Maui County Genetically Modified Organism Moratorium Initiative
Ryan Whitley
Source: BallotPedia
Date Published: November 28, 2014
Summary: On the November 4th ballot in Maui County, Hawaii, a GMO moratorium, or temporary stoppage was passed by the voters. This initiative was created in order to stop the growth or testing genetically modified/engineered plants, and also to stop the creation of such products until a public health and environmental study had been completed to show that these products and the way they are grown had no negative impact on the environment. The main company affected by this is Monsanto, the GMO giant. This type of vote has been held before in different parts of the United States, and GMO's are completely banned in many other countries. In Jackson County, Oregon, a complete GMO ban was voted in by voters in a very similar manner to this ballot in Hawaii, which only called for a moratorium. If this type of vote passed in other places in the United States, this could be very troubling for Monsanto. Due to the vote, Monsanto and Dow Chemical filed a lawsuit against this moratorium, and it has been delayed until March 31st.
Connection: This news article has a very clear connection to something we have studied quite recently. In class, we discussed the benefits and drawbacks of using GMO's, and how they might impact the environment. We also had a debate on the manner, and as a class we were unable to decide whether the usefulness of GMO's outweighed the potential negative impacts, such as allergies or Super Weeds that would eventually become resistant to the chemicals used to kill them. We also discussed how GMO's are completely banned in most of Europe and in many other parts of the world. In this instance, the residents of Maui County decided that they wanted to know exactly what using GMO's was doing to the land on which they grow their food, as GMO's in general have not been researched extensively enough to definitively say whether they are completely positive or negative, and as we agreed as a class, they are likely a combination of good and bad.
Do you think that since Hawaii passed this moratorium, many countries or states will followed suit, and pass a similar type of ban? Or Do you think that the moratorium of GMOs in Hawaii is a one time thing?
ReplyDeleteMany countries in Europe, such as Germany and France, already have GMO bans. However, if the results of their study come back with negative results on the environment, I believe it is quite possible that more bans could occur, maybe even in the United States some day.
DeleteIf Monsanto and Dow lose the lawsuit, what could possible drawbacks be for the passing of the moratorium?
ReplyDeleteIf Monsanto and Dow lose their lawsuit, there would of course be drawbacks. Some of these would be just caused by the absence of GM crops, such as a decreased crop yield and possibly increases in crop failure due to pests. However, if the study turns up that GMO's have negative results on the environment, then these drawbacks would easily outweigh the possible benefits.
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