Maui's GMO Ban Blocked - On Friday, federal judge Barry Kurren said that Maui County may not implement the banning of cultivation of genetically modified organisms.
At least, not yet. What he asks for is that there is a strong argument going against the cultivation of GMO's, according to the Huffington Post.
The issue arose as Maui County decided to pass a "law" where GMO's would not be cultivated. There was an agreement between voters from Maui to do so.
In response, Monsanto Co. and Dow Chemical Co., two biotechnology giants, decided to file a lawsuit in federal court in Honolulu on Thursday this week.
Both agricultural giants are calling on a judge to stop this, according to RT. And there is where Kurren would enter in the midst of this argument.
In Maui, the voting against GMO's was actually successful, different from other states like Oregon in USA, which ended with less voters than it calculated. In Hawaii's state, the vote was of a 50 against 48 percent in favor of the banning.
Before filing the lawsuit, Monsanto Co. made a statement and before that, John Purcell, the company's vice president stated that this new "law" was a violation of state and federal laws that allow both the safe and legal cultivation of GMO's.
"We believe this referendum is invalid and contrary to long established state and federal laws that support both the safety and lawful testing and planting of GMO plants."
"If effective, the referendum will have significant negative consequences for the local economy, Hawaii agriculture and our business on the island."
"We are committed to ongoing dialogue as we take steps to ask the court to declare that this initiative is legally flawed and cannot be enforced," said the statement.
And it got done effectively. The lawsuit happened and now Kurren asked the attorneys for the county and the plaintiffs to explain why he should continue blocking the law. He is open to hear arguments and gave a Dec. 1 deadline, The Oregonian noted.
After that, Maui and GMO's issue should be settled; whether for the ban to be effective or to vanish completely.
