What effect will genetic engineering have on Hawaii’s environment?

Hawaii is known as the “Extinction Capitol of the World.” Of the native plants and animals that are left in our islands, many specie are threatened or endangered. Despite the fragility of our island environment, biotechnology companies and government officials have not conducted a single test to show the affects the experimental crops they are growing in our state will have on our endangered species.

Our ecosystem has developed over millions of years, and is delicate, complex, and interconnected. Genetic engineering introduces plants and animals that are brand new to the world into these ecosystems, with unknown consequences. These new species could endanger wildlife and change the complicated relationships between plants and animals that have developed over time, threatening biodiversity.

Genetic diversity is imperative to the survival of a species. For example, different varieties of corn grow to different heights. In an extremely windy year, tall plants might be damaged or blown completely down while short plants would survive. If all the plants were engineered to be tall, here would be no crop to harvest at all. Genetic engineering threatens biodiversity by encouraging farmers to move away from growing and developing multiple varieties of their crop, and by producing new organisms that can out-compete GMO-free varieties.

One example of the way that genetic engineering threatens biodiversity can be seen in the case of the genetically engineered salmon. Genetic engineers developed a salmon to be grown on fish farms that would grow to full size four to six times as quickly as wild varieties. However, during storms, farmed salmon inevitably escape into the wild. When these GM fish join wild fish populations, they have a mating advantage over non-GM fish due to their gargantuan size. An unexpected side effect of the genetic engineering process makes the offspring of the genetically engineered salmon less likely to live to reproductive age. Researchers found that through this process, an entire wild salmon population could be wiped out in 40-60 generations.

Another environmental concern is an increase in pesticide use. 57% of biotechnology research is focused on the development of plants that can withstand heavier applications of pesticides. A recent study found that genetic engineering has actually led to an increase in pesticide and herbicide use by 50 million pounds since their commercial introduction in 1996 (see “latest news” section to read this report).

Genetically engineered plants also introduce new elements into the soil. Soil is a complicated thing, full of different kinds of bacteria. Will these GE plants kill off beneficial bacteria? Will they change soil structure? What will the effects be on other plants? These issues have not been explored.

There is also the concern of increase in invasive species, so-called “Superweeds“ and “Superpests.” With increased applications of pesticides and with advent of plants that produce pesticides in every cell in genetic engineering, there is concern that weeds and insects will develop resistance to these chemicals, rendering the chemicals unusable and making both the pests and the weeds harder to kill. Studies have shown that resistance to herbicides in GMO crops have been passed on to the wild relatives of those crops, rendering those weeds harder to control.

Find out more:
	What is genetic engineering?		How is genetic engineering different from traditional crop breeding?
	What crops are being genetically engineered?		Who is doing genetic engineering? Why are they doing it?
	How are these crops regulated?		What impact will genetic engineering have on Hawaii's farmers?
	How do genetically engineered crops and foods affect our health?		What effect will genetic engineering have on Hawaii's environment?
	Where are these experiments being conducted?		What are pharmcrops?