Printed in the Honolulu Advertiser

Letters to the Editor, Wednesday, May 9, 2007

TARO IS A GLOBAL PLANT WITH VERY LONG HISTORY

In his May 6 letter, George Kent ("Taro decision should be made by Hawaiians") claims taro belongs to the indigenous people of Hawai'i and not to anyone else. Well, yes and no.

Taro (telling which taro species is which is a bit confusing) probably originated in Malaysia or India before 5000 B.C. It was important in ancient Egypt. It spread into China by 100 B.C., and then into Indonesia, Japan, Korea, with the Maori taking it to Aetorea, and the Polynesians and others spreading it throughout the Pacific.

It was then carried to Africa (Nigeria becoming the world's top taro producer) and Sri Lanka, and then to Cuba and Puerto Rico via the slave trade. Ingloriously, it is now considered an invasive species in Florida and Australia.

Professor Kent presumes that taro belongs to the indigenous people in Hawai'i. I'd love to see him try to enforce this claim in China, Samoa or Nigeria. If he took to the international courts, the Indians could countersue, claiming biopiracy, theft of biological material for commercial gain; Australia could claim damages from an invasive species; and the Cubans and Puerto Ricans could seek reparations for taro's role in the slave trade.

Taro is truly a global plant, with 5,000 years of history and tens of millions of people eating it in 60 or 70 countries around the world. Who can claim exclusive rights to such a heritage?

Native Hawaiians have a right to claim the varieties of kalo that they developed from the taro they brought to the Islands. State laws concerning taro should be limited to these Hawaiian varieties.

Professor David Cameron Duffy
Department of Botany, University of Hawai'i-Manoa