A major seed company in Hawaii wants to improve its relationship with the community after two counties took a stand to regulate pesticide use and growth of genetically modified organisms.
Monsanto Hawaii launched a new Web page, www.monsantohawaii.com, as a tool to inform the public about its agricultural practices. Community forums and more farm tours are also planned to respond to concerns, according to Vice President Fred Perlak.
Company officials often talk to farmers and scientists but lack communication with the general public.
"What’s missing is we haven’t talked to the community that much," Perlak said. "It’s just something that we haven’t been doing very well. That’s why we decided to do this and engage in this community effort now."
Through plans for open dialogue, Perlak said he hopes the community can gain accurate information on Monsanto’s farming practices and respond to any concerns.
"What we see is a lack of dialogue to misunderstanding and misinformation," he said.
The company’s effort toward transparency comes a month after Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa signed a disclosure agreement with the company to provide an annual report of the type of restricted pesticides it sprays on its fields.
The company owns about 5,200 acres and leases about 3,500 acres of land on Oahu, Maui and Molokai. The company primarily grows seed corn and a small amount of soybean seeds.
The issue of genetically modified organisms has taken center stage in Hawaii after Kauai County passed a law that regulates pesticides and GMOs and Hawaii County passed a law that bans new GMO crops. Two lawmakers also recently introduced bills to strengthen Hawaii’s Right to Farm Act to prevent counties from restricting agricultural technology and ranching practices that are not prohibited by state and federal law.
Longtime activist Walter Ritte, who has been leading protests against Monsanto, said community engagement is welcome as long as it’s a two-way street.
"If they’re just going to give us propaganda again, it’s not going to work."
Ritte said the Molokai community has been desperately trying to inform Monsanto about the impact of its farming practices, including depleting the soil and generating dust.
"We have these concerns," he said. "Nobody is listening. That’s why people are getting anxious and upset."
Ritte said meaningful discussions with lawmakers and state agricultural officials need to take place.
