Get Involved! Growing a Food Policy Council for Hawai`i

On Tuesday night, at Church of the Crossroads, organizers held a first organizational meeting towards forming a islands-wide Food Policy Council. What is a Food Policy Council? Food Policy Councils (FPCs) bring together individuals and community members from diverse food-related sectors to examine how the food system is operating and to develop recommendations on how [...]

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Land Use Commissioners Approve Development on O’ahu Prime Ag Lands

From our friends and ‘ohana at Sierra Club Hawai’i Chapter: In a 7-1 vote last week, the State of Hawaii Land Use Commission approved Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii, Inc.’s proposed reclassification 767 acres of farmland to the urban district. Castle & Cooke proposes to build thousands of new homes and a medical complex at [...]

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Ahi Feedlot Abandons Ship!

Mahalo to all who took action in the last few months, asking the Army Corps of Engineers to hold a public hearing on a permit to allow Hawai’i Ocean Technology, Inc. (HOTI) to build a proposed 247-acre ahi tuna feed lot off the Kohala Coast. 100% of the feed for this project would be imported [...]

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Aina Hoola o Mailikukahi

From Shelley: Two weeks ago I attended a Food Sovereignty Conference in Waimanalo.  I was a little bummed because I was on the planning committee, working on behind the scenes stuff, but in retrospect I can’t complain!  Went to some awesome workshops and met some incredible people. The first day was devoted to the Youth [...]

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Kauai Farmer’s Union Invite

From our friends at the Hawai’i Farmer’s Union: All FARMERS and FRIENDS of farmers are invited to the next meeting of the Kauai Chapter of HFU, on Monday, May 24, 2010, from 7-9 pm, at the Lihue Neighborhood Center, on Eono Street. We will have a featured speaker on the water issues on Kauai, plus [...]

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Greed for Feed: Connecting the Dots

Today, Hawai’i is looking at a proposed new offshore ahi tuna farm–the very first ever to be approved for waters under U.S. jurisdiction. Of course, to raise fish that eat fish (carnivorous fish), you need… fish. Fish like anchovies, generally taken from fisheries around the global south, particularly Central and South America. The fact that [...]

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Reading: Edible Hawaiian Islands

This issue of Edible Hawaiian Islands is devoted to fish, fishing, and fisheries. How fish gets from the sea to your plate, and everything in between. Some interesting ideas on the future for “sustainable” fisheries by Jon Letman, and on raising fish “Loko” style by Rob Parsons. We’re liking: Rob’s interview with Michael Kumuhauoha Lee, [...]

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Anti-Technology Hippies

Will anti-technology hippies embrace videos on the internets? The ground-breaking documentary “The Future of Food” is now up on hulu.com, and the reviews from commenters are pretty hilarious. Apparently rooting FOR public-interest journalism and advocating sane regulation of genetically engineered foods makes you an “anti-technology hippie.” If that’s true, we’ll wear the badge with pride. [...]

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Biotech Seed Companies Thwarting Good Science

From Miwa: We’re getting closer to knowing why we don’t know what we don’t know–in an unusual statement issued earlier this month, 26 leading corn insect scientists expressed their opposition to industry stranglehold on research of genetically modified crops. “No truly independent research can be legally conducted on many critical questions,” the statement says. The [...]

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Hawai’Iowa???

From Bryna, some thoughts on this piece on “Genetically Modified Hawaii” in the Scientific American: In the pursuit of responsible, meaningful, helpful science for the betterment of the communities and lands of Hawaii, we’ve gotten rather flustered and confused by the dangerous, expensive answers that GMOs offer our local communities. What do we want for [...]

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ACT 211 – The Taro Security and Purity Task Force

For taro farmers, taro buyers and taro eaters, some information from Onipaa Na Hui Kalo on the Taro Security and Purity Task Force. The following provides information on the origins of the Task Force (Act 211), what and who it is (and is not), and its goals: How did the Task Force come to be? [...]

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