Why is Eating Local Important?
In pre-colonial Hawaiʻi, Kānaka Maoli fully sustained an estimated population of 1.2 million people with locally grown foods.
Today, “an estimated 85% of what we eat is shipped in from the mainland”. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
There are many tools for addressing our broken food system in Hawaiʻi, and certainly not one silver bullet to fix it all.
One powerful route is encouraging Hawaiʻi’s people to practice and support local efforts to grow food. This is one of the reasons why we created the ʻAi Pono Kauaʻi Challenge alongside the Pesticide Action Network!
As the ʻAi Pono Kauaʻi Challenge quickly approaches, we wanted to reflect on why eating local is so important.
The Benefits of Sourcing Your Food Locally
Economics: By directly supporting local food producers, our dollars stay in Hawaiʻi and increase local food production. This is an important step toward creating a circular economy, keeping more money on the island, and diversifying our economy away from tourism.
Culture: By supporting Kānaka Maoli farmers and indigenous foodways, more Kānaka Maoli can reconnect with their ancestral lands, culture, history, and identity. “Restoring Hawaii’s food systems requires restoring land ownership back to Native Hawaiians to farm, opportunity for Hawaiians to learn their genealogy, as well as decolonization of the mind.”
Community: Buying local allows you to build deeper community connections. When you know who’s producing your food and where it comes from, “this holds everyone more accountable and hopefully helps us make better choices when faced with tough decisions, like whether to spray or continue rotating crops, or whether to purchase a cheaper, yet imported product. The ability for a customer to put a name and face to a brand may change their buying habits in the future.”
Health & Environment: Local food doesn’t have to travel as far to arrive on your plate, so it helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our carbon footprint. Locally grown food can also have higher nutrient values due to its freshness and less pesticide/chemical residue. This can all positively impact our environment and health.
The reality is, wherever you live, if you are supporting YOUR local (particularly) organic and sustainable farmers, you are an active part of improving the local (and global) environment, water systems, pollinator health along with your community and its economy. Together, we are better managing our resources, which restores important ecological functions and habitats –– ultimately fighting back against the rapid extinction of the world's species."
By registering for the ʻAi Pono Kauaʻi Challenge, you can have fun while being part of the solution!
Register today by heading to bit.ly/APKC-2022 or clicking the button below.
