Residents of Kauai, one of our two homes away from home, the second being Manhattan, Kansas of all places, helped pass legislation which limits GMO experiments taking place on the island. It is a watered down version that Kauai Islanders didn't prefer, but of course, industry spokesmen rolled out their usual load of drivel.
"DuPont, which fought to defeat the bill, was disappointed it passed, and may sue to block its implementation, said spokesman Josh St. Peters. We believe it to be bad policy - and the kind of regulation that should remain at the state and federal level, where policy makers and agencies are already empowered with oversight of our industry, he said. We believe that the bill is not legally defensible and we continue to evaluate all of our business and legal options."
Yep. GMO proponents are pissed that control isn't being placed in Federal and State legislatures where they can easily buy approval for their costly to us and profitable for them methods. They don't like having to deal with people who will actually be harmed by their action. No way, no how, if they can possibly avoid it.
And then this: "But testifying at the hearing, BASF representative Kirby Kester said that passage of the bill was unwarranted because there is no evidence the companies are doing any harm. And prior to the meeting, Mark Phillipson, spokesman for Syngenta Hawaii, said the industry was committed to a safe environment. "We abide by high standards to create a safe environment for our workers, our neighbors and the community," Phillipson said."
Which is shorthand for: Coercing those renegade islanders, numbering in the thousands and who are difficult to identify even with NSA's help, cost more to eradicate and put up a tougher fight than those guys on the Hill "representing" the people.
The GMO industry would also prefer to hide behind the cloak of "prove we're doing harm", rather than having to prove they aren't doing harm (as regulations in the EU require for many industrial/medical settings).
The upshot is, to the GMO industry them islanders sure are a frisky bunch. And look every bit the part of being dyed in the wool eco-terrorists. Who would you trust more? A DuPont spokesman, or a rascal like...
