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Biotech agriculture facility and irrigation ditch near the beach on the Hawaiian island of
Kauai. (Photo: Mike Ludwig)
Chun worries that the water lapping on the beach in her small town of
Kekaha is polluted.
The nearby residential neighborhood is a "homestead" area that is reserved
for people of native Hawaiian heritage and boasts one of the highest
numbers of native speakers of any neighborhood in the state. Chun calls
the homestead "a gem." She runs a cultural enrichment program for native
Hawaiian students at a local community college, and she moved with her
two daughters, ages 7 and 11, to the homestead community six years ago.
As we ride past the men and their fishing poles, Chun explains that some
locals are subsistence fishermen and their families rely on what they catch.
Chun says there are rumors among fisherman that the offshore reef, a
crucial habitat for fish, is dying.
Mori stops the truck near two chain link fences separating the beach from
sandy lots full of equipment and storage containers. Facilities operated by
the international agrichemical firms Syngenta and DuPont-Pioneer run
right up to the beach, where the stretch of sand occupied by the swimmers
and fisherman is split by an irrigation ditch that stretches back toward the
agricultural fields near Chun's neighborhood. The biotech giants BASF and
Dow also operate in the area, and Monsanto has facilities elsewhere in the
state. On Kauai, the four companies take advantage of The Garden Island's
three growing seasons to develop and produce varieties of seeds that are
bred or genetically engineered to resist pests and pesticides and increase
yields.
Stands of genetically engineered corn are not what you would expect to see
on a tropical island that once hosted sugar cane plantations and has kept
its population happy for generations with coconuts, breadfruit, taro and
papaya. But high demand on the mainland has made biotech corn and
other seeds one of Hawaii's top agricultural commodities. Hawaii is the
world's leading producer of corn seed, which accounts for 96 percent of the
state's $247 million biotech agriculture industry, according to the Hawaii
Crop Improvement Association, which represents biotech companies.
Virtually every genetically engineered seed variety has spent some time in
development on a Hawaiian island.
Biotech agriculture facility and irrigation ditch near the beach on the Hawaiian island of
Kauai. (Photo: Mike Ludwig)