Now that the dust has started to settle after the end of another legislative session, the public can once again be reassured that our representatives put aside the public interest in favor of directives given to them by big business, and the large land owners in the state.

A key bill that illustrates this point was SB-958, which called for a 10-year moratorium on research to genetically engineering  (GE) the taro plant in Hawaii. The GE of taro, in the laboratory, consists of inserting foreign exotic genes containing DNA from bacteria, viruses, antibiotics, and from other plants, into every cell of the taro plant. Hawaiians were fervently opposed to this, as they consider taro to be a sacred plant, and part of their genealogy.

Adding to the cultural concerns, critics were opposed to this research because of the health and environmental risks of releasing an exotic GE taro into the environment. A problem with the open release of living forms is that once the genie is taken out of the bottle, there is no more bringing it back inside. If future studies reveal that GE taro causes serious health or environmental problems, it would be impossible to recall because it is indistinguishable from traditional varieties.

In addition GE taro would likely contaminate non-GE plantings throughout the state. Contamination has been observed virtually in all parts of the world were GE varieties are grown. In Mexico, where corn is considered to be a sacred plant, native species in remote areas were found to be contaminated by GE varieties from the U.S., despite the fact that GE corn is not approved for planting in that country.

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(Source: Dr. Hector Valenzuela, The Molokai Times)

Hector Valenzuela is a Professor and Extension Specialist at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa