Role of food in sustainability

SUBHEAD: The vitality of local food production.

By Glenn Hontz on 15 February 2009 in The Garden Island News

http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2009/02/15/business/kauai_business/doc4997db65e2c4e999418859.txt

It seems that many of us on Kaua‘i are responding to the challenge of increasing food self-sufficiency. This is encouraging. As public support increases, the changes we must make to achieve genuine food security will be more effective. It might even be safe to say that with public support these changes will become sustainable.

Many of us are recognizing that sustainability in our food supply system requires a shift away from our heavy dependence on the national/international food conglomerates and an increasing emphasis on local systems of production and distribution. This shift is becoming necessary as it recognizes that the giant food conglomerates are no longer able to feed the burgeoning population of the planet.

image above: a view of historic Limahuli Gardens on Kauai part of NTBG from

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1116781305042426375EHsxmL

The reasons include the fact that farm land resources are being depleted at an alarming rate worldwide, the old production methods are actually producing less food, traditional agriculture systems and shipping costs are both oil-dependent and oil resources are declining, the intense level of competition among the large food producers for greater shares of the market have squeezed many companies out of business and produced compromises in food processing methods that are resulting in serious threats to human health, the nutritional quality of processed food and even that of food grown “fresh” at distant sites is being questioned by consumers, and not the least of these reasons is the fact that many customers are demanding locally grown food just because it tastes better.

However, the popularity of locally grown food does not automatically guarantee that we can grown enough on our island to become self-sufficient, nor does it promise that our methods will be sustainable. Most people would agree that any sustainability plan must provide for a sufficient supply of food, but the real challenge is to supply that food in adequate quantity and in a consistent manner without damage to the environment. That is what sustainability is all about.

The question is, “Does Kaua‘i have a plan for supplying the food we need in a sustainable manner?” The truthful answer is, “Well, not yet.”

The Kaua‘i Food Industry Forum, a informal community action group sponsored by Kaua‘i Community College in cooperation with several other interested organizations and agencies, has during the past year been developing a plan to revitalize food production on the island. The basic logic of this plan is as follows:

• We don’t have enough farmers on Kaua‘i to grow the food we need
• Recent efforts to encourage more candidates into farming careers have not been adequately successful
• The immediate alternative is to engage the existing farmers to train more people to grow more food
• The best people to train are those that will benefit from a supply of fresh locally grown food
• Those are the local residents,
• That means we need to support training for the development and expansion of home-based and community-based gardens
• This will engage more people in growing more food for themselves and the benefit of their friends and neighbors. Eventually, the experience of developing cooperative community gardens can encourage candidates to create small commercial farms.

Thus was launched the “Community Gardens Project.” KCC began offering courses on growing food and established a campus garden as a practical hands-on training site. People learned how to start and manage a garden successfully and took those skills into their backyard and formed a family garden. Community gardens also were launched in various neighborhoods. Training programs are being offered in those regions to provide the convenience of technical assistance at the local level.

Today, home gardens are increasing in many neighborhoods. And more folks are enrolling in classes that offer training in ways to create and mange community gardens in their neighborhoods. Since the start of the Community Gardens Project last September, more than 200 persons have participated in training programs held at the KCC campus and at satellite training sites on the Westside and the North Shore. Although this “movement” is still small, it is receiving encouragement and support from several organizations and agencies. The College is continuing to offer classes and hands-on training programs. Similar programs are being provided by Malama Kaua‘i, the Kilauea non-profit that specializes in designing sustainable systems of all kinds. Some of Kaua‘i’s experienced farmers like Jillian and Gary Seals, Scott Pomeroy and April Courture, Marie Mauger and Mathew Field, Paul Massey, Kelly Ball, Tom Legacy and others are offering training and technical assistance to home gardeners and community garden start-up groups. Much of this support is focused on organic practices, mainly because these farmers believe that the organic methods are the sustainable ones that support rather than damage the environment.

Will this young movement bring forth a sustainable system of food production and provide the quantity of food we need? It is really too early to tell. But those who support the movement point out that local food production is receiving increasing support from all levels of government and has captured the approval of growing sectors of the public. It is important to recognize that the old conglomerate systems of food production are not adequately feeding the world’s population. Although these giant food producers may rise again, in the meantime it seems prudent to begin growing our own.

• Glenn Hontz is coordinator and director of the Food Industry Program at Kaua‘i Community College and can be reached at 246-4859 or hontz@hawaii.edu