden grain. The chicks were peeping. Her
attention was divided between her children and the grain that she felt responsible
for. Again, she called out "Who will help me process the grain?" Not I," said the
North with a meow. Not I," said the South with a grunt. Not I," said the East
with a squeak. "Then I will do it myself," the little red dirt hen said. After all of
this, the hen was tired and went to bed. She wanted to sleep but her chicks always
woke up early. Anyway, she knew that today the grain must be made into bread.
After her children were fed, she called the cat, the pig, and the rat; still counting on
that one day where they would help her. She asked them, "Who will help me make
the bread?" "Not I," said the cat. "Not I," said the pig. The rat said, "Not me."
"Then I will do it myself," said the little red dirt hen, and she did. All the while, the
cat sat lazily, the rat admired himself, and the pig dozed. At last, the great moment
arrived. The delicious aroma was caught in the offshore breeze and everyone
sniffed the air. The bread was done. Because of her habit, the little red dirt hen
said, "Who will help me eat the bread'?" The Foodland shoppers in the North said,
"I will." The Big Save Shoppers in the South said, "I will." The Safeway Shoppers
in the East said, "I will." Everyone in the world who was hungry said, "I will."
BILL NO. 2491 85 JULY 31, 2013
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker. Please
state your name.
KIANA YOUNG: Hello. My name is Kiana Young. I am
twelve (12) years old. As some of you know, I am Robin Young's daughter. I would
just like to say that if this Bill passes, most of the jobs at all seed companies will be
lost. If my parents are two (2) of these people who the company has to let go, I do
not know what would happen. Syngenta is our life. It pays for our food, house, and
my education. My parents could lose their jobs. My only option might be to live
with my grandparents, not that living with my grandparents is bad. I am just
saying that we need our space, especially since my stepmom, Genoa Young, just had
my wonderful baby brother, who Syngenta also helps feed, nourish, and care for.
Please help the families that depend on these companies. We all deserve a chance.
I am one hundred percent (100%) supportive of Kaua`i agriculture. What these
companies do is very safe. If it was not, do you think my dad would work for
Syngenta for more than nine (9) years? Or that he would feed his family food that
people are saying is not safe? My dad is very cautious about the health of his
family, which is why I trust my dad so much. He would do anything to keep us safe.
If he did not think the seeds that these companies produce were safe, I would not
have been eating GMO for twelve (12) years. Also, the food coming out of these
companies would not be in stores all over the US. As for spraying, we have been
spraying for years. Companies do not spray on windy days. There is only a specific
amount of spray that companies can spray. There are regulations for this. Now
look around. You see a bunch of people, all shapes and sizes, but if you really look,
there is not much of a difference between the people who support or do not support.
Why can we not just live together as a community, not mattering if you are for or
against GMO. If some of you like organic, then choose organic food. If you do not
care what you eat, that is fine, too. If you do not eat GMO food, then be worry free.
However, from my experience, eating GMO food like Cheetos will not make you sick.
Listen to the facts. Do what you feel is right. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
LYNN TANIGUCHI: Aloha Kaua`i County Council. My name is
Lynn Taniguchi. I just want to say that finally I get to be out here talking to share
my mana o. I was born and raised on this island, the west side in Waimea. I still
live out there. I raised my children there. I have seven (7) grandchildren. I do not
want to say how old I am, but I have worked a lot of places. I come from a family—a
couple of years ago, we were five (5) generations strong. A couple of years ago, my
grandmother passed away so we have four (4) generations going strong. Agriculture
and farming was—I grew up in the taro patch, salt beds down in Hanapepe, and we
still are strong. I graduated from Waimea High School in 1978. We had
agriculture...I do not know if out there, you brothers and sisters had this, but we
had Future Farmers of America (FFA), right? Future Farmers of America. I stand
up here today—I am proud to say that I work for BASF. I am standing here.
Nobody forced me to come to speak my mana o. I am here on behalf of myself and
my family because right now, the future is my grandchildren. I work with BASF so
I can say safety was the number one (1) thing. The first day going on the job site,
there was a safety meeting. Everything was shared. Nothing was hidden. I am
still there. I breathe the air. That aina down there...it flows in me. I am here
today. Please think about this Bill. I oppose Bill No. 2491. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
BILL NO. 2491 86 JULY 31, 2013
RICH HOEPPNER: Aloha Councilmembers. My name is Rich
Hoeppner. Gary, I want to thank you. I appreciate what you did in establishing the
legal foundation on what the County has the authority to do, which is to protect its
land, water, minerals, air, health, life, property, and the people for the benefit of
present and future generations. This is all under Article 1, Section 2 of our State
Constitution and HRS 46-1.5, Section 13. The potential harm to the land, water,
ocean, and citizens' health are well stated in Bill No. 2491, "Section 22-22.1
Findings" one (1) through thirteen (13). There has been a lot of testimony here
today on both GMOs and the spraying of pesticides. I am here to talk about the
spraying. Much is unknown about the GMOs. There is a lot known on the spraying
that has been done. You have heard it all here today. I am testifying in opposition
to this Bill as written because it does nothing to stop what Pioneer, Monsanto,
Syngenta, and others have been spraying on their crops for years. It is that
spraying and spray drift into schools, homes, streams, and ocean that cause
negative effects on citizens' health. This is going to continue, by the Bill, while an
EIS is being completed. Section 22-22.2 is the purpose of this Bill. This Bill should
be amended to read—and I quote from the Bill with my additions, "To protect the
public from any direct, indirect, or cumulative, negative impacts on the health and
natural environment of the people and the place of the County of Kaua`i by banning
and restricting all spraying or use of pesticides under definitions 22-22.3 until:
number one (1), an independent Environmental Impact Statement is completed to
determine the negative effects from spraying and use of those pesticides; number
two (2), until rules are established...
Chair Hooser: Can you please wrap it up in one (1)
sentence?
Mr. Hoeppner: Okay. Jay, Mel, and JoAnn, please amend
this Bill. Let history look back at this Council as the one who had the courage to
stop the corporatization of our islands to protect our land, water, environment, and
health. People are watching. The world is watching. Your political future depends
on your decisions.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much for your testimony.
Next speaker, please.
JUDY HOEPPNER: Aloha Council. My name is Judy Hoeppner.
I am going to take your suggestion, Gary, to just be brief with something different.
Mine are kind of like Rich's but I would urge you to amend this Bill to stop all
spraying until the EIS is done, rather than do it afterwards. I think it needs to
stop. We get the EIS...it will go a lot faster, I think, if they have to wait to spray.
Anyway, that would be my suggestion. I feel like you really have an obligation to do
that because clearly, so many people are sick from these pesticides. Thank you for
doing the right thing. Aloha.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
SANDY HERNDON: My name is Sandy Herndon. I am here
speaking on my own behalf, although I am a supporter of the community in its
entirety. I wear a "Kaua`i Rising" shirt because I believe we are rising in
consciousness and I believe that that is why we are all here today. I commend you
for bringing this forward because it seems very much to me like the "David and
Goliath" scenario. That really hit home when I parked my car over and walked by
this huge big tent and saw all these folks in blue shirts. I thought, "My God, that is
BILL NO. 2491 87 JULY 31, 2013
a lot of money." They are investing a lot to make sure that this Bill does not go
forward. I start looking at these folks in the blue shirts and I see on the back, and
it says, "We care." I believe that. I believe that we all care. I also believe that they
possibly have not been given full facts and the corporations that are systematically
poisoning the Earth, the waters, and everything that has been brought up before,
are not honest. They are not honest with the Government and not necessarily
honest with their employees. I think that the idea that we have enough regulation
in place is very dangerous because I know that money has also been the underlying
force for many of the regulations for the Government agencies like EPA and all of
those associated agencies are very affected by the power and the money that resides
within these chemical seed companies. I want to bring forth one (1) more point.
This is strictly on my own. This has nothing to do with anybody else.
Chair Hooser: Can you give us your final, closing sentence?
Ms. Herndon: Needless to say, there are many reasons why
we cannot necessarily trust the U.S. Government and its regulatory agencies. One
(1) of those reasons...
Chair Hooser: Thank you. I think you have gone enough.
Ms. Herndon: Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. We are pressing on the time.
We just have to move on. I respect everybody, whatever shirt or whoever you are,
for being here tonight. Thank you.
TARYN DIZON: Aloha Council. Thank you for this time
again. My name is Taryn Dizon and I oppose Bill No. 2491. I am a born and raised
Kaua`i resident who resides in beautiful Kekaha with my family and two (2)
beautiful boys. As a resident and a mother, why would I work for a company if
these lies were true? My friends and family live in these towns. If these lies were
true, I would not be able to bear our fourth generation children, which I had two (2),
who has lived in this agriculture town and worked in those fields while I was
pregnant. As a proud employee of one (1) of the seed companies, not chemical
companies, that will be regulated, I ask Council to consider these costs and
devastations before imposing extreme restrictions on farms that grow commercial
seed on Kaua`i. First, more Government expenses. This Bill will create a costly
new bureaucracy in our Government to administer a new, more restrictive
permitting process for any pesticide use and to develop a complex EIS to plant
enough GMO crops. This bureaucracy will duplicate existing processes and
regulations that we all pay for in the State and Federal level. Two (2), if these seed
companies were to leave, our jobs will be affected—not only the seed company jobs,
but the other companies that reside in these towns will be affected as well, such as
restaurants, contractors, and others. The other is a loss of community. You guys
remember that we lost Mana Camp. I am scared to see the skeleton town that could
have on the west side if this Bill was to pass. People who work at these seed
companies are our friends and our neighbors. The community will not be the same.
If this Bill is truly the "right to know," then we need to stop profiling the seed
companies as there are many other industries that use chemicals as well. Driving
home to Kekaha one day, I saw the County spraying the fire hydrants with no
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and no signs as I run and ride bike through
that area. If this is the "right to know," I would like to know what my neighbor
BILL NO. 2491 88 JULY 31, 2013
sprays as my kid grabs his soccer ball in their yard. Please, consider the facts and
the costs. I oppose Bill No. 2491. Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please. State
your name for the record.
LANCE ATKINS: Aloha Councilmembers. My name is Lance
Atkins. I live in Hanapepe. I am a registered voter and I oppose Bill No. 2491. You
will have to excuse me because I do have a little bit of a cold. I am losing my voice.
I love agriculture. I have worked in agriculture from the time I was a young boy.
My positions within Syngenta—I have always dealt with pesticide application.
That has been the area that I have been a steward over during my time there. I
would like to talk specifically about some of the things we do. It has been
frustrating for someone like me, who works with pest management and with the
workers who apply pesticides, to hear some of the misinformation about pesticide
applications. We have been given a false choice of either losing our own safety or
following extreme regulations, which we do not need, and extreme buffer zones. All
spray operators that I work with are licensed and knowledgeable applicators who
understand what they are working with. Despite their depiction by some as scary,
modern spray rigs or spray machines are equipped with the most modern
equipment possible to maintain safety. Air induction nozzles, the reduce of drift by
causing the droplets to be larger, a filtered cab, wash water, and drift retardant
which makes the spray solution heavier to fall to its target quicker are all used in
order to make sure that the spray reaches its target. Perhaps most importantly,
every sprayer is equipped with a wind meter and a compass to determine wind
direction and wind speed. I want to make clear that we do not apply pesticides
when it is too windy to apply. The sprayers which we have, one (1) has six (6)
children, one (1) has three (3) children, one (1) has one (1) child, and I myself have
three (3) children; none of which, I might add, have brain cancer, care much about
their communities and would never do anything to endanger their communities.
These are people who have passed the test to achieve a license. They understand
what they are working with and would not put their communities or children in
danger. I am very proud of the work the biotech industry performs. The depiction
of the seed industry on Kaua`i as evil corporations may work well in politics and
lawsuits, but the reality is that the work they do feeds and fuels the world, and the
people who work there are real people. These are people that are smart and
understand the work they do, and are proud of the work they do. We are proud of
the modern technology that we use such as fertilizer, irrigation, pesticides, and
GMOs that have been able to increase crop yields over the last half century beyond
anyone's imagination. We wish to be as transparent as we could possibly be about
the things that we use to help farmers in America. We do not wish to have any type
of secrecy. We invite you to come and visit our site. I will give you a personal tour
of a sprayer if that is what it takes to show you the safe practices that we have. In
closing, I would like to say that I, like many others, am a husband and a father of
three (3) children. I have raised my family here. My youngest daughter was born
three (3) months ago at Kaua`i Veterans Memorial Hospital (KVMH) in Waimea.
My oldest son attends `Ele`ele Elementary School and I would never do anything
that would put my family at risk. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: I have a question. Mr. Atkins, a friend of
mine who worked in the oil industry said that they were tested for levels of Benzene
in the blood on an annual basis. Does Syngenta test to make sure that there is not
BILL NO. 2491 89 JULY 31, 2013
any kind of contamination? Do you think that could be a good idea if that is not
being done now?
Mr. Atkins: I cannot speak for all of the companies. I
cannot speak for Syngenta and say that we do perform Cholinesterase testing for all
spray operators, which we track those levels according to that. I personally would
not object to get that testing. We do track that to ensure the safety of our workers.
Ms. Yukimura: It is a voluntary test and Sygenta does it?
Mr. Atkins: Yes.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much.
JILL SUGA: Aloha Councilmembers. My name is Jill
Suga. I was born and raised in Kekaha. I have worked in the seed industry for over
ten (10) years. My family, including my ninety-four (94) year old grandmother, still
lives in Kekaha in very close proximities to the biotech cornfields. My family has
lived here for over one hundred (100) years. I am strongly opposed to Bill No. 2491
for many reasons. I oppose it for obvious reasons that you may have heard
numerous times during hours of testimony that what GMO companies do is safe.
There is no reliable evidence to support otherwise. It supports the local community
by providing jobs on the island and because of these companies, I am able to provide
for my family. These are all important reasons why I oppose this Bill, but I am here
today to explain the negative effects of this Bill in the big picture. Bill No. 2491 has
divided the people and has stirred up so much negative emotion. It has led to the
destruction of public property as you drive down Kaumuali`i Highway, harassment,
and even threats of violence. People feel obligated to choose sides over this issue
and at many times has sadly ended friendships or even divided families. A
comment was made to me by a supporter of Bill No. 2491 that really touched me.
She said, "Why do you guys not just work on a crop that does not need pesticides?"
It was so shocking for me to hear. I do not think she realizes the power of her
message. I thought, "Wow, we share the same common goal." Who would not agree
that we need to reduce the use of pesticides? Who would not agree that we need to
be more resourceful to feed the growing population? Who would not agree that we
need to care for our land for the future? We all do, just in different ways.
Sustainable agriculture—my dad works for Pioneer and is an active member in
their employee garden. Ask the Kekaha and Waimea community of how many
fruits and vegetables he and other volunteers have donated. I was born and raised
here. I know that this is not a characteristic of local Hawai`i people. Bill No. 2491
has resulted in Kauai divided from what we were supposed to be, which is Kaua`i
united. Let us kill this Bill and focus on Kaua`i farmers uniting. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
MARK PHILLIPSON: Hi, good evening, Chair Hooser and
Councilmembers. My testimony is—I know this a Kaua`i Ordinance but perhaps I
will give a little more global aspect. My name is Mark Phillipson and I work for
Syngenta. This piece of legislation is mistaken by its basic assumption that
agricultural biotech crops present health and safety issues. In fact, all the credible
scientific research contradicts this assumption. Biotech agriculture has been held
by more than twenty-five (25) scientific and agricultural organizations around the
BILL NO. 2491 90 JULY 31, 2013
world such as the World Health Organization (WHO), American Medical
Association (AMA), Royal Academy of Science, National Academy of Science, and so
on. As a safe and healthy means of production, it offers hope to millions that are
threatened by starvation and malnutrition. As evidence, consider the World Food
Prize Award which it was recently bestowed onto three (3) biotech science, including
Mary-Dell Chilton, the founder of Syngenta Biotechnology. The World Food Prize,
also known as "the Nobel Prize of Food," is the four (4) of the most international
recognitions for individuals who have enhanced human development by improving
the quality, quantity, and availability of food in the world. This prize was created
by Norman Borlaug, an American Agronomist and Humanitarian, who in 1970 won
the Nobel Peace Prize and actually used that prize money to fund this award.
Recognition of the importance of genetic engineering and biotechnology in feeding
the world as we move forward in the future, Dr. Borlaug said this, "We are now
moving from the "Green Revolution" to the "Gene Revolution." The World Food
Prize Committee's decision to award this to biotechnology researchers is a message
to consumers regarding the value, usefulness, and safety of genetically engineered
crops, which is a message I hope the Council will heed. Ag biotech is the most
regulated crop production ever with five (5) Federal and State agencies involved, as
well as many internal and external audits by our own companies. The
accomplishment is meeting and exceeding standards. Cultivating crops, whether
biotech or not, require the appropriate judicious use of EPA registered and approved
herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides. That is all we use. Testing and safety
certification of each of these products are valuable to agriculture and are extremely
and thoroughly tested, comparable to that of a pharmaceutical product. In addition,
today's modern agriculture and (inaudible) methods provide a means to detect levels
of substances far below well-established safety standards.
Chair Hooser: Please give us your closing sentence.
Mr. Phillipson: Okay. Thank you. For that reason, we
oppose this Bill and request a "no" vote.
Chair Hooser: Councilmember Bynum, do you have a
question?
Mr. Bynum: Hi, Mark. Thanks for being here today. I
appreciate it. I just have a couple of quick questions. First, are you going to be with
us next Monday at the Committee Meeting and be a resource for us to dialogue
with?
Mr. Phillipson: If I am invited, I certainly would like to
become one. Yes, I will be there.
Mr. Bynum: Are you the president of Syngenta? What is
your title here on Kaua`i?
Mr. Phillipson: I am the Lead for Corporate Affairs.
Mr. Bynum: Okay, so you are also the president?
Mr. Phillipson: I am also the President of the Hawai`i Crop
Improvement Association.
BILL NO. 2491 91 JULY 31, 2013
Mr. Bynum: There was an article in the paper last week
about "Save Kauai Farms" that you were quoted in, right? In The Garden Island?
Mr. Phillipson: In the Star Advertiser?
Mr. Bynum: In The Garden Island.
Mr. Phillipson: In The Garden Island?
Mr. Bynum: Right. You set up this website to explain
things, right? Who is funding this media campaign effort?
Mr. Phillipson: The Hawaii Crop Improvement Association.
Mr. Bynum: So it is not being (inaudible) by the Hawaii
Farm Bureau Federation?
Mr. Phillipson: No.
Mr. Bynum: Or the Kauai Farm Bureau?
Mr. Phillipson: That is correct.
Mr. Bynum: The Hawaii Crop Improvement Association
is responsible for the content of this website?
Mr. Phillipson: For Save Kauai Farms, yes.
Mr. Bynum: That is all I need to know for now. Thanks.
Mr. Phillipson: Okay.
Ms. Yukimura: I have a question.
Chair Hooser: Councilmember Yukimura, go ahead.
Ms. Yukimura: Hi, Mark. Thank you for being here. Since
you will be at the Committee Meeting and since you are President of the Hawaii
Crop Improvement Association, I would like to have an answer at the Committee
Meeting as to whether the companies can agree to the disclosure of what pesticides
are sprayed, when, and in what quantities.
Mr. Phillipson: I will do my best to have that answer for you
by Monday.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay. Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: Mark, I have a question also.
Mr. Phillipson: Yes, Sir.
Chair Hooser: At our last hearing, we asked you a series of
questions. I did, and I think others, asked you to provide information on General
Use Pesticides. I did that in writing and asked for a copy of the Experimental Use
BILL NO. 2491 92 JULY 31, 2013
Permits. Also in writing, I asked for some other things and have not gotten answers
yet. If you can look at the letter that I sent you and the other three (3) companies,
and on Monday come prepared to discuss those issues. One (1) specific question—a
component of the Bill restricts open-air testing of experimental only Genetically
Modified Organisms. A key question is what percentage of your land under
cultivation now meets the definition that is in the Bill? Unless we know that
answer, we do not know the impacts on the various companies. We want to do a
good Bill. We want to do something that is right but we cannot do that without
cooperation and support from your company, and the other three (3) companies. On
Monday, if you can come and address those issues...you have got a copy of the letter.
We do not have to beat it up right here today. You are welcomed to respond, but
Monday would be the more appropriate time to have an in-depth answer to those
questions.
Mr. Phillipson: Okay. Will.do.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
EVAN PRICE: Good evening, Council. Thank you for your
sincere efforts to try and weed through the facts, innuendo, and reach a conclusion
that will no doubt not make everybody happy but...
Chair Hooser: Please state your name for the record.
Mr. Price: Sorry, my name is Evan Price. Ultimately,
do you feel the Bill as presently crafted allows a bridge to the future that we all
agree on? We would like to lower the pesticide use and through genetic
engineering, pesticide lowering can occur. It also can occur through other practices.
Specifically, tying GMO research to this Bill essentially kills seed farming on
Kaua`i. It seems that there would be a less aggressive, less destructive approach to
reach the long-term conclusion—build a bridge to a sustainable agriculture, a
higher percentage of local produce being grown on Kaua`i and offered at Costco,
meat from the local pork farms being both produced here and butchered here with
the processing plant that JoAnn was working so hard on to do, created forty (40)
jobs. Trying to create forty (40) jobs and spending hours and hours putting together
coalitions, schematics, planning, and zoning for forty (40) jobs. Currently, there
would be over eight hundred (800) people directly affected by this aggressive
legislation. The second and third generation of those dollars being recycled is going
to affect another fifteen hundred (1,500) jobs. I have a question for you. Had the
hurricane that just missed us two (2) days ago, direct hit us, and tourism was down
for two (2) years of rebuilding, what economic backdrop would this island have
without seed farming? The last comment—it seems a little bit farfetched, but there
is direct pressure on the US Greenback, which has been the dominant global
currency since World War II, well over seventy-five (75) years. Within three (3)
years to five (5) years, the dollar may not be the world reserve currency. Certainly
within five (5) to seven (7) years, there are several extremely well-respected
academic (inaudible) think that the U.S. dollar may not be the world reserve
currency, and that would result in a forty percent (40%) reduction in purchasing
value in a dollar. Tourism would die temporarily. We need to build a bridge that is
sustainable to agriculture without throwing the baby out with a tiny bit of soiled
bathwater...
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
BILL NO. 2491 93 JULY 31, 2013
RENEE KESTER: Hi, my name is Renee Kester. I am opposed
to Bill No. 2491. I know it has been a long night. I am not going to take a whole lot
of time because I think there are still a lot of people that have a lot of good
information, so I want to get out the way for that. I just want to encourage you
because there have been a lot of claims today, but a lot has been said...I just really
encourage you to find good resources to balance that like Scientists and studies that
have gone peer reviewed and replicated. There is data out there. This has been
highly researched. It is a sound technology. There has been so much done in the
regulation of pesticides and in the industry itself. I just really encourage you to look
for good sources in making your decisions because they are out there. I encourage
you to come out to the companies and tour. There are a lot of people in here that
are really worried about this Bill. Six hundred (600) jobs potentially lost on Kaua`i
is a big deal. Please come and see. That is it. I oppose the Bill and I thank you for
your time.
Chair Hooser: Thank you.
KIRBY KESTER: Good evening, Councilmembers. Thank you.
My name is Kirby Kester. I work for BASF Plant Science and also serve as the
President-Elect for the Hawai`i Crop Improvement Association. I am opposed to
this Bill. I am here tonight to provide testimony specifically on Section 22-22.1(a)(6)
in "Findings." This is a Section that states that, "Genetically modified plants will
inevitably disperse into the environment of the County of Kaua`i through pollen
drifts, seed commingling, and inadvertent transfer of seeds by humans, animals,
weather events, and other means. Biological contamination of conventional and
organic agricultural crops grown within the County of Kaua`i, through the
inadvertent pollen drift from genetically modified plants and material, can have
devastating economic impacts." My problem is that I think that this finding is
merely an allegation at this point. The first question I would have is what is the
proof? What proof is there for this inevitable movement or devastating economic
impacts that arise from pollen or seed movement? How extensive is the problem
already on Kaua`i that requires a moratorium on GM trials? Where is the evidence?
I work directly in this area. I know of no cases where GM pollen drift or plant
movement has created any environmental or economic impacts on this island. How
do you think that these so-called "inevitable impacts" of pollen drift would compare
to the more certain economic impacts that Bill No. 2491 would create for Kaua`i
agriculture? Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Hawai`i
Department of Agriculture have existing strict conditions, requirements, and
enforcement on containment of the plants to prevent inadvertent transfer seeds by
humans, animals, weather, events, and other means. USDA conditions for release
in a regulated trial into an environment, which is not yet approved for human
consumption, must meet performance standards specified under the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR), Volume 7, Section 340. I attached that in my electronic
testimony for you tonight. I will not try to even begin to read that for you. Anyway,
just to wrap it up, I do not think there is sufficient evidence or data in the findings
to show enough concern for pollen movement, seed movement, or loss of
containment for any of our GMO trials. Therefore, I have a big problem (inaudible)
EIS, and moratorium for that (inaudible). Thank you for your time.
Chair Hooser: Thank you, Kirby. We have a question from
Councilmember Bynum.
BILL NO. 2491 94 JULY 31, 2013
Mr. Bynum: Kirby, thank you for being here tonight. I
appreciate it. I received about three thousand (3,000) E-mails in the last week. I
believe one (1) of them was from you. I read it...
Mr. Kester: Yes, like this morning.
Mr. Bynum: I believe it included an invitation to do a tour
of your facility.
Mr. Kester: Yes. Always open.
Mr. Bynum: I wanted to tell you that I intend to do that.
I just received an invitation.
Mr. Kester: Okay.
Mr. Bynum: I also want to tell you that I appreciate your
testimony. I am concerned about being criticized on your website for not doing a
tour that I just got invited to. I would really like you to look at the content of that
website that your President just said that he is responsible for because I find some
of that content offensive.
Mr. Kester: Okay. I will look into that.
Chair Hooser: Councilmember Yukimura.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you for being here, Kirby. You
anticipated my question that I have been asking several speakers. I would like to
have factual information relevant to the findings in the Bill.
Mr. Kester: Okay.
Ms. Yukimura: Especially specific information that shows
how pollen drift is calculated, what kinds of things stop it from drifting, what
happens in a hurricane, and things like that would be very helpful.
Mr. Kester: Okay. Will do.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: Kirby, I am not sure if you heard the
questions I asked Mark but I sent you a similar letter or your company I should say,
and asked similar questions at the last hearing because I agree with you. In order
for us to make good decisions, we need good evidence.
Mr. Kester: Right.
Chair Hooser: That is what we are not getting. I have
asked about General Use Pesticides and have not gotten that. I have asked for the
amount of land that qualifies that would be impacted by the open-air testing. If I
knew how much land it would impact, it would help us make a better decision. If
you could look at the letter that I wrote and the questions we asked, and be
prepared to answer those questions on Monday; it would really help me personally,
and I think the Council, to make good decisions that we want to make.
BILL NO. 2491 95 JULY 31, 2013
Mr. Kester: Okay. Will do.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
SHANDRA ELSING: Hi Councilmembers. My name is Shandra
Moreno Elsing. I was born and raised in Kekaha. I currently reside in Waimea. I
am a registered voter and I oppose Bill No. 2491. As a child, I was lucky enough to
have a father and mother who loved this land. They taught us how to fish, hunt,
and enjoy the beauty of this island. As a family, we made use of the sea and the
land for our survival. Coining from a plantation life, times were often hard. By
using what the land had to offer, we made it through. I raised my two (2) children
here on Kaua`i and I instilled in them, as well as my grandchildren, to love, respect,
and appreciate this island. I love Kauai. It is my home. From the mountain views
of Koke`e to our gorgeous sunsets and white sandy beaches here in Kekaha and
Mana, this land should not be taken for granted nor should its integrity be tainted.
As an environmental conscious person, I wanted to work for a company that valued
and protected Kaua`i and its agricultural lifestyle. Since 1974, or thirty-nine (39)
years ago, I have been working side by side with such a company, DuPont Pioneer.
I feel very lucky to work for a company that has allowed me to work here on Kaua`i
and support my family and my community. Our company's core values are safety,
respect for people, highest ethical behavior, and environmental stewardship. My
coworkers and I choose to work for DuPont Pioneer because these values reflect our
own. Kauai has always invested in agriculture to support our economy. Our
company has been a part of that proud tradition for more than forty (40) years. I
only hope to pass this stability to our future generations, to my children, my
grandchildren, and their children to come to look forward to enjoying this island
and all of its beauty, and fulfilling my job as a good steward of this land. For all
these reasons, I oppose Bill No. 2491. I want to thank you all for letting me come
here and testify. I do it of my freewill. I want you to know that I am a mother of a
son and a daughter who has all their fingers and toes. I carried them every single
day in the same fields I worked for thirty-nine (39) years. I am proud to say that I
have grandchildren that have all of their fingers and toes as well. I am proud to
work for this company. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Before
you start, we kind of let it go a little bit. I know everybody has different time
periods of cheering for different sides, but I think we could kind of move on a little
bit quieter and get more speakers. I appreciate everyone's patience. We still have a
lot of people who want to speak. Please introduce yourself.
ELLYSON WILLIAMS: Aloha kakou Councilmembers, Jay Furfaro,
Vice Chair Nadine Nakamura, and honored guests. My name is Ellyson Ululani
Williams. I was born and raised on the west side of our beautiful island of Kaua`i. I
live in Waimea Valley with my husband and two (2) children and I am a registered
voter. My husband and I own and operate a ten (10) acre farm taro farm in Waimea
Valley. We have been doing that since 1999. I am also proud to say that I work at
DuPont Pioneer full-time. I oppose Bill No. 2491 for various reasons. The Bill
implies that seed companies and their employees do not care about nor take care of
the environment, neighborhoods, safety, health, and sustainability, and that the
industry is in dire need of regulation. Nothing could be further from the truth.
These are the communities that we live in, work in, and school our children in. It
makes no sense that we would harm the environment that we are all part of. This
is our aina, our roots. On our Pioneer farm, we adhere to a ten (10) mile per hour
BILL NO. 2491 96 JULY 31, 2013
maximum speed limit. We have a dust fence that runs along the rim of the Waimea
Canyon. We have planted tree lines and vetivers to prevent soil erosion, growing
buckwheat as cover crops, water truck sprays on roads during the day to mitigate
dust, and we consult with the Natural Resource Conservation Service to help us
with best land practices. These are just the few of the actions that we take to
minimize offense to our neighbors because we care. As a farmer, I feel an affinity to
the aina. I like working with the aina and seeing the birds, fishes, and other
creatures that call the farm home. Growing up, I always thought that if I care for
the ocean and the aina, it would care for me. This is why I farm taro and corn, and
teach my children these same values. A few years ago, I chose to work at DuPont
Pioneer and started working. My first day of work was spent in safety. I liked
every aspect of the operation that was thought out to ensure my safety. My family
has benefitted from what I learned in the training, such as the use of Personal
Protective Equipment, chemical safety, and electrical safety. I am proud to say that
it is my informed choice to work at DuPont Pioneer in the seed industry. No one is
forcing me to work there and no one could. As a "Native Kauaian," I am intelligent
and strong. I feel that Bill No. 2491 undermines my intellect and ability to fulfill
my potential as a scientist, farmer, and leader in my field of work. Finally,
Bill No. 2491 has brought much unneeded ill will and animosity between people on
my island home. This is not pono. It is a fight that should never have been taken
up by people who may need to walk in my shoes for a week to fully understand what
I do for a living. We are law abiding, taxpaying citizens of this land. Supporters of
this Bill seek to wipe out our way of life. I say that there is enough room for many
types of farming. Why must one (1) entity be allowed to exist while another is
brought to ruin? Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
MARK BOGNER: Aloha Kaua`i County Council. My name is
Mark Bogner and I oppose Bill No. 2491. I have been working in agriculture for
over twenty-five (25) years. I received my start in agriculture while weaning hogs
at age five (5) on my grandfather's farm in Illinois. My early experiences in
agriculture drove me to become educated in a science behind agriculture, receiving
both a Bachelors and Masters of Science in Agronomy. Given my background, I
believe I am qualified to address some of the issues associated with Bill No. 2491.
In only ten (10) pages, this Bill tries to encompass and cover the complex areas of
both pesticides and genetically modified organisms. This Bill imposes
unprecedented levels of regulations at the County level with the intent to regulate
the seed industry that is already heavily regulated at the Federal and State levels.
My testimony will address the section on the moratorium as one of the most critical
proposals under the Bill. Please note that I remain opposed to this Bill in its
entirety. The moratorium detailed out in Bill No. 2491 is not necessary and has
clear overreach at the County level to impose unnecessary harm to the seed
industry. The seed industry goes to great lengths to make sure that we do not have
unintentional release of our regulated seed or pollen. The United States
Department of Agriculture and Hawai`i Department of Agriculture have existing
strict conditions, requirements, and enforcements on containment of plants to
prevent inadvertent transfer of seeds by humans, animals, weather, events, and
other means. USDA conditions for release of a regulated trial into the environment,
which has not yet been approved for human consumption, until it meets
performance standards specified under CFR Volume 7, Section 340. I have this
attached to my written testimony. In order to meet these standards, BASF operates
under the Biotechnology Quality Management System, which is an independently
auditable (inaudible) quality management system offered by the USDA. We use
BILL NO. 2491 97 JULY 31, 2013
various methods to ensure that we meet and exceed these strict requirements, and
ensuring an unintentional release of a regulated event does not happen. Right now,
I will list some of the protocols we have in place. In my written testimony, I have
more details about these protocols. We have Site Selection and Planning; Storage;
Transportation Movement and Import Protocols; Environmental Release Protocols,
including Planting, Isolation Requirements, In-Season Monitoring, Harvest, and
Equipment Cleanout Protocols; Volunteer Monitoring; Training; and finally,
Regulatory Compliance Reporting and Resolution. In closing, I am proud of the
career that I am in and the fact that the seed industry provides not only good
paying jobs on the island, but opportunities for promotion that can help support a
healthy family and career development. Again, my name is Mark Bogner and I
oppose this Bill. Thank you for your time.
Chair Hooser: Thank you for your testimony. Next
speaker, please.
LESLIE RITA: Good evening. My name is Leslie Rita. I am
a mother to a beautiful and healthy...
Chair Hooser: May I ask you to pause for a second? Can we
please have the conversation of the audience move outside? It is distracting and
certainly distracting me. Thank you. Go ahead, I am sorry.
Ms. Rita: My name is Leslie Rita. I am a mother to a
beautiful and healthy fourteen (14) month old girl, a wife to a wonderful husband
who was born and raised in Kalaheo, and I am a resident of Kaua`i. I have a degree
in Agronomy and Environmental Science and I have been working in agriculture. I
am proud to say that I have been working in agriculture for twenty-one (21) years.
I am here today to voice my objection to Bill No. 2491, as I believe it unfairly
discriminates against the commercial agriculture industry regarding pesticide use.
Did you know that pesticides are used in all forms of agriculture? I have with me a
label from a pesticide used in organic forming, and I have shared that. The
environmental hazards section of this organic pesticide reads, "This pesticide is
extremely toxic to fish. Do not apply directly to water. Runoff and drift from
treated areas may be hazardous to aquatic organisms," et cetera. According to
Section 22 through 22.5 of Bill No. 2491, commercial agricultural entities
purchasing more than five (5) pounds of Restricted Use Pesticides will be forbidden
from applying this more than five hundred (500) feet from a stream. However,
other consumers could apply this pesticide at their own discretion and without
regulation. As an environmentalist, I support the use of buffer zones and other
measures to protect the natural habitat, but I disagree that the same product
should have different use restrictions based on the identity of the purchaser. It is
not quantity purchased that demonstrates the hazardous potential of a pesticide. I
also have with me a label from a Restricted Use Pesticide. The environmental
hazard statement is quite similar to that of the organic pesticide, but there is a
difference in the amount of information communicated on the label regarding the
safest application methods. In a section titled "Buffer Zones," the label states that
this product cannot be applied within twenty (20) feet of aquatic habitat during
ground application, four hundred fifty (450) feet with Ultra-Low Volume (ULV)
aerial application, and one hundred fifty (150) feet with non-ULV aerial application.
The buffer zone requirements for this pesticide are not arbitrary numbers. They
were established by the USDA, EPA, and Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS). My point here is that extensive research has been done by multiple
agencies to develop a set of instructions for use on Restricted Use Pesticides and
BILL NO. 2491 98 JULY 31, 2013
their uses are heavily regulated. I oppose this Bill because it targets a specific
sector of the agricultural community. If this Bill is at heart about protecting the
environment, then I would urge you to consider the fact that there are fewer
regulations on homeowners, organic growers, purchases of cleaning products such
as bleach, et cetera, than there are on commercial farmers; yet products they use
need to be used just as carefully to mitigate environmental hazards. I pursued a
career in agriculture and environmental science because I care about people and I
care about the environment. I spent twelve (12) hours waiting to talk to you for
three (3) minutes because I believe that all farmers of Kauai need to be treated
fairly, so I oppose Bill No. 2491 and I hope you do as well.
Chair Hooser: Thank you.
FRANCES GRAGASIN: Good evening, Council. One (1), I oppose
Bill No. 2491. My name is Frances Gragasin and I work for BASF Plant Science for
two (2) years now. Prior to this, I worked for Pioneer Hi-Bred International since
1970 and retired in 2008. One may think, Retirement? She is still working. She
should just stay at home, enjoy life, go traveling, and live how other retirees do.
Sure, I did. I did golfing. I love golfing. I did shopping, traveled, and fished which
I also loved, but I just could not deplete the ocean. In 2010, I returned to what I
loved the most in life, with a passion, which is to watch all of the crops grow on the
farm. Bill No. 2491 will limit our ability to continue operating on Kaua`i. This
indeed, will affect about forty percent (40%) to fifty percent (50%) of our Filipino
workers in our four (4) seed industries here on the island. Like all of them here in
this room and outside, they left their families in the Philippines to seek employment
in what they have known here to be as "paradise." All of them are farmers by trade
and some are former sugar plantation employees. With my thirty-eight (38) and
forty (40) years of experience in this industry, I have monitored a lot of them to be
fine crew leaders in their own project. To be told that our industry will not be
operating if Bill No. 2491 is not stopped, like the sugar industry, it would also be
devastating to them. So I am asking you from my heart to please stop Bill No. 2491
and allow us to continue farming and continue working. At least let me continue
pursuing my passion for the next forty (40) years. Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: I have a question. Ms. Gragasin, we have
heard some testimony about the low wages of ag workers and I guess my question
is, are you satisfied with the wages and benefits? Are you free to say what they are'?
Ms. Gragasin: It is not on my department to say that
because it is on contract.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay. Thank you.
Ms. Gragasin: Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: Then I hope somebody in the leadership will
give us that information. Thank you.
EMERIE TAYLAN: Good evening everyone, Councilmembers. I
am Emerie Taylan and I have worked for global ag for three and a half (3.5) years
as a contract worker for BASF Plant Science. Prior to this, I worked on my family
farm in the Philippines planting corn, rice, tobacco, garlic, onion, and many other
vegetables. I have learned a lot about agriculture and that I know this is the only
source of income to support our family in the Philippines. I came to Hawai`i in 2007
BILL NO. 2491 99 JULY 31, 2013
with my husband and I have two (2) sons. I am thankful to God that he gave me job
and I love my work, which has taught me about safety and good housekeeping.
Hopefully one day I can retire from this company. As a crew leader, I always think
about the safety of my coworkers and myself. The three (3) of us got pregnant; my
boss Leslie, my coworker (inaudible), and me. We were safe during our pregnancy,
not harmed, and our unborn babies were not affected. They were safe, normal, and
healthy until we gave birth. I stand before you, County Council, to please stop
Bill No. 2491 to let us continue farming and continue working at the farm. Thank
you and God bless everyone.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
PEGGY KAOHELAULI`I: Aloha Councilmembers. My name is Peggy
Kaohelauli`i and I oppose Bill No. 2491. I was born here on Kaua`i and was raised
on the island of Ni`ihau for fifteen (15) years, then I came back here and graduated
from Waimea High School in 1992. My first family job was with Pioneer. I had a
lot of experience in agriculture. I currently work for BASF and know so much about
safety, especially dealing with pesticides. Every time there is a spray, we are
informed about it and told, "Is it safe to reenter the field?" I disagree with all
claims that the seed companies are not safe. I oppose Bill No. 2491 and ask for your
support as my Council Representatives. Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you.
CONNIE NAGATA: Hi, my name is Connie Nagata. I wanted to
share my story with you of why I am in Ag. I was born and raised on the island of
Kauai. My family has been in agriculture for many generations; my great-
grandfather, grandfather, and father. We owned one of the last pineapple farms on
Kaua`i. I am continuing in their footsteps by working at DuPont Pioneer as a
Senior Research Associate. I graduated from Kaua`i High School and went to
college on the mainland. During the summer and winter breaks, I started working
at DuPont Pioneer. While working there, I met a fellow researcher who changed my
views on the importance of agriculture worldwide. He lived in many developing
countries where he worked on projects that helped those communities. He helped to
develop drought-resistant varieties of corn that are currently grown in developing
areas, as well as educating farmers in conservation farming. Since we have daily
access to a steady food supply, we may not be aware of how many people in the
world do not have the same accessibility or how difficult it is for food to be produced.
I chose to come back to Kaua`i and work at DuPont Pioneer because I love the fact
that I am growing crops that will feed communities across the world. Everyone
should have a right to nutritional food regardless of where they live. Helping others
is one of the values of our island community and I strongly believe in being a good
environmental steward of my island home, as well as making sure that everyone in
my family and community is safe and healthy. I believe that we should be held all
to the highest ethical behavior regardless of where we work or what we do. I am
confident in working at DuPont Pioneer that we are meeting my expectations of the
highest ethical behavior and that we are doing good things for the people of this
island. As a registered voter, I strongly oppose Bill No. 2491 because it is not good
for the future of ag on Kauai. Thank you very much for the opportunity to present
my testimony opposed to this.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
BILL NO. 2491 100 JULY 31, 2013
PABLO VALDEZ: I am Pablo Valdez of Kaumakani. I am a
Pioneer employee. (Inaudible) at Kekaha. I have been a citizen residing on Kaua`i
for fifteen (15) years. I am sixty-three (63) years of age. I (inaudible), Masters in
Public Administration, and a farmer by birth. To me, the right to know is one (1) of
the biggest set-backs in this issue. What I know on genetically modified organisms
as I learned from college is that in plant and animal breeding, the genes are
categorized into two (2): the dominant and recessive part of the gene. This kind of
person formally studied (inaudible) by expert of sciences and technology for years
and years. As an agriculturalist and a farmer, I have been doing artificial
insemination in Kekaha since 2006. (Inaudible). I ordered the (inaudible) from the
mainland and I have with me copies of all the documents. I crossbred this
(inaudible). This is plain and simple GMO to me. Let us look at the (inaudible).
(Inaudible) and watermelon alone, the seedless and sweet melon; these are products
of GMO. Let us look up (inaudible), these are products of GMO. GMO to me is a
product of research; however, they are produced synthetically, organically, or both.
In (inaudible) of legislation, what is our option to help feed the world's population
who are dying with hunger? Would this be a fair share in the upcoming economy of
Kaua`i from services and taxes? Would this be our ultimate goal to suppress
advances of sciences and technology? I vehemently oppose Bill No. 2491. Thank
you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much.
Ms. Yukimura: I have a question. Could you give us your
written testimony, please?
Ms. Valdez: Yes, I will.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you.
Chair Hooser: If everyone as they present can give the
written testimony, it is helpful so that we do not have to ask, because you are all
important. Thank you.
JON PETERSEN: Aloha Kaua`i County Councilmembers. My
name is Jon Petersen and I strongly oppose Bill No. 2491. Like many others
involved in the seed industry, my roots go back to a family farm. I am proud of my
heritage and the fact that I am a fifth generation American farmer. I can still
remember the days as a child that I spent countless hours riding on a tractor with
my father as he worked the fields. As I grew older and got more involved, I came to
realize that while the days were long and hard, the satisfaction of your
accomplishments were very meaningful. One of the many crops that we grew on
our family farm was commercial seed corn. Ironically, two (2) of the companies that
we grew for back then in the 80s and 90s produce seed here on the island today.
Since making the transition from the family farm into the corporate world in 2004, I
can proudly say that now I have worked for three (3) agriculture corporations in
that time, two (2) of those being involved in the seed industry. When I say that I
am not alone and the fact that my roots go back to the family farm, many of the
leaders making decisions in these same companies here have the same roots going
back to their own family farms. I feel fortunate that I have been both the producer
and a purchaser of seed. I understand that work, and the expense that goes into
bringing products to market, and I understand values that the high quality biotech
seed brings to the farmer. The opponents of the seed companies claim that the
biotech crops require more crop protection products to be applied than conventional
BILL NO. 2491 101 JULY 31, 2013
crops. The true fact of the matter is that biotech crops require less crop protection
products and biotech products out yield their conventional counterparts for various
reasons to include losses from insect damage and disease. Biotech products that
also include non-selective herbicide traits such as Roundup Ready, have enabled
farmers to move more from conventional tillage practices to no tillage or reduced
tillage practices on millions of acres in North America. The last thing that I would
like to point out is the negative impacts of the required buffer zones of Bill No. 2491
and what it would have on our agriculture here in Hawai`i. The operation that I am
part of, which is DuPont Pioneer and Kekaha Parent Seed, we have just barely over
fifty percent (50%)... right around fifty-three percent (53%) left to farm if we follow
the Bill to the "t." Any crop protection products that we apply are regulated by both
the Environmental Protection Agency and the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture to
ensure they are safe. The safe application distances are already included in the
product labels, and that is what we adhere to. In summary, I am opposed to
Bill No. 2491 because it imposes on workable regulations that are already highly
regulated activity and threatens Hawai`i's only thriving agriculture sector.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much.
Mr. Petersen: I have a map that I would like to show real
quick.
Chair Hooser: If you would give it to the Staff and they can
circulate it, and then we can move on to the next speaker, I would appreciate it. It
is almost 8:30 p.m. Our goal is 10:30 p.m. There are still a whole lot of people here.
Somebody mentioned they were here for twelve (12) hours. We have had Staff here
for thirteen (13) hours. We are going to keep going. Go ahead.
JOSH HAGER: Good evening, Council. My name is Josh
Hager. I have lived on Kauai for nearly ten (10) years now. I proudly work for
DuPont Pioneer and I strongly oppose Bill No. 2491. I represent the fourth
generation of a farming family and I have been involved with agriculture my entire
life. I have studied and worked in agriculture in both the United States and
Europe, and unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation surrounding our
business, as everyone can see today from this demonstration. There are many
generalizations in this Bill that really hurt the dialogue between local business,
farmers, and community members. Farmers in this County represent only two
percent (2%) of the entire population. Farming is a challenge whether you are an
organic farmer or a conventional farmer. My own family farm still faces those
challenges every day. In Ohio where I grew up, almost seven hundred (700) family
farms are lost each year. If you were to go to those places now, what you will see is
parking lots, apartment buildings, and other developments. I take that lesson and I
apply it to what I have seen here on Kaua`i, where you have eighty percent (80%) of
very good farmland that is sitting unfarmed. The message that tells me is that
regardless of what type of farmer we are, we need to provide every tool we can to
help those farmers be successful. On our own family farm, we routinely used crop
rotations and cover crops. The bottom line is that we had to be extremely good
caretakers of the land, whether you are a seed farmer, conventional farmer, or an
organic farmer. If you want to survive, you have to take good care of the land. In
the late 90s on our own family farm, that included biotech crops. Herbicide tolerant
crops, in our experience, allowed us to use fewer pesticides because it controlled the
weeds more effectively. We are also able to implement no tillage practices and
minimize erosion. Basically the bottom line, fourteen (14) years later, my family
farm still exists in part because of that technology. I would also like to add
BILL NO. 2491 102 JULY 31, 2013
something because I have heard testimony about this is that there are farmers in
more than twenty-eight (28) countries that also utilize this technology. This Bill as
written implies that cultivation of GMO crops has potentially damaging effects on
the environment and questions the associated agricultural practices of those crops.
There are more than one hundred million (100,000,000) farmers that have grown
biotech crops and I believe they would disagree with that statement. In my own
experience, biotech crops have allowed my family farm to be both more profitable
and environmentally responsible. At DuPont Pioneer, we work daily to promote
safety, responsible farming practices, and other things such as conservation plans.
In summary, I am proud to work for DuPont Pioneer on Kauai and I strongly
oppose Bill No. 2491.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
LEO ABALOS: Good evening, Council. I am speaking for
myself. My name is Leo Abalos and I oppose Bill No. 2491. I am a local boy who
was raised in Kauanui, Makaweli. I have been in agriculture—especially the sugar
plantation, for the majority of my life; I know how important agriculture is to our
local economy. I work for Pioneer. I work in sunflower, which is not a GMO crop.
Throughout my life, I have learned and lived by two (2) important rules. The first
rule is to respect others. I would not put anyone in harm's way or harm anyone.
The second rule is to protect and respect the land. If I knew that Pioneer was
intentionally harming someone, putting some other people in harm's way, or if they
were destroying our land where it was not usable, I would not be working for
Pioneer. Pioneer spends a lot of time and money on training and educating their
employees on safety and regulations. When we are in the field, we have the right to
stop any task. If we believe it is not safe or it is not right, we can stop all tasks. In
conclusion, I just want to say that I support this industry. I am proud to work for
Pioneer and I believe what I do is right, and that I make a difference in this world.
Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you.
TIFFANY TCHOUBOUKJIAN: Aloha. My name is Tiffany
Tchouboukjian. I have a dual degree in both Plant Protection Science and Crop
Science. The birth of this Bill has done nothing but create an extremely unhealthy
divide amongst the community and all farmers on Kauai. I came from an organic
farming background and I do one hundred percent (100%) organic farming, but I
also know that it is easy, or at least doable, to hand weed half an acre or an acre.
Kauai Coffee alone is three thousand (3,000) acres. Can anybody imagine hand
weeding this kind of stuff? Commercial agriculture unfortunately needs pesticides
and chemical control. It is needed. It is not that we enjoy doing it; it is needed.
This Bill is not an "anti-GMO Bill;" it is an "anti-farming Bill" for what exactly what
I just stated. Kaua`i Coffee, our own pride and joy, is suffering tremendously from
this Bill or they will if it is passed. Some people say, "Why not use organic
pesticides?" There is a common misconception that organic is synonymous with
"safe," but mercury, lead, arsenic, and cyanide are all organic and naturally
occurring elements. The harsh fact is that all pesticides—all of them, whether
organic, bio, or synthetically derived are designed to kill. That is what they do.
They kill things. This is a binder of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) of organic
pesticides that are registered for Hawaii: natural Insecto, known human
carcinogen; EcoSyn, may cause central nervous system effects, liver and kidney
damage, reproductive fetal effects, cardiac disturbances... the list goes on and on;
Azera, extremely toxic to bees, all fish, and invertebrates, potential for runoff
BILL NO. 2491 103 JULY 31, 2013
several weeks after application; Nicotine Sulfate, known teratogen which means
causes birth defects; (Inaudible), changes in lung function, renal degeneration also
known as blindness, not to mention the countless organic (inaudible) MSDS in here
that under the environmental impact and health effects says, "Unknown" or "No
data available." This stuff is sold over the counter and is not regulated. Anybody
can buy any amount of any of these chemicals and do not even have to document its
use. We have no idea how much of this is going into our environment. All I am
asking for is equality. The point I am trying to make is that all pesticides are toxic
and all pesticides kills. We should be treated equally; all farmers on Kaua`i equally.
In summary, this is a collection of Restricted Use Pesticides that you can buy over
the counter, whereas commercial Ag has to get licensing, annual testing, and record
everything. You folks are more than welcome to take a look at this. This is the
exact same. There is Lorsban in here and all kinds of stuff like Lannate,
Permethrin, Mustang Max, and Warrior which are all RUPs that are required for
documentation but you can buy it at Times and Home Depot. I would like to ask the
Council how they plan on regulating this.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much.
Ms. Yukimura: I have a question. The things that you were
reading are non-restricted pesticides?
Ms. Tchouboukjian: Yes. This is organic stuff. I can leave the
binder here if you guys would like.
Ms. Yukimura: They are organic that are used in organic
farming?
Ms. Tchouboukjian: Yes, Ma'am.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Next speaker, please.
RANDALL FIGUEROA: Hi Council. I am Randall Figueroa. I am
opposed to Bill No. 2491.
Chair Hooser: Can you talk louder, please?
Mr. Figueroa: I am Randall Figueroa from Kalaheo. I
oppose Bill No. 2491. I work for the seed industry and have been working for them
for twelve (12) years as an Agronomist. I am proud to work in the seed industry
which is an industry that searches for different ways to improve food sustainability
without putting aside the conventional breeding and agriculture method used for
centuries. I consider that Bill No. 2491 is not necessary and could be redundant.
This Bill talks about restricted pesticide use. I am not sure if you are aware that
the active ingredient of this restricted pesticide that we use is sold over the counter.
We are regulated and the Department of Agriculture and all of our agencies can
come and verify what we buy and what we apply. The homeowner who buys these
kinds of chemical—they do not have the training. I do not know if they are going to
spend the time to check on the labels. There are more Restricted Use Pesticides
that has been applied that has not been monitored by anybody. If we pass this Bill,
it will affect our operation and there is no reasonable explanation for the thousands
of employees that you saw here today, and family members who could be affected if
BILL NO. 2491 104 JULY 31, 2013
this moratorium takes place. We respect you guys as entity officials to be balanced
and not follow the spread of fear that we have been hearing around flyers, radio
stations, and the television. If you search for information, you will find that a lot of
this misleading information has been exposed to the public in a wrong way. I
humbly ask to reconsider the need of this Bill. There must be other ways to reach
consensus and have discussion for the community to find common ground without
having such a devastating effect that will result in the reduction of jobs and
unnecessary costs to the Kaua`i citizens. We cannot recover from that. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
PETER TAUSEND: Good evening, Councilmembers. My name is
Peter Tausend. I am strongly opposed to Bill No. 2491. I am a home owning,
taxpaying, and voting resident of Kaua`i. Since coming here in 1978 to work at the
National Tropical Botanical Garden, I have gained ten (10) years of experience
working with native plant conservation and ecology, as well as twenty-five (25)
years of agricultural experience here. Along the way, I also earned a Masters
Degree in Botany from the University of California, Davis, and a PhD in Botany
from the University of Hawai`i at Manoa. I am currently in my fourteenth year
working for DuPont Pioneer here on Kauai. Unfortunately, seed company
opponents have been very effective in scaring people about what we do. While we
have been focused on safe farming, they have been relentlessly demonizing us on
public radio, public access television, social media, and in a steady stream of letters
to the Editor of our local newspaper. Despite their misleading and unsubstantiated
claims, I am proud to be involved in the production of biotech crops. Our fields are
all around former sugarcane lands and our crops pose no threat to any native plants
or animals. Biotech foods are safe to eat. During the course of twenty-five (25)
years of independent research, there is no documented evidence of any harm to
human health from consumption of biotech foods. Development of these crops is
essential to the challenge of producing enough food for a projected rural population
of nine billion (9,000,000,000) people by 2050. This Bill would impose unworkable
restrictions on our ability to farm. Our biotech crops are already thoroughly
regulated to ensure their safety by Federal agencies, including US Department of
Agriculture, FDA, and the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the Hawai`i
Department of Agriculture. Any pesticides we apply are regulated by both the EPA
and the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture to ensure their safe use. The County of
Kaua`i is already challenged to enforce existing statutes, passing what I believe to
be unnecessary additional regulations. Requiring the costly hiring of experts to
implement them makes no sense to me. Kauai seed companies provide many
benefits to Kauai. Besides providing good paying jobs to hundreds of local people
and contributing millions of dollars to the local economy, we help maintain and
improve an aging irrigation infrastructure which benefits other farmers and the
community at large.
Chair Hooser: Can you please summarize your last
sentence?
Mr. Tausend: That was a fast three (3) minutes. To
summarize, we do support the community generously. We give many thousands of
pounds to the Independent Food Bank. We are proud to be part of this community
and I do oppose the Bill. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
BILL NO. 2491 105 JULY 31, 2013
NATHAN MARTIN: Hello. My name is Nathan Martin. I am a
fourth generation resident of West Kauai. My family came from Spain over one
hundred (100) years ago to work in the sugar plantation. I have grown up around
agriculture my whole life and this Bill will destroy agriculture on West Kauai. I
strongly oppose Bill No. 2491. My grandpa grew up in the Mana Town that was a
plantation town, and when sugar failed, that town disappeared. I would hate to see
Kekaha, where I grew up my entire life, and Waimea, where I went to high school,
also disappear or turn into a ghost town like how Taryn mentioned earlier. When
the sugar failed, the seed industry was there to take its place. This industry is all
we really have on the west side. My sister, mother, and I currently work for DuPont
Pioneer. I hear many rumors about GMOs and how we spray pesticides. Sadly
enough, sometimes the truth is not as exciting as the lies. There is a lot of
misinformation out there and it is hard to know fact from fiction. What we do is
highly regulated and it is safe. I would not work for Pioneer if I thought otherwise.
As servants of Kauai, I want to please ask the Council to base their decisions on
facts and evidence, not just "he said, she said" gossip. You need to listen to the
farmers who work on these farms every day. They can tell you what really goes on.
One (1) of the goals of GMO is to create stronger plants that can be resistant to
weeds and bugs. This actually makes it for us to be able to spray less because the
plants are more vigorous and we do not need to spray as often. We also use
Integrated Pest Management and only spray when it is necessary. The way we
spray these chemicals is way different from the crop dusting they used to do during
the sugar days. It is safer and it is controlled. We follow the labels by law. We are
audited by the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture routinely. If this Bill was all
about chemicals, why do we not talk about all the chemicals that we use in our
community? What about all of the chemicals that Ace and Home Depot sells to the
average person? I am sure that is many of tons, too. I also do not see anyone dying
from what we are doing. I do not see dead wildlife either. I will tell you right now
that our fields are getting overrun by pigs, chickens, birds, and even Nene geese.
They are thriving off of our farms. They are not dying from the GMOs. If this Bill
passes, Kaua`i will not be any safer than it already is because we are safe. The only
thing that is going to change is that there is going to be hundreds of unemployed
people looking for work. Maybe those farming lands are going to be developed into
hotels or houses. Is that what Kaua`i really wants? I say that a self-sustaining
Kaua`i is a Kaua`i that has jobs. I love what I do. I think it is safe and I think it is
a good thing for Kaua`i.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
JANICE BALAURO: Hi. My name is Jan Balauro. I have been in
the corn industry for thirty-three (33) years. I have worked in corn. My husband is
a spray operator. I raised three (3) kids and all of them are healthy. I have never
been sick. I love corn. I like to raise my grandkids here. I would like to bring them
back to Kaua`i. They went off-island because there are no jobs here. I love my job.
I like to work outdoors. I do not know what to do if there is no corn here. I have
never worked indoors. This is my whole livelihood. After college, I came back to
Kauai and worked outdoors. I do not think I can work anywhere else. I worked
with chemicals. My husband sprays chemicals. My kids have never been sick a day
in their life. I do not know where people say they got brain tumors. My kids have
never been sick. When people say that their kids got sick, I look at my kids and say,
"I am lucky that my kids and grandkids have never been sick. I am glad, proud,
and happy to be working in corn fields." Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
BILL NO. 2491 106 JULY 31, 2013
YOLANDA NIAU-BLEVINS: Aloha mai. (Inaudible) na `ohana, nd
hooaloha, na malihini. Aloha County Councilmembers. My name is Yolanda
Kupuaulani Niau-Blevins. I come from the island of Niihau. I was born and raised
on that island. I have done farming with my father almost all of my life. I was
homeless five (5) years ago on the beach. I have traveled around the island of
Kauai and fought with the system left and right to have a place of my own to take
care of my twelve (12) year old daughter. My daughter was only six (6) years old
then when we moved out onto the beach. She is twelve (12) years old today and
very healthy. I started working for Syngenta seven (7) months ago. I love what I
do. I love my job. Without GMO in our life and today's life, who will survive? How
can we all survive out there without it? We have lived with it for generations and
generations, and now there are people who are against GMO. How I see GMO is
"guaranteed the food is more 'ono." That is how I see GMO. I work in the corn field
every day since I was hired by Hawaii employment. I work for Syngenta. I have
never gotten laid off... not once. I stick to my job. I apply to my job. I listen to my
bosses. I carry on my job throughout the day. I have become a leader within the
group that I never thought I would be one day, but today I am that leader for a core
group within that nursery department. I work hard every day because I am a single
mother. I have a twelve (12) year old to feed every day. Because of my job, I get to
provide everything that my little girl needs. I have fought throughout my life just
to make a life for her. Do not take away our jobs. We need our jobs. This is the
only way I can survive here on the island of Kauai. Without my job, my daughter
will not survive. It takes us... all adults and parents out there, to work together to
become one (1) nation for our future generations to come. I stand before you today
and tonight. I have been out there for thirteen (13) hours waiting just to get in
front of here and speak, but I can tell you that I spoke in that camera out there. I
said what I felt and how I felt.
Chair Hooser: Can you please summarize in one (1)
sentence?
Ms. Niau-Blevins: I oppose Bill No. 2491. I definitely oppose
that Bill. Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
THOMAS MATSUDA: Good evening, Chair Furfaro and aloha
Councilmembers. It has been a long evening but I am glad to be here. My name is
Thomas Matsuda. I am with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture in the
Pesticide Branch. I am presenting testimony on behalf of Russell Kokubun, the
Board Chair at the Department. I am just going to kind of summarize some key
points. Really, pesticides—we regulate that and the seed industry knows that. The
pesticide label is the law. For any pesticide label to be registered, it has to undergo
scientific testing, data, and it is reviewed by scientists and analysts. It may take up
to ten (10) years to get a registration on the product. More importantly is that
HDOA, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, we know that this Bill makes
findings as to the amount of restricted pesticides used annually by major
agricultural entities on Kauai. The Bill attributes the supporting data to HDOA. I
want to say—or Russell says that the HDOA does not maintain records of the
volumes of Restricted Use Pesticides used. We only keep sales records. Our records
of Restricted Use Pesticides (RUP) sales for the Kauai agricultural sector, which
includes both major users and smaller users of RUPs, indicate that on average for
the last three (3) years, a total sales—a volume that is significantly lower than the
BILL NO. 2491 107 JULY 31, 2013
figure of eighteen (18) tons that has been cited in the media as the volume of RUPs
used annually. Again, our data are sales records, not use records. We have to make
that distinction. The Bill in Section 22-22.4 on page six (6) proposes to require an
annual pesticide use report on RUP and General Use Pesticides, as well as
pesticides used under Experimental Use Permits. HDOA believes that it would be
beneficial for the County to look at the efforts and resources committed by the U.S.
mainland states or Counties that have developed and implemented pesticide
reporting systems. Of particular interest would be the cost of professional staff with
technical and regulatory expertise and development testing implementation for the
system. Finally, on the open-air testing point on this Bill, we feel that this would
work to the disadvantage of Kaua`i in the event that there is a pest problem.
Chair Hooser: Okay, that is three (3) minutes.
Mr. Matsuda: Currently in any State, HDOA can allow a
permit to test a registered pesticide on a crop not listed on the label.
Chair Hooser: That is your time.
Mr. Matsuda: Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: I have a question. Mr. Matsuda, thank you
for being here tonight and please thank Mr. Kokubun also. Would you be willing to
come back at one (1) of our Committee Meetings so we can have a more in depth
discussion?
Mr. Matsuda: Certainly.
Ms. Yukimura: Can you provide the volume that your sales
show? You said it is not the eighteen (18) tons, but please give us the data.
Mr. Matsuda: Yes. I can send that to you.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay. Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: I have a question also. I have your data that
you gave me.
Mr. Matsuda: Those are sales records, not use records.
Chair Hooser: Correct, yes. You are assuming that what
you sell, they are not using? Is that correct? Eighteen (18) tons—I have actually
rounded it way down, so if you could provide the math... you gave me the amount of
pesticides purchased and I did the calculations. If you could show me your
calculations, we can compare those and talk about those on Monday. Is that okay
with you?
Mr. Matsuda: I do not know about Monday, but I will get
that to you.
Chair Hooser: Monday would be really helpful to us if you
could.
Mr. Matsuda: Sure.
BILL NO. 2491 108 JULY 31, 2013
Chair Hooser: Councilmember Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: Thank you for being here. You are testifying
on behalf of Mr. Kokubun?
Mr. Matsuda: That is correct.
Mr. Bynum: He is the former Senator, right?
Mr. Matsuda: Right.
Mr. Bynum: He is the Head of the Department of
Agriculture now?
Mr. Matsuda: He is the Board Chair.
Mr. Bynum: In his testimony, is he taking a position on
this Bill?
Mr. Matsuda: He is just offering comment and pertinent
information. Again, we submitted the written testimony. It is before you folks...
Mr. Bynum: Right. I have read the written testimony.
Mr. Matsuda: Basically...
Mr. Bynum: Do you characterize that testimony as taking
a position on this Bill?
Mr. Matsuda: In the last part, we would be in opposition
because for what you folks label "testing," if there is a pest that shows up on Kaua`i,
under this Bill how it is written, any researcher would not be able to do open-air
testing.
Mr. Bynum: Mr. Matsuda, I read the testimony. My
question is, is Mr. Kokubun taking a position on this Bill?
Mr. Matsuda: As written, it does not appear to be.
Chair Hooser: Okay. Thank you. The testimony that is
presented, the Department of Agriculture does not take a position on the Bill. Is
that correct?
Mr. Matsuda: Pretty much. We are just sharing pertinent
information.
Chair Hooser: Exactly, but there is not a "for" or "against."
Mr. Matsuda: Yes.
Chair Hooser: It is just hearing information.
Councilmember Kagawa, did you have a question?
BILL NO. 2491 109 JULY 31, 2013
Mr. Kagawa: Thank you. Mr. Matsuda, the Kaua`i office
has somebody who regulates pesticides?
Mr. Matsuda: We have an inspector on the island...
Mr. Kagawa: For the seed companies, we have an
inspector or two (2) here on the island?
Mr. Matsuda: Yes.
Mr. Kagawa: Just one (1) person?
Mr. Matsuda: One (1) inspector for the island of Kaua`i.
Mr. Kagawa: I would like for the next Committee Meeting
for that person or his/her boss to be present to describe what they do for each
company, just to inform us as to what kind of regulations the State does.
Chair Hooser: That would be on Monday if that is possible
at 9:30 a.m. in the Council Chambers.
Mr. Matsuda: Okay.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much for your testimony.
There is one (1) more question from Councilmember Yukimura.
Ms. Yukimura: I have one (1) more question, Mr. Matsuda.
When you come to the Committee Meeting, could you provide—you have provided
one (1) bit of factual information that is relevant to the findings in the Bill...
Mr. Matsuda: Yes.
Ms. Yukimura: If you have any other information about any
of the other findings, we would appreciate it.
Mr. Matsuda: Okay.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. On Monday, August
5th, at 9:30 a.m. in the Council Chambers we will have a Committee Meeting where
this Bill, Bill No. 2491, will be heard again. In that meeting, public testimony is
accepted, but the primary purpose of the meeting is for the Council to engage in
dialogue and conversations with resource people. Today, we are not able to really
communicate too much. We are trying to give everyone their three (3) minutes. On
Monday, we hope to have scientists, farmers, the Department of Ag, Department of
Health, lawyers, and really be able to explore the issues with them on Monday. We
are going to do that early in the meeting, and then after that we will take public
testimony. That is the tentative plan. The public is invited to give testimony, but
that will be after the resource discussion has happened. Thank you, Chair, for
reminding and suggesting a clarification. The posted time is 8:30 a.m. but we are
scheduling an Executive Session at that time, so the actual open meeting will occur
at 9:30 a.m. Thank you. Go ahead.
BILL NO. 2491 110 JULY 31, 2013
ALFRED BALAURO: Good evening, Council. My name is Alfred
Balauro. I work for Syngenta. I have been spraying for almost thirty-five (35)
years. I do not know where they get these figures of people dying in mass or getting
cancer, but it seems like everybody who does spray is not getting sick. What is this?
They say where we are sick so many days but a lot of times, we will be sick for two
(2) or three (3) days out the year because when people bring the flu virus here, we
get it. We work very safely in the industry. If we do not follow the labels, a lot of
times we could get fired from the company we work for. That is the way it is. I
have got family to support and a lot of friends that work in this industry, and
worked there for years so why are they not sick? Where are these people coming
from? What is going on? You tell me. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Next speaker, please.
ANTONIO POPE: Good evening, County Council. My name is
Antonio Kalani Pope. I was born in Koke`e and I will reside in Waimea all of my
life. I have three (3) boys who currently reside in Kaumakani. I work for Dow
AgroSciences. I have been involved with farming for the last six (6) years. I have
been involved with enforcing regulation federally and locally for more than twelve
(12) years. I currently work for Dow, as I said. I oppose this Bill due to unfairness.
The target of this Bill is GMOs, not pesticide use or all agricultural operations'
pesticide use would be questioned. The truth is that GMOs are safe, but a select
group of thinkers in the world do not accept the science so they are now attacking
the pesticide use by the biotech industries to gain leverage. They have stopped
lobbying State and Federal governments because they have gotten no traction and
are now lobbying heavy municipalities such as Kauai because it is easier to sway
townships with no means to independently investigate. Yet, organic pesticides can
be worse due to no or poor regulation while synthetic chemicals are thoroughly
vetted and regulated by the Federal and State agencies. I quote a Scientific
American article, "Not only are organic pesticides not safe, they might actually be
worse than the ones used by the conventional agricultural industry." This Bill is
one (1) sided and singles out, punishes, and targets one (1) sector of agriculture on
only on one (1) side of Kaua`i, mainly the moku of Maria, Kona, and by doing so
singles out and punishes the people who reside in these areas. It convicts our way
of life without cause. The moratorium takes away the product that we produce and
renders biotech companies, like mine, unviable to operate. Depending on the length
of said moratorium, it will make biotech companies to close doors, leaving an
economic void in the State of Hawaii, County of Kaua`i, and my family that we
cannot afford. The County only (inaudible) and a division of our communities with
this Bill. The Bill is not based in any facts, as far as I can tell, and yet it persecutes
hundreds of Kaua`i citizens. GMOs have been scientifically studied in Europe for
more than twenty-five (25) years and the results are confirming. GMOs are safe. I
quote a New York Times article, "Now, after twenty-five (25) years of field trials
without evidence of harm, fears continue to trigger the precautionary prickle but
Europeans need to abandon this knowingly one (1) sided stance and strike a balance
between the advantages and disadvantages of the technology on the basis of
scientifically sound risk assessment analysis." I ask, do we have twenty-five (25)
years to waste?
Chair Hooser: Can you give us your final sentence, please?
Mr. Pope: My final sentence is the County's
Department of Water uses a Restricted Use Pesticide every day in low amount of
BILL NO. 2491 111 JULY 31, 2013
qualities to make sure that our water is safe, but that is a Restricted Use Pesticide.
That can kill you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
HEATHER GUITERREZ: Hi. Thank you for being here tonight to hear
our concerns. My name is Heather Guiterrez and I oppose Bill No. 2491. I
understand the concerns of people who support this Bill; however, a lot of the
testimony I hear today from supporters are based on fear and myths, and not
scientific proven facts. My husband is a spray operator. He takes his job very
seriously. He is trained, educated, and certified in what he does. A lot of people
seem to have this illusion that they just go out and spray with no (inaudible) and no
rules, but this is simply not the case. There are many rules and regulations on
State and Federal levels on how he performs his job. I am an Air Traffic Controller.
I also hold the public's safety in my hand and I am trained and certified in what I
do. No offense, but I could not perform my job if people who know nothing about
what I do make the rules for me to follow. Well, neither can they. This is not about
hide and seek; it is a Bill that creates barricades that prevents people from being
able to perform their job. This is not about money. I am not being paid to be here.
I would not put my husband in the fields or my daughter in Kekaha School over
money. I am insulted by anyone insinuating otherwise. Find out facts about GMO
and pesticides. Do not listen to the scare tactics and assumptions. The
multi-billion dollar organic industry uses pesticides also. Please, just get the facts
and the bottom line is that we should work together to address concerns through
education based on truth and facts. This Bill is not the answer. Mahalo.
EDGAR GUITERREZ: Good evening, Council. My name is Edgar
Guiterrez. I am a Spray Operator for Syngenta. I am a former United States
Marine. I worked as a Firefighter for the State of Hawai`i for thirteen (13) years
and I do take what I do seriously. Please, consider what you are about to do with
this Bill and let us think about what we do before we move any forward. Are we
ready for an economic collapse on the west side? That is what I ask you tonight.
Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Next speaker, please.
LINDSAY KELLEY III: Aloha mai. My name is Lindsay
Kamalamalama Kelley III. I was born and raised on Ni`ihau. I work with Pioneer
for almost ten (10) years now. I oppose Bill No. 2491. I am going to speak in
Hawaiian so my family at home can understand it too. A`ole wau kako o i keia pila
elua eha eiwa ekahi no ka mea e nui ana na hema (inaudible) ma ka ao ao
horn ohana 'o Kauai. (Inaudible) no na ohana e loa a `ole ana i ka hana ma hope o
ka (inaudible) pono `ia ana o keia pila. (Inaudible) i ke au hou o ke (inaudible)
aina. Ke nui nei na hale au (inaudible) ma Kekaha ka ao ao 'o Kaua`i, komohana `o
Kauai. A nui na ko`u ohana 'dole like ke ku ai kela mau hale no ka mea
(inaudible). No laila, e (inaudible) no oukou a (inaudible) apau. E hui (inaudible) i
na (inaudible) olelo e (inaudible) me i waho. Aka, ke pule au i (inaudible) `oukou a
hana na maika`i na `ohana apau 'o Kaua`i. Ka pono o Kauai. Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Mahalo.
MARK KENNETT: Good evening, Council. Thank you for giving
me the opportunity to come up here. My name is Mark Kennett. I am a displaced
sugar worker. I was so very, very lucky to be picked up by one (1) of the corn
BILL NO. 2491 112 JULY 31, 2013
companies after (inaudible) closed down. I used to be the harvesting
superintendent over there. When I was in kind of a job limbo, it was quite
terrifying with a kid in college. I did not know what I was going to do but we were
able to get a good gainful employment with Dow. I have coached soccer to kids from
five (5) to nineteen (19) years old. I have actually been recognized by the Council a
time or two (2). I volunteer my time with the Boys and Girls Club's paddling
program and I have developed a trust and a love for those kids that I have worked
with for many, many years. They mean a lot to me. I work out in the fields now.
We watched—I have grown up... I have (inaudible) in my job. I learned about it
and it was something that I had to do. Do you think for one (1) second that if I saw
something that was going on that I would not be the first one to stop and ruin the
trust that I have developed with those kids and with the community that I have
worked with for so long? No. You have got the best policemen out there—us. We
did not fall off the onion truck... we did not. We are intelligent people. I get
offended by some of the accusations that are made. No. I would not. I could not
bear to live with myself if that was the case. I do. I care. If I saw something going
on that was bad, I would be the first one to make a big stink and make sure it gets
stopped, whatever it would take. I have not seen that. I do not see that, not with
the practices that our companies have in place, and the employees that we have out
there. Council, I ask you this; will it be your legacy when you are done that you are
ones that go home and say, "I am the one who put all of these people out of work."
Think about it. Thank you very much.
RANDALL UYEHARA: Good evening. My name is Randall Uyehara.
I was born and raised on O`ahu. I moved to Kaua`i over thirty (30) years ago. My
wife was raised in Mana and Waimea. The first job I had was at Times
Supermarket. I worked in the produce department, grocery department. I was the
youngest cashier. I learned all about food, food safety, and processed foods. There
were no organic foods then in the supermarket. I worked for natural food stores, I
helped open natural food restaurants and bakeries on O`ahu and a restaurant in
Waikiki. The Bakery (inaudible)—we were producing five hundred (500) loaves a
day. It was really hard work. We tried to use organic stuff. We tried to grind
wheat. It is really difficult to be an organic farmer. I moved to Kaua`i and worked
in the hotel industry. I got a job on the plantation when I wanted to start a family.
I got to work in a ranch. I have been in the ranch for almost thirty (30) years. I am
one (1) of the two percent (2%) who produces food for the other ninety-eight percent
(98%). I started growing taro in the valleys of Makaweli and Waimea. I got hurt on
the ranch and had to get operations on my arms and shoulder. I broke my
collarbone once. I started farming again. I try to not use chemicals or use chemical
fertilizers that we buy in the bags. Most of the farmers all use that. I got more
weeds than taro so I know it is difficult, but I am against this Bill because you are
targeting agriculture and taking away one (1) of the tools—five (5) pounds or fifteen
(15) gallons of herbicide is not a whole lot. Are you going to go after the hotels next
for how much they use? What about the thousands of pounds of chlorine in all of
the swimming pools? What about the military? The Base? They spray. They have
stuff that they use. The landscapers just had a conference. One (1) of the topics
was "Do's and Don'ts of Pesticides: New pests on Kaua`i." If you target the
agricultural industry—it is very unfair. Even the County of Kaua`i uses more
pesticides than that amount. I do not think it is fair. I worked...I passed through
those fields because we work from the mountains to the ocean on the ranch. I see
some of these people. I know some of them. My kids went to Waimea and
graduated from there. My son got a scholarship from Harvard. He came back the
first year, got a job at Pioneer, and never went back.
BILL NO. 2491 113 JULY 31, 2013
Chair Hooser: Can you please summarize?
Mr. Uyehara: He works for Syngenta. They sent him
around the world. I asked him, "Why?" He said, "Dad, an organic farmer on the
North Shore is not going to feed people in India or Africa."
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Your three (3)
minutes are finished. Thank you for your testimony. Just a little clarification—the
pounds of use that you referred to; that is for restricted pesticides only, so it does
not affect—the County does not use...the State, on the highways, Restricted Use
Pesticides. It only applies the quantity that you quote to the Restricted Use.
Mr. Uyehara: The County does not use pesticides?
Chair Hooser: Not according to the records provided by the
Department of Agriculture—no, Restricted Use Pesticides. The County uses
pesticides but not restricted pesticides.
Mr. Uyehara: What about the insecticides? Those are
worse.
Chair Hooser: The number that you are talking about is
Restricted Use. I just wanted to clarify that. I did not want to argue about it. I just
wanted to clarify the Restricted Use. Thank you very much.
Mr. Uyehara: Thank you.
ADAM DOOLEY: Good evening. My name is Adam Dooley. I
live in Wailua. I brought my family here when my daughter was born to leave a
State that, as a whole, especially when it comes to government corporations, does
not care about the environment, and that is Texas. I lived in Houston for a long,
long time. When you drive by the ship channel on Monday through Friday, you do
not see very many smoke stacks going off. On the weekends, they all are because
the regulators do not work on the weekends. They are understaffed just like how
they are here in Hawai`i. I have heard a lot of very informative things tonight on
both sides. I am really glad that I came, but I also heard a lot of scary things too.
When I hear people talking about working for a company that does not intentionally
spray people or poison people, I believe that, but that seems like a legal loophole to
me because unintentional things can hurt people too. I do not think that this was
introduced to divide the island. I think it is a very heated topic which will naturally
have people take different sides. I do not know if the t-shirt companies ran out of
colors or people collaborated, but I think it is a shame that we are wearing different
colors because we are all neighbors. We all care about each other. We all care
about each other's livelihoods and our jobs, but for me, the biggest thing is our
island's health and our peoples' health. I have heard lots of people on both sides
talk about how dangerous pesticides are and how dangerous they can be. I do not
think that is under debate. When we talk about things that are sold over the
counter, that does not negate the issue we are talking about; it just shows how
much needs to be addressed in my opinion. All seven (7) of you here have a very big
task in front of you. I do not know if anyone in this room or if any of you are really
qualified to make that decision, but that is what we are putting on you and I want
to thank you for taking this on. I did not come here thinking I was going to be
speaking today but I just really hope that everyone here in this room understands
that we really do all support each other and all love each other. None of us wants
BILL NO. 2491 114 JULY 31, 2013
you to lose your jobs and none of you want to get sick or get us sick, and none of us
necessarily even know what really will happen. I am only thirty-one (31) years old.
I know that when my mom was growing up, she ran through the streets in Southern
California being sprayed with DDT, and they told her it was safe. Science changes
and discoveries change, but they are all labeled as "facts" at the time. I think that
is really the biggest thing, which is that we have to be careful about what we are
exposing ourselves to in the presence because you never know what we are going to
find out in the future. It is all small steps but we need to work together in order to
figure that out. Thank you. I hope that you do pass the Bill.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker.
ERIC HILLIS: Hello. My name is Eric Hillis. I work for
Pioneer Hi-Bred. I currently live in Kekaha about as close as you can get to the
farmland there in Kekaha. I live right next to the garden. My kids both go to
school at Kekaha Elementary School. I farm the closest fields to the school area. I
currently know what goes on in the fields and it does not concern me to send my
kids to Kekaha Elementary. I cannot even use the stapler without putting safety
glasses on. We have a person's job all day, which is to monitor safety and safe
practices at our work. Taryn Dizon is a bulldog. We are monitored very closely on
what we do and I am proud to work for Pioneer. I wear my Pioneer t-shirt out and
about. I do not have anyone ask me questions. They do ask my wife questions, but
I would like it to be an open dialogue where I can have an open discussion like this.
Tonight has been great to be able to kind of see the other side of what the
viewpoints are. As far as my position—I am opposed. I think it creates an
inequality in the way farmers are treated. Why should we, because we are bigger,
be treated any differently than someone who can do the same amount of
environmental damage or anything like that? I am opposed to the Bill. That is my
testimony. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
GERARDO ROJAS: Aloha Mr. Chairman and members of the
Committee. My name is Gerardo Rojas. I work for Dow AgroSciences. Thank you
for this opportunity to testify in opposition to Bill No. 2491. While it is not
unreasonable to question the impact of GMO crops, I believe that passing this Bill
will only hurt, not help, the people of Kauai. At Dow AgroSciences, we use crop
protection technologies including pesticides and we plant GMOs in accordance with
all applicable regulatory and safety requirements and standards. Our operations
are also regulated by State and Federal authorities charged with protecting public
health and environment. Generating the data to gain approval for the commercial
use of any pesticides take an average of nine (9) years and more than two hundred
million dollars ($200,000,000). Once these pesticides are approved, these are
submitted to continual regulatory review and can be immediately withdrawn from
the market by regulatory authorities if they are considered an imminent risk to
public health. Before we use pest control products, we make sure that our
employees are trained in best practices such as drift reduction techniques and
integrated pest management or IPM. Some of the pesticides that we use on the
farm include Restricted Use Pesticides but it is not one hundred percent (100%) as
you know. In the debate over Bill No. 2491, Restricted Use Pesticides has been
demonized when in fact, the term itself is used by U.S. EPA to designate resistered
pesticides that may only be applied by and with the supervision of a trained and
certified applicator. The RUP designation assures that the product is in well
trained hands and will be applied responsibly in accordance with label directions.
BILL NO. 2491 115 JULY 31, 2013
In practice, RUPs are pesticides that are reserved for commercial applications and
not for homeowner use. Like all resgistered pesticides, when appropriately applied
RUPs meets EPA's environment and human health standards. As you know, costs
of (inaudible) regulatory approvals for GMO crops that are also considerable is
(inaudible) time it takes to generate the required research data for review. All the
regulated crops we grow are planted in accordance with requirements imposed by
Federal (inaudible) that are designed to protect health and environment. The
Federal review process for regulated GMO planting also provides notice to the State
of Hawai`i.
Chair Hooser: Please give us your final sentence if you can.
Mr. Rojas: Okay. In summary, I oppose Bill No. 2491
because this Bill has no scientific basis. I will say what Dr. Kevin Folta said this
week, "I really want to agree to agree. It is too important for us all not to just
(inaudible) it through." Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
STEVEN DAVIS: Aloha Council Chair Furfaro, Vice Chair
Nakamura, and Councilmembers. I thank you so much for allowing me to come and
give my testimony in opposition to Bill No. 2491. My name is Steve Davis. I work
for Kaua`i Coffee. I did not want the evening to go by without acknowledging as we
gather in this venue and look at these flags of sacrifice men and women make in the
Armed Forces and that we have the freedom to gather in this meeting and hear the
things that we have heard tonight. Thank you for that. I have been a licensed Pest
Control Applicator since 1999. I have been in Food Manufacturing and Distribution
for over twenty (20) years and I am involved in several operations at the Kaua`i
Coffee Company and currently the Sales Manager. I have been involved in other
operations as well. I would like to speak specifically on Section 22-22.4 "Mandatory
Disclosure of Pesticides." Subsection (a) imposes disclosure requirements on
commercial agricultural entities that annually purchase or use an excess of fifteen
(15) gallons of RUPs or restricted use pesticides, any amount of experimental
pesticides, or both. These requirements are onerous and arbitrary. For Kaua`i
Coffee Company, these provisions would effectively eliminate our use of RUP which
we currently utilize for (inaudible) control and burn down of small weeds. A few
years ago, we tried an alternative method for (inaudible) control and burn down.
The alternative method was ineffective at best, yielding extremely poor results
which we do not want to revisit. Experimental pesticides, which require an EUP or
an Experimental Use Permit, are often products that are already registered and
approved with the EPA seeking additional data or registration. For example,
research is ongoing at Kaua`i Coffee by the University of Hawai`i and the USDA
Agricultural Research Service to find solutions for the coffee berry borer through
the use of (inaudible), as you know of as the Organic Materials Research Institute
list of products. As you know the coffee berry borer has infested the Kona Coffee
growing region, destroying farmers' crops and livelihood in the process. The
research at Kaua`i Coffee is important for Hawai`i and specifically for Kaua`i
because it may help prevent this damaging insect from reaching our island shores.
Under subsection (a), there are a couple of other items that I would like to address.
The seventy-two (72) hour timeframe to post public signage in areas where
pesticides are to be applied is impractical. As part of our safety procedure, we
constantly monitor changing weather patterns and determine appropriate
timeframes for pesticide application. Sometimes wwe have to shut down
application entirely or move to different areas of our property. Rain and wind
BILL NO. 2491 116 JULY 31, 2013
conditions conducive to safe spraying cannot be forecasted that far in advance.
Signage requirements expecting such knowledge are unrealistic and detrimental,
especially considering that none of the four (4) types of herbicide we use have label
requirements for public posting of their applications. Again, thank you Council and
you have the daunting task of sifting through hyperbole, rhetoric, fact and fiction,
so I will be praying for you. Aloha.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
BLAISE BOYLE: Good evening to all of the County
Councilmembers. Aloha. My name is Blaise Boyle. I have worked in production
agriculture for over thirty (30) years. I live and work in Kekaha and I am the
Senior Agronomist for BASF Plant Science. I am opposed to Bill No. 2491 as it is
written. Specifically tonight, I would like to address the pesticide and GMO
reporting provisions of Section 22-22.4. This section is impractical for pesticide
applicators, violates existing Federal Worker Protection Standards, and does
virtually nothing to improve the safety of Kaua`i residents. If we look at paragraph
(a)(1), this section requires public postings and signs as stated in areas in which
pesticides are to be applied a minimum of seventy-two (72) hours prior to, during,
and seventy-two (72) hours after application of any pesticide. This provision raises
numerous questions and potential conflicts like weather conflicts because we
monitor fields on a daily basis and we make decisions on a daily basis. IPM has
taken on a daily basis. When you are trying to project seventy-two (72) hours out,
you cannot project the weather and you cannot project what your insects are doing.
My question to you as a County is what would the sign look like? If signs are not
consistent across Kaua`i, residents would not recognize them for their functions.
Where precisely would you place these signs? Signs are currently posted at each of
the fields with an EPA required warning sign prior before Spring. The sign would
need to be different than the existing sign so workers will not be confused at what
they are looking at. Where would there be information on these signs? If so, what
kind of information would you be posting? Existing Federal regulations require
that pesticides warning signs be put up no sooner than twenty-four (24) hours
before the application and taken down no later than seventy-two (72) hours after
the reentry interval has expired. To stay in compliance with Federal law, the
Kaua`i signs would be required to be managed separately from the existing
regulatory system. How else do we look at these things? We look at them under
other areas in paragraphs as under paragraph (a)(3). Under this section, companies
would be required to provide pesticides records to the Department but that puts
additional responsibility on the Department. Where does this money come from?
How do they handle all of these types of information? The existing system, the
Hawai`i Department of Agriculture verifies the accuracy of the company records. I
leave with you three (3) things. The first is...
Chair Hooser: Can you summarize very quickly in a
sentence or two (2)?
Mr. Boyle: Yes. There are two (2) questions I would
have for you. The difference between spraying one (1) ounce of a Restricted Use
Pesticide by a small farmer versus one (1) ounce of the same pesticide by a large
corporation—how is that different? How does that affect each other? The second is
that I have heard numerous comments about how we do not produce produce for the
island. That is true. We are seed companies. We came to this island because of the
unique environment to produce seed.
BILL NO. 2491 117 JULY 31, 2013
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much for your testimony.
Mr. Boyle: Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Next speaker, please. When the three (3)
minutes are up, if you could just go to your closing sentence, I would really
appreciate it.
BRUCE HECKMAN: Good evening, Mr. Chairman and members
of the Council. My name is Bruce Heckman and I work for BASF Plant Science as
the Quality Field Manager for the research station on Kaua`i. I am here today to
comment on my opposition to and the problems associated with Bill No. 2491's
permitting provisions. To give you a little bit of my background, I have a Bachelors
of Science Degree in Chemistry and I have been part of the biotech agricultural
community on Kaua`i for seven (7) years. Previously, I worked in the
Environmental Remediation field for twenty (20) years. My job as Quality Manager
at BASF Plant Science is to make sure that we are following all of the Government
and internal BASF standards required to meet our rigorous permit safety and
quality standards. I am very familiar with all of these regulations and undergo
regular training to make sure that we comply with the conditions of these
regulations. My position within BASF is considered independent and I report to a
separate chain of command within the company to ensure the independence of my
judgment and to avoid potential conflicts of interest. I oversee and report on a
multitude of things from sprayer calibration, safety training and reporting,
permitting, stewardship training and reporting, work instructions, maintenance
records, security, waste recycling and disposal, and the shipment and receipt of
material. Section 22-22.9 of the Bill before the Council calls for the implementation
of a permitting process that applies to all commercial agricultural entities, which
intentionally or knowingly possess genetically modified organisms to develop such a
process which requires expert agricultural scientific knowledge, as well as the staff
of many to review each application. The new Department will be very costly to set-
up and administer. Since the amendment states that the funding will come from
property taxes and fees from those directly related to the operations engaged in
developing genetically modified organisms. These taxes and permit fees will be in
the millions of dollars for each permit issued. The amendment is also big on how
many permits each agricultural entity needs and does not state how long they are in
effect. This means that any commercial agricultural entity has potential to face
tens of millions of dollars in permit fees just to operate in Kaua`i County. These
requirements would be in addition to the current permitting and auditing
requirements already being enforced by the United States Department of
Agriculture, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Hawai`i Department of
Agriculture. Also, a large portion of the costs to bring in a plant to rate to a
commercial market is the auditing and reporting required by these permits. Each
seed company has entire divisions devoted to this task. These punitive permit costs
will make Kaua`i County economically unfeasible for any agricultural industry
looking for a place to research and develop genetically modified organisms.
Chair Hooser: Can you go to your closing statement?
Mr. Heckman: Okay, I will go into my closing. Hawai`i is
already listed in many polls as the worst State to do business in the United States.
These duplicative and punitive conditions of permit fees will only solidify Hawai`i's
place at the bottom of the list. Thank you.
BILL NO. 2491 118 JULY 31, 2013
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. We are going to take
a five (5) minute tape change right now. Again, we are going to pound the gavel and
get back to work as soon as we possibly can.
There being no objections, the public hearing recessed at 9:32 p.m.
The public hearing reconvened at 9:37 p.m., and proceeded as follows:
Chair Hooser: Please introduce yourself and speak into the
microphone. If we can kill the conversations, so we can have our speaker begin. It
is nine (9) something... and we were looking at 10:30 p.m. We want to really move
through and let everybody speak but it is going to be challenging. Go ahead, please.
KRISTEN MA: I have lived in `Ele`ele and work at the
Dupont Pioneer Waimea Research Station over eight (8) years. Again today,
although I will be talking about my work, I am speaking for myself as a registered
voter, as a Scientist with degrees in plant breeding, as a mother, and as a resident
of Kauai; which is my home and my family's home. Supporters of Bill No. 2491
would like you to believe that there is not already regulation of the development
process for genetically engineered crops when in fact there is a lot of regulation.
Permit applications to the USDA is very detailed describing each gene to be
introduced and its origin and purpose, along with a planned acreage amount, the
site GPS coordinates, and specification of a detail protocol for the steps of the
development process. There are reviews of this information at both Federal and
State levels and the HGOA specifies additional required conditions that are specific
to Hawaii. Every step from mapping to planting, pollination, harvest, storage, and
shipment is designed to provide physical or reproductive containment of USDA
regulated materials. In the planning stage, isolation distances are established for
each future field planting area and GPS coordinates are recorded. For each planting
there is a planting cleaning process with a checklist and documentation. As the
plants grow, periodic field notes document the development of plants and their
reproductive containment. These field notes and planting and pollinations dates
are routinely documented and recorded to the USDA and HGOA. At harvest, there
are identification tags and separate harvest bags for each harvested group of plants
and additional reports and documentation. There are more cleaning steps for
processing equipment, any repackaging is done in an labeled area with controls to
keep each seed where it belongs. After harvest, there are repeated visits to the
previously planted field area every two (2) weeks to prevent any remaining plant
from flowering. Shipment package materials are also selected to provide
containment and each shipment with USDA regulated material is documented in
detail and inspected by a USDA official. Even the discard processes are carefully
designed to control the fate of any grain or seeds being discarded. In the past
twelve (12) months at my workplace there have been eleven (11) inspection visits by
the USDA Biotechnology Regulatory Service. Separately there have been five (5)
inspection visits by the HGY for genetically engineered plants. Processing, storage
areas, equipment, machinery, planting areas, labeling, training, written protocols,
maps and other documentation may be included in each inspection. I oppose
Bill No. 2491 as it would duplicate existing regulations. New genetically engineered
plants are extensively regulated. Learning, understanding, and complying with the
existing regulations is no small matter, it is a full-time job.
Chair Hooser: If you can summarize.
BILL NO. 2491 119 JULY 31, 2013
Ms. Ma: I know this firsthand because it is my
full-time job. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker please.
RYAN OYAMA: Good evening. I am a registered voter in
Kalaheo and I oppose this bill. I have submitted written testimony earlier. I was
born and raised in Hawai`i. When I was growing up, I was always told to go to
school and study hard. That is pretty much my Okinawan grandmother could tell
me. After I graduated from `Iolani, I went to Lawrence College in Wisconsin, and
then I got my PhD in biology from Harvard. I am really thankful that I was able to
move back home where I had gotten a job at one (1) of the companies that is
targeted by this bill. I find it personally fulfilling that I am helping to further
Hawai`i's tradition of plant breeding with a global impact. I am really proud to be
working for DuPont Pioneer where every day I go to work and I spend the day with
highly skilled and experienced professionals that live the core values of our
company. If I thought that we were doing anything that was going to endanger my
health, yours, my children, or the children of anybody else, I would not work there.
This is a sentiment that you have heard from several of my colleagues. That brings
me to answer another question as to, "why we are all here?" We are being
demonized. Our names and reputations are being smeared and we are here to
defend our name and reputation. We have nothing to be ashamed of. Now, at the
same time I can understand why some of my neighbors may have questions and
concerns about genetic engineering. Some scientific concepts are very complicated
and it can be hard to understand for non-specialists and sit through the competing
assertions and claims, let alone the math. I know agriculture and the future of
farming on Kaua`i is also a very passionate topic that arouses a lot of passion in
people for good reason but to me it seems like this is grounds to have a great
conversation about those topics, to have a really open discussion where we can learn
about each other's concerns, questions, and clear up misunderstanding and come up
with solutions. Unfortunately, I feel like this Bill has derailed that public dialogue
by bringing out and pandering to the fears of people. As a citizen, I oppose this Bill
because I just do not feel that fear is a good basis for sound policy. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker please. If we can
minimize the applause, we can move through a little faster, I think. Please, help
me out here. Thank you.
KATHY HASKINS: I am a registered voter and I oppose
Bill No. 2491. I lived in Kekaha for two (2) years but for the ten (10) years prior to
that, I lived on Molokai. On Moloka`i, I was a part of this industry. I also taught
college at Maui Community College, I taught Marine Biology. I feel like my
colleagues have given you an overload of information here tonight, so I am not going
to even go there. I would like to share something with you that I have shared with
my students when I was teaching. It was that "google" is not research. Facebook is
not research. I told them that because I wanted them to find the real science. I
think you have been presented with a lot of real science here tonight. You have also
been presented with a lot of conjecture, and a lot of opinions. I do not envy you the
job of parsing that out but I am confident that once you do, you will find that the
science behind our industry is sound and proven. I think you will find that the
regulation of our industry by the Federal Government and the State Government as
it stands is very comprehensive. I would also like to say that corporations are made
up of people. A lot of people. A lot of them are here tonight. I have heard people
stand up here and say that they feel sorry for us. Please do not feel sorry for us.
BILL NO. 2491 120 JULY 31, 2013
We are intelligent human beings. We work for these companies because we believe
in what we do. We also believe that each and every one of our fellow employees
cares about our safety and health. We believe that each and every one of our fellow
employees, all the way up to the CEO's of these companies, care about the
environment safety and health. So, please do not feel sorry for us. We love what we
do. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker please.
ROBIN ROBINSON: Good evening. I work for Syngenta and I
oppose Bill No. 2491. Some personal history, my grandparents moved to Waimea
over a hundred (100) years ago. Both my father and my mother, born and raised in
Waimea, grew up there. My brothers and I, born and raised in Waimea, my
brothers' families are born and raised in Waimea and their families — so, four (4)
generations. My father worked for Kekaha Sugar for fifty (50) years. He started
when he was eighteen (18) and retired at sixty (60) — no issues. He lived into his
nineties (90's). My mother took care of him and us — raised in Waimea. She is
ninety-seven (97) and lives by herself, writes her own checks, cooks her own meals,
does not use a wheelchair, walker, and no cane. She wanted to come testify tonight.
I was afraid to have her come talk to you folks. At ninety-seven (97) — you do not
have to worry about what you going say. You just tell it all. Anyway, I chose as a
career to be a dirt farmer out there in the fields, like I was for the Sugar Cane
Companies. That is all we did — we defend what we did. I asked these people who
are throwing stones at us, what we going do then after the Sugar Company pau?
They said, "oh, the seed companies, the seed companies are waiting to take these
lands." I said, "are you sure?" Now, look. They were right. What I am telling you
is that we are doing nothing wrong and we have nothing to be ashamed of. We are
here to defend ourselves. It is not right. I think that is all I got.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much for your testimony.
STEVE LUPKES: Good evening. I live and work in Kekaha. I
am the Station Manager for BASF Plants Science. I want to talk to you about
Section 22 — 22.8 the Environmental Impact Statement. I spent better time looking
through the EPA and Hawaiian Laws on Environmental Impact Statements
because I want to figure out how I am going to... what I might have to do to comply
with this thing. It seems to be that this might be a misapplication of the EIS and
the attempt of EIS's. I say that because an EIS as I read it was to look at proposed
activities. I will read the definition here. The definition of an Environmental Impact
Statement or Statement means an information document prepared in compliance
with the rules adopted under Section 343-6 which discloses the environmental
effects of a proposed action on the economic welfare, social, the cultural practices of
the community and State, effects of the economic activity arising out of the proposed
action. Measures proposed to minimize adverse affects and alternatives to the
action and their environmental effects. In Bill No. 2491, it says that the intent of
the EIS is to determine and evaluate the significant effects of the product,
propagation, and development of genetically modified organisms within the County
of Kauai and the use of all pesticides associated with that same activities. Since
the productive propagation and development of genetically modified organisms has
been a normal practice on the island for nearly twenty (20) years, it seems like it is
not a proposed action —just looking at it that way. Further as I looked at it, in the
EIS thing it rules it clearly indicates that the process normally starts with an
Environmental Assessment (EA). An EA is a qualitative review of the situation.
Then it leads to an EIS if the EA suggests that. The last couple points would be that
BILL NO. 2491 121 JULY 31, 2013
Bill 2491 would fail to acknowledge that a lot of this environmental evaluation is
already done by the EPA and the USDA before we get permits to use them. Lastly, I
would just mention that an EIS, if we go that route, is a very complex and expensive
process that I am not sure the mechanism in the Bill to fund it would work. Thank
you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. I just had one (1)
question. You mentioned that a lot of that work is already done. Can we get copies
of some of the more recent work that you are talking about? You said that you are
already required to do some of this Environmental Review, so if you can just provide
us with some of that information? It would be very helpful to us. Next speaker
please.
PHIL KLEIDOSTY: Councilmembers, Mayor, and community,
thank you for providing this forum for us. I am opposed to Bill No. 2491. My wife
and I have lived here for seven (7) years, our daughter, for two (2) years. All her
fingers, all her toes, in fact she is a fabulous, brilliant child. I am opposed to the
Bill as written because the Bill will force the shutdown of the agri-business
community as we know it. As a support contractor to the agri-business community,
this will devastate our company. As of January 1, 2014, as the Bill is written, we
will be forced to lay off sixteen (16) of our nineteen (19) employees should this pass.
Do you have jobs ready for those sixteen (16) employees? It is a yes or no question.
Chair Hooser: Just provide testimony.
Mr. Kleidosty: Will you go with me to each of those
individual homes and tell them that they have lost their job? We are but one (1) of
many small businesses on Kaua`i that derive a portion of our revenues from the Ag
community. Will other small businesses also be forced to close, or reduce greatly
the number of employees? With regards to safety which this Bill is supposed to
address, these companies have very strict guidelines for us. We are required to
attend safety classes on a quarterly basis. If the job at hand is on the outside of our
normal scope of work, we have additional safety instructions to carry out those
tasks. We have to provide certified (inaudible) EMR 200 and 300 certificates each
and every year. We are a better company because of the safety practices that we
have learned and are learning each and every day. The Ag community is not only
concerned with our wellbeing but also that of the community. Please do not pass
Bill No. 2491.
Ms. Yukimura: I have a question. What is your nature of
your support business?
Mr. Kleidosty: We are a janitorial industrial cleaning
company.
Ms. Yukimura: Alright, thank you.
Mr. Bynum: What in this Bill would cause you to fire
employees?
Mr. Kleidosty: If you reduce greatly the amount of acreage
that these people can farm, that reduces the amount of people that they need to
farm with, that in turn reduces the amount of services that we need to provide. It is
cause and effect.
BILL NO. 2491 122 JULY 31, 2013
SUNDEE CLINE: I live in Kekaha and I work for Syngenta. It
is nice to work for a place where I really feel like I can make a difference. I want to
talk about environmentalism. We are going to have nine point five (9.5) billion
people here on planet Earth by the year 2050, according to the projections, and
global food demand will increase by well over a hundred percent (100%) according to
this projection. Some of the challenges we face are limited land, deforestation,
limited water, excessive use of fertilizers, and famine due to global climate change.
Through technology we can make a difference, and what biotech is doing is saving
land by dramatically increasing crops yields, optimizing water usage, reducing the
amount for fertilizers and even saving lives for fortified foods that grow better in
different environments. What the activists are doing is demonizing us. People that
are trying to make a difference, spreading fear and taking focus off of these larger
problems, insisting on so many regulations that it is cost prohibitive except for the
largest companies to do this kind of research. Someone earlier cited two hundred
million dollars in convincing governments to banned biotechnology across the world.
As for the Bill, I know it does not apply to the County but I heard (inaudible) and I
do not know if it is true if the County buys more pesticides than all the seed
companies combined, but I can tell you that when I was on the clock at work, I had
a near miss with pesticides; I did have that, and in my crew, at the time, saved me
from getting sprayed. We were on our way to a field in a van with the window rolled
down and I suddenly heard, "roll up your window." When I did, there was a spray of
mist on our windshield, and I looked over to the side of the road and I saw a County
worker spraying weeds in the wind and the pesticide had hit our van. I am lucky
that I did not get hit. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker please.
MICAH FINNILA: I am a resident of Kaua`i and I live in
Kekaha. I have been on the island for three and a half (3.5) years, my husband
nineteen (19) years, and we have a beautiful one (1) year old daughter who is
healthy. She was born at KVMH. I work at Syngenta. I am their Human Resources
Manager and I am very proud to be up here supporting the employees and what
they do is safe. I just wanted to... there are more people here that can share more
information. I just wanted the employees to know that. I am here representing them.
I believe in them. I am proud of them. I am also very proud that we rolled out an
internship program on-island. It was very successful. We did it in partnership with
Waimea High School. Syngenta and companies like Syngenta provide opportunities
to students on the island. Our whole goal was to inspire them to continue their
education. It was not an agenda. So Syngenta does a lot of great things in the
community. We are out there and we are present. We are so proud that four (4)
students went through this program. We did not hold a gun to their head. They
signed up on their own accord. Some of the students were actually afraid of what
we do and they even asked the question, "where am I going to find that secret
building where all the needles are hidden?" We said, "go and find... go look on your
own... look anywhere you want." There is nothing that we have to hide. When they
were done with their internship, they were so proud of what they had been through,
they felt safe, and they are out there now in the community talking about their
story. I hope to see more students come through. They need to learn about
agriculture and about how safe we are. So, that is just the story that I wanted to
share. I am healthy, the employees that I work with are healthy, and I am very
proud to work for Syngenta. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker.
BILL NO. 2491 123 JULY 31, 2013
JUSTIN MURATAKE: I work for Syngenta. I disapprove of
Bill No. 2491. My dad used to work for McBryde Sugar Cane when the sugar
companies were still running. As time passed, he retired, he used to spray
chemicals for sugar cane, and he passed away from cancer a long time ago. I asked
the Doctors if the cancer came out from the poisonous sprays and the Doctor said
no. Everybody has a cancer cell in their body, we just do not know when it is going
to come out and bloom. I learned a lot about GMO. We use GMO almost every day,
such as coffee, ketchup, ninety percent (90%) of corn is used for animal food and
most of our household uses. Eighty percent (80%) of corn is used for fuel. A papaya
was also saved by GMO. Soy bean — seventy percent (70%) of soy bean is GMO and
fifty percent (50%) of cotton is GMO used to make clothes to put on our back and
et cetera... I disagree with this Bill. That is all I have to share. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
THOMAS WYSE: I live in Anahola. Monsanto, Pioneer,
Syngenta, and many of large corporations has a very fascinating trait that no one
else here can claim. They do not die. The large corporate entity thus far cannot be
stopped except through a buyout where it simply change its name and some
organizational properties or through financial ruin that can easily be reestablished.
Capitalism is the name of the game and he with the most sales, wins. These huge
agricultural firms are doing exactly what they are born to do — they make money. It
is unfortunate that they provide hundreds of millions of dollars in income to people
like those of us on the island. How many of thousands of people like us and those
far more educated and skilled, or creative of us are gainfully employed by these
corporations cherished for their participation in society and honored for their
incredible work? United Nations Declaration of Human Rights Article 25, everyone
has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing for
himself and of his family including food, clothing, and medical care and necessary
social services and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness,
widowhood, disability, or old age. From the United Nations Office website, what
are biological and toxin weapons? Biological weapons are complex systems that
disseminate disease causing organisms or toxins to harm or kill humans, animals,
or plants. Biological weapons can be used for political assassinations, the infection
of livestock or agricultural produce to cause food shortages and economic loss, the
creation of environmental catastrophes and the introduction of widespread illness,
fear, and mistrust among the public. Is it too far-fetched to see a man with
protected clothing as a delivery mechanism and a chemical such as Atrazine or
possibly DDT being sprayed, the weaponized agent. DDT the bird egg destroying
compound banned in 1972 found here on Kaua`i home of bird populations. Why are
we still exploring this? Are we that fascinated with death that we will wish it upon
the environment itself? The Institute of Science in Society says, "GMO crop offers
no benefits to farmers or consumers." Instead many problems have been identified
including herbicide, increased herbicide, and poor economic returns to farmers.
GMO crops also intensify corporate monopoly on food, which is driving family
farmers to destitution and preventing the essential shift to sustainable agriculture
that can guarantee food security around the world. This organization of over eight
hundred (800) scientists from eighty-four (84) Countries have compiled a document,
right here entitled "Ban GMO's Now," which was just published last month.
Chair Hooser: If you can go to your closing statement
please.
BILL NO. 2491 124 JULY 31, 2013
Mr. Wyse: Kaua`i, the Garden Island, is not a place for
experimental chemicals. It is a place for nature, healing, and a respect for our
delicate place in the world. I am asking you to ban these companies from doing
what they are born to do, I am not asking you that, I am sorry... I am asking you to
begin establishing a global precedent on how a small community expects its
community members, both multi-national corporations and individual persons, to
be...
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Thank you for your
testimony. Next speaker please.
AMBER ROSE: The first thing I want to say is that it is not
about you, this is a global situation — the fight between people who just want to
farm naturally and the ones who just want to spray poison. The reason that they
want to spray poison is that one (1) company, which means one (1) CEO in his...
with the people just below him owns thousands of acres, so they cannot have people
picking weeds because they own so much land. So, what they do is they buy these
poisons and just spray easily so they can harvest their crops and then they will not
have to employ people to take care of the land. Really what it comes down to is the
corporations want to keep on making thirty billion dollars and how they do that is
by spraying these pesticides, but unfortunately the weeds and the insects become
resistant so the toxins keep on getting stronger. I am not paid to be here and I am
not paid to testify and I am hoping that you are not paid to listen because people
around the world are really concerned because we just want to live on God's Earth.
God did not make GMO and he did not make these poisons. If local farms had small
lots they took care of, we could feed the world that way. It would be all smiles but
then the profits would not be there. I am just please urging you to realize that we
are not wanting to take jobs away from these people, we just want to have literally a
globe that is healthy. It is bigger than Kaua`i, honestly, and this could be the
message to the world.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. You can keep talking. I would
appreciate if the audience would keep the comments to themselves. It is
disrespectful if you are making side comments while the speaker is talking. It is
disrespectful to the speaker and disrespectful to the audience and the Council.
Ms. Rose: Just one (1) other thing — they are saying
that they are going to lose their jobs if the Bill is passed, but the Bill is not saying
that the companies must leave and shut down. All that it is asking is for some
information about exactly what they are doing. So, if telling the truth means like
they have to shut down and leave, then what are they doing? This is really
imperative that you think about "us."
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much for your testimony.
SARAH FLEISCHMANN: I grew up in Illinois, not on Kaua`i, but I
moved here about five (5) years ago. One (1), I am not being paid to be here. I am
not on the clock. Yes, I am wearing a blue shirt. I do work for Syngenta. I am proud
that I work for Syngenta. I moved to this island five (5) years ago because the work
that we do here is hugely important to this world. This Bill that I am in major
opposition to will limit our ability to do that. We can sit here and say that it is only
a right to know Bill — it is not only a right to know Bill. We are requiring all
experiential GMO to go into an enclosed structure and that is not the right to know.
That is an entirely different stipulation. Most of the people have said most of things
BILL NO. 2491 125 JULY 31, 2013
that I am mostly opposed with. This biggest one is that it is definitely targeted. I
think that the five hundred (500) foot buffer zone is arbitrary. I do not think there is
any science behind that. If there is, I would like to know. The biggest thing to me is
that, so, the restrictions are triggered by restricted use pesticides, okay, but the
restrictions also cover general use pesticides. Companies that use restricted use are
now being monitored on everything and doubled regulated. Again, it keeps coming
up — what about the people who are not using restricted use? They can buy gallons
and gallons of Roundup and spray it wherever they want. That is not just the
average person at Home Depot, that is any company that wants to do that. I guess,
my position is that if we are worried about the environment let us find a good way
to fix this problem. I do not think targeting companies is the way of doing it. I think
that no matter who sprays the chemical, it is still spraying it. If it is not safe, let us
find a way to make it safe. I fully believe that it is safe. I think the people that work
in the companies — we are not dumb, we are not being lied to by our companies.
There is a lot of anti-big business going on here but we choose to work there. I chose
to work there. I do not think that I am not intelligent but all day long I have sat
here and listened to my intelligence be attacked. Being told that I am being lied to
and I do not know it. It is really hard to not get emotional because I am not stupid. I
would not be doing stuff... I would not be on the field running around while people
are spraying harmful things. I have a family here. It is just very frustrating for
someone in our position to sit and listen to ourselves be demonized. Please, take
into account all sides — that is all we ask of you to make the best decision that you
can. I am a hundred percent (100%) in opposition to this Bill as it is written. Thank
you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker please.
RANDY OLIGO: I live in Kekaha. I oppose Bill No. 2491.
Being born and raised here, I want to talk to you as my history. It has been
miscommunication and education. My grandfather came here in the 1930s, my
father 1947, everybody in the old 1947 group has the Sakato's, the Filipino group
that came here to Hawaii. Both of them came here on a ship. Why leaving the
homelands, father being seventeen (17) years old to work on agriculture in Hawaii.
Devoted people — my father worked forty (40) years and my grandfather for fifty
(50) years. My grandfather got his gold watch from Amfac Sugar. I worked
twenty-three (23) years for Amfac Sugar until its closure. I watched it close down.
Growing up in a plantation lifestyle, I have seen people walk through my yard after
they sprayed and all the grass and plants as they walk by it was dead but education
through that we learn. With Syngenta seed, I have learned a lot, I went from sugar
cane to corn, completely two (2) different plants. We had to learn safety which is
number one (1) in Syngenta and all the seed companies. We are drilled day in and
day out as far as what we are spraying, what we are doing, and a funny point... we
are so much drilled on safety that a guy went home with his safety glasses... clear
safety glasses, jump in the shower, and took a shower. How safe is that? I mean,
were you thinking about our future, our kids, our family, and our friends? My son,
he lives in Colorado because there are no jobs here but he is the Senior Executive
for the ECT. He has a family, he has a daughter and through high school just like
Mr. Kagawa, sports were number one (1). We devoted all our time to them. It is
not communication with our company and with the people and educating them; that
is what we need to do. I oppose Bill No. 2491. Thank you.
ROBERTA PUAKEA: No, I am not related to the Golf Course. My
dad founded Puakea Foundation on Oahu and he does koa canoes. Learning about
koa canoes made us aware of what our land is like, what we need to do, and how to
BILL NO. 2491 126 JULY 31, 2013
take care of it. My grandson goes to these trainings, my son goes to these trainings,
and they have learned a lot. I work at Syngenta and I am proud to be there. I am
not afraid to say I oppose this Bill and my reasons is that my grandson came home
one (1) day from school and he asked me, "grandma, why are you killing us?" I
asked him, "where did you hear this?" and he said, "from school." The sad thing is...
I sat him down and said, "I am not trying to kill anyone. If I believe that Syngenta
was trying to kill anyone, I would be the first to be on your side." I am not afraid to
speak my mind and you can ask my workers, they will tell you that. I was not going
to come here as you can see that I have this yellow paper in my hand. There are two
(2) separate testimonies and I am not speaking on any of them, I am speaking from
my heart. I do not believe what we are doing is bad. I think I can trust my
company enough to be honest with me because if they were not, I would be with
you. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you.
ROBERTA DOWNS: I am not related to the speaker before me but
I got to know her while we sat next to each other on different sides of the fence. I
hate that we are in blue or in red; I like that this next gentleman is in green. I am
an educator. Three (3) of these people have had their children at my feet and they
all survived. I voted for every single one of you including the two (2) that are
missing. I voted for you because I believed in your campaigns and the promises
that you made. I took you at your word. That is why I trust you right now. I am not
so sure that some of you in blue (inaudible) edged me over the other way a little bit.
So, I am not going to wave – I said yes, I am going to read the part that says, "we
are in this together." Mayor, thank you for coming back, thank all of you who have
waited and waited... you would not be here if you did not care. I care about our
children, our future children. I have a single daughter and a single son – maybe
some grandchildren, okay? See me about that afterwards... thank you for your
time.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker please.
MICHAEL A. RODRIGUEZ: Aloha County Council. I will just cut to the
chase, I came here two (2) years ago and I came to help the island through
sustainability and alternative energy. Two (2) months ago, I was informed that
Aquaponics is something we can do. Let me quickly read what it is—Aquaponics is
a way to grow all types of plants within an enclosed system, reusing practically
every drop of water. Water loss is minimal to none; in other words, you can grow in
the desert. With passive solar and other alternative energy, the water moves freely
and efficiently, fish are integrated into moving water releasing fertilizing nutrients.
The fish are completely fed and nourished by a fraction of the vegetation growth
within the closed system providing what is called, "over unity." Within a closed
system, more is produced than is needed to maintain a system forever. I have found
statistics in my friend's documents. The name of this place is International Service
for the Acquisition of Agro-Biotech Applications, ISAA, they quote that four
hundred and twenty million acres are dedicated around the globe to GMO products.
I have found a man in my research of Aquapontics in the last two (2) months that
has something called portable farms. He has demonstrated that one (1) individual
can survive off of twenty-five (25) square feet of Aquaponics gross space including
two (2) four (4) ounce filets a week. At that number, we can have with the four
hundred twenty million (420,000,000) acres currently dedicated to GMO if we
switched to Aquaponics, we would feed four hundred and twenty billion
(420,000,000,000) people or fifty (50) Earths. I have started a company called "Aqua
BILL NO. 2491 127 JULY 31, 2013
Man Ecosystems" and my company is currently operational with five (5) aspects of
grants available to me. The first five that I have found are Ag and Land Grants, Ag
Research Grants, Water Treatment Grants, Water Treatment Grants, Sustainable
Development Grants, and Alternative Energy Grants. I do not know what else to do
but to create solutions. I do not see colors, I see the color of blood that run in all of
our veins. We all need to eat and drink clean water. I have already ten (10) people
on my board. I have over a hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in private
investments and I have not even...
Chair Hooser: Could you speak to the Bill.
Mr. Rodriguez: Oh, I am just creating solutions so that when
the Bill is passed and anyone's jobs are lost, they can come to me and people doing
Aquapontics, get hired, get paid more, and live in more safe conditions.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much.
THOMAS THOMPSON: Thank you for hearing my testimony. I am
opposed to Bill 2491. I would like to talk a little bit about the right to know. A lot
of folks have said, "We need to know," or right to know about what the seed
companies or different companies do. I would like to remind you about OSHA and
the occupational safety that is set up for employers to keep employees safe. In
OSHA, one of the requirements is WPS (Worker Protection Standard). This
requires employers to document and notify employees at a central notification site
what chemicals are being sprayed and this is posted for thirty (30) days and must
remain up there. That is one of the requirements. There are lots of other things in
WPS. In the central notification board there is Material Safety Data Sheets
(MSDS) that are required for everything our company uses from dish washing soap
in the bathroom to the chemicals that we use out in the field. These are all available
to the employees because we all have a right to know. This is given and posted at a
central notification place at Syngenta where I work and other companies — it is
required. I am a certified commercial applicator of restricted use chemicals and I
was certified by the Hawai`i Department of Pesticides fifteen (15) years ago. Every
RUP restrictive use pesticide application is recorded. I have to record it on a
pesticide application sheet on the day and time — everything that was applied — the
rates... I have to keep that record for three (3) years. I am audited by the
Department of Pesticides. They come and look at my records and they will take a
photograph of a certain pesticide application. This Bill points the finger at the seed
companies but it is easy to point finger or blame. It does not address the City and
County that maintain many of the roads with Roundup along the borders. What
about the golf course, landscaping industries, we talked about that... the stores in
towns that sell pesticides. I hear a lot of fear and I hear that you cannot trust the
EPA which governs us, we cannot trust the FDA, we cannot trust government
agencies, and we cannot trust...
Chair Hooser: If you can summarize.
Mr. Thompson: ... we cannot trust corporations. I cannot
accept that there is a huge conspiracy.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much for your testimony. I
appreciate it. We are at 10:30 and that was our target. We are going to keep going
but there are a lot of people here and I would just request that people be brief, try
not to repeat what has been said before. If you have new information, we want to
BILL NO. 2491 128 JULY 31, 2013
hear it. You waited this long to testify and we want to give you the opportunity but
please help us out a little bit, if you can, so more people can finish talking. Thank
you very much.
LUCIANA TODA: I am actually originally from Brazil but I
have been living here on Kaua`i for the last four (4) years. I have a degree in
agronomy and masters in entomology. I actually work with organic during my
whole undergrad. I even worked with aquaponic which is extremely expensive. One
thing that I learned is that those things are beautiful, they work, but unfortunately
does not feed the world — hands down. I want to let you know that what we do here
on Kaua`i matters. It not only matters for Kaua`i or Hawai`i, it matters for the
entire world. Let me ask you something, how many of you guys had dinner last
night? If you did, you are minority in the world. In other words, there are more
people that are hungry. Now, my point is that one of the (inaudible) of the positions
is that we do not create food; yes, we do. Every time you go to the mainland, you see
all the corn out there. I am proud to say that that corn at one point in life came from
Kaua`i or Hawai`i - it came from here because what do we do here... we are not
experimentally with GMO, we are creating product that do help to feed the world.
It does help to change agriculture in the entire world. As I said before, I am from
Brazil. I have experienced my family not having food. My family did not know
where their next meal was going to come. I clean house to survive back in Brazil. I
am proud to say that I am a scientist and I work for Syngenta. I am a firm believer
that what I do here, I am changing the world, and if this Bill pass it will not only
change our lives here on Kaua`i, it will change the agriculture in the United States
as well as the entire world. Please look at the information and if needed, I would
offer to provide how agriculture in Kaua`i can impact other places. Thank you and I
strongly oppose to the Bill.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker please.
It is helpful if you address your comments to the Council also since we are the
ones...
JON CHING: Good evening everyone. I got some maps for
you guys. This is the smaller version of what Mike is holding up here. This is an
overview of Kauai Coffee Farm. I am a Kaua`i native. I was born and raised in
Wailua but currently live in `Ele`ele. I am a four (4) generation farmer. My
ancestors came here to work on the Sugar Plantations and my father is a retired
UH Ag (inaudible) and he still raises cattle to this day. I work at Kauai Coffee and
have been there for five (5) years now. I supervise the irrigation. I am also one (1)
of four (4) certified applicators at Kaua`i Coffee. I am here speaking in opposition of
the Bill specifically on Section 22.25 the pesticide buffer zones. Our farm here... we
farm in total about three thousand (3,000) acres in coffee, and with all the proposed
buffer zones listed, it will actually affect fifteen hundred (1,500) acres, half of our
whole farm. Ultimately, with all these buffers in place, it will make it impossible
for us to farm all these acres. It would drive the cost of our coffee way up and we
would have no more Kaua`i coffee for us to drink. Basically, that is all I have to say.
I strongly oppose this Bill because it would be very, very bad for our company. You
are basically putting us out of business. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much for your testimony.
Next speaker please.
MIKE SHIMATSU: Good evening. I am part of Kaua`i's
agriculture working at Kaua`i Coffee Company. I am in opposition to Bill No. 2491.
BILL NO. 2491 129 JULY 31, 2013
I have been on Kauai for majority of my life and I am a registered voter. I am
opposed to the Bill because it will substantially impact the future of our company as
well as our friends and families and other agriculture companies here on Kaua`i. I
started working at McBryde Sugar Company — Kaua`i Coffee Company when I was
seventeen (17) years old. I continued my training in education through Kaua`i
Coffee Company which has given me the opportunity to be in agriculture for
twenty-three (23) years. Kaua`i Coffee has given me opportunities to travel
throughout the U.S. and become a certified instructor in the Coffee industry, I am
one (1) of six (6) licensed (inaudible) graders in the State of Hawai`i which are
certified coffee (inaudible). After the unfortunate closure of the Sugar Industry here
on Kaua`i key players had a vision for our Company. Many years of trials and
diversities, Kaua`i Coffee has taken many strides to bring not only our coffee but
our brand to the forefront and has become well known around the world. From a
Sugar Company to commodity coffee to branded coffee, we have worked through
paradigm shifts to be a viable specialty product in the coffee industry as well as the
agriculture industry. If this Bill passes, we will lose approximately fourteen
hundred (1,400) acres which is basically half based on the five hundred (500) foot
which will be a devastating to the future of our company. For Kaua`i Coffee
Company to continue to be sustainable and grow the business, we need our valuable
land to grow more coffee, to educate the public on not only our coffee but our quality
as well. I just like to thank you for this opportunity to present my testimony in
opposition to the proposed legislation and I just want to add that I am proud to
work for Kaua`i Coffee Company. I am proud to live in Waimea Valley. I am proud
to support opposition of the Bill 2491. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker please.
J. NOEL ALTMAN: Good evening. I am a mom and I am
representing myself and my daughter who was conceived and born and is being
raised on Kauai. My husband will represent his own views in a minute. I first
came to Kaua`i twenty-five (25) years ago on our honeymoon and it was
recommended by someone's opinion we trusted very highly, we said that we are
going to Hawai`i and he said you got to go to Kauai. It is special. It is different. We
felt it immediately when we got here and we feel it... fourteen (14) years later, we
were able to move here. We have lived here eleven (11) years. I just feel that this
place is too special for the world. It is too special a place and I grew up in very
special place. I grew up north of San Francisco, just across the Golden Gate Bridge.
My parents had moved there and I wanted to appeal to this Council because
something was done in that County years ago, there were people that fought, it is
not the same issue of pesticides which I will talk about in a minute, but they fought
about protecting the beauty the natural beauty and environment of that gorgeous
County as well and the Point Reyes National Seashore was established. There were
moratoriums on growth up the hill... the County for anyone who has been there but
it is not the same type of beauty of the stunning beauty on this island. I feel for all
the folks that are in the seed industry because I believe that they are doing the
practices safely as stated in the rules and they believe that their practices are safe.
I do not believe that any pesticides are safe. We have water that runs down, we
have rainfall, we have rivers all over this island that run to the ocean. The coral
dying around this island and although I read in a letter recently in The Garden
Island that it has not been proven that any pesticides are causing that yet, I do not
believe that the cause has been established for that but we cannot assume that it is
not the pesticides when they are being used. So, I would appeal to this Council to
take a stand and protect this incredibly special place.
BILL NO. 2491 130 JULY 31, 2013
Chair Hooser: If you could go to your closing sentence
please.
Ms. Altman: I support the Bill and I support that in the
future even more is done to prevent and restrict GMO's and pesticides on this
island.
Chair Hooser: Thank you.
Ms. Altman: I know it is only this island that you guys
have control over.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much.
ED ALTMAN: I own a business here on Kaua`i. I sell
insurance to a lot of business owners here on Kaua`i so I am very interested in jobs
and I understand the nature of a lot of what is going on. I want to say thank you for
your time, you have been very generous of hearing all of our testimony. First, I want
to say that I have been very moved by the testimony that I have heard. I have no
doubt that the people who work for these seed companies agree; they definitely
believe in what they are doing. They are doing a great job but science does change.
There was a time when Doctors were telling people they should smoke, it is good for
you. We know that is not the case now. People mention DDT — DDT is good for me
but the science changes. (inaudible) was recommended for pregnant mothers and it
is not any more. Every single compound that has been banned at one point was
considered safe by the science of that day. My concern is that what is considered
safe now, may not be and we cannot afford to let a mistake happen on Kaua`i. Not
just to devastate the farming but to devastate the tourism industry to the economy.
Before I moved here I used to be a software quality analyst. I used to work on
nuclear software and there is a reason why I am not in there anymore, but the point
is that those systems are very small. Even though they are complex, you cannot
deliver them without failure. Biological systems are infinitely more complicated
than software. If we cannot make software failure free, we cannot make this GMO
science failure free. These companies, they say we will guarantee that it is safe and
they are not going to be here if there is a problem. They are going to leave. The
reason they chose Kaua`i? There are many reasons. One is because it is a beautiful
place with great soil, great people who want to work here. Risk Management, if
something goes really wrong, there is a reason why they chose an island in the
middle of the Pacific twenty-five hundred miles from the West Coast of the United
States, and that is to manage and minimize their risk. I am very scared of a lot of
the things that are going on here. I am very grateful that you are taking it
seriously. From my background, you are right to take it seriously. I do not know
what the answer is. I do not even know if this Bill is the answer, but somehow in all
of this we have to come together, and if blue and red are combined that makes
purple and that is the color of Kaua`i. I want unity. The solution would bring unity
to Kaua`i.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker please.
LISA KERMAN: Good evening. I am a registered voter and I
am an organic gardener out on the North Shore. I want to thank you for putting
this proposal for the Bill together. I know it was a lot of hard work. Although I
support the Bill, I do feel that there are some really good aspects to the Bill, I have
a lot of concerns. I have serious concerns that it may be a bandage rather than a
BILL NO. 2491 131 JULY 31, 2013
solution to our ever growing problem here on Kaua`i. I feel like the Bill needs
strengthening. Not only do we have the right to know what, where, and when these
toxic chemicals are being applied, we should have the right to say no to these
companies coming on to this island and spraying toxic chemicals on this precious
land. As far as the five hundred (500) foot buffer zone, I believe that with wind and
drift capabilities five hundred (500) feet is way too little a distance to avoid fallout
and its consequences. Then there is the issue of the Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS). These can take years to complete and are extremely costly. For
these costs to fall on the people of Kaua`i, it is a huge burden. So, as I said, I do
support the Bill but I feel that it needs to be revisited and revised. The Hawaiian
Islands has become ground zero for open air testing of experimental pesticides and
GMOs. I feel as though we are allowing our precious land to be poisoned, neglected,
sold off in the name of profit. We are losing our precious resources that have kept
us connected to the land and to one another. I realize that many of the farm workers
here that are employed by the big agrichemical GMO companies are fearful of losing
their jobs, their ability to pay their rent, or mortgages, and feed their families, but
as these people develop major health conditions many that may be life threatening,
they will no longer be able to work in the fields due to their diminishing health. I
suggest that we rethink our food production strategies. Rather than poisoning the
land and creating an island of huge devastation, let us create an island of
sustainable agriculture and create jobs that support people's health rather than
sickness. The government's job as elected officials is to protect the health of the
people and the health of the environment. I am here to ask you, our elected officials,
will you please stand up to these huge agrichemical GMO companies and do what it
takes to protect the health of the people and the environment that sustains us
because we have the right to be healthy?
Chair Hooser: Your final sentence, please. Thank you very
much. Next speaker. The last bus leaves the stadium at 11:30 p.m. So, anyone
who is taking the bus back and forth, I believe, just be aware of that and if you are
walking along the highway, please be very careful, because I believe it is dark.
Thank you.
MARIA MAITINO: Thank you so much for taking all this time to
hear all this testimony. I am aware that there is a lot of testimony behind me so I
am going to be very brief. I live in Kilauea. I have lived there for ten (10) years. I
am a registered voter. I am in support of this Bill and I believe it is a reasonable
Bill and a very modest Bill. I would probably support something much more strong
but I think it is a very good start. I just want to speak to a couple of things that
have been said. One is someone said there have been GMOs in Europe for
twenty-five (25) years. Well, they have just banned GMOs in Europe and in many
other Countries, which you probably already know. To say that GMOs are a
growing, positive thing is not something that I think is true. I am glad to hear so
many of the workers for these chemical companies, their children are healthy, they
are healthy, they feel very confident in the practices that are used in their jobs; that
they feel are safe and strict. I am really glad to hear that but what I do know also is
that children are getting sick in Waimea. People are getting sick. They are finding
residues of pesticides outside of the fields. So, something is not right. I support this
Bill. I implore you to look more strongly into what is going on and this Bill is the
right start. Thank you so much.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much also. Next speaker
please.
BILL NO. 2491 132 JULY 31, 2013
HENDRI KUSSCHRAVEY: I live in Kilauea. I actually produce organic
fertilizers; they are also being sold on the island. One of the things that I am proud
of is to put my label on it because I really believe in my product. So, what I cannot
understand is what is the problem for labeling GMOs if there was nothing to hide?
That is a question that I have. Furthermore, I grew up in Holland, actually, I am
Dutch. I grew up six kilometers from the German border right up to the second
world war and we were fertilized by chemical fertilizers because that was the new
revolution and my fingers were bleeding. I was eleven years old and we were
spreading this thing open hands, because that is what we did. Nobody knew any
different so I told my father that growing food should not hurt. From that point on,
I figured okay, what can I do about it? So I started creating all organic products to
actually help the land. I have talked all over the nation, so far, all over China,
Europe, and helped people out with reestablishing farms and I was just recently in
Haiti, where they actually banned GMOs. When there is smoke, there is fire. And
anybody can say what they want from all we are testing and we are doing this, let
us face it, the EPA has Michael Taylor, who is working for Monsanto as running the
EPA. Now of course, that is like putting the wolf in the hen house to watch the
chickens. So you have to take a look and also what (I cannot read this without
putting my glasses on.) but in Australia, they were doing a pea project and they
spent two million dollars ($2,000,000) in ten (10) years doing this research. They
figured out that the mice were dying and they stopped the project. These are
statistics. I am not making this up. So you have to take a look at both sides of the
story. I am not saying that these people are not preventing people from being
sprayed in their facilities, but the real corporate head honchos do not really care
what happens. They are in for the ultimate buck. I am in favor of the Bill and I
would make it stronger also. I have been a farmer all of my life. I do have a
landscape construction design company and we have done everything organically for
the last forty (40) years.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much for your testimony. I
should have said this earlier, I think we need to be a little bit more on track. The
Bill is not debating GMOs whether they are good or bad for the world. The Bill is
about the impact of the practices on the County of Kauai. So, if we could focus on
the Bill, focus on the impacts on Kaua`i. If you like the Bill or you do not like the
Bill, maybe point out to us what you do or do not like but it is late and we are not
really here to debate whether the global GMO discussion. I mean, you are here to
say what you want to say but please... thank you.
CARMEN DURNEY: Since June 26 I have been very excited to
speak in favor of this Bill. I am certain that most of all the Kauaians living and
working here want the best for their community. We heard a lot of different
definitions about thriving Ag sector which is a lot of opinionated things, or this is
not about employees being safe or crop production and there is not enough evidence
to substantiate these claims, so that is what this Bill is about, I hope. I do not think
we had this much dialogue about growth and development in the Ag sector since
forever. Education and to learn is what this Bill is about. It could have flaws but
there is all these conflicting definitions and I do not know if this is going to destroy
anything but I think it is going to create new developmental practices. So, I am for
this Bill and I am very excited about what it represents. The County of Kaua`i has
created a unique opportunity to create what I call market transparency or to foster
developmental commercial Ag policy. So we can come together and strive for an
agricultural future that benefits Kaua`i. We are not talking about Nevada or Ohio —
this is one (1) little island that has a different biosphere and so it is a reasonable
and fair attempt because the County of Kaua`i needs to have in some way the
BILL NO. 2491 133 JULY 31, 2013
ultimate authority to govern the use of Restricted Use pesticides or maybe to govern
the use of all good business practices. You know, that is kind of far-reaching, but
the county commission does have this power. We have been defined by all of these
different things, ground-zero, the most beautiful place on Earth, but big business in
a capitalist economy they are always looking to lower the cost and maximize the
profits and in the case of like this, you know, create a really efficient corporate
model. These types of business as usual, they are not going to take the civic capital
into consideration. They are not souvenir to the land because they are like
non-entities. That is key. We are not growing. We want to develop, you know? We
are going to keep growing as a people. And so I just think we should support the
Bill and Restricted Use pesticides are inevitably affecting an ecosystem. Regulation
is key, and together we can do that and differentiate growth and development. It is
a conduit to development. I think I said that. Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker please.
AURORA FENDENTZ: I am very honored to be here tonight and to
participate in this dialogue and this issue is something that is very dear to my
heart. I spend a lot of time thinking about it and I grew up on the Big Island and
went away to school, took a long time to get myself through school but eventually
what I came to realize in looking at the food system is that there is a lot of
inconsistency. So, here in Hawai`i we do import ninety percent (90%) of our food.
While we have beautiful agricultural land that has been exploited by plantations,
through the pineapples, through sugar cane and yes, it did give people a lot of jobs.
And jobs are important and unfortunately for me right now I have a job that I kind
of do not like going to everyday but I do it. I wait tables and I do it with as much
integrity as I can, but what I really want to do is learn how to grow food and I hear
that over and over and over; that we want to grow food. We want to grow it
sustainably and I guess I am just here to say that I love where this Bill is headed. A
co-worker of mine said to make - because she knew I was coming here, she said I do
not really want to know about pesticides. I do not want to know about GMOs
because then I will have to deal with it. It is a lot. It is a lot to be able to try to do
your own research, you know? It does take a lot of initiative and I am proud that
we are having had this conversation and I am proud that you are able to support us
in having this dialogue together and I am proud of everyone who came out today
and I think it is awesome. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much.
GARY FOURIE: I am in the industry for thirty-seven (37)
years and I am a living testimony that there is nothing wrong with the seed
industry. The chemicals this we are using - here in Hawai`i, I have been here for
twetive (12) years, six (6) years in Oahu and six (6) years in Kaua`i. There has not
been one (1) single incident where I know that experimental chemicals have been
used. Everything that I monitor is registered and approved chemicals. And the
GMOs are very, very specific. It is one (1) gene on the spiral DNA. It is only
effective against one (1) species - chemical herbcide chemical — it is not approved to
do work for anything else. (inaudible) It is very, very specific - and even the bees
and pigeons and chickens and birds, everything is thriving now. Thank you so
much. I am opposed.
Ms. Yukimura: Excuse me, sir. Sir, I am sorry but I could
hardly understand what you were saying. Can you submit something in writing?
BILL NO. 2491 134 JULY 31, 2013
Mr. Fourie: Yes.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Next speaker please.
NED WHITLOCK: I am an organic farmer in Moloa`a. I have
been farming for thirty-three years or so. I was curious, so I looked up... what could
I do, just to figure out what is going on the west side? I did some research and
bought some Atrazine test strips that are actually quite affordable and I decided to
test some things on the way to Polihale. There were a couple of ditches farther out,
that these test strips test down to 3 parts per billion, which is the EPA drinking
water limit or something like that. Once you get to Polihale, I checked the ditches
and they looked pretty good and my son was making a dump run and he checked
out Kekaha ditch No. 2 I think it is called. It is right near the Kekaha Beach Park,
that comes under the road there. He tested there and it was definitely hot with
atrazine. So atrazine is a pervasive water contaminant. It sticks around for a long
time. It is not advised to be used in well-drained areas with high water tables,
which the plain was at one time a wetland. Studies by the USDA, along with
Crimson University, figured that they need - around wetlands they needed at least
a three hundred twenty-five (325) feet border to mitigate atrazine contamination of
the groundwater. So that is just one example that a citizen with not too much
money will poke around and figure out for himself. So I support this Bill where we
can have an EIS statement and figure out and see what is going on here. What is
being polluteded? Especially when you look at the effects of atrazine added on to
chloropyrifos and what you are talking about here is parts per billion are affecting
aquatic life, the base of the biotic pyramid.
Chair Hooser: Your final sentence, your three minutes are
up.
Mr. Whitlock: Let us find out what is going on.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much.
Ms. Yukimura: Question? Ned? Are you going to submit
that in writing? I wanted to know more about the hundred and twenty-five (25) foot
border...
Mr. Whitlock: I have it right here.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Next speaker.
COLLIN DANA: I am a native of Lawa`i. We heard a lot
today about the people who work for the seed corn industries who believe that what
they are doing is safe. Of course, why would they endanger their friends, their
family, their neighbors? Of course they believe what they are doing is safe but I do
not believe in faith-based agriculture. Trying to solve today's problems in the
agricultural world with more chemicals and more of these modifications is kind of
like trying to put the candy back in the piñata by hitting it with the same stick that
you broke it with. So thousands of years of agriculture in the human species is
testament to the lie agriculture cannot be done without pesticides. It is done
BILL NO. 2491 135 JULY 31, 2013
without pesticides. It has been done without pesticides for most of our history.
Now, it is not the County's job to feed the world. Unless I am misreading our
Constitution, the County's job would be more closely aligned with feeding Kauai.
And it is not like we do not know how to do this. Because there are systems that do
not need to be experimented; that do not need to be taken through years and years
of trials to prove that they work. No, tomorrow, we could put systems into place
that would take time. I mean, we do have a toxic legacy to overcome. That is a
hurdle in front of us, but these systems can be produced and made so they are
self-sufficient. Interestingly we were told near the beginning by one of the
experiments that the biotechnology is self-sufficient, but take claim it is not
ecological self-sufficient. Given the knowledge about the soil biology, what we have
learned since the green revolution that actually counter-proves their basic
philosophy, which is pretty simplistic on the surface. We can build systems where if
you walk away from this farm, an established agro-farm, and come back you would
still be able to harvest abundant food. If you walk away from one of these GMO
fields for about ten (10) months all you will find is weed. You cannot eat that stuff.
Chair Hooser: Your final sentence.
Mr. Dana: My final sentence is that I urge you to pass
this Bill in some form. Some parts may need to be strengthened, and some parts
may need to be looked at again and debated in their entirety. This Bill is what we
need on Kaua`i. Thank you very much for your testimony.
Chair Hooser: Thank you.
WALT BARNES: Thank you very much for the opportunity to
testify in opposition to this Bill. There are hundreds of independent, rigorous,
scientific studies showing GMO foods are safe for people and safe for the
environment. Here is a finding of fact to add to your Bill. The world health
organization finds GMO foods safe, the U.S. National Academies of Science finds
GMOs safe, the British Royal Society finds GMO safe, the USDA, the EPA, FDA,
the CDC, the NIH all find GMO foods safe. The only way to dismiss the unanimity
of preeminent independent global and scientific and government organizations all
concluding GMO foods are safe, is to believe in some scary global conspiracy. I do
not. Opponents say GMO research is unnatural, but no food we grow today existed
fifteen thouasnd (15,000) years ago. Every food we grow was designed and created
by man. They would have never existed in nature without man. Wheat is a cross of
two (2) wild grasses which produce sterile offspring. Eleven thosuand (11,000) years
ago, humans learned to treat that sterile offspring with a crocus extract, a chemical
in the crocus extract doubled the plant's chromosomes in the nucleus to make it
fertile. That is genetic engineering and we have been doing it a very long time. The
world's population is passing seven billion (7,000,000,000) on its way to eleven
billion (21,000,000,000) souls by 2100. In just eighty-seven (87) growing seasons,
we have to increase crop yields by sixty percent (60%), just to keep up with the
current dismal global condition where one (1) in eight (8) people is malnourished.
The GMO industry has resulted in the global environmental impact of insecticide
and herbcide reduction of sixteen percent (16%) and reduced global emissions. Our
west side workers and GMO fields are heroes of sustainability. With appropriate
regulation GMOs are not only safe, they are essential to the future of human kind. I
urge you to oppose this Bill. Thank you.
BILL NO. 2491 136 JULY 31, 2013
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much for your testimony.
Next speaker. For the record, nowhere in the Bill does it say that GMO foods are
not safe. Just for the record. Go ahead.
KLAYTON KUBO: Waimea, Kaua`i. I have been dealing with
one (1) company from the year of 2000 and they do not seem to listen. You guys
know who I am talking about — Pioneer Research Facility, Waimea. From the year
2000, I made a petition against that company. They said, responding with one letter
saying that they will do something... they going do this, they going do that, they
going do all the stuff but all they did was lies. Nothing, they did. Look how many
years went by already? This is thirteen (13) years now... my son, probably he was
exposed all his life to who knows what. I not one scientist, I am not whatever the
other guys was saying. I know what I see with my own eyes. They said that they do
not spray in high winds, I have seen with my own eyes. Twenty (20) to twenty-five
(25) knot winds blowing. They said that they do not do... yes, my eyes have seen.
Maybe they going say, oh wait a minute, we need a picture? How can you take
picture when they spraying in the night? You only can see just one dot over there,
but me, I stay out all night looking for these guys trying to screw Waimea Town
around. You guys want me to represent the petition? I can do that. I got the
original in my safe but the lawyers get copies also. So, as for this Bill, it is a start
but we have to do plenty more because five hundred (500) feet, I do not see it
helping Waimea. I do not see it helping Waimea at all. You guys asking these
questions, yes, about disclosure, I was asking them thirteen (13) years ago, "what
are you doing up there?" I see the sprayer. What are you spraying? No, company
policy, we cannot disclose. Plenty got to do. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Next speaker, please.
DR. MICHAEL ANCHARSKI: I have been a Naturopathic Physician for
thirty-five (35) years in preventative medicine, and even when I first came to the
island many, many years ago, I had taught biology at KCC while I got my practice
going. I have delivered over three thousand (3,000) babies. So I am very much
aware of nutritional and environmental effects on children and pregnant women. I
also represent all of the naturopaths on this island, which is only nine of us and I
want to read their names as people who also support this Bill. (Reading the doctors'
names) And the reasons my training uniquely qualifies me to treat and
understand environmental illness, allergies, autoimmune diseases, neurological
diseases, I end up seeing in my office the weird symptoms that they cannot figure
out what is wrong with them and how to get them well. One (1) of the things that I
could go over much of the science, but some of that has been done. But the basic
principle, there is an underlying balance in nature that is developed over millions of
years and everything is intricately involved with everything else. You know, the
bottom line you cannot fool Mother Nature. I think the world is moving in two (2)
different directions we can move in for the future. One (1) is to move in a direction
where we try to master nature, and where we try to survive, but I think there is a
big difference between "surviving" and "thriving." I think the direction should be in
the direction of trying to thrive. The children deserve a clean environment to grow
up to be whatever they are meant to be. There is no one here speaking for the
bacteria. There is no one here speaking for the insects. There is no one speaking for
the fish and the oceans. All of these things are very, very closely tied. And what
happens in one area affects another. For example, we know that most pesticides
potentially can cause cancer. We know there are higher cancer rates on the west
side.
BILL NO. 2491 137 JULY 31, 2013
Chair Hooser: Your final sentence, please.
Mr. Ancharski: The final sentence is that in my professional
opinion the proper buffer zone would be the Pacific Ocean. There is no safe use of
chemicals in a biological system.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much.
MARGHEE MAUPIN: I am a mother of seven (7) children, and
grandmother of two (2) children. I am also a health care provider on the west side of
Kauai. I am here to advocate for the safety and health of my patients and also the
people of Kauai. I provide health care mostly for the uninsured, the underinsured,
and the immigrants being employed as seasonal farmers and not offered benefits. A
lot of these people that I see are in their 70s and 80s and their job is to chase
chickens. I also provide care for the highly exposed people who are working for the
seed companies and long-term residents of Waimea and Kekaha. I have daily seen
patients with new symptoms and most noticeably asthma, allergies, scratchy
throats and ongoing hacking coughs not resolved with the medical treatments that
have worked in the past with other patients of mine and I have been a health care
provider for sixteen (16) years. Some examples, I care for about a family of four (4)
who nine (9) months ago moved to Waimea and also developed chronic symptoms. I
treat the mother for depression anxiety and she cries every time she sees me and
the father for severe hypertension and the mother and father appear healthy, but
looks can be deceiving. The other symptoms are fatigue, metallic taste in their
mouths, nausea, dizziness, unusual skin rashes especially when the weather is dry
and windy in Waimea. I have tested blood levels, that show abnormally high levels
of Cadmium and Arsenic. I honestly do not know what to test for and we have not
been offered any information to report it to or what to test for. I have written an
unusual number of sick notes for children and adults, many who work for seed
companies and are close to the operations. I have never seen some patterns to the
degree I started to work in Waimea. As a health care provider, I have made a
commitment to do no harm. I feel that I am doing a disservice to my patients if I do
not consider and act upon impacts of known poisonous hazards to their health. I am
especially concerned about the seed company workers, infants, and women of
child-bearing age. I urge you to seriously consider the risk and the price of health
impacts that the Kaua`i people are paying while enabling experimentation of our
land and our people. Please support Bill No. 2491.
Ms. Yukimura: I have a question. Marghee, on the case
where three (3) children were exposed to pesticides before birth, was that pesticides
caused by the corn companies?
Ms. Maupin: Their Restricted Use pesticides.
Ms. Yukimura: But were their incidents related to use by the
seed corn companies?
Ms. Maupin: It is a large family farm but they had
restricted use pesticides and they were bought up around those pesticides.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay, thank you.
DENISE LAVEDA WOODS: I am a registered nurse and I am here to
urge you all to please pass this Bill. I was not going to mention this initially, but
BILL NO. 2491 138 JULY 31, 2013
now I think it is important. I grew up on a farm. A three hundred and sixty-five
(365) acre family farm. I think there is a huge distinction between farmers who
own their farms and multi-national companies that call themselves farmers — those
are not farmers to me. I want to tell you that I urge you to pass this Bill in its
entirety. It is not only a good idea, it is a necessary step to protect the people of
Kaua`i. I would like to bring your minds back to the Doctors who spoke to you early
this morning telling you, urging you that we have received recommendations from
people such as the American Academy of Pediatrics. They are not making this up.
When the talk in the hospital is, "what is happening to the west side, why do we
have so much cancer cases from the west side, why do we have so much kidney
failure, liver damage, and other diseases and it is mostly coming from the west
side?" We need to address the issue. We need to protect the people of Kauai. I
want to remind you that the Hawaii Nurses Association is made up of four
thousand (4,000) nurses and the Hawai`i's Nurses Association supports this Bill.
Your healthcare worker, the people that you go to for your health, your Doctors and
nurses are telling you there is something wrong. We need to protect our health. We
need to protect the island. Please pass the Bill. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you so much.
BRETT WOODS: Members of the Council, thank you for the
opportunity to be able to speak with you and I appreciate your time. I know it has
been a long day and I will try to be brief. I am also a registered nurse. I think what
this Bill comes down to more than anything, more than safety, more than jobs is
accountability. Nobody can be held accountable if we do not know what they are
doing. If there is no way to find out what they did. Okay? So the sentinel on the
gates of the castle are seeing problems and coming to you and saying that we have
problems. The sentinels on gates of castle are the health care workers who are
seeing these problems and we are warning you, we are saying listen, we have got a
problem here. But you guys do not even have the opportunity to see who used the
atrazine? Who created the problem in the first place? And that is not even the least
of the problem. What we have is a really, really big issue that everybody has talked
about how it is global. It does not matter. What we have is an issue right here. We
have jobs, we have people who are concerned. We have medical professionals that
are concerned and we all have concerns in a different direction and you guys have
the burden of deciding what is going to happen with it. I do not envy you, but I do
ask you please support this Bill. Please pass this Bill to, at a minimum, give us the
opportunity to hold the people accountable, who makes the mistake, because the
nuclear industry said it will never happen, it will never happen and it will never
happen and people warned no, we will have meltdowns and we have had meltdowns
and they are irreparable. We do not want meltdowns on Kauai and people who do
business here should be held accountable. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. The last bus is going to leave in
ten (10) minutes or so. Anyone who wants to take the bus, the bus is leaving in
about ten (10) minutes. Go ahead.
BOB GRINPAS: I will be brief, because I want to catch the
bus. My wife and I own a farm in Kapahi. We have lived here about thirty-two (32)
years and I think what we saw today, I am so impressed that you guys would stay
here so long to hear us out and give us a break. I got a phone call and the woman
represented herself as a representative of the Hawai`i Crop Improvement
Association. I told her I was in support of the Bill and she really would not listen to
me and insisted that I make a recording which I refused to do and she hung up on
BILL NO. 2491 139 JULY 31, 2013
me. The reason I bring this up is because if the Hawai`i Crop Improvement
Association is going to be bringing testimonies to you guys, I am going to ask you to
please listen to them with a jaundiced ear, because there is something wrong about
the way they handled that. I am fully in support of this Bill. I hear people say that,
well, we need to have GMO. It is a trade-off. We need to have GMOs to feed the
world. Baloney, we do not need GMOs to feed the world. We can do it without
polluting our soils. We can do it without GMOs. Thank you very much.
Chair Hooser: Thank you.
PAUL ALSTON: I am here to testify on behalf of Syngenta
and its one hundred fifty (150) employees on the island of Kaua`i. We have heard a
lot of testimony and it is very heartfelt and very passionate. Unfortunately, the
views expressed by the speakers who support this view are all misdirected. Their
efforts should not be directed at the County Council, they should be directed at the
State Legislature and Congress. It is those governments that have the authority to
act in this area. The State government regulates here in an alphabets soup of
statutes and regulations. The Federal government also regulates here in another
alphabet soup of statutes and regulations. Every GMO that has been tested and
grown on Kaua`i has been reviewed and approved by the Federal government; every
pesticide has been reviewed and approved by the Federal government. You simply
have no place stepping in and acting in a way that tramples on what the State and
Federal governments have done and are continuing to do. As recently at this past
legislative session, the State legislature passed a law regulating use of pesticides.
What you are doing conflicts with that and you are doing a disservice to the people
of Kaua`i and a disservice to the government of Kaua`i, because you are acting in
violation of the preemptive authority of the State and Federal government and the
Commerce Clause and inviting what will prove to be very expensive lawsuits for
Takings claims under Both constitutions for taking and injuring property. That is
not in the interest of the people of Kaua`i and as I said before, you should direct
them to the governments that can act in this area, if their concerns are legitimate,
they would be shared and heard. But you should reject this Bill.
Chair Hooser: Councilmember Bynum.
Mr. Bynum: Can you share with me, again, your name
and who you are representing?
Mr. Alston: Yes, my name is Paul Alston and I am from
the law firm of Alston, Hunt, Floyd...
Mr. Bynum: Oh, okay...
Mr. Alston: ... I represent Syngenta and its employees.
Mr. Bynum: So, you are...
Chair Hooser: Please, no comments from the audience. Go
ahead Mr. Alston.
Mr. Bynum: I just wanted to clarify, so you are here as an
Attorney to the company?
BILL NO. 2491 140 JULY 31, 2013
Mr. Alston: Right. To address what I think is a threshold
legal issue, which has been given far too little attention by you and by the people
here today. Because we are in the wrong forum.
Mr. Bynum: I will respond to that because I have read
about eight (8) or ten (10) legal opinions on several sides of this issue. So, I do not
agree with what you just said about me.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much.
Ms. Yukimura: Question, please.
Chair Hooser: Yes, Councilmember Yukimura. Please, it is
a long night and we need to move on.
Ms. Yukimura: Paul, could you submit to the Council how
you feel the public trust doctrine interacts with the preemption?
Mr. Alston: I will be happy to do that.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you.
Mr. Alston: I have submitted some written testimony but
I will supplement it with some more.
Ms. Yukimura: Did you address that?
Mr. Alston: I did not address that specifically but it does
touch on the issues of preemption at both the State and Federal level.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Former Attorney General Margery
Bronster's firm, are they representing Syngenta also?
Mr. Alston: No. They represent Pioneer.
Chair Hooser: So, two (2) of the largest law firms in the
State of Hawai`i are well-positioned to protect these companies and we will see you
on Monday, maybe?
Mr. Alston: Perhaps.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much.
Mr. Alston: If you would like us to be there, we will be
there.
Chair Hooser: Thank you.
NICOLAI BARCA: Good evening. I am a little nervous. I live in
Wailua Homesteads and I support the Bill. I am a hunter, fisherman, a farmer,
scientist, and a conservationist. On Kaua`i, you can tell that we all care about this
issue — our health. I was pretty impressed by the farm workers showing up and
BILL NO. 2491 141 JULY 31, 2013
their testimonies because you do not hear that too often. That was very nice. I got
to say that it has certainly skewed my opinion in some ways but I am just going to
read what I wrote. The arguments can be made that the pesticides are already
heavily regulated and no doubt they are. But if you read the pesticide labels
yourselves, you may find that many of the regulations are sometimes very liberal or
vague. In a quick search for the label, you can find buffers of just twenty-five (25)
feet. And while signage is required to be posted, the timetables of such posting are
left completely up to the discretion of the applicant. This Bill actually simplifies
these laws and sets specific enforceable numbers and sets precedent. I am open to
reducing some of the buffer distances in the case of five hundred (500) feet are a lot
in some cases. If you look on maps, it is quite an impact. Ideally the areas would be
allowed to revert back to wild lands, and the foliage would act as a filter to filter the
pesticides from the air. A one hundred (100) feet buff, which is forested, might
make just as an effective buffer as a five hundred (500) feet area. That is
vegetation. Please consider ways of grandfathering in perennial crops such as
coffee, which cannot easily be moved away from the buffer areas. Another issue,
which should be clarified is that the stream buffer should not apply to irrigation
ditches which often run right through fields. I think it is important and needs to be
specified for the sake of jobs. We have all seen the map of the Kekaha fields; where
they buffered the irrigation ditches as wells as those that were streams.
Chair Hooser: Your final sentence, please.
Mr. Barca: Mahalo and I hope this Bill continues to
move forward.
JOHN PARZIALE: I come from a long line of farmers, born and
raised – it is in my blood. I farmed on Kaua`i for about eighteen (18) years. On the
North Shore, mostly, Kilauea. I currently operate a five (5) acre operation in
Moloa`a. I have dedicated my professional life to sustainable agriculture, and
taught it in many forms and many places, internationally and nationally and at my
own farm. I would like to speak about what the attorney just said to you basically.
I feel this is also an issue, aside from the agricultural issue, it is an issue about
community self-governance and the ability of a community to dictate what we
accept in our community. It is no secret that multi-national corporations enjoy the
natural rights of humans, human beings, natural persons, they have the same
Constitutional rights. We cannot discriminate against them. So a Bill like this that
really just offers commonsense safeguards to health and community, it is really our
only hope to offer any counter to those practices that we do not want to accept. In
addition to farming, I also hold a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree,
excuse me it is way past my bedtime, from Boston University. I studied Health, and
the one thing I have learned about scientific research, and we have heard a lot
about this study or that study, is that scientific research is bought and paid for. So,
industry pays for studies. The government pays for studies. Industrial and
government—sometimes that line begins to blur quite a bit as well and it all
depends on who is paying for the study? And also, who is designing the study?
Because you can very well manipulate these things to get outcomes that do not
really answer the important questions, but obtain the answers that you desire. In
addition, I will just say a really quick thing about global agriculture. I am a farmer
and I honor all the farmers here tonight, in the red shirts and blue shirts, but
farming is arguably the most destructive activity on the planet. It is the biggest
threat to biodiversity and uses the most dangerous chemicals that are created.
Chemicals that are created to do one (1) thing, kill living things.
BILL NO. 2491 142 JULY 31, 2013
Chair Hooser: Last sentence.
Mr. Parziale: I hope you support this Bill.
Chair Hooser: Thank you.
CHARLES M. BRONN: Reverse selection to create increasingly
sensitive chemical stress indicating plant clones may be good bio-detectors for
people who have these in their rooms or something to see if they detected pesticides.
Hybrids are more natural than GMOs. That is the way to stretch the range of what
natural organisms can do, but it does not take the hit and sort out approach of GMO
technology. Aircraft needs safe design and operation; organizations need higher
understanding. I mean, organisms like plants and animals. This is an example of a
combination pesticide and repellant that is not toxic. I am thinking of having
fluidized charcoal beds with air blowing them through, fine particle as loft, so the
air can go through it and it has a high surface area to improve the efficiency of
barrier regions. I am a kayaker on the Waimea River, which I can stimulate long
voyages in smooth water. Nathaniel Hawthorne authored a story of a father who
made beautiful poisonous plants that turned his daughter poisonous. Thank you.
Please support this Bill.
Chair Hooser: Thank you.
TIM KALLAI: This evening I am going to be putting on a
hat as a board member of the Kilauea Neighborhood Association. I would just like to
read it for the record. Dear Honorable Kaua`i Councilmembers, mahalo
Councilmember Hooser and Bynum for introducing this Bill and mahalo Council for
accepting this testimony with the best interest of our island in mind. It is not very
often on Kaua`i that we have the opportunity to take preventative measures to
protect our land, air, and people before we see plans for impending development.
The moratorium aspect of the Bill is essential to maintain. The presence of the
chemical agricultural industry negatively affects not only the life and health of the
land, the perceived impacts will affect major segments of our community. At our
July 2, 2013, the meeting unanimously voted to endorse Bill No. 2491, from all who
attended including thirty-five (35) members of the community, as well as the
fourteen (14) member board. It was a filled room without one voice of dissent. The
County Council must take strong action while they can, and State and Federal
government, the GMO lobby has established an excess of legislative power. Please
rise on this occasion. Bill No. 2491, as it is now written, is not an unreasonable
request. Broad-scale application of Restricted Use pesticide/poisons should require
an EIS. It is prudent to use great caution before allowing the use of chemicals on
our prime agricultural land, especially without producing, with the exception of
coffee, a single food product for consumption on Kaua`i. The memory of toxic waste
clean-up from the Kilauea Mill mixing station is still fresh in Kilauea. We should
not be asked to simply trust that a revolving workforce understand the long-term
implications of these pesticides that are proven to cause generational damage if
misapplied. It is important to leave the provision in the ordinance that creates
funding for oversight. We deserve the disclosure. We deserve the right to know.
Mahalo nui.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much for your testimony.
This is the last call for the last bus. Anyone who wants to catch the last bus, it is
leaving momentarily. Otherwise, next speaker, please.
BILL NO. 2491 143 JULY 31, 2013
HOPE KALLAI: It looks like we are walking to the car
tonight. I am a registered mother and babies with beautiful toes, which you have
heard that many times before tonight. I am here to talk about water. The fact that
our groundwater is tainted with Atrazine, I find unconscionable. I do not know
where it is coming from but we need to deal with it. If more is being added to our
groundwater, I say pau. Let us stop poisoning our drinking water. I also want to
talk about ditches and fish. Whether there are any freshwater fish left available to
be eaten on the west side, I do not know. I do not know if anybody is eating them
but it is a very strong concern of mine, if people are eating these fish. I agree with
one (1) of the uncles, the EIS should have been done ten (10) or twenty (20) years
ago before any impacting action, it should be done for things that are being
proposed, not that have already been here. This is a really tough decision that has
divided our community because it should have been done before and it has not. If
our waters are being poisoned, if our fish are not safe to eat — we need to know as a
community. I sure hope the EIS addresses this and it should not be left up to Ned
and Surfrider to do the testing of our fish for our community. Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: I have a question. How do you say that the
groundwater is tainted because I think the Water Department has said that their
tests have shown no atrazine since 2004.
Ms. Kallai: Oh, good. I thought we had problems with
our drinking water wells.
Chair Hooser: Maybe you could provide that information to
the Council.
Ms. Kallai: Okay.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. We are over an hour past the
time. It is approaching midnight, and there is still a lot of people sitting down that
want to speak. I just implore you to try to be brief and try not to repeat what has
been said. Speak what you need to speak but please try to be brief. Next speaker,
please.
ROBERT GIRALD: Mr. Mayor, Council Chair Furfaro, and
Councilmember Hooser and Bynum, for introducing this Bill — mahalo. Also, to
Councilmembers Rapozo, Nakamura, Kagawa, and Yukimura for supporting this
Bill to bring it to this level. I am here to say that I am in strong support of
agriculture. I have always been a strong supporter. I was involved with the sugar
industry for quite some time but I think this proposed Ordinance is long overdue.
The reluctance of the major seed companies to be more transparent in regards to its
agricultural practices brought this thing about. In essence, the push came to shove
and the birth of this Bill No. 2491. No one really knows the long-term cumulative
effects of the pesticides that are used in the corn fields on Kaua`i from central Lihu`e
to the Maria Plains. Even though many professionals say that they are safe... but
we never really know until many years passed before we find the results. Like when
they said they wanted to test some explosives and we all remember (inaudible), yes?
Since the industry has stated the importance of their research is to meet the need of
the growth of the world population. I believe this Bill shall afford us to research
their research practices and perhaps give us a better understanding of long-term
effects of pesticides and GMOs. I am sure the context of Bill No. 2491 can be
adjusted to address the concerns of all involved. For those employed in the
industry, I can understand their fears. I do not want to see anyone lose their jobs.
BILL NO. 2491 144 JULY 31, 2013
However, there are ways to mitigate these issues. Failure to properly address the
issue is a civil disservice to the common generations and I believe that I am
encouraged that you are already planning to meet on Monday and you believe you
had earlier meetings. I think that this is forcing everything to come out and I think
everyone here needs to bring this. Just in closing, I would like to say thank you to
KPD for their presence to provide security. And last, but not least, to all who came
to participate in this historical proceedings, regardless if you were for or against,
everyone should be very civil and respectful of opposing views. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you for your testimony.
RYAN WOOTON: I am a certified organic fruit and vegetable
farmer on the North Shore. We grow over a hundred different varieties of fruits
and vegetables and run Kaua`i's only dairy. My main concern with this and I want
to correct one common misconception that organic farms and commercial farms are
different. Organic is commercial. We do not get paid in smiles and fairy dust, but
we get paid in money. So we are commercial. My main concern is the tests that they
are doing over there, using organic insecticides. What they are doing with our three
(3) to four (4) time a year growing season, is they are testing organic insecticides by
injecting the genes into the plantings, which we call BT corn and other things, but
they test this 3-4 times a year, because they are growing three or four times crops a
year. In turn it causes the pests and weeds to become resistant three (3) to four (4)
times faster, which in turn will affect us organic farm who are using this as our first
line of defense. These are natural insecticides, things made out of bacterias and
when you inject these genes into the plants, you cause a resistance and how are we
supposed to sustain our island when we arehaving to use heavier chemicals because
of the testing that has happened over here? They are now resistant to the most
mild pesticides. So what is going to happen, we will have to start using heavier
organic pesticides and you heard the list of organic pesticides that are so terrible
and there are almost none of that being used on farms on the island, because we do
not need it. We have a biodynamic system, biodiversity and we grow different
things and we rotate our crops very fast, but we still rely on small amounts of
organic pesticides, but they are still pesticides and my main concern is for Kaua`i to
sustain itself. We are going to have to grow our food, and we are going to have to
grow it healthy, with using the least amounts of inputs, and what good is that going
to do if all of these inputs are now resistant from all of the testing happening on the
GMO fields? I am in full support of this Bill and mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.
SARAH WOOTON: I am married into the Wooton family. I am a
certified organic farmer and there is a difference between organic and certified
organic farming. Certified organic farming is regulated. Like nicotine sulfate, that
is not allowed in organic farming. We are regulated and inspected once a year to
make sure we follow the guidelines for organic farmers and I want to show my
support for the Bill and ask for regulations. If you want to know when we spray,
when we got the seeds, or when they were planted, then come to our farms, our
home, and we will show you our books and our records. Nothing will be blacked out.
I am just saying that you have the right to know what we do, so I would hope that
we would have the right to know what the seed companies do. Aloha.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker.
BILL NO. 2491 145 JULY 31, 2013
DANE SMITH: I am a life-long resident of our island and a
strong supporter of this Bill. I also strongly believe in eating organic but I would
gladly accept a Red Bull right now. Anyways, we have already heard so many facts
tonight. I do not want to talk about that. I want to talk more about your motivation
as Hawai`i State lawmakers. Growing up on Kaua`i, we are taught our State motto
from a young age. It is kind of engrained in us, not just as some piece of
government trivia, but as a way of life. Despite my understandable bias, I believe no
other State in the Country possesses a motto that so well defines the responsibility
of our people, our businesses, and most importantly our government
representatives. However, in the spirit of fairness, I decided to check my pride and
look up every other State motto in America and what I found only impressed me
further. Many of the early themes were understandably tied to independence. Such
as New Hampshire's "live free or die," and many tied to religion, and others
embrace civil liberties such as Wyoming's motto is "equal rights." The State of
Oregon is simply, "she flies with her own wings." Or Indiana is the "crossroads of
America." But Texas' State motto is "simply friendship." Now amazingly, out of all
fifty (50) states, only Hawaii makes reference to the importance of the land itself.
And what is more, it recognizes the life of the land. Something that sounds more
like had a battle cry of a modern-day environmentalist and yet it is one of the oldest
mottos in the entire country. It is a hand-me-down from the Hawaiian Kingdom,
which explains why it has such a deep sense of priority for the land. Our motto is
powerful. If I were these chemical companies I would expect to lose a fight here. If I
were them, I would go set up somewhere else, like Tennessee, where the state motto
is "agriculture and commerce." That is their State motto. Oklahoma is "labor
conquers all things," but I do not know, maybe they could changed to "the life of the
corporation is perpetuated in righteousness," but I do not see that happening.
Basically, they are doing what they do. This information is their weapon but the
seven (7) of you have done probably better research than any of us and you
understand exactly how reasonable this Bill is. In closing, I just want to say that I
support this bill strongly. Mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you.
VERONIKA BATUA: You all look tired. I am tired. I was tempted
to go home, but I could not leave when I was this close. This island has given me too
much to just go home because I need to sleep. I need to speak on behalf of my love
for this beautiful island; that you are the stewards of. I am a registered voter in
Hanalei. Thank you for staying late to hear us. Everyone said a lot. There is a lot
for you to take in. I just wanted to highlight a couple of things. One of the main - I
support the bill, because it is really about long-term versus short-term. A lot of
people talked on the other side about the short-term jobs, but this is long-term
effects that are unknown in terms of pesticide use and the degrees and amounts
that they are using. And the people that are working at these places say they are
fine and they are having children that are fine, but they are protected and wearing
hazmat suits and safety glasses, but the people who live around there in close
proximity are not protected and they are getting the runoff in the water, in the soil,
in the air. So that is the part that needs to be studied and understood, and looked at
in terms of long-term effects. The other point, the woman with her little over-the-
counter pesticide bottles, you know, that is a small amount. Like this much that is
used over six (6) months in someone's garden and not eighteen and a half(18.5) tons
a year that they are using on these Ag lands. So that is a big difference in terms of
cumulative effect of toxicity, that needs to be studied and understood what that will
do. The biggest canary in the coal mine is the nose bleeds and sickness in children
these parents are experiencing, and people are experiencing, and some people have
BILL NO. 2491 146 JULY 31, 2013
no effects and they are fine, but others are more sensitive and they are fine and the
Doctors have testified to that and the Nurse's Association all back this Bill. So I ask
you to really support this Bill, take all of the long-term health effects into the
highest consideration, and people recovered from the sugar cane going away and the
pineapple going away and new jobs will be created and the economy will recover.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
HARNEET BATUA: I am from India. I moved here one (1) year
ago. Never in India have I seen such an open discussion about such a matter
related to public health. People get sick, they die. If they cannot afford it, they do
not go to hospitals, they just die, and that is the truth in life in our developing
economy. I was a mechanical engineer and I designed commercial aircrafts. So I am
educated. I see everything from a rational point of view. Now the scientists that are
opposing the Bill, they said today that the pesticides are FDA-approved. But my
question is, they are FDA-approved, but not for human consumption, not for kids to
inhale them. If the kids inhale them, the FDA is not going to come and treat those
kids. It is the doctors and nurses who will come and treat the kids, and our doctors
on this island are in support of this Bill, our nurses are in support of this Bill, and
let me say this, "Houston, we have a problem." We have a problem and you know it.
It is out in the open. You have to address it. You have to deal with it. I thank you so
much that you are so willing and able to deal with this issue. So another as a
reference study, you could do a case study about the State in Punjab, the State of
India, called Punjab, where I come from and the rate of cancer incident was way
above the national average and it was due to inadequate use of pesticides. You can
study that case and learn from it. That is all I have to stay. Thank you, mahalo.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker.
CHRISTI DEMUTH: I am a school bus driver for elementary
school for Akita Enterprises. I have heard it all and you all know that I support the
bill. So what I would like to say that I think it would be really good if we could
grandfather in the perennial crops, and if we could add another five hundred (500)
around schools and hospitals. That is all I would like to say and please support the
bill.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much.
WILL ASH: Thank you for being up so late. I am in
support of the bill once again. I think if it was the blatant disrespect for the board,
when they inquiries about their business practices and chemicals they were using
we would not be at this point. They have forced your hand in having to take
responsibility. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker. As the clock
strikes midnight.
FERNANDO SEVERI: I am a registered voter in Anahola, Moloa'a,
and moved here in `98. I got a degree in math and decided to move to Kaua`i and
start gardening. Interesting twist of the fate, I row crop in market garden from `98
to 2005. I heard a lot of arguing that pesticides are necessary. I have sprayed
pesticides. I have sprayed peppermint soap and I sprayed silica suspended in
water. I did not need to use toxic chemicals. I grew more than enough food to feed
myself and a lot of people around me. Heard arguments about jobs and that is not a
BILL NO. 2491 147 JULY 31, 2013
valid excuse to toxify the environment. I trust in myself and I trust in God and if I
lose my job, I will find another one. I will be able to feed myself. People around me
will take care of me. I have strong community. I am in strong support of this Bill
and thank you. Thank you for your patience and thank you. I am extremely
grateful for the opportunity to voice my support for this Bill here. In particular, the
disclosure parts of it. You know, disclosure of what is being sprayed and how much
and where is like commonsense; right? Nothing to hide, nothing to worry about. If
you have something to hide, I want to know about it and it needs to be exposed.
And the EIS is a no-brainer. These things are highly toxic and they are persistent
compounds and they do not just break down. What happens to them? How is it
affecting the environment? How is it affecting us? Thank you for supporting the
Bill. Aloha.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
ANGELA HUGHES: I am from the town of Kilauea where I
resided for the last six (6) years. I have ancestors from Europe that were farmers
that came from Ireland. I have Native-American ancestry. My grandfather studied
plants. I currently work with autism spectrum youth, the increasing incidents of
which have been linked to pesticide exposure. One (1) youth reported to me of
having ongoing nose bleeds at Waimea School after three (3) months of working in
Waimea in the zone specified in the current lawsuit, I developed a life threatening
case of pneumonia recently. I was hospitalized and told if I was older I would be in
ICU on machines by the doctor. The Doctors and Nurses were puzzled that I had no
risk factors for pneumonia or history of lung concern, in fact, I have above average
lung capacity due to years of yoga breathing exercises. I am forever indebted to the
Wilcox Hospital for saving my life. The world is waking up. People are tired of
being abused and endless wars. Biotech companies were birthed from chemical
warfare now turned on our own citizens. We come in peace, and it is time to stop
spraying us. Hawai`i State law honors the precautionary principle, chemicals which
travel over a hundred (100) miles and no buffer zone is enough because open-air
testing including life forms cannot be contained. Genetic materials are spread
through the wind and live indefinitely in humans who ingest them. Weather cycles
have moved chemicals up the mountains and rain down on the entire island, I
would like disclosure of how many of the pro-Ag people here came from the
mainland, Moloka`i, or the other islands. Two percent (2%) of our Kauai workforce
want to make sure they have income while ninety-eight percent (98%) of the island
are poisoned against our will without affiliation. We will stand behind our Kaua`i
workers in support of them having jobs that offer health and safety as well as
money. A mass extinction event is happening globally. More animals go extinct
daily than ever in the history of human existence. There are large dead zones in the
ocean and the rising ocean temperatures threaten to kill coral and the organisms
which can hold up all of those above them in the food chain. It is illegal for the
pesticides to spread off the leased lands including the air and water at children's
schools. The Department of Water has been charged with the responsibility of
resourcing multiple water pump stations on the island which have been
contaminated by agricultural chemicals. Why are millions of our tax dollars
designated for this purpose? Do we want more of the same from the tax-exempt
corporations? Biotech interests have infiltrated regulatory agencies, judiciary,
State, and Federal...
Chair Hooser: Your closing sentence, please.
BILL NO. 2491 148 JULY 31, 2013
Ms. Hughes: Today is my birthday but I am not asking for
cake. I am asking for you to lead us to a better tomorrow where our children will
breathe clean air, life-giving air, and drink pure water.
Chair Hooser: Thank you so much and Happy Birthday.
Next speaker, please. If we are really efficient, we might be able to get out by 1:00
in the morning and have everybody talk. So, let us focus on that.
NELSON SMITH: Greetings. I have worked for Kaua`i Coffee
Company for more than six (6) years. I live on the farm. Losing my job means to me
losing my life and likewise, my family and others who benefit from my income that I
make. I am here to oppose Bill No. 2491 for the following reasons. False
information. Chemicals that we are using are poisoning our environment causing
sickness, and even death. I have never heard of anyone getting sick from the
pesticides or chemicals that we are using. I eat fruit that is grown on our farm. I
drink coffee that is grown on our farm. I eat pigs that we trap from our farm. I eat
fish in the ocean near our farm. If it were true that we are poisoning our land,
would I not die? Dying of poisoning a long time ago? In conclusion, we are in a good
health because we know what we are doing and we are using our chemicals wisely,
efficiently, and safely.
Chair Hooser: Closing statement, please.
Mr. Smith: My closing is, I oppose this Bill.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much for testifying. Next
speaker.
MARK MEDINA: Good evening. My name is Mark and I am a
U.S. Army Combat Veteran. Pretty much I served the army for eight (8) years, I
have been around the world and done my tours. I have been there, done that. My
family grew as a farmer. I grew up seeing them from planting all the way to
harvesting. So when I was growing up, I was nah, I am not going to be like that, it
is kind of hard. When I graduated high school, I found my door going to the U.S.
Army and I was what the heck, just try it. When I joined the Army, for me it was
the experience. I was born in the Philippines, so I came back to this Country what
freedom gave me. When I came back eight (8) years ago, I heard the GMO and
thought what is going on? My whole family works for the seed company. When I
got out in December to June, I was unemployed. I then put all of my applications
and I even applied for a graveyard shift for a Security Guard and they told me that
I was not eligible for the job. I am highly-trained and I did Security for the
Country, I cannot even do Security? What the hell? So Syngenta Hawai`i
employment called me and said we have got a job opening for Syngenta, and I was
like oh, great, the one I did not want to work on, now I am working on it. I was, like,
you know what, I will try it out, and since my whole family sticks to farming, I can
do it. So for me right now, best interests, when people are saying this issue is on
just on Kauai. No, it is around the world. We have soldiers in different Countries,
they are eating GMO as of right now. We eat, sleep, and we function as a
professional. So without GMO and all of this technology, I do not know what would
happen. We would probably be just another third world Country. So as of right
now, my opinion, this Bill No. 2491 will affect not just the U.S. but everywhere in
the world.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Your closing sentence.
BILL NO. 2491 149 JULY 31, 2013
Mr. Medina: That is it.
TIFFANI YIM: Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I
am an active member of Kaua`i's agricultural community and I am opposed to
Bill No. 2491. My family has been on Kaua`i for generations. I was raised in Koloa
and I attended Kamehameha School and got my degree from the University of San
Francisco and pursuing a Master of Science degree from Iowa State University. As
long as I can remember when I see Hawai`i's leaders like yourselves speaking to
young adults they ask them to do two (2) things, get educated and come home. I did
what I was asked, I got educated and came home. Now as an employee for Pioneer,
I have been afforded the ability to come home, contribute to this community, and
raise a family my own. For the seven (7) years I have worked for Pioneer, I am
continuously impressed by its ethics of operation and safety. I am a safer person
even at home because of my job. I have spent part of the past two (2) years helping
Pioneer set up labs in Puerto Rico, China, and much of the vagueness of this Bill
leads to an uncertainty as to whether or not seed companies can viably remain on
Kauai. However, I am not entirely certain that is the underlying purpose of this
Bill. Much of this Bill has been compelled by emotion and misinformation. Rigors
of science and good, responsibile government demand that we dispel fiction from
fact. To legislate under what in many situations are clearly false pretenses is not
only irresponsible, it is downright dangerous. I would ask all of you and those in
the room to come out and visit us to see what our operations are comprised of.
There is no evil corporate henchmen or scientists behind the curtain, but just
honest, hard-working workers much like yourselves trying to make a living on
Kauai and truly trying to be good stewards of the land. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you for your testimony.
SOL KAHN: I was born and raised in Wailua
Homesteads. One of the main concerns I have is about the children and that has to
do with the proximity of the fields to residential areas, schools, hospitals, and as
such. I was at the Kapa'a Elementary School meeting last night and I had the
opportunity to talk to Mr. Kirby Kester sitting in the back there. I had asked him
about drift. The first thing he says was that it does not exist. I said, "what do you
mean it does not exist? If the wind blows and the spray goes everywhere, that is
called drift." He says, "no, it does not happen and it does not exist."
"Hypothetically speaking if the wind blows and drift happens and these chemicals
goes on to school children, do they have the choice or not whether they can breathe
it in or not?" He did not answer me. I asked him the same question again, "do
these kids have the choice?" He looked at me straight and said, "no, they do not
have the choice." To me, that is what this Bill is about. It is about doing the right
thing to make sure that our kids are safe. Here I go again. It is really emotional for
me. My kid starts preschool today. I do not really have to worry about his
education now when he gets a little older but the proximity to him and the fields
and the schools that he is at—I do not want him to breathe the stuff in. It is really
important to me. We have the right to know. We are a small island and we need to
protect our environment and kids. Please pass this Bill. I support Bill No. 2491
with all my heart. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you so much for your testimony.
PATRICIA PARKER: First of all, I want to thank the Council and
everybody for being here so late. I wanted to apologize for my comments that were
BILL NO. 2491 150 JULY 31, 2013
out of line earlier. I am very sorry. As we all know this is just a very heartfelt
matter on both sides. First of all, I want to let you that I am a direct descendant of
King Kamehameha. My great-grandfather was James Henry Barlow, born in 1845
and he died in Texas. He was shot. I have forgiveness but I do not forget. My
people were the original people who had the corn and unfortunately it is not what it
is like anymore here. My youngest daughter just graduated from the University of
Hawai`i Manoa. She got her Bachelor in Science and Biology. My daughter was born
here on Kauai at Wilcox Hospital and my son was born on Maui. I am here to
support the Bill. My heart goes out to everybody for their job and their families. I
have lived here for forty-one (41) years and I have lived on three (3) islands. I have
been homeless a lot. I worked hard all my life to raise three (3) children that are
wonderful. We just all want to live in peace. I do not know if you guys remember
the dust bowl that happened. My mom was a victim of that and almost died and
that was because they kept planting all this wheat and turning the land over and it
just did not hold anymore and they had these big dust clouds and people died. I am
glad my mom lived and I am glad that I was born to be able to share this. There is
no color. We all belong to the same God and we are called to walk and love our
neighbors like ourselves, and to forgive each other. God opposes the proud and
gives grace to the humble. God said humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and I
will lift you up and I will lead you. We humbly surrender to our God everyday to
walk in peace.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much for your testimony.
Ms. Parker: I would really like to see you pass this Bill.
Chair Hooser: Thank you so much.
BYRON WONG: I am from the west side born and raised. I
am a Veteran from 1972 — 1976. I was also in the Air National Guard for seventeen
(17) good years and after Iniki; we was tasked to power up the wells on the west
side. I witnessed what the Water Department had to do to make our drinking water
drinkable. As far as my job, I was also a licensed applicator for a number of years
for Syngenta and I was there in Waimea Canyon School the day the kids got sick. I
went out there in the morning and I gave a signed affidavit on the wind direction
speed and the time. By that time, the trades blew five (5) to ten (10) miles away
from the school. We do not apply or we do not spray anything close to the school
during school hours and after school. So, that day the Fire Department came out in
the field and they smelled what they smelled in the school. It came from the
supposedly stink weed at the time. Syngenta gave me a job that helped me build
my house, put my two (2) daughters through school, and I am just fortunate that I
could do that. I remember on O`ahu, the pineapple people sprayed on the pineapple
and then they used to use that pineapple chop to feed the cows. Of course the milk,
they had at that time in the 70s, the children drank that milk that probably you
could get some insight on that if...they are probably like forty something years old
today, if anybody got sick. I am against Bill No. 2491 and thank you and goodnight.
Chair Hooser: Thank you.
DUSTIN BARCA: We are almost done. Thank you for hanging
in there with us. I think we would all rather be sleeping with our keiki. Our
ancestors were intelligent people and so ahead of their time. They lived by the aloha
aina motto and it is so easy to understand — it is love the land and the land will
love you back. Poison the land and the land will poison you back. That is just
BILL NO. 2491 151 JULY 31, 2013
common sense. We do not need science to understand that. One hundred and
ninety-six thousand (196,000) pounds of pesticides poison our land a year...that is
pretty detrimental to the future of our natural resources. That is something that
our island has that a lot of places does not. Another thing that I wanted to touch up
on that I am not hearing too much people talk about is tourism. Tourism is our
number one (1) industry. I got an E-mail from Food Democracy Now who has a list
of over seven hundred thousand (700,000) people this E-mail goes out to. This
E-mail was to boycott tourism on our island because the world is looking at what is
going on at our island as ground zero for the chemical testing and experimenting of
GMO crops. This is a worldwide issue that we are dealing with here. There is a
motto right, to think global but act local, and that is what we are doing here. While
we have the chance as the County Council to make decisions for our own because if
you are aware of what is going on above, they are trying to kill that ability for our
County Council to make our own decisions. The last thing that I want to say is that
our number one (1) industry is tourism, not terrorism. Thank you.
AARON ROSENSTIEL: I am here representing myself and my
family. I would just like to say that I am in support of Bill 2491 because it gives us
the basic right to know. The right to know what chemicals are being sprayed and it
adds buffer zones to protect our families and environment. What we know is that we
do not know. The exposure is unknown the effects of these chemicals. We do not
know. We need an Environmental Impact Statement, an assessment to determine
what the long-term effects of these chemicals are on our land as well as our people.
We need to know these things and it is up to you as the Council to do this. Our
Federal and State government has failed us. They have regulations in place, they
have buffer zones in place that contain these chemicals and yet the chemicals are
found in our schools and in our water. I think that is disgusting that they would
come in here and threaten people's jobs and use them as leverage against this
Council to try to get them to deny us the right to know. I think it is disgusting that
they would send a lawyer here to threaten our Council, threaten us with lawsuits to
try and intimidate you to make the wrong decision. I beg you to pass this Bill to
help our people and to help our land. Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: I have a question. You said we need to know
long-term effects. Are you thinking that we would determine this through an EIS?
Mr. Rosenstiel: I think it should be understood before the
chemicals are released into the environment. I do not think anything should be
released into the environment that we do not fully understand. Now whether it is
through a moratorium or through an EIS, something needs to be done that needs to
be understood.
Ms. Yukimura: Okay. If you applied that everywhere, it
should not even have sugary drinks, right?
Mr. Rosenstiel: I do not think we should have sugary drinks,
no.
Ms. Yukimura: But, you cannot just ban stuff...okay...
Mr. Rosenstiel: I just beg you to use the precautionary
principle with something that is extremely dangerous as this and effects people's
hormones in the way that these do, you need to exercise extreme caution.
BILL NO. 2491 152 JULY 31, 2013
Ms. Yukimura: Okay, thank you.
Chair Hooser: Next speaker.
JENNIFER RUGGLES: I represent the Pesticide Action Network and
we link local, international, consumer, laborer, environmental, health, and
agricultural groups into a network that fights for a basic health and environmental
quality. I am from Hawaii. I was born and raised here. I live in Lihu`e now.
Basically, this Bill does not divide the community. What is dividing the community
is basic hasty assumptions and misconceptions about what the Bill does. They are
all very reasonable requests. Nothing in the Bill attacks an employee's pride, their
ethics, or their personality, and it should not cost jobs. It should not cost less than
two percent (2%) jobs that the industry provides Kauai. It is suspected that half of
those jobs are temporary imported part-time labor through the HQA program.
What the community is divided about is whether or not the Agrochemical GMO
operations are actually safe and are actually harming Kauai. This Bill helps sooth
those concerns through disclosure and studies based on facts and the precautionary
principle. Thank you.
Ms. Yukimura: Question? Are you going to be at the
Committee Meeting on the 5th?
Ms. Ruggles: Yes.
Ms. Yukimura: Can you provide information about the
buffer based on your knowledge on pesticides. Is it sufficient and if not, what would
be sufficient?
Ms. Ruggles: Yes. We have a specialist coming from
California just for that.
Ms. Yukimura: Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. Next speaker.
DENNIS MENDONCA: I want to thank you all for coming. This is an
amazing exercise in democracy. I came late to the GMO issue. Back in December, I
was having an event and so I was traveling all over the island advertising my event.
I started hearing stories about people on the west side being sick. The third story I
heard was from an Accountant who is a Republican and kind of conservative in
nature. He looked at me and he said, "Dennis, I get sick every night when I go
home"; he lives next to one of the fields. I could see the pain in his face. It was very
unusual to come from this kind of person. That made me begin the search of what
GMOs are all about. There are so many other things that I rather be doing and I
am sure all of you would rather be doing other things and yet the GMO is such a
rabbit hole. The more you investigate about it, the more it stinks. I have to tell you
that quite frankly. Margery, the health worker who was talking earlier this
evening, her testimony was very consistent with stories I have heard, and Doctor
Jane Eli has a YouTube about her experience. She used to live on Menehune Road,
right on the other side of the Waimea River and her symptoms were very similar to
what Margery was talking about. She has moved off island partially because of her
health. I listened to a lot of testimony today and some of these young people who got
up and talked, you know your heart just goes out to them. One (1) person, it was
like this young man, I was really feeling for him and then he started talking about
BILL NO. 2491 153 JULY 31, 2013
GMOs allow you to use less pesticides, that is not true. That is just one (1) of the
many lies about GMOs. They end up using...wow, thirty (30) seconds left...in 2007
a Court in France, the criminal court had a finding against Monsanto for
misrepresenting Roundup. In 2008, the Court supported that decision. In 2009, the
highest court in France actually held up that decision that Monsanto had been
lying. Monsanto actually has a long history of lying and we talk about science, well
in 1985 there were studies done in Iowa around ground water and Monsanto
promised to do a random survey of wells. There were these two (2) State workers in
Iowa who looked very closely at that study and what they found was that Monsanto,
very carefully...
Chair Hooser: Closely statement, please.
Mr. Mendonca: Science is not value neutral and what lays
before us is really issues of morality and that is where we have to really look at this.
Thank you.
SEAN NEJEDLY: I do not work for Monsanto. I feel like I
should have a shirt that is part red and part blue because I have a thirteen (13)
month old son that matters to me more than anything. I work with seventy (70)
year old nana's and tata's out in the field that have been in the fields of Kaua`i their
entire lives from all over the world. When my wife got pregnant, when we saw the
doctor, I was not very educated either. I am not a doctor. I am not a scientist. I
work in a farm now. I raise my family but anyhow I want to go back to the doctor
when I asked him, should my wife come out of the field, he said why? I said that I
was afraid of birth defects. He laughed. He said that if she were to have birth
defects, it already happened. I was like, wow. That floored me. I decided to start
looking into what we do as a company out there. I started reading labels and
chemicals that they use. There are very strict laws governing everything that we do
out in that field. I do believe that if anybody is out there spraying and they are
spraying during windy conditions, they should be held accountable. Basically, that
is all I wanted to say and thank you. I am sorry you are up so late tonight.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much.
DANITZA GALVAN: Some of you may know me, I am a mother
and an educator. I just want to talk about a few points. First of all, just because you
do not have samples and I am not wearing a lab coat does not mean that something
is false. That is not proven, does not mean it is false. So, when you hear false
information, just because you do not have that proof and the speaker right before
me said something about accountability, well, how? How? If we do not have the
information we need to gather the evidence and the data, how can anybody be held
accountable? The truth is that lots of things are on the rise, illnesses, I have seen
firsthand, allergies...in fifteen (15) years that I have lived here I have noticed
changes in the ocean, and in the corals. This is the first step by supporting
Bill No. 2491. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you. Next speaker.
CRAIG ROGERS: Thirteen (13) years in Hanalei. I am here as
an encourager. We have heard both sides of the story. One (1) is perfectly fine and
not a problem at all and the other side is that it is entirely toxic for our island. I am
here to encourage you to step up to the plate. There is the time now where you can
make a difference. We are like a test tube for the entire world. You can make a
BILL NO. 2491 154 JULY 31, 2013
difference, and you can be in the history books. Do not be belittled by big money.
Do not be belittled by Attorneys threatening lawsuits because it is bigger than that.
It is way bigger than that and we can man up to this. We really can. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you.
Mr. Rogers: Lastly, I am in support for Bill 2491. Thank
you.
RYAN ROSLIE: I am a transplant to Anahola. I am in
support of this Bill. I am at a loss of words right now; for those that know me, that
is quite rare. I heard so much information and I have done so much of my own
research amongst my family and my peers. Again, like many others that have
stated, I am not experts in this field, obviously, but I have done my own research
throughout the years. I am very aware of what my environmental surroundings and
what I actually place in my body. I am very concerned about pesticides especially in
the herbicides when you look at what has been banned across the United States and
throughout the world. Again, I am in a little...I am in loss of words for the mere fact
that there is a tiny little town on this little island that is getting more exposure
than it ever has, but little exposure to figure out what the true problem is, but it
leads back to these biotech companies with the history of chemicals. I just really
hope that everyone is able to fully grasp what we are dealing with out there. With
all the deviations and everything that have been presented, I think it is very
evident what is being utilized out there. It is not healthy for the island. I just
wanted to say thank you for your time this evening and I am in support of this Bill.
I will try to address this when I have a little bit more of a clear mind. There has
been a lot going on this evening. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you.
CHERYL BACTAD: I am a construction laborer due to lack of
work. I am now employed by Syngenta. You guys have been talking a lot about
safety for our keiki, and the people of Waimea. I work in there and I have been
given the responsibility to be a crew leader and their number one (1) priority is
actually safety. When I first stepped foot on the property, before I got hired, I went
on without shoes, and they were on me about it. They enforce the safety of their co-
workers and the people of the community. I am going to make this short because I
have my children out there and they are tired, but I am a single mom too of seven
(7). Seven (7) children and three (3) grand-children, and I am a proud mom. I am
opposed to the Bill because of what I have seen out there. I have not seen anything
unsafe about what they are doing. I will just leave you with that thought. Thank
you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much for your testimony.
JIMMY TRUJILLO: I have provided written testimony
representing the Kaua`i Beekeepers Association. I will be brief about this. My wife
submitted testimony for our family. I am a parent. My daughter is thirteen (13)
whose school is surrounded by GMO fields here in Lihu`e. I appreciate Chair
Furfaro, tomorrow you will be meeting with the (inaudible) to learn more about
some of the things that Kaua`i Beekeepers as well as the Beekeepers in the State
are faced with. Globally, we know that the issues that the Beekeepers have are
significant. I think all the farmers in the house will acknowledge that the bees are
the hardest working insects that are beneficial to us all. The support that the
BILL NO. 2491 155 JULY 31, 2013
Kaua`i Beekeepers Association offers for Bill No. 2491 was hard to come by. We are
a diverse group. Primarily we are small time honey producers. We got scientists,
we got backyard hobbyists, we got old Japanese women that are taking up
beekeeping and have concerns. Some people are fine with the science of GMOs in
our group and we struggle trying to figure out how we want to present the support
but we are really clear that pesticides are a significant issue. We know that
pesticides and pollinators do not mix, and we were able to come to consensus on,
"we have the right to know." We would like to see an amendment that gives
beekeepers notification that the farmers that are using these industrial strength
pesticides, that they notify local beekeepers in that area. The Beekeepers
Association would like to be a partner in finding out more about the farms that
pesticide use can impact on our local bee population. We are blessed. We have
healthy bee population here on Kauai and we would like to keep it that way. Bill
No. 2491 provides an opportunity for the community to know and for beekeepers to
know. We are supportive of buffer zones. Mr. Kobayashi provided testimony earlier
that buffer zones of five hundred (500) feet are not going to help beekeepers, but
good communication will. We want to encourage the Council to keep engaged in
dialogue. We have a lot more to learn and understand. In conclusion, we appreciate
the intent of the Bill and support the right to know about pesticide use on Kaua`i.
We encourage the continued dialogue about these matters and want to be engaged
in the process of strengthening the Bill. We hope to partner with the County,
community groups, and other agricultural stakeholders to conduct local research to
better understand the impacts of pesticide use in our community. What we are
hoping is that we might be able to develop some type of program where we will have
bees in proximity to these fields and understand better what these impacts are.
Thank you for considering this support.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much for your testimony.
MAHEALANI PONTIUS: I am a registered voter and I was born and
raised here on Kauai. Today, I just bring the testimony of a friend of mine — Bryan
Benning. I have been in healthcare since I was sixteen (16). I became a certified
nurse's aide and have been working with stroke patients and people with bad
health. A year ago I met a Veteran whose only job that he could really find was
spraying the fields. I met him because he had a stroke. I said, "what do you think
happened? Why do you think you had a stroke?" He said, "I was spraying the fields
and it was a windy day and I inhaled the toxins." He said in the writing of the can
of what he was spraying it said if there is wind, you must wear a mask otherwise
you could have a stroke. I am here to give...I would roll him in a wheelchair, if I
could, tonight but he cannot walk and barely speak. His family flew him from
Kaua`i to the mainland where his sister is taking care of him. I just wanted to make
it aware that yes pesticides, I believe, do harm people and it is my concern for the
people of Kauai. I am for this Bill that will keep the pesticides as far away from
the schools and hospitals as possible. Thank you so much for listening to my
testimony.
Chair Hooser: Thank you so much also for being here.
GAYLENE KAHOKO HARADA: I am basically related to the whole
North Shore. I was raised in meetings like this and meetings that happen before
events like this. I am very proud of that because what it taught me is that our voice
counts and that it is time for us to lift up our head and use our voice. I am also a
mom and a kumu hula but what I think my truth to say tonight is that we are
Hawai`i and we have that thing that everybody tries to pay money for which is
BILL NO. 2491 156 JULY 31, 2013
aloha. Aloha goes hand in hand with ma-lama and kuleana. I am here to ask as a
mother for your help to support this Bill so we the people can have peace of mind
whether we are using a red shirt or a blue shirt, that we all can have peace of mind.
I gave birth to my son that he might have a better future. My grandparents taught
us so many things. All our grandparents laid the foundation for us and it is now a
time for us to continue to lay the foundation for our children. Two (2) other
thoughts that I would like to leave — the land is the Chief and we are man, we are
but the servant. The other is, Kaua`i is waiting for us to do something to malama
her because she has given us such blessing. Now, we have to stand up and say,
okay, we are going to do the right thing. For me the right thing is to support this
Bill.
Chair Hooser: Thank you.
FERN ROSENSTIEL: Thank you all so much. It has been such a
long day and I am so grateful that you have taken out the time to hear the
community concerns about this Bill and all the implications of this industry. I just
want to bring us back to focus a little bit because we have heard so much today
about so much different aspects of the GMO debate from eating it to the control of
the world — to the potential that it is feeding the world or not and I just wanted to
remind everyone that this Bill is about a unique situation right here on Kauai that
is unique to the rest of the world. We are a tiny little island in the middle of the
ocean. We have been utilized by these corporations for decades now and we are
simply asking for a few things. We are not asking everybody to stop eating GMOs,
we are not asking for a lot of these things, we are asking for a right to know what is
happening in our surroundings. We are asking for an Environmental Impact
Assessment to look at those impacts and to actually start to find out what is going
on, and we are asking for basic safety measures. The science is amazing, I agree.
The science is interesting and amazing and the technology in the ability for
genetically modified research in medical and other areas are phenomenal, but the
bottom line is that the whole world food supply is not meant to be a genetic
experiment and neither are we. We are not meant — Kaua`i never chose...our people
never came and said, "okay, you guys can come here and test here and this is okay
for you to utilize all of this land and use your experimental permits to do whatever
you are doing that we are trying to find out." At least give us the right as a
community for the right to know and simple safety measures that would allow for
basic protection. Basic protection that a lot of people have argued are not even
strong enough today. You heard science on both sides and the science will take
many years to play out and it will be continuing. I ask you, please, before we wait
inconclusively for the decisions that are made with a one hundred percent (100%)
certainty, we will never have that, we need to take proactive safety measures to
ensure that our community is protected. It has been a long night. Thank you all so
much from me and all of us that have worked diligently on this for a very long time.
I appreciate your time and I plead with you to pass this very reasonable Bill and
give Kaua`i not only the right to know but the right to a little bit of sleep at night.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. I believe that we
have our final speaker of the evening.
ELIJAH FRANK: I just wanted to conclude on behalf of`Ghana
`O Kaua`i that I have listened to everyone's testimony today and I would hope that
instead of the division that I have seen and heard, I hope we can come together. On
behalf of`Ghana `O Kauai it is our deepest hope that no one loses their job, that we
can work together on this issue as one (1) `ohana, and get the evidence that we
BILL NO. 2491 157 JULY 31, 2013
need to make an informed decision. I really hope moving forward on this issue that
no matter what color our shirts or what town we live in, that we can be civil and
work on this together. Thank you.
Chair Hooser: Thank you very much. I think that brings us
to the close and I believe everybody amazingly has been given an opportunity to
speak. I think those of you that are still here are listening, I have never been to a
public hearing. I think this is historical on Kaua`i and maybe throughout the State.
I want to commend all of you for taking your time and spending your time on this
issue. Mayor Carvalho has been here almost the entire time. My colleagues on the
Council — Chair Furfaro agreed to hear this Bill initially. He did not have to as the
Chair. You do not have to hear Bills right away but the Chair recognized the value
of this Bill, recognized the importance to the community, and I want to thank the
Chair, my colleagues on the Council. We did not announce it earlier but there was
written testimony submitted and it is not tallied up totaled but there are over
seventeen hundred (1,700) pieces of testimonies that came in. I want to thank,
especially, finally, the Council Staff who have been working on this for weeks and
weeks, and have been here since 7:00 this morning. Thank you, all. This public
hearing is adjourned.
There being no further testimony on this matter, the public hearing
adjourned at 12:51 a.m. on August 1, 2013.
',•spectfully submitted,
Vir
JADE K. FOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA
Deputy County Clerk
:cy/dmc