Local Harvest

LocalHarvest Newsletter August 24, 2007 Is it just us or is 'buy local' being promoted everywhere this summer? We couldn't be more pleased. As we continue to look for new ways to support family farmers while conserving environmental resources, we are interested in stories of how the growing interest in food sources is playing out in different communities. In this month's newsletter we look at the complex food system in Hawaii, which has been shaped by its geographical isolation and weighty political/social influences. There, a movement toward ho'ea ea, or "food sovereignty" is taking root. Matt Jacobson, a longtime fan of family farms and LocalHarvest, introduces the idea in his article below.

Hawaiian Food Sovereignty: Ho'ea ea As a transplant to Hawaii, I often wonder about the origins of the food I eat in my new home state. Comprising tiny specks of land amidst the vast Pacific, Hawaii has the most isolated population in the world. Yet, we import more than two-thirds of all the food we eat. The garlic I buy at the farmers market in Hilo may have come from somewhere north of town, or, more often, somewhere north of Shanghai. Even on the Big Island, whose arable acreage dwarfs all the other islands combined, I can normally count on only getting local macadamia nuts and papayas, even at the 'farmers' market. Although watermelon and tomatoes are both raised on-island, the ones from the Mainland are far cheaper. Subsidized oil and/or cheap labor make it profitable to ship in food grown in the rich and enviably deep soils of the Mainland and China. Thus, giant container ships, their holds laden with the bounty of California and Sichuan, deliver most of the food consumed in Hawaii. Should the barges stop coming though, Oahu, home to Honolulu and 98% of the State's population, only has enough food to last three days. Read on...

From the LocalHarvest Catalog The passion fruit season is here! We have been selling these beauties by the boxful this month. Sweet, purple yumminess. Get yours before they're gone for another year! Does fall's impending arrival have you wanting to store up some food for winter? Now's a great time to order a big box of grassfed beef to feed your family well for months to come. We've got a great selection from farms all over the country. And please do visit our catalog for more goodies!

Video Worth Watching "The Power of Community" was shown at the ho'ea ea conference mentioned in the article above, and after watching it ourselves we had to pass it on to you. It's a gem. The video describes how Cubans have worked together to feed themselves since being cut off from the global food supply in the early 1990s. Though the Cubans' situation is unique, we all need examples of how humans can pull together and work toward a common good when crisis strikes. (Watch the Video...)

Nancy's Nutrition Corner: Glorious Garlic Garlic has a long history of culinary and medicinal use and has been cultivated for over 5000 years. A member of the Allium family, garlic is rich in sulfur containing compounds. These constituents are the source of garlic's strong odor; they are also responsible for its many health enhancing properties. Garlic is also a good source of manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and selenium. Read on...

Recipe Corner: Garlic - By Lorna Sass I love what Alice May Brock says about garlic in Alice's Restaurant Cookbook, made infamous by Arlo Guthrie in song: "Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good." Read on...

As always, thanks for your interest in and support of LocalHarvest.org! See you next month, and until then, take good care and eat well!

Contact Information email: newsletter@localharvest.org web: http://www.localharvest.org