No worries man. Thank you for pointing out those differences to people. I think a lot of people don't understand these issues, and if they knew more about it, they would act differently as food consumers. So I encourage you to write more about it yourself.
In its heyday Hawaii Island before the invasion of European and American people had a native population of 150,000 people. They were entirely supported by the natural environment and resources available. Today the population is the same and over 95% of the food is imported. Theoretically the island could grow virtually every crop on the planet since it has all but one of the climate systems in the world from tropical to artic. Food such as bananas, fish and pineapple are imported now and local produce largely unavailable.
The causes for this are many. At the top of the list are economic reasons.
Tourism
Tourism supplies low paying jobs which in turn require imported cheap food. The only benefactors of the tourist trade are the Corp hotels and the government via taxes. Some hotels are charging $ 740 per night while paying staff minimum wage (slavery). The clientele would not be content eating just breadfruit and fish. Tourism is a major contributor to global warming as it produces nothing beneficial to society but only co2 emissions from air travel.
Labor
The price of local food production selling costs are inhibited by the cost of competing with the slave labor wages for imported food.
This is the same as manufacturing in the US i.e. Americans competing with overseas labor wages.
Real estate
The rising cost of the price of land makes it unfeasible for farming. This in turn makes housing unaffordable for local workers and businesses. Fertile land is now occupied by condos and hotels. It's called "The price of Paridise".
Some of the other factors are invasive species being imported, energy costs for food production, ecocide from required pesticide usage and environmental destruction from the tourist industry.
In short Hawaii has been destroyed by the economic system and the government. It's a prime example of what is happening in the world.
Thanks for the informative article and keep plugging away.
In its heyday Hawaii Island before the invasion of European and American people had a native population of 150,000 people. They were entirely supported by the natural environment and resources available. Today the population is the same and over 95% of the food is imported. Theoretically the island could grow virtually every crop on the planet since it has all but one of the climate systems in the world from tropical to artic. Food such as bananas, fish and pineapple are imported now and local produce largely unavailable.
The causes for this are many. At the top of the list are economic reasons.
Tourism
Tourism supplies low paying jobs which in turn require imported cheap food. The only benefactors of the tourist trade are the Corp hotels and the government via taxes. Some hotels are charging $ 740 per night while paying staff minimum wage (slavery). The clientele would not be content eating just breadfruit and fish. Tourism is a major contributor to global warming as it produces nothing beneficial to society but only co2 emissions from air travel.
Labor
The price of local food production selling costs are inhibited by the cost of competing with the slave labor wages for imported food.
This is the same as manufacturing in the US i.e. Americans competing with overseas labor wages.
Real estate
The price of land makes it unfeasible for farming. This in turn makes housing unaffordable for local workers and businesses. Fertile land is now occupied by condos and hotels. It's called "The price of Paridise".
Some of the other factors are invasive species being imported, energy costs for food production, ecocide from required pesticide usage and environmental destruction from the tourist industry.
In short Hawaii has been destroyed by the economic system and the government. It's a prime example of what is happening in the world.
Thanks for the informative article and keep plugging away.
In its heyday Hawaii Island before the invasion of European and American people had a native population of 150,000 people. They were entirely supported by the natural environment and resources available. Today the population is the same and over 95% of the food is imported. Theoretically the island could grow virtually every crop on the planet since it has all but one of the climate systems in the world from tropical to artic. Food such as bananas, fish and pineapple are imported now and local produce largely unavailable.
The causes for this are many. At the top of the list are economic reasons.
Tourism
Tourism supplies low paying jobs which in turn require imported cheap food. The only benefactors of the tourist trade are the Corp hotels and the government via taxes. Some hotels are charging $ 740 per night while paying staff minimum wage (slavery). The clientele would not be content eating just breadfruit and fish. Tourism is a major contributor to global warming as it produces nothing beneficial to society but only co2 emissions from air travel.
Labor
The price of local food production selling costs are inhibited by the cost of competing with the slave labor wages for imported food.
This is the same as manufacturing in the US i.e. Americans competing with overseas labor wages.
Real estate
The price of land makes it unfeasible for farming. This in turn makes housing unaffordable for local workers and businesses. Fertile land is now occupied by condos and hotels. It's called "The price of Paridise".
Some of the other factors are invasive species being imported, energy costs for food production, ecocide from required pesticide usage and environmental destruction from the tourist industry.
In short Hawaii has been destroyed by the economic system and the government. It's a prime example of what is happening in the world.
Thanks for the informative article and keep plugging away.
I was once an organic farmer and for over 30 years was working in the sustainable ag/food systems world mostly as an advocate for food security. I've been retired for 5 years and haven't been keeping up on changes as I should. I saw in your piece that you mentioned "eliminating healthy food deserts." Was that a typo or are there healthy food deserts on the local level now?
Thanks and always look forward to reading your articles.
Thank you for that history Toma. I may borrow that story when explaining these issues further. It’s a good one.
Thanks James. I added clarification to that sentence so it isn't confusing.
No worries man. Thank you for pointing out those differences to people. I think a lot of people don't understand these issues, and if they knew more about it, they would act differently as food consumers. So I encourage you to write more about it yourself.
Take care,
Matt
In its heyday Hawaii Island before the invasion of European and American people had a native population of 150,000 people. They were entirely supported by the natural environment and resources available. Today the population is the same and over 95% of the food is imported. Theoretically the island could grow virtually every crop on the planet since it has all but one of the climate systems in the world from tropical to artic. Food such as bananas, fish and pineapple are imported now and local produce largely unavailable.
The causes for this are many. At the top of the list are economic reasons.
Tourism
Tourism supplies low paying jobs which in turn require imported cheap food. The only benefactors of the tourist trade are the Corp hotels and the government via taxes. Some hotels are charging $ 740 per night while paying staff minimum wage (slavery). The clientele would not be content eating just breadfruit and fish. Tourism is a major contributor to global warming as it produces nothing beneficial to society but only co2 emissions from air travel.
Labor
The price of local food production selling costs are inhibited by the cost of competing with the slave labor wages for imported food.
This is the same as manufacturing in the US i.e. Americans competing with overseas labor wages.
Real estate
The rising cost of the price of land makes it unfeasible for farming. This in turn makes housing unaffordable for local workers and businesses. Fertile land is now occupied by condos and hotels. It's called "The price of Paridise".
Some of the other factors are invasive species being imported, energy costs for food production, ecocide from required pesticide usage and environmental destruction from the tourist industry.
In short Hawaii has been destroyed by the economic system and the government. It's a prime example of what is happening in the world.
Thanks for the informative article and keep plugging away.
In its heyday Hawaii Island before the invasion of European and American people had a native population of 150,000 people. They were entirely supported by the natural environment and resources available. Today the population is the same and over 95% of the food is imported. Theoretically the island could grow virtually every crop on the planet since it has all but one of the climate systems in the world from tropical to artic. Food such as bananas, fish and pineapple are imported now and local produce largely unavailable.
The causes for this are many. At the top of the list are economic reasons.
Tourism
Tourism supplies low paying jobs which in turn require imported cheap food. The only benefactors of the tourist trade are the Corp hotels and the government via taxes. Some hotels are charging $ 740 per night while paying staff minimum wage (slavery). The clientele would not be content eating just breadfruit and fish. Tourism is a major contributor to global warming as it produces nothing beneficial to society but only co2 emissions from air travel.
Labor
The price of local food production selling costs are inhibited by the cost of competing with the slave labor wages for imported food.
This is the same as manufacturing in the US i.e. Americans competing with overseas labor wages.
Real estate
The price of land makes it unfeasible for farming. This in turn makes housing unaffordable for local workers and businesses. Fertile land is now occupied by condos and hotels. It's called "The price of Paridise".
Some of the other factors are invasive species being imported, energy costs for food production, ecocide from required pesticide usage and environmental destruction from the tourist industry.
In short Hawaii has been destroyed by the economic system and the government. It's a prime example of what is happening in the world.
Thanks for the informative article and keep plugging away.
In its heyday Hawaii Island before the invasion of European and American people had a native population of 150,000 people. They were entirely supported by the natural environment and resources available. Today the population is the same and over 95% of the food is imported. Theoretically the island could grow virtually every crop on the planet since it has all but one of the climate systems in the world from tropical to artic. Food such as bananas, fish and pineapple are imported now and local produce largely unavailable.
The causes for this are many. At the top of the list are economic reasons.
Tourism
Tourism supplies low paying jobs which in turn require imported cheap food. The only benefactors of the tourist trade are the Corp hotels and the government via taxes. Some hotels are charging $ 740 per night while paying staff minimum wage (slavery). The clientele would not be content eating just breadfruit and fish. Tourism is a major contributor to global warming as it produces nothing beneficial to society but only co2 emissions from air travel.
Labor
The price of local food production selling costs are inhibited by the cost of competing with the slave labor wages for imported food.
This is the same as manufacturing in the US i.e. Americans competing with overseas labor wages.
Real estate
The price of land makes it unfeasible for farming. This in turn makes housing unaffordable for local workers and businesses. Fertile land is now occupied by condos and hotels. It's called "The price of Paridise".
Some of the other factors are invasive species being imported, energy costs for food production, ecocide from required pesticide usage and environmental destruction from the tourist industry.
In short Hawaii has been destroyed by the economic system and the government. It's a prime example of what is happening in the world.
Thanks for the informative article and keep plugging away.
Hi Matt
I was once an organic farmer and for over 30 years was working in the sustainable ag/food systems world mostly as an advocate for food security. I've been retired for 5 years and haven't been keeping up on changes as I should. I saw in your piece that you mentioned "eliminating healthy food deserts." Was that a typo or are there healthy food deserts on the local level now?
Thanks and always look forward to reading your articles.
James