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Hawai'i, known throughout the world for its remarkable biodiversity and unique cultural heritage, has also been the site of more than 4,000 field tests of genetically modified crops, including biopharmaceuticals, in recent years. The tests -- sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and conducted by corporations such as Monsanto, DuPont, ProdiGene, and Dow -- produce crops that have not been approved for human or animal consumption, or for general release into the environment. In fact, despite 12 years of open-air testing, not one biopharmed drug has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Yet, USDA continues to allow these tests to be conducted in open fields, conceals test locations from the public, and, in most cases, refuses to disclose the substances being grown. Moreover, the tests typically use food crops like corn and soybeans, dramatically increasing the risk of contaminating the food or livestock feed supply with powerful, biologically active chemicals. The tests also pose a serious hazard to endangered plants and animals, of which Hawai'i has more than any other state.

Talking a stand for public health and the environment, in November of 2003 Earthjustice filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Center for Food Safety, Friends of the Earth, Pesticide Action Network North America, and KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance, seeking to compel USDA to better regulate these tests and conduct long-overdue reviews of their impact. On August 5th, 2004, a federal district court judge sided with Earthjustice and ordered USDA to disclose the locations of open-air field tests of biopharmaceutical crops in Hawai'i.