Page 29 - Living Aloha Magazine January February 2017 Issue

Governor ige Makes a Commitment: Governor over a million citizens across eight islands. Based on the
Ige recently announced a new goal to double the growing Ahupua’a system of earth and water resource stewardship,
of local food in Hawaii by 2020, a mere four years away. pie-shaped tracts of land, called
Some in his cabinet reacted to this ambitious level of Moku, were established mauka/
commitment, and asked him to push back this milestone makai - mountain top to the sea -
till 2030. Governor Ige however, said no, let’s do what we for food production, governance,
need to do to achieve this very doable 2020 short term and distribution of goods. The
goal. The governor knows we need to take resolute action extended families in each Moku
now to shift from our current exported-food vulnerability had access to micro-climates at
to a new era of local self-reliance, economic prosperity each elevation, supporting naturally
(with more new green collar jobs in local agriculture) and diverse agricultural and aquaculture
a healthier populace through fresher, high-nutrient local opportunities, featuring the 22 Canoe
food. With diabetes, obesity, and heart disease at serious Crops brought from other parts of
levels in our island culture, experts say eating fresh local Polynesia. Kalo (taro), ulu (breadfruit),
food, rather than processed and packaged foods from off- niu (coconut), uala (sweet potato), a
island, can effect a major positive impact on the health of wide variety of abundant seafoods, pigs,
our local people. chickens, and boars rounded out the
local diet.
We congratulate Governor Ige on pushing for this
milestone. But doubling local food production only gets When specific crops such as fish production or animal
us down to 20% self-reliance; we would still be at 80% husbandry faltered in one Moku, the Ali`i /leaders of other
reliance on imports. We need to go much further still. What areas provided resources to their neighbors in need so
would it take to get Hawaii to 50% local food production by that all the micro-regions of the island were well taken
2025, and 80%+ by 2035? Upwards of 30,000 acres of A&B care of under all circumstances. Season to season and year
lands are leaving sugarcane production and could feasibly to year, variability in productivity was thereby balanced
become available for new cultivation of local and healthy through the shared resources of the different Moku and
diversified food crops here on Maui. It’s time for citizens to even the different islands. Hawaii was healthy, prosperous,
get engaged in the discussions around the future of food collaborative, resilient, and fully self sustaining. So, we know
for our islands. It is time for people to demand real and that Hawaii can become a sustainable food society once
enduring change in our local food landscape. again, because we have achieved it before. If we could
then, why can’t we now? In addition, all the cultivation of
does hawaiian history foods during that time were fully organic and natural ~
offer wisdom for no chemical companies were needed to produce these
the Future of local healthy and fresh local results.
agriculture? Prior to
European intervention in Farmers Markets, Csa’s, local Food Groceries,
Hawaiian society, the Polynesian & Farm to table. Numerous trends are emerging that
culture supported a vibrant, healthy, support the demand for increased local food production,
prosperous, and comprehensive along with improved quality of life, lower costs, and many
sustainable agricultural structure that fed and nurtured additional societal benefits. Farmer’s Markets are a prime

JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2017 | Living Aloha MAUI 29