The people of Maui, the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands, voted earlier this month to ban cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops from their territory.

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A Bill eked through local legislature that will ban planting of the controversial crops until a scientific assessment shows them to be safe for public health and the environment. Crops already growing are exempted from the new measures, as are non-profit University trials, providing they are conducted indoors.

Big ag firms amassed almost $8 billion (£5bn) in a bid to defeat the Bill, more than 87 times the funds raised by their rivals. Even so, the Bill narrowly passed with 51 percent of the vote on Tuesday 4^th November.

Commentators have suggested that the moratorium on the Hawaiian island could have a disproportionately large impact. Though Maui has a relatively small population, the island is ideally placed for crop research as it is part of the United States but the tropical climate allows for three plantings each year and year-round research.     

Residents backed the Bill over concerns that trials of GM crops and pesticides on the island could be threatening the environment of the tropical idyll and the health of its citizens.  

Companies involved in field research on Maui and the smaller surrounding islands that make up Maui County have promised to fight the ban in court. They claim that existing federal regulations already govern the safety of their crop trials on the Islands; however, Tuesday's vote suggests that the Islanders want these regulations to be much more stringent.

Monsanto conducts most of the crop research in the County, though Dow is also heavily invested in Maui. When the ballot passed, Monsanto Hawaii issued a statement saying, "We're deeply concerned about the serious consequences of this initiative for our community and for farming in Hawaii. With more than 1,000 local employees living and working in Maui, Molokai and Oahu, we also understand the negative impact this initiative will have on our employees… We will continue to listen to and talk with the members of our community as we determine if this initiative is legal and will be enforced."

Ashley Lukens, program director at the Hawaii Centre for Food Safety (a nationwide non-profit organisation), said "Voters saw past the misleading claims of pesticide companies like Monsanto and Dow Chemical and demanded accountability to the community."

CFS claims agribusinesses have used Hawaiian Islands as "An outdoor laboratory to test genetically engineered crops and their related pesticides." Lukens added last week, "The moratorium will impact only 1 percent of the county's agricultural operations. This is not a farming ban. This is a demand for assurance of safety in our daily lives… Maui is not the private laboratory of Monsanto. We will not sacrifice our health and safety to protect the profits of mainland corporations."