The Kino'ole Farmers Market in Hilo, on the Big Island of Hawaii, (see photos here and here) has created requirements for its vendors to make sure that they are selling only what was grown on the island. Luana Beck, president of the Hilo County Farm Bureau and a vendor at the market, recently told the Big Island Weekly that shoppers at other markets on the island can't be sure that what they are getting from a seller, who may strike a convincing pose as a real-deal farmer, was actually locally grown. Many vendors ship in their products and sell those items, which are "far from fresh," to unsuspecting buyers, the paper reported. Farmers who sell at the Hilo market say those so-called farmers markets are undercutting local agriculture, in more ways than meet the eye. As Mae Kayler, treasurer of the Hilo County Farm Bureau and owner of Moon Garden Farms in Mountain View, explained:
"I have heard that the Big Island could grow enough produce for all the islands. Unfortunately, it's not being done. Instead, we're importing everything and bringing in alien species like the fire ants, coqui frogs, varroa mites, stinging nettles, etc., that continue to make farming a costly venture that requires poisons. If we could stop importing items that can be produced here on the Big Island, we could get a better handle on the bugs and then we could let farmers do what they do best, which is farm and feed the islands."
Beck told the Big Island Weekly how the Kino'ole Farmers Market in Hilo addresses the problem:
"The whole theory of the Kino'ole Farmers Market is that all vendors are required to be members of the Hilo Farm Bureau -- that way we can promote locally grown, fresh products. Everything at this market is done locally."
Recent Comments