As you may know, the GMO issue is increasingly becoming a hot topic and concern for many Hawai`i families. I’ve been championing legislative efforts for years to give people the right to know what they’re eating.

This past legislative session a GMO labeling bill actually passed the State House, but it unfortunately stalled in the Senate. And just this month Connecticut became the first state in the country to pass legislation to require the labeling of GMO foods. (Alaska has had a GMO labeling law for a number of years that applies to only fish). There was also a recent controversy in Oregon when an unapproved type of GMO wheat was planted. This ended up causing countries around the world to ban the import of U.S. wheat.

With all this in mind, `Olelo is presenting a 4-day series called GMOS. Dinner? Or Disaster set to air June 24-27th on Channel 55 (O`ahu) and Channel 54 (Neighbor Islands) to give you information from both sides of this issue. More details are below. I hope you’ll check it out.

At 'Olelo we are out to make a difference. As clients you do it every day, but every now and then an issue arises that takes our combined resources to address. Many of you have already produced many fine programs on GMO's and if they aren't currently airing, now may be the time to consider re-submitting them.

Following the incident in Oregon State, public awareness is up once again and confusion seems to reign. We have gathered together experts from both sides to present their position on the GMO issue, engage each other in a lively forum and address the communities questions live. Four nights of in-depth discussion on the issue.

We invite you to tune in, but even more so we invite you to participate. Twitter your questions or comments to #olelo/gmo. The panel will address public comment live on June 27th.

Me ka pumehana,

Mike Gabbard,
State Senator, District 20
Chair, Energy/Environment Committee