Mandates the department of agriculture to use the precautionary principle to anticipate, prevent, or minimize the adverse effects of biotechnology and genetic engineering.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the economic health of Hawaii's agricultural sector is critical to the overall health of Hawaii's economy, and that this depends in major part on the high reputation of Hawaii's farmers and their agricultural products.

Growth in genetically engineered agricultural production has been swift and pervasive throughout the nation. The quick acceptance of the new technology by American farmers may, however, pose serious consequences for conventional agriculture -- consequences that scientists do not yet fully understand. Those consequences have created doubt about the wisdom of growing genetically engineered agricultural products, both within the farming community and Congress.

The greatest potential harm of genetically engineered crops is that the use of genetically engineered seeds and plants by a farmer could, unintentionally, alter the crops being produced by a neighboring farmer, or alter other plants or animals, including insects and microorganisms which interact with domestic crops, as well as plants and animals within the natural environment.

No practical way of safeguarding against this risk is available, other than abstaining from use of genetically engineered material. The recent fiasco involving Starlink corn, a variety approved only for animal consumption because of its possible allergenic effects on humans, attests to this. Farmers who unwittingly planted the corn have had to accept prices for their crops well below production costs. Grain elevators have had to test their inventories and attempt to segregate millions of bushels of contaminated stocks. Foreign markets have refused to accept shipments of United States corn. The European Commission is drafting regulations that include mandatory segregation and labeling of genetically engineered crops. Two of the top three grocery chains in the United Kingdom have announced that they will sell meat products from livestock fed feed only from conventional, non-genetically engineered crops. The American Crop Growers Association is concerned that these recent actions may also have a negative effect on U.S. exports. Europe has increasingly turned to Brazil, where the cultivation and sale of genetically engineered seeds are banned, to meet its need for animal feed.

In light of the great uncertainty surrounding the safety of emerging biotechnologies and their effects upon human health, government must respond in a rational and compassionate way. The "precautionary principle," while not a new concept, has gained acceptance in Europe and within the scientific community. Perhaps the best known formulation of this principle within the scientific community is the Wingspread Statement, which provides that "[w]hen an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically. In this context the proponent of an activity, rather than the public, should bear the burden of proof." When government faces a decision regarding the introduction of technologies where the health and safety consequences to the public are unknown, the precautionary principle provides that precautionary measures be taken even if the risk to the public is uncertain to mitigate possible negative consequences.

The purpose of this Act is to require the department of agriculture to adopt the precautionary principle in order to anticipate, prevent, or minimize the adverse effects of biotechnology and genetic engineering.

SECTION 2. Chapter 142, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part IV, to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§142-   Precautionary principle. The department shall take precautionary measures to anticipate, prevent, or minimize the adverse effects of biotechnology and genetic engineering. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing the application of precautionary measures, taking into account that policies and measures should be at the lowest reasonable cost. To achieve this, policies and measures should take into account different socioeconomic contexts, be comprehensive, cover all relevant sources, and comprise all agricultural sectors."

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.