25 May 2006 - International
— The island of Hawaii'i, also known as the Big
Island. An island filled with contrasts - lush
tropical rain forests, grassy rolling hills, dry
deserts, sunny beaches and snow capped volcanic
peaks ...an alluring and exotic tropical island.
And the world's largest open-air genetic engineering
laboratory.
The Big Island contains the
world's greatest concentration of climate types
in one relatively small area. Hawaii has 11 of
the world's 13 climate zones in just over 4000
square miles of terrain. In the midst of this
beauty agro-chemical conglomerates have exploited
this special place.
Hawaii has run more than 4,000
GE field trials to date -- more than any other
location in the world per square metre. Corn,
soy, wheat, sugarcane (biopharmaceuticals), orchids,
lime tree, sorgum, cotton, barley and coffee have
all been exploited in GE field trials by a well-funded
and greedy agro-chemical industry.
Only one GE crop is approved
for commercial purposes: the Papaya. A new report
by Greenpeace demonstrates how it has devastated
the Hawaiian export market.
Papaya has been grown in tropical
regions of the world for as long as history has
been recorded. This brightly coloured and unique
fruit that we have enjoyed for centuries is under
threat, in Hawaii successful papaya growing and
stable export markets were flourishing up until
the commercialisation of genetically engineered
papaya in 1998. Then things changed. Several years
after the GE industry got control over papaya
farmers and the papaya they grow the export market
for Hawaiian papaya flatlined.
Hawaii is the only place in
the world where GE Papaya is grown commercially
and most of the countries importing Hawaii papaya
- including the EU, Japan and China - have an
aversion to GE crops and foods. Doors started
closing on Hawaii's papaya exports and prices
went into free fall. Organic and conventional
farmers were earning up to three times as much
for their GE-free papayas. But the organic exports
are on the downturn now as well, as it is harder
to guarantee GE-free fruit due to contamination
from neighbouring GE strains.
"GE papayas are a big issue
on this island, science put them here and now
with the help of volunteers and local farmers
we are taking them away," said Terri Mulroy,
organic papaya farmer on Hawaii Island commenting
from a recent decontamination event at her farm.
"Once the GE papayas are removed I will be
happy again and hope that all of my remaining
papayas are GE-free."
Will Thailand learn from Hawaii's
mistakes?
In Thailand, Thais will invite
you to partake in one of their favourite foods
- somtam - the green papaya salad eaten daily
throughout the country.
This traditional dish and Thailand's
own papaya export markets are under threat from
the US GE papaya industry as they stretch their
tentacles into South East Asia.
Thai papaya farmers tainted
by GE
Although GE Papaya has not been
commercialised in Thailand and a three-year freeze
on the growing of all GE crops has been achieved,
Thai farmers and industries are facing mounting
pressure by the US agro-chemical companies, which
could threaten these bans. Already, due to a Thai
Government agency's role in the illegal distribution
of GE-contaminated papaya seeds, contamination
issues for conventional and organic growers is
an ongoing problem.
We don't want it
Thailand has an existing ban
on the planting and sale of GE crops, but this
has been under constant assault from the agro-chemical
industry, led mainly by US interests. The GE papaya
which caused the ongoing contamination of Thai
farms was developed by the same scientist who
introduced Hawaii's problematic GE papaya.
"The Thai Government has
attempted to lift the genetic engineering ban
under pressure from the US government and the
agro-chemical industry. However, Thais oppose
GE crops because we don't want to lose the market
for our farm crops, like what happened to Hawaiian
papayas, as well as our status as the world's
kitchen," said Patwajee Srisuwan
The Hawaiian and Thai Governments
and industry need to pull back from this economically,
environmentally, and export-damaging technology.
They need to look closely at the evidence provided
from both regions and then move towards supporting
and nurturing the conventional and organic papaya
growers upon whom, ultimately, the burden of GE
contamination will fall.
