Chris Robb

Robb Farms, located in Waimea on Hawai‘i Island, specializes in growing US Department of Agriculture–certified organic vegetables and fruits. The owner-operator, Chris Robb, has been growing organically for over thirty years. This narrative is written by Nicole Milne, based on an interview in July 2012 with Chris Robb....

Labor of Meaning, Labor of Need

This chapter critically examines the promise of organic farm volunteering programs such as WWOOF in meeting organic farmers’ need for affordable labor in Hawaii. While organic farm volunteering offers a short term coping strategy for some organic farmers, the cultural logic and rationale that propels these programs perpetuates the underlying labor problems that plague small organic farms. This chapter demonstrates the limitations of organic farm volunteering when utilized as a form of civic participation to drive economic and socio-environmental change.

Hi‘ilei Kawelo

Hi‘ilei Kawelo is one of the founding members of the nonprofit, Paepae o He‘eia, and she still works there as director. Paepae o He‘eia is an organization that tries to restore fishponds in He‘eia, O‘ahu. This narrative is based on an interview conducted by Monique Mironesco in 2012....

Food Security in Hawai‘i

This chapter challenges the uncritical pursuit of food self-sufficiency that has been rationalized as increasing the state’s preparedness against shipping disruption. It argues that this effort might increase food’s cost, and reiterates the point that local food is not necessarily fair as low-income consumers could be sidelined in the push for food localization. In contrast to the enthusiasm for promoting agriculture and local food production in the state, relatively little has been done in addressing food insecurity of the poor, especially by the state government. Food democracy needs to consider food security for all—particularly the poor and the marginalized.

Introduction

This chapter introduces the concept of food democracy through which we can analyze a few initiatives that emerge from discussions on food systems in Hawaii. It also presents a short history of Hawaii’s agro-food systems to contextualize the diverse initiatives discussed in the book. We then provide short synopsis of the subsequent chapters and highlight how they open a space for discussion in multiple venues, such as in the legislative arena and in the market place, while being attentive to the broader challenge posed by neoliberal economic policies.

Epilogue

The chapter provides a synthesis and highlights important themes that emerge from the collection, including the class and race biases in food localization projects; the need to integrate the socio-cultural dimension in food debates; the controversies surrounding the development of GM crops; and the place of local food in tourism-dependent places. Each chapter in the volume critically analyzes the different initiatives within the political economy context, identifying the pitfalls and contradictions that might threaten the effectiveness of the initiatives, while highlighting the diverse potential to engage citizens in food democracy.

Dean Okimoto

Dean Okimoto is a farmer and president of Nalo Farms. Established as a family business in 1983, Nalo Farms initially specialized in local fruits, daikon, and green onions. A fortunate meeting with Chef Roy Yamaguchi resulted in the creation of “Nalo Greens,” a signature mix of baby greens and edible nasturtium flowers. Today, over one hundred restaurants and farmers’ markets carry Nalo Farms products. This narrative is written by Nicole Milne, based on an interview with Dean Okimoto in July 2012....

Farming on the Margin

The chapter examines the circumstances of organic agriculture in Hawai‘i. Given the prominent role played by women in organic agriculture in the US, a particular attention is paid to the role of women and the gendered challenges they face. The chapter shows how women organic farmers have to navigate tensions around hobby farm vs. real farm, philosophical commitment to organic agriculture vs. commercial motivations, and intensification of agriculture vs. more community-oriented one.

Seeds of Contestation

The chapter examines the emergence of Hawai‘i’s seed corn industry (HSCI) that has skyrocketed since the mid-2000s while other types of agriculture faltered. Hawai‘i had served as a winter nursery for seed corporations since the 1960s, but this relatively minor role dramatically changed in the 2000s when the corn seed industry underwent a series of techno-scientific innovations and organizational restructuring. The chapter demonstrates how operating a year-round nursery such as those found in Hawai‘i became a critical strategy for a seed corporation to remain competitive. The new structure also increases technical and capital barrier to entry and furthers consolidation of the seed supply industry. As these agricultural corporations became more dominant, genetic engineering became a potent symbol of everything that was wrong with globalization and agricultural industrialization, and the most vigorously contested agricultural technology, especially in Hawai‘i.

Is the Transgene a Grave?

This chapter examines the controversies that surround the introduction of transgenic papaya on Hawaii Island, in the wake of the devastation caused by the ring spot virus in the 1990s. It critically examines the respective positions of industry proponents and anti-GM activists, and cautions against the tendency of essentializing GM papayas as either a savior or harbinger of destruction. While both positions raise valid underlying concerns, they both tend to overlook the more difficult challenges of managing smallholder papaya industry in a global market. On the one hand, the benefits and costs of GM papayas are unevenly distributed. On the other hand, he sees a problem in anti-GMO activists’ push for “pure” agriculture, pointing out that the line between “pure” and “impure” and “natural” and “unnatural” are always ambiguous.