Printed in the Lahaina News

Letters to the Editor, Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Crop Research Vital

I doubt that most farmers in the state are aware of the state legislature’s current efforts to ban all taro and coffee growing research having any relationship to genetic engineering.   

Can you imagine that our legislators, with all their scientific knowledge on the subject of genetic engineering, and agricultural expertise, and knowledge of the enormous amount of benefits in crop improvements and pesticide reduction already achieved in the world from genetic engineered plants, are about to ban genetic engineering research on two of Hawaii’s crucial crops, taro and coffee?

As stated in these legislative bills, there were over 300 taro varieties existing at the time of the arrival of European explorers, and today we only have 70 varieties remaining.
This 77 percent reduction in taro varieties indicates to most agriculturists that there is a significant trend in the decline of taro varieties, which further illustrates that all types of taro research should be increased, not banned. Taro farming in Hawaii might be eliminated if the same taro disease that destroyed the taro industry in Western Samoa in 1993 strikes Hawaii.  

With all the crop pests in Hawaii, banning any kind of Hawaii crop research is pure fantasy. How could anyone possibly justify banning research on taro and coffee, much less any other Hawaii grown crop? Maybe this is some sort of sustainability. Unbelievable!

DON GERBIG, Lahaina