Hawaii Snapshot — A Legendary Scientist and His Papaya Dreams
KEAAU, HAWAII — Amid an impassioned debate about legislation that aims to restrict genetically modified crops on the Big Island, Civil Beat’s Brad Watanabe and Sophie Cocke traveled to the Puna district to check out the papaya fields and talk to the fruit’s savior.
Hawaii’s Rainbow papaya was altered in the 1990s to withstand a ringspot virus that threatened to wipe out the crops. The fruit is now under fire from anti-GMO activists who worry that it could contaminate non-GMO crops or pose a risk to the environment and human health.
The serene Big Island scientist and local farmers have a very different view:
