Were global trade to be disrupted, Hawaii would be particularly susceptible to food shortages, as the state imports the vast majority of what it consumes.
Senate Bill 1313, pending at the Legislature, aims to change that by making Hawaii more self-sufficient.
Currently, Hawaii imports 90 percent of beef,
67 percent of vegetables, 65 percent of fruit and 80 percent of milk, according to the bill.
The state’s unusually high dependence on imports is due in part to its isolation, which “places residents directly at risk of food shortages in the event of natural disasters, economic disruption, and other external factors beyond the state’s control,” according to the bill.
State Sen. Brickwood
Galuteria (D, Waikiki-Ala Moana-Kakaako-McCully-Moiliili) introduced the measure, designed to enhance local marketing campaigns promoting locally grown food and to make branding and labeling more prominent so that consumers can more easily opt to buy local.
“To feed the general population, we can do much better,” Galuteria said. “What we’d like to do is simply balance the playing field for locally grown product and have a policy that suggests we want to (decrease) the percentage of imported foods.”
Galuteria said this bill is a culmination of several years’ worth of legislative efforts regarding agricultural infrastructure.
If ratified, this bill could also stimulate job creation and economic vitality for the state, he said.
The state estimates that more than 2,300 jobs could also be created if Hawaii replaced 10 percent of food imports with locally produced goods. That would also keep
$313 million circulating in the Hawaii economy that now leaves the state, according to a 2012 report published by the state Office of Planning and the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
According to the report, “Increased Food Security and Food Self-Sufficiency Strategy,” Hawaii already produces almost all of the watercress, green onions and malunggay leaves consumed here and produces about 75 percent of tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet potatoes and sweet corn marketed in Hawaii.
Local farmers also satisfy some of the Hawaii demand for fruits such as papaya, bananas, pineapple, mango and lychee.
The report proposes a strategy that includes improving agricultural parks, irrigation systems and distribution facilities as a way to achieve food independence.
Randy Cabral, president of the Hawaii Farm Bureau, expressed support for SB 1313 through written testimony.
However, Cabral also wrote the bureau contends the bill would prioritize food agriculture over “non-food enterprises” like flowers.
“While we do see food resiliency as a priority, we support all forms of agriculture,” Cabral wrote. “This measure clearly would place emphasis on food and may leave non-food enterprises neglected. We would like to see Hawaii Food Resiliency Initiative focus on all agriculture rather than just food.”
SB 1313 passed its second reading and was referred to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which approved it Friday by a vote of 10-0, with one abstention.
