October 18, 2015

Biotech firms sue local Hawaii government for protecting citizens and environment from GMOs

Aug 15, 2014

In early August, a coalition of local farmers and environmental groups filed a motion in court to intervene in a lawsuit aimed at overturning a Hawaii County ordinance that imposes a moratorium on the expansion of genetically engineered crops on the Big Island.

On Aug. 1, the Center for Food Safety (CFS), along with three Hawaiian Island farmers, asked a court for permission to join as defendants in a biotech industry suit that is challenging the County of Hawaii’s Ordinance 13-121. The law regulates GMOs to prevent them from harming both the local environment and the economy, such as cross-contamination of organic and conventional crops, as well as wild plants, and the associated use of pesticides. The coalition is represented jointly by counsel from CFS and Earthjustice.

“Hawaii County, like every county, has the right to protect its farmers and native environments from genetically engineered crops,” said George Kimbrell, CFS senior attorney. “Having GE-free zones is critical for the sustainable future of U.S. agriculture, and to protect Hawai’i’s unique ecosystems.”

Chemical companies turning the islands into test beds for GMOs
According to eNews Park Forest:

The lawsuit, driven largely by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the world’s largest trade association for the biotech industry representing companies like Monsanto, seeks to dissolve the county’s 2013 ordinance to open the island up for the expansion of genetically engineered crop production. These herbicide resistant crops result in intensive pesticide use, which threatens public health, contaminates water, and harms wildlife and neighboring crops. Most GE crops also threaten transgenic contamination of non-GE crops, which has already caused several billion dollars in damage to growers.

Click on Link:
http://drleonardcoldwell.com/2014/08/15/biotech-firms-sue-local-hawaii-government-for-protecting-citizens-and-environment-from-gmos/