Hawaii Farmers & Consumers Mobilize Against Biopharm & GE Crops

Honolulu Advertiser
www.HonoluluAdvertiser.com

Posted on: Sunday, October 19, 2003
Fears grow with genetic crop secrecy
By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer

Louisa Wooton earns a living selling natural, organically grown tropical
fruits on her family's three-acre farm in Kilauea, Kaua'i.
As far as she knows, genetically modified crops - the polar opposite of hers
- are field-tested miles away at research facilities in Waimea run by
agribusiness giants such as Pioneer Hi-Bred and Monsanto.

That doesn't entirely alleviate her fears that biologically engineered crops
could contaminate her produce, since many details about where genetic crop
research occurs, or even what is being done in Hawai'i, is confidential.

Crop researchers maintain that the secrecy is needed to protect their
proprietary work from competitors and shield their crops from
eco-terrorists.

The closely held information, however, breeds suspicion.

"We don't know anything, really - that's the problem," said Wooton, owner of
Kauai Kunana Dairy. "There's just too much secrecy for the average person to
figure out anything."

The secretive nature of the industry could change quickly, based on a
lawsuit by an environmental group and several bills being discussed in the state
Legislature.

With its fertile volcanic soil, year-round growing season and location far
from America's farm belt, Hawai'i makes an ideal location for cutting-edge
research into the high-tech seed crops of tomorrow.

In the past 16 years, Hawai'i has led the states in open-air test sites of
genetically engineered crops, according to a report released this year by
advocacy group Environment California Research & Policy Center.

And in the past decade, the value of the state's seed-crop industry, 40
percent of which is estimated to involve genetically engineered crops, has
grown fivefold, to a record $48.7 million last year.

That record could be challenged by Earthjustice, a nonprofit law firm based
in Oakland, Calif., which is trying to use open-record laws to force the state
to allow inspection of its files on two companies given permission to grow
genetically engineered pharmaceutical crops in Hawai'i.

Bio-drugs next frontier

Genetic crop research has gone on for decades. It involves combining genetic
material from different organisms in hopes of creating higher-yielding or
better-tasting crops. Most Hawai'i research involves corn, with federal
permits also sought in recent years for open-field tests on soybeans, rice,
wheat, papaya and pineapple.

In the relatively new area of biopharmaceutical crop research, plants are
engineered to produce nonfood items, such as drugs or industrial chemicals.
The Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, one of five entities doing this work
in Hawai'i, said it had concluded field testing of 50 sugar-cane plants on
O'ahu that had been crossed with human genes in hopes of producing an enzyme
to spur production of bone marrow.

The use of plants to produce drugs or industrial chemicals could hold great
promise for producing compounds cheaper and faster than in today's
pharmaceutical factories, said Stephanie Whalen, president of the research
center. Growing drugs in sugar cane also could give growers a new,
high-margin sales stream, she said.

Critics contend that open-field, genetically modified crop testing - and
biopharmaceutical research in particular - is racing ahead of what is known
about potential risks to the nation's environment, people and food supply.

Holding on to information about what these companies are doing, and where,
only makes it more difficult to gauge the risks, said Isaac Moriwake, an
attorney for Earthjustice.

"Is the proper response to keep the public totally in the dark about where
this is ongoing, or is the response higher security, or conducting these
tests indoors?" he said. "The courts are going to be presented squarely with
this question of, is it confidential business information?"

Secrecy required

The federal government has approved 14 permits to field-test
biopharmaceuticals in Hawai'i since 1998; another application to combine
genes from a human and mouse in corn is pending. In nine cases, the donor of
genes being tested in plants was kept confidential. For all the permits, the
location of the tests are kept secret.

Biotechnology Industry Organization, a trade group that has intervened in
the Earthjustice suit on the state's side, contends that details about such
tests need to remain confidential for competitive reasons and to thwart any
destruction of crops by militant environmentalists.

"There are valid reasons why companies ask for, and were granted,
(confidentiality) status - and if they can't receive that, companies will
look at other alternatives," such as conducting research elsewhere, said
Mike Phillips, vice president for food and agriculture for the industry
organization.

If successful, Earthjustice's lawsuit could pave the way for making public
all information on genetically modified crop research in the state, not just
biopharmaceuticals. Research supporters say that could jeopardize a
seed-crop industry that employs 1,190 people, the state estimates, in relatively
high-wage jobs.

Ultimately, the research needs to prove its worth, and failure to manufacture
crop drugs may lead to fewer tests. For example, last week Monsanto Co. said
it would discontinue its plant-made pharmaceuticals program as a cost-cutting
measure. Pioneer says it has no intention to field-test biopharmaceuticals.

That would be fine with Blake Drolson, a member of GMO-Free Kaua'i, which
opposes genetically modified crops and food. Chief among the group's
concerns are genetic contamination of the environment and risks to the state's
endangered species.

"I feel like I'm being experimented on without my consent," he said.

Measuring risk

Beyond highly debated health risks, environmentalists raise concerns that
Hawai'i's $500 million agriculture industry could be tainted by the state's
increasingly high profile as a center for genetic crop research.

Already, food processors have lined up with environmentalists and consumer
groups on the issue of biopharmaceuticals and expressed worries about buying
food from areas where drugs or industrial chemicals are grown.

"Hawai'i could get a reputation as a genetically engineering place, and our
agriculture may not sell around the world," said Drolson of GMO-Free Kaua'i.

Just how real are the dangers from genetically modified crops? Industry
officials maintain that the risk to the environment and food is minimal.

"It's a bunch of nonsense," said Whalen of the Hawaii Agriculture Research
Center, on the prospect of genetic research contaminating the environment.
"Plants are not promiscuous. There has to be some compatibility between the
(genetically modified) plant and the natural plant."

Keith Pitts, director of public policy for the independent Pew Initiative on
Food and Biotechnology, agreed that Hawai'i's lack of a commercial corn crop
reduces much of the risk of genetic contamination.

"But the other thing you have to think about - and I'm not saying it's a risk
- is what does it mean to have a pharmaceutical grown in corn, or industrial
chemical grown in corn, if it's eaten by a bird or small animal?

"Genes do move around, and plants cross-pollinate."

Part of the problem in gauging the adequacy of industry regulation is a lack
of consensus on the risks posed by genetically modified crops. A key issue
is whether it's even possible to measure the broad ecological effects of the
plantings, according to the Pew Institute.

Time needed to act

Meanwhile, biotech crop research races ahead of the government's ability to
react, Pitts said.

"I think the potential of the technology is a bit ahead of where our
regulatory system is now," he said. "So I think some catching up needs to be
done."

After an incident last fall in which biopharmaceutical soybeans were found
mixed with soybeans meant for human consumption, the U.S. Drug Administration
proposed new rules aimed at reducing the movement of biopharmaceutical seed
and preventing genetically engineered crops from mixing with food crops.

The Pew Initiative also would like to see better coordination among federal
agencies responsible for overseeing the industry. Some groups have called
for greater scrutiny into what companies keep confidential, and increased
disclosure of experimental locations where the risk to other crops is
greater.

Beyond federal rules, many states are considering their own restrictions on
the industry.

In the 2001 and 2002 legislative sessions, Hawai'i lawmakers led all states
by introducing 23 biotech agriculture-related bills, according to the Pew
Initiative. Only one passed: It made anyone found destroying such crops
liable for damage.

In the 2003 legislative session, about a dozen biotech agriculture bills
were introduced, including one by state Sen. Gary Hooser, D-7th (Kaua'i,
Ni'ihau), that would make crop test locations public and require independent
monitoring of the work conducted.

Hooser said he recognizes the potential benefits of crop research, but feels
certain types of crop experimentation warrant greater review. That is
especially true in Hawai'i, where the state's $10 billion tourism industry
depends heavily on the natural environment.

"There's a wide range of GM operations. Some are working on corn, soy and
rice making them resistant to pests and weather," he said. "On the other end of
the spectrum, we have pharmaceutical GMOs, where you cross animals, fish and
plants together - scary stuff. I think the right to know is fundamental."

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8093.

Article url:

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Oct/19/ln/ln01a.html
Visit
http://www.HonoluluAdvertiser.com
for the latest in Hawai'i's news,
sports, business, entertainment and weather.
See Our Classifieds at
http://www.HawaiisClassifieds.com