A Maui County ballot initiative to
temporarily ban genetically engineered crops narrowly passed Tuesday
following one of the most heavily financed political campaigns in state
history.
The controversial measure pulled ahead late
Tuesday, passing 50 percent to 48 percent — a difference of just 1,077
votes. It was a stunning turnaround after the measure was initially
losing by 19 percent when the first results rolled in.
The county’s first-ever ballot initiative
targeting global agriculture companies Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences
attracted nearly $8 million from opponents, making it the most expensive
campaign in Hawaii’s history.
Opponents outspent advocates more than 87 to
1, according to the latest campaign spending reports available Tuesday.
That amounts to more than $300 for every “no” vote.
But it still wasn’t enough to beat scores of
Maui County residents who spent weeks canvassing, sign-waving and
calling friends to share their concerns about seed companies’ farming
practices.
Ashley Lukens, who directs the Hawaii chapter
of the Center for Food Safety, a national nonprofit that has been
lobbying for more regulation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs),
said Maui County residents deserve all the credit for the turnaround.
“I think that this is a really strong message
to the entire agrochemical industry in the state of Hawaii that we are
no longer going to sit idly by and watch them expand their operations
without the kinds of regulations that ensure the health and safety of
people across Hawaii,” Lukens said.
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