Sugarcane and pineapple fields are no longer typical of Hawaii’s landscape since only two plantations of each crop remain: sugarcane on Maui and Kauai, and pineapple on Maui and Oahu. Over time, crops migrate to cheaper labor. In 2003, Hawaii imported 90% of its food.
In 2005, a campaign was launched to revitalize farming and encourage residents to support locally grown food. By 2008, food imports were reduced to 85%. Today, farmers’ markets and culinary chefs offer the freshest fruit and vegetables, sometimes grown in backyard plots.
“Buy Local, It Matters” Campaign
As a partnership between the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, and the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, the goal of the campaign is to reduce food imports by creating awareness about the benefits of consuming local food.
In 2008, an economic analysis on food self-sufficiency indicated that reducing food imports by 10% would generate 2,300 new farming jobs. Since the campaign inception, and a focus on diversification, vegetable supply has outpaced the demand. Furthermore, farm employment has grown, whereas it is declining nationally. With much of the fertile land still fallow, there is no immediate concern about the farming/building ratio. But, an equitable process for land and water is a significant factor.
To encourage buying local products and supporting the economy, farmers’ markets are found all over the islands in locations conveniently accessible. As you stroll along the stalls, sometimes it is a truck tailgate with the bounty of what was ready for today's market, you will not return empty-handed. Farmers will gladly tell you about unfamiliar greens, root vegetables, or fruit. Be tempted by cottage-style treats and other packaged Hawaiian products:
- Jams and honey
- Breads and pastries
- Herbs and Hawaiian seasoned-salts
- Coffee
- Chocolate
- Wine
- Flowers
In supermarkets, select products that are seasonal and grown or made in Hawaii. Costco has found its way to the islands and is convenient in many ways, yet be selective in your choices: They do affect Hawaii's agriculture.
You can further support the cause by shipping products made in Hawaii to family and friends. Although shipping fruit is no longer available at airports, it still is from plantation visits or websites. You can also take advantage of the U.S. Post Office flat-rate shipping boxes: A $15.00 medium box will hold a good selection of (packaged) products.
The Agri-tourism and Locavore Concepts
When you join activities connected to the land, you engage in agri-tourism. Special events are organized in the state of Hawaii as a result of the campaign. They are a great way for visitors to connect to their vacation environment, to make cooking an enriching experience instead of a chore, and to widen children’s concept of food.
As for locavore, according to the website of the same name, the word is now in the Oxford American Dictionary. The locavore movement was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area by a group of “concerned culinary adventurers” who drew attention to the benefits of consuming food grown within a 100-mile radius. In Hawaii, the two concepts are promoted in various ways:
1. A good source of information is the edible Hawaiian Islands, a publication of the Edible Communities Network for Local Food. Publisher/editor Gloria Cohen emphasizes the importance of “local, seasonal, and authentic foods and the many traditions that exist in the Hawaiian Islands”:
- Features on local products and events
- Enticing advertising for foods made in Hawaii
- Useful advertiser directory
- Recipes
- Chefs’ profiles
- Farmers’ markets
- Reviews of books on food
2. Agricultural festivals, such as the annual Maui County Festival held at the Maui Tropical Plantation in Waikapu, bring farmers, ranchers, and locavore chefs together. They include agricultural demonstrations, baking and cooking contests, food booths, and pony rides.
3. On Kauai, the Kukui’ula Village holds a weekly culinary market amidst retail shops, galleries with live Hawaiian music, a chef demonstration, the freshest local produce, flowers, baked goods, and packaged local food items. Among the casual and fine cuisine restaurants is Merriman’s, where growers and their products are proudly featured in a photo gallery.
4. On the Big Island, the North Kohala community recently organized the Eat Locally Grown Day and pledged to grow 50% of the food it consumes.
What You Can Do to Become a Lovacore
Jennifer Maiser, editor of the website Eat Local Challenge gives tips among which:
- Ask your supermarket to bring in local products
- Choose five foods you can easily source locally
- Join a Community Supported Agriculture program for home-delivered seasonal produce
- Grow something yourself, even if it is a pot of mixed herbs
What You Can Do to Become an Agri-tourist
Other than consuming local products and engaging in some of the activities mentioned above, agri-tourism means spending vacation-time connecting to an agricultural environment:
- Stay at a farm or ranch (some are interactive: You can help with chores)
- Join a winery at harvest time
- Take your children to U-pick orchards
- Choose a farm or a winery for a wedding
- Support botanical gardens with a visit
- Walk trails and pick up trash on the way
All over Hawaii, farmers and ranchers experiment with new approaches to ensure stewardship of the land and sustainable prosperity for communities while retaining cultural identity. By making mindful choices, visitors can be part of the movement so Hawaii will be equally enjoyed by future generations.
Marie-Claude Arnott sources at least five products locally, including vegetables and fruit depending on season, honey, goat cheese, specialty breads, fish, and makes her own quince jelly.
Sources
- Eat Local Challenge. Ten Steps to Becoming a Locavore. Jennifer Maiser. 2007. (Accessed April 2011).
- Locavore. Foodshed for Thoughts.
- State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture (SHDA).Buy Local, It Matters! 2008. (Accessed April 2011).
- SHDA and State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture. Economic Impacts of Increasing Hawaii Food Self-sufficiency. PingSun Leung and Matthew Loke. 2008 (2011).
Marie-Claude Arnott - Marie-Claude Arnott writes about topics that interest her, from experience and with passion.
