More than a hundred scientists . . . “The retraction is erasing”: “Scientists Pledge to Boycott Elsevier,” Ecologist, December 5, 2013, http://www.theecologist.org/blogs_and_comments/commentators/2187010/scientists_pledge_to_boycott_elsevier.html.
The decision was based “not on the grounds”: Brian John, “Letter to the Editor,” Food and Chemical Toxicology 65 (March 2014): 391, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691514000040.
Goodman’s “fast-tracked appointment”: Claire Robinson and Jonathan Latham, “The Goodman Affair: Monsanto Targets the Heart of Science,” Independent Science News, May 20, 2013, https://www.independentsciencenews.org/science-media/the-goodman-affair-monsanto-targets-the-heart-of-science/.
Brian John offered a sharp answer: John, “Letter to the Editor,” Food and Chemical Toxicology.
“When those with a vested interest”: “Seralini [sic] and Science: An Open Letter,” Independent Science News, October 2, 2012, http://www.independentsciencenews.org/health/seralini-and-science-nk603-rat-study-roundup/.
The issues raised by the Séralini study: Jenkins, “Coming Soon: Major GMO Study (Shhh, It Will Be Done in Secret by Russians).”
Blumberg’s own work: “Chemicals That Promote Obesity down the Generations,” Living on Earth, January 18, 2013, http://loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=13-P13-00003&segmentID=1.
Looking over one of Blumberg’s: Author interview with Bruce Blumberg.
Chapter 4
By the early 1990s, ringspot: Dennis Gonsalves, “Transgenic Papaya in Hawaii and Beyond,” AgBioForum 7, nos. 1 & 2 (2004): 36–40, http://www.agbioforum.org/v7n12/v7n12a07-gonsalves.pdf.
The mid-1980s was an exciting time: Harold Schmeck, “Plants ‘Vaccinated’ Against Virus,” New York Times, May 6, 1986, http://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/06/science/plants-vaccinated-against-virus.html. Eventually, such work on virus resistance would lead to the discovery of “RNA silencing,” one of biology’s major advances in the past two decades. Silencing RNA has been used to develop a treatment for macular degeneration and is considered a promising field for science leading to therapies for both plants and animals. The technique won a Nobel Prize for Americans Andrew Fire and Craig Mello in 2006.
Following Beachy’s lead: Ronald and Adamchak, Tomorrow’s Table, 159. For more on how silencing RNAs work.
“It is rather rare that a potential solution”: Gonsalves, “Transgenic Papaya in Hawaii and Beyond,” 37.
One year later: Jennifer Mo, “The Man Behind the Rainbow,” Biofortified, June 21, 2012, http://www.biofortified.org/2012/06/rainbow/.
“a tireless innovator” . . . “is a model”: Quoted in Paul Voosen, “Crop Savior Blazes Biotech Trail, but Few Scientists or Companies Are Willing to Follow,” New York Times, September 21, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/09/21/21greenwire-crop-savior-blazes-biotech-trail-but-few-scien-88379.html?pagewanted=all.
As evidence of GMO contamination: Steven Layne, “Thailand’s GMO Experiment, Part 2,” Phuket News, June 10, 2014, http://www.thephuketnews.com/thailand-gmo-experiment-part-2-46788.php.
There have also been problems: Melanie Bondera, “Papaya and Coffee: GMO ‘Solutions’ Spell Market Disaster,” in Hawaii SEED, Facing Hawai’i’s Future: Essential Information About GMOs, 2nd ed. (Koloa, Hawaii: Hawaii SEED, 2012), 48–50.
There are signs that Gonsalves’s message: Voosen, “Crop Savior Blazes Biotech Trail.”
Chapter 5
Because the fields themselves: Pesticide Action Network, “Television Show and Body Testing Confirm Children’s Exposure to Neurotoxic Pesticide,” February 4, 2016, http://www.panna.org/press-release/television-show-and-body-testing-confirm-children%E2%80%99s-exposure-neurotoxic-pesticide; Anita Hofschneider, “Syngenta Workers Seek Medical Aid After Pesticide Use on Kauai,” Honolulu Civil Beat, January 22, 2016, http://www.civilbeat.com/2016/01/syngenta-workers-seek-medical-aid-after-pesticide-use-on-kauai/.
Land use on Kauai: Hank Soboleski, “Pablo Manlapit and the Hanapepe Massacre,” Garden Island, September 10, 2006, http://thegardenisland.com/news/pablo-manlapit-and-the-hanapepe-massacre/article_57bc7ca1-a576-5c2f-8ad9-1a7641eb4c21.html.
The “experiments” taking place: “Pesticides in Paradise,” Hawaii Center for Food Safety.
Kauai’s sole pesticide inspector: Paul Koberstein, “GMO Companies Are Dousing Hawaiian Island with Toxic Pesticides,” Grist, June 16, 2014, http://grist.org/business-technology/gmo-companies-are-dousing-hawaiian-island-with-toxic-pesticides/; Sophie Cocke, “Frustrated by State’s Inactivity, Kauai County Takes Pesticide Fight Into Its Own Hands,” Huffington Post, October 8, 2013, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/08/kauai-county-gmo-fight_n_4064787.html.
The disclosure records “are believed to contain”: Letter from Thomas Matsuda to Gary Hooser, July 22, 2014.
A Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) log: State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture Inspection Log, Kauai, 2011–2012.
State records show: Restricted Use Pesticides Sold on Kauai, 2010–2012, Hawaii Department of Agriculture.
Other records show: “Pesticide Use by Large Agribusiness on Kauai: Findings and Recommendations of the Joint Fact Finding Study Group,” March 2016, http://www.accord3.com/docs/GM-Pesticides/draft-report/JFF%20Full%20Report%20-%20DRAFT.pdf.
A study published in March 2014: Philippe Grandjean and Philip Landrigan, “Neurobehavioural Effects of Developmental Toxicity,” Lancet 13, no. 3 (March 2014): 330–338, http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(13)70278-3/abstract.
Recent hair sample testing: Pesticide Action Network, “Television Show and Body Testing Confirm Children’s Exposure to Neurotoxic Pesticide.”
But it wasn’t just chlorpyrifos: Ibid.
Also in the cocktail: permethrin . . . chlorpyrifos: See “The Food We Eat: An International Comparison of Pesticide Regulations,” David Suzuki Foundation, October 2006, http://www.davidsuzuki.org/publications/downloads/2006/DSF-HEHC-Food1.pdf.
“even more acutely toxic”: E. G. Vallianatos with McKay Jenkins, Poison Spring: The Secret History of Pollution and the EPA (New York: Bloomsbury, 2014), 39.
Another ingredient in the cocktail: Rachel Aviv, “A Valuable Reputation,” New Yorker, February 10, 2014, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/02/10/a-valuable-reputation.
“had their heads in their hands”: Amanda Gregg, “‘Stink Weed’ Sends Some Home from Waimean School,” Garden Island, November 15, 2006, http://thegardenisland.com/news/stink-weed-sends-some-home-from-waimea-school/article_5a66ba3d-2194-53dc-8bda-807e794625ae.html.
Though it is eaten: Ibid.; Adam Harju, “Odor Investigation Ongoing,” Garden Island, November 18, 2006, http://thegardenisland.com/news/odor-investigation-ongoing/article_650db9f3-06a5-5960-8f47-97a433eac349.html; Amanda Gregg, “Report Reveals Discrepancies in Spraying Incident,” Garden Island, March 12, 2007, http://thegardenisland.com/news/report-reveals-discrepancies-in-spraying-incident/article_046c3b40-4ecb-54f6-a1b9-e90d3c032153.html.
Company claims about stinkweed: “Pesticides in Paradise,” Hawaii Center for Food Safety.
There was no questioning . . . There was no evidence: Memo from J. Milton Clark to Peter Adler, chairman of Task Force on Kauai Pesticides and GMO, May 19, 2015, included in “Pesticides Use by Large Agribusinesses on Kauai.” See http://www.accord3.com/docs/GM-Pesticides/report/JFF%20Report%20Errata.pdf.
What the island needed: Paul Achitoff, “GMOs in Kauai: Not Just Another Day in Paradise,” Huffington Post, March 5, 2014, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-achitoff/gmos-in-kauai-not-just-an_b_4899491.html; “AAP Makes Recommendations to Reduce Children’s Exposure to Pesticides,” American Academy of Pediatrics, November 26, 2012, https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/AAP-Makes-Recommendations-to-Reduce-Children’s-Exposure-to-Pesticides.aspx.
“many qualitative examples” . . . “We all sh
are a deep concern”: “Doctors and Nurses Implore Mayor: Sign Bill 2491 into Law Now!” Stop Poisoning Paradise, http://www.stoppoisoningparadise.org/#!doctors-and-nurses-letters-to-mayor/cs1m. Sample letters from doctors and nurses to Kauai County Council, delivered October 20, 2013.
The doctors’ worries reflected: “August 5, 2013 Kauai County Council Dr Evslin Kauai Pediatrician,” YouTube video, 7:11, posted by “Mom’s Hui Kaua’i,” August 10, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g6D8xAz6fA.
Margie Maupin, a nurse practitioner: “Margie Maupin Nurse Practitioner in Support Bill 2491,” YouTube video, 6:09, posted by “Occupy Hawaii,” November 16, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrqHU8Y-QCo.
In 2011, more than a hundred of Klayton Kubo’s neighbors filed a lawsuit: For information on the trial and its issues, see Vanessa Van Voorhis, “Waimea Residents Sue Pioneer,” Garden Island, December 13, 2011, http://thegardenisland.com/mobile/article_82ff2c3e-2632-11e1-9ca7-001871e3ce6c.html; Tom LaVenture, “Waimea Residents Suing Pioneer Hi-Bred,” Garden Island, June 14, 2012, http://thegardenisland.com/news/local/waimea-residents-suing-pioneer-hi-bred/article_607adf66-b5ff-11e1-a19b-001a4bcf887a.html; Sophie Cocke, “Does Hawaii’s Failure to Enforce Pesticide Use Justify Action by Kauai?” Honolulu Civil Beat, October 8, 2013, http://www.civilbeat.com/2013/10/20066-does-hawaiis-failure-to-enforce-pesticide-use-justify-kauais-action/; Associated Press, “Jury Awards Kauai Residents over $500K in Dust Lawsuit,” Maui News, May 10, 2015, http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/597884/Jury-awards-Kauai-residents-over—500K-in-dust-lawsuit.html?nav=5031. A year later, residents filed a second suit, claiming Pioneer consistently failed to control the erosion and pesticide-laden dust from its GMO test fields.
Jervis reminded the court: Koberstein, “GMO Companies Are Dousing Hawaiian Island with Toxic Pesticides.” A 1,500-page report from the state Department of Agriculture concluded that although Syngenta did apply pesticides near the school, it did so correctly, and ruled out the chemical Hi-Tech as the culprit.
“Kaua‘i produces more GMO seeds than anyplace”: Vanessa Van Voorhis, “Large-Scale Die-off of Sea Urchins Discovered off Kaumakani,” Garden Island, February 23, 2012, http://thegardenisland.com/news/local/large-scale-die-off-of-sea-urchins-discovered-off-kaumakani/article_16081484-5a1b-11e1-bca7-0019bb2963f4.html.
That same winter . . . Vandana Shiva: Jon Letman, “Opposition Crops Up to GMO Foods in Hawaii,” Al Jazeera, February 16, 2013, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/02/20132514512529904.html.
Industry executives claimed: Cocke, “Frustrated by State’s Inactivity, Kauai County Takes Pesticide Fight into Its Own Hands.”
Companies dismissed complaints: Letman, “Opposition Crops Up to GMO Foods in Hawaii.”
During the hearings on the bill: Kristine Uyeno, “GMO Public Hearing on Kauai Draws Hundreds,” KHON-TV, July 31, 2013, http://khon2.com/2013/07/31/gmo-public-hearing-on-kauai-draws-hundreds/.
Yet within weeks: Carey Gillam, “Anti-GMO Crop, Pesticide Ballot Initiative Launched in Hawaii,” Reuters, February 24, 2014, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/25/usa-gmos-hawaii-idUSL1N0LU0A220140225.
An attorney representing: Nestor Garcia, “Federal Judge Declares New Kauai GMO, Pesticide Law Invalid,” KHON-TV, August 25, 2014, http://khon2.com/2014/08/25/federal-judge-declares-new-kauai-gmo-pesticide-law-invalid/.
“The big question”: Keoki Kerr, “State, Kauai Set Up Panel to Study GMO Pesticide Impacts,” Hawaii News Now, December 3, 2014, http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/27532992/state-kauai-set-up-panel-to-study-gmo-pesticide-impacts.
For local residents: Associated Press, “Jury Awards Kauai Residents over $500K in Dust Lawsuit.”
Ten days after the verdict: Anita Hofschneider, “DuPont Pioneer Shuts Down One Kauai Facility,” Honolulu Civil Beat, May 20, 2015, http://www.civilbeat.com/2015/05/dupont-pioneer-shuts-down-one-kauai-facility/.
“Syngenta did not want me there”: Gary Hooser, “From Kauai to Switzerland—Why We Went, What We Accomplished and What’s Next,” GaryHooser’s Blog, https://garyhooser.wordpress.com/2015/05/03/from-kauai-to-switzerland-why-we-went-what-we-accomplished-and-whats-next/.
Chapter 6
The Big Island, basically, had one: Nathanael Johnson, “Here’s Why Hawaii’s Anti-GMO Laws Matter,” Grist, November 20, 2014, http://grist.org/food/heres-why-hawaiis-anti-gmo-laws-matter/.
Big agricultural companies: Anita Hofschneider, “Hawaii Farmers, Biotech Industry Challenge Big Island’s GMO Ban,” Honolulu Civil Beat, June 9, 2014, http://www.civilbeat.com/2014/06/hawaii-farmers-biotech-industry-challenge-big-islands-gmo-ban/.
Industry representatives were elated: Associated Press, “Federal Judge Rules Against Big Island GMO Law,” NewsOK, November 26, 2104, http://newsok.com/federal-judge-rules-against-big-island-gmo-law/article/feed/765175.
Despite unparalleled weather . . . Hawaii’s agricultural experts: “Pesticides in Paradise,” Hawaii Center for Food Safety.
For the benefit of present and future generations: The Constitution of the State of Hawaii, Article XI, http://lrbhawaii.org/con/conart11.html.
It was a safe bet: “Hawaiians Take on Monsanto and GMOs,” Pachamama Alliance, June 25, 2014, http://www.pachamama.org/webcasts/hawaiians-take-on-monsanto-gmos.
The petition also urged voters: “A Bill Placing a Moratorium on the Cultivation of Genetically Modified Organisms,” Chapter 20.39 of the Maui County Code, http://www.mauicounty.gov/Archive/ViewFile/Item/19197.
The ball was now: Wendy Osher, “Maui Petition Filed Against GMO Industry, Monsanto Responds,” Maui Now, April 8, 2014, http://mauinow.com/2014/04/08/maui-petition-filed-against-gmo-industry-monsanto-responds/.
A Monsanto employee . . . Another Monsanto employee: “Employees Rally in Support of Monsanto on Maui and Molokai—4/3/14,” YouTube video, 3:13, posted by “Maui Now,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOU7K7Fr5Zw.
Rather than try to convince: “Maui County Genetically Modified Organism Moratorium Initiative (November 2014): Arguments Against,” Ballotpedia, http://ballotpedia.org/Maui_County_Genetically_Modified_Organism_Moratorium_Initiative_(November_2014) #Arguments_against; “Over 11,000 Maui County Citizens Stand Up and Say ‘Nuff Already’ to Biotech Experimentation with a History Making Social Action,” PRWeb, April 14, 2014, http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/04/prweb11758961.htm.
The companies also flexed: For the original language of the initiative and for the text of the final moratorium question, respectively, see “Maui County Genetically Modified Organism Moratorium Initiative (November 2014): Full Text,” Ballotpedia, https://ballotpedia.org/Maui_County_Genetically_Modified_Organism_Moratorium_Initiative_(November_2014),_full_text; “Maui County Genetically Modified Organism Moratorium Initiative (November 2014): Ballot Question,” Ballotpedia, http://ballotpedia.org/Maui_County_Genetically_Modified_Organism_Moratorium_Initiative_(November_2014)#Ballot_question.
Industry advertisements—typically attributed: “Maui County Genetically Modified Organism Moratorium Initiative (November 2014): TV Ads,” Ballotpedia, http://ballotpedia.org/Maui_County_Genetically_Modified_Organism_Moratorium_Initiative_(November_2014)#TV_ads.
The campaign finance reports: For campaign spending reports, see “Maui County Genetically Modified Organism Moratorium Initiative (November 2014): Campaign Finance,” Ballotpedia, http://ballotpedia.org/Maui_County_Genetically_Modified_Organism_Moratorium_Initiative_(November_2014), #Campaign_finance.
Lorrin Pang, a Maui physician: “Over 11,000 Maui County Citizens Stand Up and Say ‘Nuff Already’ to Biotech Experimentation with a History Making Social Action,” PRWeb.
Alika and the SHAKA Movement held: Anita Hofschneider, “1,000 Votes: Maui GMO Farming Ban Squeaks By,” Honolulu Civil Beat, November 4, 2014, http://www.civilbeat.com/2014/11/1000-votes-maui-gmo-farming-ban-squeaks-by/.
Sure enough, when the final vote . . . just over 51 percent
: “Maui County Genetically Modified Organism Moratorium Initiative (November 2014): Election Results,” Ballotpedia, http://ballotpedia.org/Maui_County_Genetically_Modified_Organism_Moratorium_Initiative_(November_2014)#Election_results.
The next day, Monsanto: Audrey McAvoy, “Monsanto, Dow Unit Sue Maui County over GMO Law,” Associated Press, November 13, 2014, http://www.ksl.com/?nid=1200&sid=32342920.
Kurren reassigned the case: Audrey McAvoy, “Maui Group Wins Ability to Intervene in GMO Case,” Associated Press, December 15, 2014, http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/maui-group-wins-ability-to-intervene-in-gmo-case/article_99140705-b5df-55e9-9cf4-25a4ebc32f86.html.
No portion of this ruling: “Maui County Genetically Modified Organism Moratorium Initiative (November 2014): Aftermath,” Ballotpedia, http://ballotpedia.org/Maui_County_Genetically_Modified_Organism_Moratorium_Initiative_(November_2014)##Aftermath.
Chapter 7
In other words, the Danforth Center: “Board of Directors,” Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, https://www.danforthcenter.org/about/leadership/board-of-directors.
A cynic might claim: Doreen Stabinsky, “Hearts of Darkness: The Biotech Industry’s Exploration of Southern Africa,” GeneWatch 15, no. 6 (November–December, 2002).
“a stalking horse for corporate proponents”: Phil Bereano, “Bill’s Excellent African Adventure: A Tale of Technocratic Agroindustrial Philanthrocapitalism,” GeneWatch 26, no. 1 (January–February 2013): 16.
“If companies are going to claim”: Marion Nestle, Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism (Berkley: University of California Press, 2003), p. 247.
“In the United States, we’ve seen”: Peter Rosset, Frances Moore Lappé, and Joseph Collins, “Lessons from the Green Revolution: Do We Need New Technology to End Hunger?” Tikkun 15, no. 2 (March/April 2000): 52–56.
Food Fight Page 29