Issue Position: Hawaii's New Agriculture - Achieving Food Self-Sufficiency

Issue Position

Far too much of the food we eat has "travelled" thousands of miles to get to our dinner table. That journey consumes expensive and limited energy, and of course negatively impacts the quality of the food. With Hawai`i's year-round growing season and fertile soil, we have a unique opportunity to become free from this dependency on imported food. Working toward and ultimately achieving food self-sufficiency is an exciting and achievable goal. A "renaissance in agriculture" built around a small farmer lifestyle of living more in harmony with the "aina would boost our local economy, improve the quality of what we eat and feed our children, allow Hawai`i to be food self-sufficient, and so much more.

To get this agricultural renaissance off the ground, it is critical that we support our local farmers. Hundreds of small family farms have sprung up all over Hawai`i, often on fallow, abandoned plantation land. These are truly hardworking people, and our community needs to support them, both through farmer-friendly policies and assistance, and through encouraging people to "buy local." More agricultural land should be made available, and protected from urban development. Farmers should have priority when it comes to access to water sources. Helping small farmers helps all of us, by reducing our dependence on food imports and moving us forward toward a truly sustainable future.

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