Main Body
5 FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
Christian Palmer
‘Ōlelo No‘eau
He meheuheu mai nā kūpuna mai.
Habits acquired from the ancestors; such as fishing, farming – sciences that cultivate abundance.
Mai ho’omāuna i ka ‘ai o huli mai auane‘i o Hāloa e nānā
Do not be wasteful of food lest Hāloa turn around and stare (at you).
Learning Outcomes
- Students will be able to document the key ways that the production and consumption of food is connected to larger environmental concerns, including climate change, ecosystem transformation, and species extinctions.
- Students will be able to describe traditional Hawaiian agricultural and aquaculture practices and their potential applications to food systems in Hawaii today.
- Students will be able to illustrate the challenges and opportunities for sustainable agricultural systems and food sovereignty in Hawaii.
Sustainable Food Systems
Food production and agriculture is one of the most significant ways that humans modify the planet with clearing of agricultural lands, plowing, watering, and the application of pesticides. About half of all habitable land on the planet is being used by agriculture, with the vast majority of that being used as pasture for cattle[1]. By virtue of scale, how we farm has an enormous impact on the climate, species extinctions, water cycles, and virtually every other aspect of the anthropocence. Living more sustainably requires us to reexamine and improve the food systems we depend on.
For example, managing cattle production could have a huge impact on climate change. Overall livestock raising generates one third of all anthropogenic methane emissions which adds up to 14% of total green house gas emissions.[2] Feedlots, in which cattle are crowded together and fed corn pollute nearby waterways with nitrogen and generate huge amounts of methane. Some solutions include eating less meat and dairy, wasting less food, or feeding cattle different foods. A new peer reviewed research project on White Oak Farm in Georgia revealed that their system of regenerative agriculture captures 100% of the emissions from raising livestock (a rotation of chicken, pigs, and cattle) and 85% of the total farm emissions.[3] Beyond carbon reduction, regenerative farming also increases biodiversity, improves soil quality, and reduces the need to inorganic fertilizers, antibiotics, and pesticides.
Besides regenerative farming, there are a number of other approaches to farming that are more sustainable than current industrial methods. One is organic farming, which means producing food without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This practice has been growing in the US and can produce food with fewer environmental impacts. However, it can also raise the price of food and is viewed as a luxury product for consumers who can afford it. In addition, when done on large scale industrial farms, organic farming sometimes ends up looking very similar to conventional farming but also require more land.[4]
Other sustainable approaches to agriculture include permaculture and regenerative agriculture. These approaches look at a farm as an ecosystem in which multiple parts work together. The focus is on developing and maintaining the health of the soil and the interactions between plant and animal species. Permaculture focuses on perennial crops instead of annuals and uses ecological principles like companion plantings, managing the flow of water, and space to produce food more efficiently. Regenerative agriculture focuses on building healthy ecosystems and communities with no-till practices, composting, cover cropping, agroforestry, and other practices designed to improve the quality of the land over time instead of degrading and depleting it.
In the US and other more developed countries, a relatively small percentage of the population is involved in food production. This allows for people to do a whole host of other things, some meaningful and others less so. This is a recent phenomenon in the history of the planet. For most of human history, almost everyone was directly involved in hunting and gathering their own food. The fact that many people no longer know where or how their food is produced is a relatively new chapter of the human story with a yet uncertain conclusion.
One solution is for people to start growing their own food. While growing and eating food can be immensely rewarding, this only works for people with access to land to grow food. It can also be challenging with the amount of time we have left after working all day, attending school, and caring for others. It is unrealistic to imagine that most of us have the time or skills to grow all of what we eat. It would also require a radical shift in our diet to eat seasonally and change our diets to eat food that grows where we live.
Another important aspect of sustainable agriculture is reducing food waste. Food waste is estimated to be 40% of the food grown.[5] Some of the waste happens in the production as fruits and vegetables that do not conform to certain aesthetic standards are discarded. A significant part happens in distribution at grocery stores or restaurants with food that they are unable to sell or use fast enough. Finally, food waste happens with individual consumers if we buy more food than we can eat or use and it goes bad. Food waste can be fed to animals or composted but the best system is simply to avoid it altogether by establishing production, distribution, and other kinds of systems that are designed to eliminate waste along every step of the way.
Food Security in Hawaii
At any given moment, there is only enough food to feed Hawaii for two weeks on the island. We only grow less than 20% of the food we eat here in the state.[6] We are completely dependent on food shipped in from across the planet to meet our most basic subsistence needs. Given the state’s isolated position in the middle of the North Pacific, 2,600 miles from the nearest continent, any disruption to that supply chain would be a catastrophe. For example, if Honolulu harbor were damaged by a large hurricane or tsunami, ships could arrive but not be unloaded, threatening the distribution of food across the islands. This dependence is a potential threat to food security in Hawaii.
This system, in which it is cheaper to pick grapes in Chile and mangos in India and ship them across the planet is made possible by subsidized shipping, cheap fuel costs, and container shipping. This means that total food miles, the distance food travels before reaching the consumer, has been steadily increasing. In Hawaii, most of our food has traveled thousands of miles before we eat it. This entire system is profitable because of the subsidized fossil fuel production and failure to account for the cost of associated carbon.
In addition, disruption of food production in other parts of the world could impact us here. In this way, we are similar to many other places, especially urban areas. However, not too long ago, Hawaii was almost totally self-sufficient. Even as recently as the 1960s Hawaii produced about half of the food it needed. Prior to Western contact in 1776, Hawaii’s pre contact population estimates are extremely controversial and range from 150,000 to over a million.[7] Along the middle and higher end of these scenarios, every island except Oahu was potentially more densely populated than now, and they each provided for all of their subsistence needs through the careful management of marine resources and agriculture. Clearly there is a lot to learn about resilience and sustainability by looking at traditional Hawaiian resource management.
A Short History of Agriculture in Hawaii
Traditional Hawaiian agriculture occupied pretty much everywhere in Hawaii that could possibly be used to grow food. This involves using a lot of different techniques for using different microclimates to produce food. The creativity and versatility of traditional Hawaiian food production is impressive. Agriculture was based around the 23 plants Polynesia settlers brought to Hawaii with them. These include essential starches like banana (mai’a), taro (kalo), yams (uhi), sweet potatoes (uala), and breadfruit (ulu). Other important food crops included coconut (niu), sugar cane (ko), mountain apple (ohia ai), arrowroot (pia), hoi, uhi, elephant ear (ape), candlenut (kukui). They also brought medicinal plants like turmeric (olena), noni, kava (awa), and plants for making clothes, tools, and structures such as paper mulberry (wauke), kamani, gourds (ipu), bamboo (ohe), and possibly hau, hala, and milo.[8] This botanical library provided the foundation for Hawaiian agriculture.
Given the distinct ecological zones on the windward and leeward sides of the island we can think about two major types of Hawaiian agriculture. On windward sides, a wetland, irrigated pondfield system called lo’i was predominant, and on the leeward sides and the higher slopes of large volcanoes on Maui and the Big Island, a rainfed agriculture called the kona field system.
The lo’i systems consisted of flooded fields through which cold stream water was directed, providing water and nutrients to taro, or kalo, the principle staple for Hawaiians. Kalo grew from where Haloa, the first born son of Papa and Wakea, was buried. Haloa was man’s older brother and numerous cultural practices around the cultivation, preparation, and eating of kalo engender the proper respect as part of this familial relationship.
The lo’i system was labor intensive to construct and maintain, digging the ‘auwai (channels), ponds, planting, and harvesting but highly productive producing 10 to 15 times more kalo than dry land fields. It was only possible in the flat bottomed valley with well watered streams so we can assume that all areas suitable for lo’i construction were used this way. Many particularly good places for lo’i are continuously farmed to this day including Hanalei Valley on Kauai, Waipio Valley in North Kohala, and Waiahole Valley on Oahu. Older islands with larger, flat bottomed valleys such as Oahu and Kauai have more potential for lo’i construction and probably had greater population densities, at least until the kona field systems expanded and developed.
The kona field systems develop on a specific ecological gradient on the slopes of larger Islands of Maui and Hawaii. At these elevations the fields received enough rainfall, even on the leeward sides of the islands to grow breadfruit, kalo, sugar cane, and sweet potatoes. These fields were divided with rock walls and covered huge areas. These systems developed later in the 14th century, allowing for the populations of Big Island and Maui to grow.[9]
In addition to these agricultural systems, Hawaiian developed unique systems of walled fishponds inside protected bays. These fishponds were connected to the ocean and also had inlets for freshwater, creating ideal habitats for fish species like mullet. The fish would swim in when they were small, grow large in the pond where they could be harvested as needed. This aquacultural innovation was unique throughout the Pacific and an important component of developing a productive and readily available source of fish.
Colonialism and Capitalism in Hawaii
When Captain Cook arrived in the Hawaiian archipelago in 1778, his arrival marked the beginning of Hawaii’s connection to global markets and the beginning of the end of its agricultural self-sufficiency. The earliest exports in Hawaii are sandalwood bound for China as a way for European and American merchants to minimize trade deficits in Asia. Hawaii also became an important place for whaling ships to resupply. Whales were an important source of oil for early industrialization and lighting. These industries began to connect Hawaii to international markets and outside economic influence.
Early European explorers brought cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, and later deer to Hawaii. King Kamehameha I placed a Kapu on some of the first cattle brought over by Captain Vancouver so that they could reproduce and grow. Eventually cattle ranching became a major business on the Big Island, and Parker Ranch was one of the largest privately owned ranches in the country. Goats, pigs, and deer are all important sources of meat for local hunters but have also damaged local ecosystems as they have expanded without natural predators. In many areas they also damage agricultural production.
Even more devastating were the introduction of new diseases against which Native Hawaiians had few immunities. The population of native Hawaiian declined by 80-90% in the hundred years after contact, which led to large areas of productive agricultural land and fishponds being abandoned. Important crop varieties, local knowledge of places and agricultural practices were all lost during this period.
With the great Mahele in 1848 Kamehameha III switched from the traditional land tenure system defined by ahupua’a, with multiple people claiming different rights to land to one in which land was owned by individuals. Although most people received the title to the land they lived and worked on, chiefs ended up with the majority of the land and over time much of this was traded or sold to foreigners who began to convert land to produce agricultural products for export, beginning with cattle and then sugar cane and pineapple.
In 1898, a group of American plantation owners, with the help of the US military, overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy. This illegal coup set the stage for expanded plantation agriculture. These products were for global markets, not for local consumption, and took over the most important agricultural lands. This led to more and more food being imported to feed growing populations. Much of the newcomers to Hawaii were Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, and Filipino immigrants brought in to work on the plantations. They brought with them their foods, culture, and languages which transformed Hawaii.
Plantation monocultures involved heavy input of fertilizers, pesticides, and eventually mechanization. As workers gradually unionized after WWII, the cost of production increased and when protective tariffs were finally removed, sugar produced in Hawaii was unable to compete with that from countries with lower costs. This logic of global capitalism means that industries continually move to the areas with the cheapest labor and local economies are forced to adapt. Some areas are still devoted to specialty crops like macadamia nuts, Kona coffee, and cut flowers that can get higher prices on the global market.
During this period many lo’i were transformed into rice paddies as rice began to replace kalo as a food staple. Eventually lo’i and many fishponds were filled in and turned into neighborhoods as urban areas expanded and populations grew. As tourism eventually replaced agriculture as the dominant industry post World War II, sugar plantations began to be abandoned and many agricultural lands remain unused until the present.
As Hawaii became a popular tourist destination, real estate prices continued to rise. The large landowners left over from the plantation era began to sell to resort developers and subdivisions. The increasing value of land, even agricultural land, has made it more expensive and difficult for small farmers interested in growing food crops. In addition, land ownership is still highly concentrated with that vast majority of land across the island being owned by a small handful of large corporations and organizations.
Some large agricultural areas have been turned into areas for growing seeds for biotechnology companies like Monsanto. These companies take advantage of the year round growing season and seeds have become one of Hawaii’s largest agricultural exports. These operations rely heavily on chemical fertilizers and pesticides and there are ongoing protests against the expansion of the GMO industry in Hawaii and legal battles about the impact of pesticide and herbicide applications near schools and homes. In the case of GMOs, the science on the ecological and health risks of the genetically modified organism is complicated and contested, but in the case of Hawaii there are other strong arguments to prioritize growing food for local consumption. For example, our isolation and vulnerability to hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, or other volcanic activity creates a strong argument for developing more sustainable and self-sufficient food systems in Hawaii.
Currently there are numerous challenges to being a farmer in Hawaii. High costs of land, lack of government support for small farmers, lack of access to markets, and high cost of living all make it harder for people to make a living as farmers. The price of land is often driven by outside investors and tourism, with the owners of agricultural land being hopeful that the land could be converted to residential or resort development and significantly increase its value. This leads us to the current situation where the vast majority of the food we eat is imported and we are heavily dependent on global shipping.
In addition, the number of dairies, pig farms, and cattle ranches have all been diminishing, despite government rhetoric on the importance of diversifying the economy and supporting local farming. From 1978 to 2012, the number of pig farms fell from 399 to 131, a decline of 70%.[10] Even on the mainland the number of farms has been decreasing as larger farms have come to dominate the market. In Hawaii, local farms can’t compete on price with the industrial scale farms in other places but they can compete for quality and provide an important place for local families who want to buy whole pigs for luau and other important occasions. Many people don’t want to live next to these operations and the regulations in the state of Hawaii can make it difficult for them to operate.
Our current globalized diet of rice, wheat, and other crops that grow in temperate climates also make food sovereignty difficult. In order for Hawaii to be more self-sufficient we would need to start to eat crops that grow well in our tropical climates, including taro, sweet potato, and breadfruit. This could also have beneficial health impacts, especially for Polynesian populations that have disproportionately high rates of obesity and diabetes, both byproducts of poor diets with processed foods. The Waianae Diet is a return to the high fiber and complex carbohydrates of Polynesian food crops and has been documented to reduce obesity and improve the health of the participants.
Hawaii in a Globalized Food System
Within the globalized agricultural system, Hawaii’s most successful farmers are growing specialty crops that can be priced higher like coffee, orchids, and macadamia nuts because they come from Hawaii and grow well in our unique climate. While these crops are an important part of the agricultural industry, they don’t contribute to food security and resiliency. The globalization of agriculture provides larger markets for exports and gives regions with ideal climates for growing certain kinds of crops a competitive advantage. In addition, fruits and vegetables can be grown year round in different places around the world and we have a wide variety of available products. This results in cheaper food.
Alternatively, with globalization we become unaware of the impacts of our food choices on the environment or society. We don’t know if our chocolate was produced with child labor in the Ivory Coast or if our avocados from Mexico are funding organized criminal cartels or if pesticides from our Chilean grapes washed into the ocean. In addition, large scale industrial farming and transportation of food across the planet are carbon intensive. If we put in place systems that hold producers accountable for their carbon production, it is possible that locally grown food will become more competitive.
Although it may feel as if food is expensive, especially for those struggling with the high cost of living in Hawaii, the percentage of our income we spend on food has been steadily decreasing for decades. If we want our agricultural systems to be a meaningful part of the struggle to reduce carbon emissions, increase local resilience to environmental disasters like hurricanes, and contribute as part of the local economy, we will need to be willing to spend more on food.
One example of this kind of alternative model of agriculture is Ma’o Farms. Ma’o farms is a non-profit organization in Waianae established with the dual purpose of helping youth and growing local food. It is one of the largest organic farms in the state and produced 260,000 lbs of food in 2020 that is sold to restaurants, grocery stores, farmers markets, and community supported agriculture subscriptions. Youth interns who work at Ma’o have their education paid for at local colleges as well receiving leadership training and support. Ma’o farm was created as an integral part of the local community and not just a way to make money. Although this is not a model that could work for all farms, it does illustrate one way that food production can be a part of larger strategies for building community.
Other solutions to increasing sustainable food production in Hawaii could involve expanding agricultural incubator programs like the GoFarm program, government investments and support for farmers, and community gardens. The State uses less that 1% of its budget for agriculture, so more investment is needed. There is also a huge need to provide stable, long-term access to land to farmers. The majority of Hawaii’s land is owned by the government and handful of large landowners. Government needs to coordinate with these landowners and create a coordinated state food plan to address these challenges. Often times, government agencies work against each other. While one agency is promoting agriculture, another is shutting farms down through regulations.
Classroom Ideas and Disciplinary Adaptations
Social Sciences
Examine the economics of agriculture in Hawaii. What are the externalities that are not included in these calculations?
Natural Sciences
Explore the chemistry, biology, and ecology of soil health, root systems, and how this can contribute to carbon storage and or release.
Math and Business
Design business plans for farms in Hawaii. What are the factors that are the most limiting and how could they be reduced through governmental support?
Art and Humanities
Read an environmental history of Hawaii and how it has changed over time from indigenous systems to the plantation systems to the present.
Supplemental Materials
Books
Berry, W. (2015). The unsettling of America: Culture & agriculture. Catapult.
Handy, E. S. (1972). Native planters in old Hawaii.
Jones, C. A., & Osgood, R. V. (2015). From King Cane to the Last Sugar Mill. University of Hawaii Press.
Pollan, M. (2007). The omnivore’s dilemma: A natural history of four meals. Penguin.
Salatin, J. (2007). Everything I want to do is illegal: war stories from the local food front. Polyface, Incorporated.
Articles
Lincoln and Vitousek (2017). Indigenous Polynesian Agriculture in Hawai‘i. Oxford Research Encyclopedias; Environmental Science. March
Films
Bassford, K. (2022) Scaling Up: Hawaii’s Food Future.
BBC (2021) Follow the Food. 8 part series.
Chester, J. (2018) The Biggest Little Farm.
Miller, D. (2016) Seeds of Hope. Na Kupu Mana’olana. PBS Hawaii.
Sutton, C. (2016) Island Earth.
Tickell, J. and R. H. Tickell (2020) Kiss the Ground. Big Picture Productions.
Podcasts
- Ritchie, H. (2019) Half of the world's habitable land is used in agriculture. Ourworldindata.org ↵
- Levitt, T. (2021) What the beef with cows and the climate crisis? www.theguardian.com ↵
- Gewin, V. (2021) A new study on regenerative complicates climate optimism. www.civileats.com. ↵
- Parrlberg, R. (2021) Only eat organic? You're paying too much and it't not worth it, author says. The Harvard Gazette. ↵
- Natural Resource Defense Council. Food Waste | NRDC ↵
- Lyte, B. (2021) How Hawaii squandered it's food secutiry-- and what it will take to get it back. Honolulu Civil Beat. ↵
- Office of Hawaiian Affairs. (2017) Native Hawaiian population enumerations in Hawaii. ↵
- Dutra Elliot, D. and P. Mejia Velasquez. (10.2: Polynesian introduced plants - Biology LibreTexts\ in Botany in Hawaii. (2022, February 19). Leeward Community College. https://bio.libretexts.org/ ↵
- McCoy, M., Cheng, H., Mulrooney, M., & Ladefoged, T. (2022). Garden Offerings in the Kona Field System, Hawai'i Island: A Fine-Grained Chronology and Its Implications. American Antiquity, 1-10. doi:10.1017/aaq.2022.3 ↵
- Friedheim, N. (2018) Saving Hawaii's Pig Farms - Honolulu Civil Beat. ↵