Three Senate committees on Thursday shelved a bill that would have required disclosure labels for genetically modified imported produce.
Sen. Clarence Nishihara (D, Waipahu-Pearl City), chairman of the Agriculture Committee, said deferring the bill, which many legislators concede was flawed, was prudent and responsible. The committee will now ask that several state groups study the issue in more detail and report back.
Roughly 130 people testified on the bill, and senators said they reviewed many more written submissions online. Those offering testimony lined up more than 30 minutes before the 9 a.m. hearing, including more than 100 workers from the genetically modified seed industry on behalf of employers such as Monsanto, DuPont Pioneer and Syngenta.
The committees on agriculture, consumer protection and health initially indicated they would not hear the bill because the state attorney general said it could be ruled unconstitutional on the grounds that it violates the First Amendment and federal interstate commerce and labeling laws.
"I think the reason we have to have a hearing and we have to have labeling is just because of public trust," said Sen. Josh Green (D, Kailua-Kona), Health Committee chairman, said afterward. "Had we not had a hearing, it would have been easy to see people blame government in a conspiratorial way. That’s not OK."
Labeling supporters pointed to nearly 150 seed industry workers who attended Thursday’s hearing on behalf of their employers as an example that the industry is using scare tactics to prevent legislators from passing legislation.
"Are you listening to the voice of the people, or are you listening to the corporations that are using our land?" one witness asked senators.
Alicia Maluafiti, executive director of the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association, said the GMO labeling proponents are the ones using fear-mongering to get their point across.
"I think that the activists continued to use fear and intimidation and misinformation to mislead the public and our legislators," Maluafiti said.
Many women relayed stories to senators about themselves or their children enduring months or years of unexplained illnesses that were cured or substantially alleviated when they cut known GMO foods from their diets.
Other supporters simply demanded the right to know what’s in their food.
Opponents cited the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s position that GMO food is no different from food that is not grown from genetically modified seeds. They also warn that labeling could raise food costs.
Further, GMO food is already being labeled at niche grocery stores such as Whole Foods, they said.
"The hearing has raised a number of questions that require more research and information than can be gathered to meet tonight’s decking deadline," said Sen. Roz Baker (D, West Maui-South Maui). "(And) the Legislature has a responsibility to weigh all sides of an issue as well as all impacts of any course of action."
Under Senate Concurrent Resolution 34, which now will start moving through the legislative process, state agencies will be asked to study the feasibility of labeling GMOs and the economic consequences labeling would have on businesses, consumers and farmers, as well as review studies on the effects of GMO food on health and agriculture in Hawaii. Those agencies include the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization; the state departments of Agriculture, Health, and Business, Economic Development and Tourism; and the UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.
"We suspect that this may require more than one session," Baker said. "But we want them to report back to the Legislature in order for the Legislature to determine what the appropriate course of action (is) that would result in the greatest benefit to everybody here in Hawaii."
Labeling proponents were not completely pleased with the outcome of the hearing.
"The facts have always been present," said Juanita Brown Kawamoto, vice chairwoman of the Food and Farm Sustainability Committee of the Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii. "So to hear them say we need more fact-finding information is kind of like, really?"
Brown Kawamoto said the decision will not stop GMO opponents from pushing for legislation this session.
"I’m not discouraged, because I care," she said. "And enough people around us do care, and we’re going to keep coming back to this thing."
