"In a real sense all life is inter-related. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be...This is the inter-related structure of reality". - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

1. September 7, 2017
COUNTY OF MAUI
COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF MAUI
POLICY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE
The Honorable Yuki Lei K. Sugimura, Committee Chair
The Honorable Stacy Crivello, Vice-Chair
The Honorable Alika Atay
The Honorable Robert Carroll
The Honorable Elle Cochran
The Honorable Don S. Guzman
The Honorable Riki Hokama
The Honorable Kelly T. King
The Honorable Mike White
Re: Alexander & Baldwin Presentation on Diversified Agriculture Issues in Maui County
(PEA-1(4)).
Dear Chairwoman Sugimura, Vice-Chairwoman Crivello, Council Member Atay, Council
Member Carroll, Council Member Cochran, Council Member Guzman, Council Member
Hokama, Council Member King and Council Chairman White,
Chairwoman Sugimura's statement, parenthetically stated, “The agenda item is not about
GMO” has stirred a whirlwind firestorm of controversy and dissension.12
GMO is an important
and significant issue for inquiry and decision by the Policy, Economic Development, and
Agriculture Committee but is not the sole and core issue. Respectfully, I suggest there are
three (3) core issues for inquiry and decision by the Policy, Economic Development, and
Agriculture Committee . Specifically,
1. Water
2. Regulation, control and use of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and
rodenticides within Maui County
3. GMO
Each will be discussed in the following paragraphs.
1 A&B Presents Ag Plan to Committee, Testimony Focused on GMO Concerns. By Wendy Osher.
MauiNow. September 6, 2017, accessed September 7, 2017. http://mauinow.com/2017/09/06/ab-
presents-ag-plan-to-committee-testimony-focused-on-gmo-concerns/
2 Volner: A&B not farming any GMO food, animal feed crops. GM for diversified ag said the only
GMO work has been to study some bio-energy crops. By Melissa Tanji. The Maui News. September 6, 2017,
accessed September 7, 2017.http:www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2017/09/volner-ab-not-farming-
any-gmo-food-animal-feed-crops/

2. I.
Water
Previously provided to the Committee by way of Alexander & Baldwin Annual Reports,
water and the allocation of water are cited as central to the development of the Company's
Diversified Agriculture Model.
At the Maui Energy Conference on March 22, 2017, Rick Volner, General Manager for
Alexander & Baldwin Diversified Agriculture presented plans for diversified agriculture.
Stated therein,
1. “The state Board of Land and Natural Resources currently is considering a 30-year
lease for the continuation of more than 100-year-old diversions through tunnels, siphons
and ditches to fields in Upcountry and Central Maui”.
2. “The Commission on Water Resource Management currently is establishing stream-
flow standards for diverted streams”.
3. “A&B is seeking 115 million gallons a day for its diversified agriculture plans in its
lease request”.
[Emphasis Supplied]
Source: Map shows possible uses for allow sugar fields. By Lee Imada, Managing
Editor, The Maui News. April 1, 2017, accessed September 7, 2017.
https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2017/04/ab-map-shows-possible-uses-for-
fallow-sugar-fields/
Note Supplied:
Hawaii Revised Statutes, Chapter 174C – State Water Code [Emphasis Supplied]
§174C-3. “Board” means the board of land and natural resources.
§174C-3. “Commission” means the commission on water resource management.
§174C-4(a). All waters of the State are subject to regulation under the provisions
of this chapter unless specifically exempted.
§174C-4(b). No state or county government agency may enforce any statute, rule,
or order affecting the waters of the state controlled under the provisions of this
chapter, whether enacted or promulgated before or after July 1, 1987, inconsistent
with the provisions of this chapter. Nothing in this chapter to the contrary shall
restrict the power of any county to plan or zone as provided in chapter 46.

3. Question: Will the decision of the Commission on Water Resource Management on
Instream Flow or the decision of the Board of Land and Natural Resources on A&B's
request for a 30-year lease extension determine the amount of water available for A&B's
Diversified Agriculture Project?
II.
Regulation, control and use of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and rodenticides
within Maui County
Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 149A and Hawaii Revised Statutes, Administrative
Rules, Chapter 66 define “pesticides”, “herbicides”, and “rodenticides”.
HRS §149A-2. “Restricted use pesticide” means:
(1) A pesticide or pesticide use classified by the Administrator, EPA, for
use by certified applicators or competent persons under their direct supervision
and so designate on its label; or
(2) A pesticide or pesticide use classified by the board for use by certified
applicators or competent persons under their direct supervision.
HRS 149A2. “Board” means board of agriculture.
Glyphosate is a herbicide and is not listed by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture as a
restricted use pesticide nor are products containing glyphosate regulated, except for labeling
requirements, by the Department of Agriculture.
“Four parks in Maui, Hawaii have kicked off a year-long
pesticide-free pilot program to transition to organic
management”.
Source: Maui County Kicks Off Pesticide-Free Pilot Program to
Transition to Organic Management. Beyond Pesticides. May 25,
2017, accessed September 7, 2017.
http://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2017/05/maui-county-
kicks-off-pestcide-free-pilot-program-transition-organic-
management/
In the same vein, as products containing glyphosate are not on the Department of
Agriculture's restricted pesticide list, the Policy, Economic Development, and Agriculture
Committee is encouraged to seek a legal opinion from the Maui County Corporation Counsel
as to whether or not Maui County and Alexander & Baldwin, mutually, would be preempted by
the State of Hawaii from entering into an agreement to control the use of pesticides, herbicides
and rodenticides not on the Department of Agriculture list of restricted pesticides on land
within Maui County to be utilized by Alexander & Baldwin for diversified agriculture.

4. III.
GMO crops are not being considered as a food crop by Alexander & Baldwin
Sources: Citations as above
Point of clarification,
When it comes to food, GMO refers to seeds. They grow in the
ground like any other seed, only genetically modified (GM) seeds
have certain desirable traits setting them apart. These seeds grow
into plants that might use water more efficiently or better withstand
pests like bugs or weeds, which means they may require less
farmland to grow.
GM seeds have been used by farmers for approximately 20 years.
However, seeds have been modified through traditional plant
breeding techniques for hundreds of years. Fruits like today's
seedless watermelon and bananas, which are significantly different
than earlier versions of these fruits, are the result of traditional plant
breeding techniques. Modern GM seeds still make use of
traditional plant breeding to add desired traits to plants – essentially
combining cutting-edge and foundational plant science.
Source:n Understanding GMO Seeds | Modern Agriculture.
ModernAg.org. February 1, 2017, accessed September 7, 2017.
https://modernag.org/innovation/the-science-inside-gmo-seeds/
Question: Is the use of GM seeds precluded for use by Alexander & Baldwin, its
partners, operating units, tenant farmers and ranchers?
____________________
Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you.
Respectfully,
Clifton M. Hasegawa
President and CEO
Clifton M. Hasegawa & Associates, LLC
1322 Lower Main Street A5
Wailuku, Hawaii 96793