Maui County voters are being asked to vote on a controversial issue during the November 4 ballot. Their votes will decide whether or not to move ahead with the process of approving a law that would put a ban on growing, reproducing, or testing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) until an environmental public health study is completed.

A rally was organized by supporters of the measure in Wailuku on Sunday, saying it's not safe to use GMO and it would have adverse impacts on their families and future generations.

One person said they are worried of cross-contamination and eating food items that are poisoned and have been manipulated.

On the other hand, more than a hundred opponents of the GMO shared their messages with voters in Maui and Molokai. According to them, farmers and ranchers rely on GMO use.

"It's an advanced part of breeding. And for us in agriculture, we want the tools available for all of our farmers and ranchers to utilize that have been proven to be safe", said Warren Watanabe, Maui County Farm Bureau executive director.

According to the American Medical Association, it is absolutely safe to use GMOs because these are grown in a safe way and regulated by the correct agencies, including the USDA, the FDA and the EPA, said Darren Strand, Maui County Farm Bureau president.

GMOs are organisms whose genetic make-up has been changed with the help of genetic engineering techniques. Bacteria, yeast, insects, plants, fish, and mammals are some organisms that have been genetically modified. The motive behind creation of some GMO crops is to survive the application of certain pesticides. In the laboratory setting, these plants have been modified to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to weed killers or to improve nutritional content.