[00:00.00]The Hawaiian island of Kauai is known as the garden isle, luring hundreds of thousands of tourists to its lush northern shores. 
[00:09.71]But fewer make it down to the drier southwest side, home to many native Hawaiians, 
[00:13.89]who¡¯ve lived here for generations¡­and where farming has always been a way of life.
[00:18.77]Today these fields are home to large biotech companies developing Hawaii¡¯s biggest agricultural product: seeds. 
[00:25.90]Genetically modified seeds, mostly corn, to be shipped back and grown on the mainland.?
[00:31.92]Those fields behind me belong to Pioneer, one of the big seed companies here in Kauai.
[00:36.42]The prevailing winds here blow out of the northeast.
[00:39.08]And the residents here say that when those winds blow, they bring dust and pesticides from these fields down into their neighborhoods and homes.
[00:46.73]And some believe that¡¯s making their children sick.
[00:49.77]In 2007 I gave birth to my son.? And within a day we realized he was seizing.
[00:56.67]And we found that his brain had hemorrhaged and he lost the whole, entire right frontal lobe.
[01:02.24]Six-year-old Nakana Dickinson still has frequent seizures, according to his mother, Randy-Li. 
[01:07.69]After consulting with a pediatric neurologist and blood specialist, 
[01:10.36]she now wonders if all of her son¡¯s problems were caused by the location of their home, in the valley just below the fields.
[01:18.21]And the only thing I could think of is I lived here this whole time I'm pregnant.
[01:21.68]And I'm getting this drift of dust constantly with pesticides.
[01:25.82]You don't know for sure what the cause was of your son's illness.
[01:29.13]No.? And I-- and that's scary to me.? And I can¡¯t know for sure because they¡¯re not disclosing anything to us.
[01:34.86]A battle has erupted here in Kauai over the seed farms.
[01:39.89]More than 150 residents have sued Pioneer. 
[01:44.23]Though Pioneer declined to comment on the litigation, the families allege that dust and pesticides contaminated their homes.
[01:51.16]They¡¯re also seeking damages for lost property value.
[01:54.15]Thousands of others on the island demonstrated¡­
[01:58.72]This county council hearing is called to order.
[02:01.56]And packed county council hearings in support of a bill, passed just this week, imposing new rules on the seed growers.
[02:07.44]It creates buffer zones around the fields and forces the companies to disclose what pesticides they're using¡­when they're spraying¡­ and how much.
[02:15.76]Several local doctors had expressed support for the legislation, citing serious health concerns.?
[02:20.87]There¡¯s a strong anecdotal evidence that there¡¯s a statistically significant difference in the incidence of cancer, asthma and birth defects.
[02:27.90]One pediatrician wrote in an email that he had observed rare heart defects in babies at a rate 10 times the national average.
[02:35.35]But says years of epidemiological research would be needed to establish the cause.
[02:40.37]It's really quite simple.? Tell us what you're spraying, what you're growing, and then let us do a study to determine whether people really are getting sick.
[02:48.15]Local politician Gary Hooser introduced the bill.
[02:51.70]He got involved in 2008 after a noxious odor sent several children and a teacher at a school next to one of the fields to the emergency room, complaining of dizziness and nausea.
[03:02.98]This is serious, serious stuff that deserves our attention and deserves to be dealt with now.
[03:08.86]the seed companies and their employees came out in force to fight the bill.
[03:13.66]I want people to know that we are good people and we do the right thing. 
[03:18.30]the companies said they follow government guidelines on pesticide spraying, 
[03:22.25]and that revealing their farming practices could make them less competitive. 
[03:25.93]What¡¯s more, as some of the largest employers on the west side, 
[03:29.18]they said the bill¡¯s other requirements could threaten their operations and the hundreds of jobs they provide.
[03:34.28]Most people on the west side is employed by the seed companies. We all live as a community, you know.
[03:40.97]The four biotech companies in Kauai own or lease more than 12,000 acres ¨C close to 20 percent of the island¡¯s usable farmland. 
[03:48.15]Their fields bump up against the nearby towns.
[03:50.98]Seeds are big business in the state of Hawaii, valued more than $240 million dollars a year; more than triple the second-largest commodity, sugar. 
[04:00.53]Mark Phillipson works for Syngenta, and is president of Hawaii¡¯s seed trade group, which represents Syngenta, BASF, Dow and Pioneer, a subsidiary of DuPont.
[04:11.44]The reason that we're here-- is the weather. 
[04:14.94]It's-- there's no winter.? We're here-- 365 days a year.
[04:19.33]So, can get three crops a year. Whereas, if we did this type of research or production on the mainland, we would get one crop-- per year. 
[04:27.04]So, something that would take-- ten-to-12 years to develop, we can do here in three-to-four years.
[04:33.12]Phillipson says seed companies have developed better and stronger plants, genetically modified to withstand drought and pests.
[04:39.65]Today almost 90% of the corn grown in the United States is genetically modified¡­and according to one industry study, 
[04:47.12]since 1996, the technology has brought an economic benefit of more than 24 billion dollars to America¡¯s farmers.
[04:54.67]This is a row of conventionally-bred line of corn.  
[04:58.24]And you can see that there¡¯s a lot of damage here to the ear.
[05:01.00]That¡¯s all from ear worm.This is the same line ¨C same exact line of corn, 
[05:08.45]but it¡¯s got our ¡°Agrisure Viptera¡± traits in it and you can see that there¡¯s ear damage at all to this ear.It¡¯s beautiful.
[05:16.44]Even though the seed companies are only growing crops for research purposes, they still use conventional farming methods.
[05:23.19]That includes the application of several so-called ¡°restricted use pesticides¡± - chemicals regulated by the E.P.A. that can only be handled by people with a special license.
[05:33.38]We follow all the federal and state guidelines on pesticide use, and those guidelines are very strict and they're-- monitored.
[05:40.95]We are very careful in how we apply the pesticides.? We, you know-- measure wind direction, wind speed.
[05:47.06]It's-- not of any advantage for us to have things drift out anywhere.?
[05:52.28]Because of a new state registry on pesticide sales, and the lawsuit against Pioneer, 
[05:57.57]some information on what¡¯s being sprayed has started to come out. 
[06:00.82]But the seed companies, which invest billions of dollars in research and development, had been largely reluctant to share more specifics.
[06:07.71]On the general use pesticides that you use on an annual basis, can any ¨C 
[06:11.34]are any of you willing to disclose that amount? So I¡¯ll take the silence as a no.
[06:16.52]The people in community here have been asking for a few years now to know what pesticides are being sprayed by the seed companies here.
[06:23.37]How much, when, where.? Why has that information not been disclosed?
[06:28.04]The reason is not so much there's trade secrets, but it's more of competitiveness.
[06:33.52]Fast disclosure of those pesticide use will probably tell me the ingredients that you're using that I might not be using. 
[06:40.78]We each represent a unique company that has a product in a competitive marketplace.
[06:47.00]There are a lot of people in this community who say they¡¯re getting sick. And they think it might be the pesticides. What do you say to that?
[06:55.46]Probably the first-- people in the community that would get sick would be our workers. And there's no indication of that.
[07:05.27]Phillipson also points to a recent study by the Hawaii Department of Health showing cancer rates are no higher in Kauai than in other parts of the state¡­
[07:13.69]and other tests showing air and water samples to be safe.
[07:17.44]But critics accuse the companies of not following spraying guidelines closely enough. 
[07:21.61]Attorneys in the Pioneer lawsuit say this video they shot shows pesticides blowing off a field near town.
[07:27.72]And even though many of the pesticides are the same ones used by farmers in the Midwest for example, critics point out they¡¯re being applied during more months of the year here.
[07:37.03]How can you tell me I don¡¯t have a right to know what they¡¯re spraying?
[07:40.74]And that¡¯s why some residents including local doctors like Rick Goding believe more research is needed.
[07:46.26]The thing about the physicians is, we want to be very careful.
[07:50.24]And I think some of them are afraidto say anything because they¡¯re afraid to be perceived to be saying, 
[07:56.31]¡°They¡¯re spraying, and therefore this is happening.¡±? I¡¯m not saying that. 
[08:01.59]I don¡¯t know any physicians that are saying that.
[08:03.33]What we are saying is, they are spraying.? And we have some problems. 
[08:07.14]Can we find out more about what they¡¯re spraying and can we look at the possibility as to 
[08:13.16]whether it¡¯s got an effect on some of the significant health problems we have in the community.
[08:17.88]Even though that bill requiring the seed companies to create buffer zones and disclose their spraying was passed this week ¡­ 
[08:28.02]at least one seed company said it¡¯s exploring legal options to block the legislation.?
[08:32.50]So it could be a long time before these residents get all the information that they¡¯re looking for.