In Boon for Monsanto, Federal Judge Quashes Maui County GMO Ban

Overriding the will of the Hawaiian people, who for years have endured immense pesticide exposure from the outsized presence of Big Ag on the islands, a federal court judge on Tuesday ruled that Monsanto may continue operating in Maui County despite a voter-approved ban on genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Susan Oki Mollway said that the moratorium, which passed with a 50.2 percent vote last November, was pre-empted by state and federal law and was thus invalid. The measure required that all GMO growth, testing, or cultivation in the county cease until an environmental and public health study finds the practices to be safe and harmless.

Following the ruling, proponents of the ordinance, known as the SHAKA Movement, said they were “deeply saddened” by the decision. In a statement, SHAKA legal counsel Michael Carroll said: “The decision today not only ignores the will of the people, but places at risk all state and local regulations that seek to address the harmful impacts associated with GMO operations. The decision invalidates a local ordinance that sought to protect against serious harms caused by these practices. The decision ignores the harms to Maui county and the Hawaii Constitutional mandate placing obligations and duties on the counties to protect the natural environment.”

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In the lead-up to the November vote, the opposition, almost exclusively backed by Monsanto and Dow, spent nearly $8 million on the campaign—the most money that has ever been expended on a local initiative in the State of Hawai‘i. Just days after its passage, the two agrochemical giants filed suit against the ban.