Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 5, 1 May 2007 — Kalo gene bill killed [ARTICLE]

Kalo gene bill killed

The leadership of the state House of Representatives has declined to schedule a hearing on a hill that would establish a 10-year ban on genetic-modification research on taro, thereby killing the hill for this legislative session. When word got around that the House leadership was planning to shelve the eontroversial bill, about 50 Native Hawaiians gathered at the State Capitol Rotunda in a protest on March 30. They chanted "Hear the bill" and waved signs that read "Save Hāloa," a reference to the name of first kalo plant and the elder sibling of the Native Hawaiian people in traditional beliefs. Organizers of the protest said that they do not want scientists manipulating the genetic makeup of kalo because such research represents a violation of Hawaiian culture. UH scientists oppose the ban, saying that such a prohibition would infringe upon their academic freedom and prevent them from finding better defenses for taro from diseases. House Speaker Calvin Say and Rep. Clifton Tsuji, ehainnan of the House Agriculture Committee, told loeal media that more discussions need to take plaee and that the hill will be considered again next year. "On one side we talk about science and research; culture and history on the other side," Tsuji told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. "On both sides they're polarized with issues. We hope this polarization ean eome to one core issue and eome together and work together." H