Hui asks appeals court for hearing on Maui law

The group that campaigned for a Maui ban on the cultivation of genetically modified organisms has appealed to a higher court in an attempt to free up the legal logjam that has prevented the law from going into effect.

The SHAKA Movement and its leaders — Lorrin Pang, Mark Sheehan, Lei­‘ohu Ryder, Bonnie Marsh and Alika Atay — are appealing to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in hopes of compelling the federal District Court in Hono­lulu to hold an evidentiary hearing that might halt the injunction in the case.

In its appeal filed Thursday, SHAKA argued that the court abused its discretion when it agreed to continue the injunction that was entered into by an agreement between Monsanto Hawaii, a unit of Dow Chemical Co., and Maui County following the ballot initiative that was approved Nov. 4.

U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway in March asked the parties involved to continue the injunction in light of provisions in a couple of agriculture bills in the state Legislature that might have an impact on the issue.

When SHAKA objected, Mollway asked the group to submit a 2,500-word brief that was due within three days, and then ultimately denied the group’s request.

Michael Carroll, an attorney for the group SHAKA Movement, said the judge denied a fair hearing and erred by giving more weight to the potential economic losses of the seed companies than to the hardships imposed on the people of Maui County in the form of exposure to more GMO cultivation and the pesticides used by the industry.

Sheehan, spokes­man for the citizen group, said the judge’s continuance sends a message to Maui County voters that "your health concerns are secondary to industry profits, and your voting rights are secondary to the power of corporations to deny implementing your ordinance."

In its appeal, SHAKA asks for an expedited hearing.

"We just want to get the law implemented because it needs to be enforced immediately," Sheehan said.

John Purcell, Monsanto of Hawaii’s vice president of business and technology, said in a statement that the company respects SHAKA’s right to appeal the injunction.

"However, we are confident our legal arguments are formidable and will prevail since they are based on established legal precedent," he said.

The measure, as approved by the voters, imposes a moratorium on the growing of genetically engineered crops until an environmental and public health study can show they are safe.

Monsanto and Dow spent nearly $8 million underwriting an election campaign that set a record for the most money spent on a local initiative in Hawaii.

According to SHAKA’s appeal, these companies use the land in a more destructive way than most farming operations by using high levels and combinations of repeated pesticide application and using a disproportionately small portion of the land, "leaving large areas barren and more susceptible to causing environmental pollution."

The appeal said that despite the harm these companies cause, "no testing has ever been conducted in Maui County to demonstrate that the GMO practices are not harmful, nor are there any permitting requirements addressing these harms."

The seed companies deny causing any harm and say they operate legally under the scrutiny of plenty of government regulation. They have argued that the new ordinance conflicts with state and federal laws that support the lawful cultivation of GMO plants.

What’s more, they say the law will hurt the local economy and those who rely on GMO crops to support their families. It will also render valueless multimillion-dollar investments made by the seed companies and end up bankrupting Molo­kai, whose economy is more dependent on the seed industry, they say.