Preemption of County Ordinances Regulating Pesticide Use by GE/GMO Seed Companies in Hawai`I

Cette communication a été prononcée dans le cadre du colloque international Agir en justice au nom des générations futures qui s'est tenu à Caen les 17 et 18 novembre 2017. Le concept même de Justice se comprend désormais en considération de la protection juridique des générations futures : justice environnementale, justice climatique (inscrite dans l’Accord de Paris), protections des biens communs sont autant de nouvelles facettes du concept de justice, spécifiques à notre temps. Nous vivons incontestablement une époque de métamorphoses du droit et des droits. C’est dans ce contexte que s’inscrit le colloque international « Agir en justice au nom des générations futures ».

David M. Forman is Director of the Environmental Law Program, and Faculty Specialist with the Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law. He joined the faculty full-time in Summer 2010, and teaches: Administrative Law, Lawyering Fundamentals I, Second Year Seminar, Appellate Advocacy, as well as Food Law and Policy. Mr. Forman previously served as Faculty Pro Bono Advisor from 1998-1999, co-taught an Advanced Legal Seminar on Reparations with Professor Eric Yamamoto in 2006, and served as an Adjunct Professor/Lecturer in Appellate Advocacy then Legal Practice II from 2006-2010.

Permissive regulatory attitudes in the United States, along with year - round growing conditions in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, have attracted many of the world’s largest seed companies to the Hawaiian Islands. Residents in three out of the four counties that make up the State of Hawai?i adopted a variety of approaches to address concerns about field trials involving genetically engineered seed crops in their respective communities, and the potential impacts of such activities on future generations. Subsequent legal challenges advanced to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which ultimately held that these county ordinances are preempted by federal and/or state law. Following a contentious legislative session earlier this year, the Hawai?i Department of Agriculture recently issued a request for proposals to undertake a comparative study of pesticide laws in other states and provide recommendations to address the State’s challenges now and into the future.