Monsanto Hawaii and Others Challenge Passage of Maui County Initiative

News Release from Monsanto Hawaii, November 13, 2014

Statement attributable to John P. Purcell, PhD, Vice President, Monsanto Hawaii Business and Technology Lead

As a longtime community member, we are proud of our operations and contributions to the islands.  With more than 1,000 local employees living and working in Maui, Molokai and Oahu, we understand the significant negative consequences this referendum, if enacted, will have on the citizens, local economy, Hawaii agriculture and business on the island.

Today, Monsanto, along with other local individuals, groups and businesses including the Maui Farm Bureau and Dow AgroSciences, filed suit to challenge the referendum that would ban GMO crops in Maui County. The suit seeks to delay any enforcement of the measure and ultimately to have it declared unenforceable.

We are confident in the safety of our products and practices, which have been reviewed and approved by both state and federal agencies in accordance with appropriate regulations that already govern our products. This local referendum interferes with and conflicts with long established state and federal laws that support both the safety and lawful cultivation of GMO plants. For this reason, we believe it is invalid and should never become law.  We have full confidence in the merits of our legal claims and that a rational outcome will block the referendum from taking effect.

Monsanto remains firm in our commitment to ongoing dialogue with our neighbors, and we will continue to listen to and talk with the members of our community.

For more information on Monsanto’s operations in Hawaii, please visit www.monsantohawaii.com.

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