Hawaiians, farmers push for hearing over GMO taro bill

"Taro is part of our genealogy. We respect it and don't want to alter the genes of our ancestor," said Alapaki Luke, a taro farmer from Kahana Valley.

Upset over the death of a bill that would ban genetic modification of taro, farmers and Native Hawaiians yesterday shouted down chief lawmakers in a noisy protest at the state Capitol.

Protesters wanted lawmakers to hold a hearing on a bill that would place a 10-year moratorium on genetic modification of the taro plant, which is used to make poi and considered an ancestor of the Hawaiian people. ... Read the original story