The mayor of Kauai County, Hawaii, has vetoed a hotly contested bill that would have restricted the use of pesticides by companies developing genetically modified crops on the island. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/business/bill-limiting-pesticide-use-on-hawaii-island-is-vetoed.html?ref=us
Hawaii has become a hub for the development of genetically modified seeds, with corn now growing in fields once used for sugar or pineapples.
But some residents on Kauai had said the corn farming exposed them to dust and dangerous pesticides. Others opposed genetically modified crops in general.
The bill would have required the big biotechnology crop companies to disclose what pesticides they use and would have established no-spray zones around schools, residences, medical facilities, roads and waterways.
The original bill would also have restricted the growing of genetically modified crops. Even though those provisions were removed, the seed companies that operate on Kauai — DuPont Pioneer, Syngenta, BASF and Dow AgroSciences — said the measure was unfair and would disrupt their operations.