Homegrown Food for Hawai‘i Island
Over 85% of the food Hawaii islanders consume is being grown, harvested, processed, packaged, stored on, and shipped from the U.S. mainland and other countries thousands of miles away. We rely on our food to be transported to us on a daily basis. This immense international food system has offered us cheap and abundant food for decades. With rising fuel costs, many people are now asking if we can count on the current system to continue to provide Hawai‘i with a constant and safe source of nutritious and affordable food.
How can we begin to replace our current food system with a local one? In answer to this question, many people are proactively taking their food sources into their own hands by growing their own food, trading within their neighborhood, and buying from local farmers and gardeners.
The tomato on the left (15% local) was grown by a large commercial operation using imported synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. These inputs require large quantities of fuel, minerals, and chemicals to produce and transport them. The seed used to grow the plants was imported from a large mainland seed company. The variety might be patented, which means that the seed cannot be legally saved for the next season. Irrigation water was pumped out of the ground, requiring an expensive water infrastructure and imported energy to drive pumps. Also, because the left-hand tomato is grown on a large farm, it requires fossil fuel, vehicles, and many miles of road to transport it to the consumer.
The tomato on the right (100% local) was fertilized using compost and mulch made with organic materials grown where the tomato was grown. In other words, the fertilizers required no imports. This variety has been grown in the same garden for 15 years so it has become locally acclimatized to a specific environment. The seed was saved from last year's crop—it is not patented and therefore is not owned by anyone. Rainwater was used to irrigate the plants, either directly from the sky or from a catchment tank when necessary. Maintaining thick organic mulch on top of the soil minimizes water and nutrient losses. Finally, the tomato is consumed by the people who grew it and surplus tomatoes given to neighbors or sold in the local farmer's market.
The infrastructure used in producing "locally grown" crops determines whether our food system is self-reliant or sustainable. The 15% local tomato requires continuous reliance on farm inputs from outside Hawai'i, and results in a large carbon footprint. The 100% local tomato can be replicated in any garden or farm in Hawai'i and minimizes detrimental impacts on the environment.