Category Archives: Current Affairs

Community, Current Affairs, Eating Locally, Government

Volatile Situation

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At a recent planning commission meeting, I testified in favor of Councilman Stacy Higa’s initiative to ban superstores on the Big Island. Let me tell you why.

On any given day, 70 percent of Hawai‘i’s food is imported. And it is estimated that we have only seven to 10 days of food in the pipeline. We live on islands in the middle of the Pacific and it’s clear to me that we need to produce MORE foods locally, not less.

I have no objection to importing 100 percent of our computers, TV sets, stoves and cars. We cannot make these items here in Hawai‘i. And even if shipping was interrupted, we could adapt or make do without them.

But it is quite a different story with food. If shipping is interrupted for any length of time, and our food supply is cut off and people become desperate, we could have a very volatile and dangerous situation.

We depend on food for our very lives. Therefore, we must try to become as self-sufficient in food production as we can. We must grow as much of the food that we can here in Hawaii.

Superstores are not committed to supporting local agriculture production.They are geared to providing cheap food. Small farmers cannot meet the high-tech, steady supply requirements necessary to supply superstores with cheap food.

If the cost of that “cheap food” is that small, local farmers are forced out of business and Hawai‘i has to import even more than 70 percent of the food it consumes, that cost is way too high!

In contrast, some of our local supermarkets have consistently supported local farmers for many, many years. KTA Supermarkets has its Mountain Apple brand, which identifies items grown or produced locally. We farmers all know how committed KTA is to its local farmer program. It is what the company does, not just what it says, that resonates.

Foodland Supermarkets is also committed to supporting local farmers. Foodland has recently kicked off its Island Market program to showcase locally grown products.

When supercenters establish themselves in Hawai‘i, though, these local supermarkets cannot grow. And if they cannot grow, local small farmers cannot grow. Ultimately, the result is that we grow even less of the food we eat here, and are forced to depend even more on imports.

Clearly, this cannot go on indefinitely. For me, the time to stand up was at that recent planning commission meeting.

Biofuel, Current Affairs, History, Sustainability

Biofuel

Nancy Redfeather, a friend and sustainable farming advocate in Kona, sent me a link to this article in the Maui News.

When I was on Maui recently, I attended a biofuel meeting sponsored by Hawaii Electric Light Company. The article quoted me as being one of the few testifying in favor of the plan to replace fossil fuel diesel with bio diesel, made from palm oil.

I thought I’d share my response to Nancy, in order to give a little bit of context to my testimony:

Hi Nancy:

Thanks for sending me this.

I was on Maui visiting supermarkets and wholesalers when I attended that biodiesel meeting. That was the fourth bioenergy meeting I had attended.

I believe we need to figure out how the Big Island can become sustainable in energy, as well as in food production. We are in the process of building a hydroelectric plant at the farm. That will allow us to get off the grid.

HECO says it is committed to sourcing only palm oil that is certified sustainable. Some people seemed skeptical and even disappointed that NRDC was trying to do a third-party certification program for palm oil farming.

Since, in 1993, our farm—Kea’au Banana Plantation—was the first banana farm in the world to be certified ECO O.K. by the Rainforest Alliance, I related our experience with what happened as a result of the certification program.

During the early 1990s, the Central/South American banana industry was notorious for its poor sustainable/environmental/worker health record. As a result, the Rainforest Alliance, headquartered in New York City, decided to start a certification program. We read about it when a friend on the mainland, who knew our sustainable farming philosophy, sent me a copy of the World Watch magazine, in which the planned banana certification program was described.

We looked at the protocol and saw that we were not far from what they required. So I called the Rainforest Alliance and told them what we were doing. They sent two inspectors from their San Jose, Costa Rica office to inspect us. They were amazed that a banana farm in Hawai‘i, of all places, was pretty much in compliance. The inspectors told me they were getting stiff resistance from the large banana companies in Central America.

To make a long story short, their Board met and we passed. But I was told that there was consternation in Central America, and that it would not do to have a foreign company become the first banana company in the world to be certified ECO O.K. So a few weeks went by until they found a small grower in Costa Rica who could qualify. Then we were both allowed to say we were first in the world.

The result was that other farms started to transform themselves so they could be certified ECO O.K. In a short time it became clear that, because of marketing pressure, the large banana companies could no longer resist—and they started to clean up their acts.

On Maui, I related how our company was instrumental in changing the behavior of the world’s banana industry because of the Rainforest Alliance’s third party certification program. I told everyone that I felt that NRDC was trying to achieve the same thing—transform palm oil production behavior worldwide—and that I had actually seen it work.

But it seems clear to me that this is a complex issue on Maui.

Anyway, that is the story behind the story.

Current Affairs

Black and White and Read All Over

Richard Ha writes:

Yesterday’s Honolulu Advertiser had this headline on its front page: “FDA Lacks Crop Safety Research, Expert Says.”

The article stated that in spite of recurring incidents of microbial contamination of leafy vegetables, the FDA still hasn’t done the basic research necessary to identify solutions to the problem. It said the FDA hopes state authorities will take the lead in preventing disease outbreak.

This is not a new situation. When we started looking into diversifying our farm nearly five years ago, we knew that microbial contamination was a serious and gowing problem.

We also knew then that E. coli 157:H7 was associated with cattle manure. And that a major pathway through which E. coli can spread is water.

Knowing this, we did not wait. We put into place preventative measures necessary to prevent the contamination of vegetables by the virulent strain E. coli 157:H7.

First, we decided to grow hydroponically, because this method of growing gives us the best opportunity to avoid microbial contamination.

We became food safety certified because food safety certification organizations address microbial contamination issues. Every time we change the water we use to grow our lettuces, we test it for E. coli. We make sure that the spray water and the processing water is County-standard water.

We decided not to grow organically because of the risk associated with composting manure.

We fenced our reservoirs and water storage areas so that animals cannot contaminate our water.

We did not wait for the FDA to issue instructions about microbial contamination. Instead we did what we had to do in order to insure that our vegetables would be safe. That was five years ago. We’re glad that we chose to grow our vegetables hydroponically.

Also in yesterday’s Advertiser was a Viewpoint article, on the editorial page, by Waimea chef Peter Merriman. He writes about Sustainable Farming Vital For Health of Isles. He also wrote that, “Support for produce cultivated in Hawaii benefits everyone.”

Peter writes that “sustainable farming is vital for the health of the islands. It helps perpetuate Hawaii’s agriculture heritage. In addition to self sufficiency and food security, farming adds cultural depth to our communities and ensures a rewarding lifestyle for our agricultural workers.”

Thanks to Peter, and the rest of the Hawaii Regional Cuisine Chefs, for showing that there is added value in growing fresher, higher-quality crops for Hawai‘i’s people.

Current Affairs, How We Do It

We’re Clean

Richard Ha writes:

E. coli is in the news again, as green onions and now lettuce are now suspected of harboring the bacteria that made many people sick at Taco Bells on the East Coast. This has happened many times before.

We are making sure it doesn’t happen because of us.

Several years ago, we voluntarily became Food Safety Certified. Every year our operations are inspected, and the inspection protocol addresses and eliminates conditions that allow the E. coli bacteria to contaminate food products.

Some of the issues addressed:

There are no domesticated animals allowed in and around our farm.

We use city water for processing and spraying.

Reservoir_5

Our irrigation water source is fenced and otherwise protected from contamination by wild animals. We test the water source quarterly for E. coli and it has never tested positive. We are in the process of voluntarily testing even more frequently than that. We want to make sure our workers, as well as our customers, feel confident about our procedures.

We provide toilet facilities for all our workers; and soap, wash water and paper towels are provided for them.

Our employees are trained in food handling, food safety procedures and personal hygiene, and classes are documented.

Harvest bins are cleaned, sanitized and then documented. Harvest bins are not allowed to be in contact with the ground. Any fruit/vegetable that falls on the ground is discarded.

We are glad we voluntarily became Food Safety Certified. We always want to be proactive and in the forefront of food safety. We want our customers to rest assured that we are trying to do the right thing at all times.

Current Affairs, Lettuce

Go Ahead, Eat a Salad

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Richard Ha writes:

Lettuce has been in the news, of course, since some of a mainland grower’s produce was recently recalled due to possible E. coli contamination.

Let me tell you what we do at Hamakua Springs to make sure that doesn’t happen here:

First of all, the E. coli bacteria is primarily associated with cattle operations and contaminated irrigation water, as well as field sanitation. There are no cattle operations that compromise our irrigation water. In addition, we regularly check the water we use for E. coli. We have not once tested positive since we started our hydroponic operations.

We also sanitize the water our plants grow in with chlorine, and we sanitize the beds themselves with chlorine after each crop.

Our vegetable crops are grown indoors. This eliminates the possibility of water splashing contaminated soils onto the lettuce, and means our lettuces are never in danger of contamination by flooding. And soon after harvest the lettuces are placed in cold temperatures, which slow down bacterial action.

We don’t use manures or compost when growing our lettuce; instead, we use sterile media.

Our people are instructed in proper hygiene. Anyone with a communicable illness is not allowed to work with the vegetables. They always wear gloves when handling the lettuce.

So go ahead and eat your Hamakua Springs lettuce. You can make yourself and your family a big, healthy Hamakua Springs salad—Chef’s Select baby lettuce maybe, with slices of crisp, crunchy Japanese cucumber and some Hamakua Sweets tomatoes—and eat it in full confidence that we’re on top of things over here.

Current Affairs, Lettuce

Lettuce Reassure You

Richard Ha writes:

It’s no secret that E. coli and spinach have been in the news recently. News stories about the recent spinach recall have been making me think about how Hamakua Springs Country Farms came to be Food Safety Certified, and how we always try to prepare for the future.

More than 15 years ago, when we started to expand our banana operation, we knew that being environmentally friendly was the right thing to do. And so we set out to make sure we operated that way. In 1992, we were the first banana farm in the world to be certified “Eco O.K.” by the Rainforest Alliance, the world’s largest third-party certifying environmental organization.

Next, we were certified as a “sustainable farm” by The Food Alliance, a sustainable certification organization from the Pacific Northwest. Later, our company was one of six finalists for the national Patrick Madden award, a sustainable farming award sponsored by the USDA.

About four years ago we applied to get our banana operation “food safety certified.” We were not required to do this; we just knew it was the right thing to do. To be food safety certified, there were approximately 60 line items to address in each of the growing and processing operations. Each time we are recertified, the requirements are stricter. We have learned from this and become better operators.

When we started our hydroponic tomato operation four years ago, we already knew what critical food safety points needed to be addressed. Most of the line items in being food safety certified for tomatoes were similar to what we already followed for our banana operation. Though we wanted to be sure to address the fact that people eat tomato skins, which the Food Safety certification does cover.

Two years ago, we started planning to grow lettuce and other leafy greens. Because we have experience in food safety issues, we were able to plan and implement a system that specifically addresses growing lettuce, herbs and spinach. Basically, all the food safety issues pertaining to growing tomatoes also apply to growing leafy greens.

But safety is even more critical with lettuces and similar crops. First, because the leaves are eaten. But also because such plants usually grow in soil, and any microbes found in the soil, or in irrigation water, could readily contaminate the plants. Furthermore, once the plants are contaminated, it is difficult, or even impossible, to decontaminate them in the processing operation.

As we planned our leafy green crops, we were very conscious that since 1995 there had been more than 15 cases of E. coli contaminating leafy vegetables in the mainland U.S. Some knowledgeable people we respect feel such contamination likely comes from contaminated water associated with the cattle industry—mostly irrigation water, flooded fields or even just rain splashing contaminated water onto the edible parts of the plants.

We wanted to avoid the risks associated with contaminated water and contaminated soil. That’s why we chose to grow our lettuce and similar crops hydroponically, using sanitized water, sterile growing media and overhead covers that protect against rain splash.

We started two years ago. It was not easy, largely because it was a new system that we had to develop on the fly, and it isn’t the cheapest way to grow crops. But this method of growing gives us the level of comfort we need for our customers and ourselves.

Obviously, we do not much like the idea of being dragged kicking and screaming into the future. We prefer thinking, planning and preparing for the future ahead of time. Which is what we have done with our leafy green crops.

We are relieved to realize that the extreme safety measures we set up from the start will help us avoid situations like the one now plaguing farmers, and consumers, in central California and beyond. And we continue to scan the horizon to see what might be coming up in the future that we need to focus on right now.