Clifton M. Hasegawa

President and CEO

Clifton M. Hasegawa & Associates, LLC

1044 Kilani Avenue 12

Wahiawa, Hawai`i 96786-2243 Direct: 808.498.8408

Email: clifhasegawa@gmail.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cliftonhasegawa

VIA EMAIL

September 27, 2014

The Honorable Alan Arakawa

Mayor, County of Maui

Kalana O Maui Building - 9th Floor

200 South High Street

Wailuku, Maui, Hawai`i 96793

RE: 2014 General Election - Maui County Voter Initiative:

Genetically Engineered Organisms

Dear Mayor Arakawa:

Your approval and endorsement of the Maui County Voter Initiative:

Genetically Engineered Organisms on the 2014 General Election Ballot is

confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug

Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the USDA

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and is affirmed by the

Society of Toxicology (SOT) and the College of Tropical Agriculture (CTHR) at

the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa.

SOCIETY OF TOXICOLOGY (SOT)

“The Society of Toxicology (SOT) is committed to protecting and

enhancing human, animal, and environmental health through the sound

application of the fundamental principles of the science of toxicology.

The available scientific evidence indicates that the potential adverse health

effects arising from biotechnology-derived foods are not different in nature from

those created by conventional breeding practices for plant, animal, or microbial

enhancement, and are already familiar to toxicologists. It is therefore important

to recognize that the food product itself, rather than the process through which it

is made, should be the focus of attention in assessing safety.

We support the use of the substantial equivalence concept as part of the safety

assessment of biotechnology-derived foods. This process establishes whether the

new plant or animal is significantly different from comparable, nonengineered

plants or animals used to produce food that is generally considered to be safe for

consumers.

Assessing safety may be more difficult in the future if genetic engineering

projects cause more substantial and complex changes in a foodstuff. Methods

have not yet been developed with which whole foods (in contrast to single

chemical components) can be fully evaluated for safety.

A continuing evolution of toxicological methodologies and regulatory strategies

will be necessary to ensure that the present level of safety of biotechnology-

derived foods is maintained in the future.”

SOURCE: Society of Toxicology.

http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/71/1/2.full

COLLEGE OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURE (CTAHR) AT THE UNIVERSITY

OF HAWAI`I AT MĀNOA

“Aspects of the U.S. regulatory framework are controversial, and many

other nations have more restrictive policies. Whether a person feels that the U.S.

approach to regulating GMOs is too permissive, too restrictive, or appropriate

often reflects his or her interpretation of the risks and benefits associated with

GM crops. [Emphasis Supplied]

RoundUp Ready® (RR) crops and other herbicide-resistant GM crops have

increased the use of no-till agriculture, which conserves topsoil and soil

structure. Since weeds can be sprayed after RR crops are planted, farmers do not

need to plow before planting saving labor, energy and topsoil.

These benefits may not last. If a field is sprayed every season, or repeatedly

within a season, with the same herbicide, weeds that are slightly less susceptible

to the herbicide may survive and possibly breed with other survivors. Over

generations of weeds, the herbicide thus selects for greater and greater resistance

to the herbicide, until the product becomes ineffective against that population,

and is replaced or supplemented with other herbicides. In the case of glyphosate,

the replacement herbicides are typically more toxic. In the United States, at least

14 weed species have evolved glyphosate resistance.

The development of weeds resistant to glyphosate and insects resistant to Bt has

not involved the movement of genes from crop plants to weeds or insects;

instead, pests have naturally evolved their own resistance traits. This is a

common phenomenon – many pests have evolved resistance to many pesticides

over the years. For example, weeds have developed resistance to 22 of the 25

known sites of herbicides action and to 155 different herbicides including

glyphosate.

Science, agricultural economics, and public policy will shape what contributions

GM crops can make to sustainable farming. Various GM crops are currently

being developed to address environmental challenges with higher temperatures

and reduced water availability. New and improved varieties are crucial as the

world’s population approaches 9 billion people by 2040. GM traits such as

drought resistance and increased yields may help maintain levels of agricultural

production without having to exponentially expand the acreage under

cultivation.

Planting herbicide resistant and Bt GM crops has yielded specific environmental

benefits, in addition to reduced costs and energy needs. Ultimately, to evaluate

these crops, we should consider their net environmental impacts. Do the

benefits outweigh the impacts?” [Emphasis Supplied]

SOURCES: CTAHR.

1. http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/biotechinfocus/images/bulletinpdf/Bulletin_Issue8.pdf

2. http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/biotechinfocus/images/bulletinpdf/Bulletin_Issue14.pdf

“Responsible scientists, farmers, food manufacturers, and policy makers

recognize that the use of transgenic organisms should be considered very

carefully to ensure that they pose no environmental and health risks, or at least

no more than the use of current crops and practices. Modern biotechnology

represents unique applications of science that can be used for the betterment of

society through development of crops with improved nutritional quality,

resistance to pests and diseases, and reduced cost of production. Biotechnology,

in the form of genetic engineering, is a facet of science that has the potential to

provide important benefits if used carefully and ethically. Society should be

provided with a balanced view of the fundamentals of biotechnology and genetic

engineering, the processes used in developing transgenic organism, the types of

genetic material used, and the benefits and risks of the new technology.”

SOURCE: Wieczorek, A. Use of Biotechnology in Agriculture --- Benefits and

Risks. University of Hawai`i at Mānoa, College of Tropical Agriculture, Department of

Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/BIO-3.pdf

MAUI

The residents of Maui by their votes on the Voter Initiative: Genetically

Engineered Organisms will decide whether Maui is The Best Island in the World,

the shining star and beacon of environmental leadership, stewardship and

sustainability for Hawaii County, Kauai County, the City & County of Honolulu,

the 49 states of the United States of America and the World.

Thank you, Mayor Arakawa for your advocacy and vision of empowering

the residents of Maui to share their wisdom, to become active participants in the

governance and stewardship of Maui County and to have vital and

unprecedented roles to be involved in shaping and determining their path for

today, tomorrow and for their future.

Please accept my personal, sincerest and humblest gratitude for taking a

firm, unequivocal and affirmative stance on this sensitive, controversial and

thorny issue.

Leadership is the loneliest place as decisions you alone make have a firm

and lasting imprint and impact on the well-being of Maui County and the

continued health, vitality and vibrancy of the People of Maui County.

Respectfully,

Electronically Signed

Clifton M. Hasegawa