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I'm wondering why it is a NEGATIVE thing to eat healthy local produce vs. processed grocery store foods...or how it would be better for the BI economy for people to buy processed foods from out of state rather than buying local produce from local farmers?
I'm wondering why it is a NEGATIVE thing to eat healthy local produce vs. processed grocery store foods...or how it would be better for the BI economy for people to buy processed foods from out of state rather than buying local produce from local farmers?
Indeed, HiloDiver, indeed. Governor Abercrombie is trying to get traction on his initiative to make Hawai'i more "food secure," and the Island of Hawai'i, with its vast agricultural resources, is key to the success of that thrust. All the islands have agricultural resources that can be improved, but the BI is clearly the logical "breadbasket" for the state, with its great resources of agricultural land that is currently fallow.
The key issue holding that reality back is the average consumer's reliance on processed food products from the mainland. Typically quoted figures are that Hawai'i has less than a week's fresh food on hand, and in the event of a total breakdown in ocean traffic, would completely run out of food in less than a month. To me this is a preposterous position for the state to be in, when we have so much rich soil and year around growing climate. But as long as people sit down to breakfasts of corn flakes from the mainland, and milk from the mainland, and a glass of orange juice from the mainland, along with maybe an egg from the mainland, it's self-perpetuating.
What we need most is a new level of thinking and acting around these issues by the general public.
No need to be so defensive. That's the hard part of reading your essay. You try too hard to make it sound like some utopia and if you didn't come off so severely defensive on each response it would be more credible. The Maui, Oahu, and Kauai posters don't have that defensive trait. Certainly visitor arrivals and visitor growth on the BI don't compare to the other islands so I'm apparently not the only one who shares that view.
People should have differing opinions on a message. Your way is not the only way.
When we lived in Alaska we had a gigantic expensive house. Which is what you need when you don't want to go outside 8 months out of the year. People who complain of "rock fever" would never complain again if they had to deal with its far worse counterpart "cabin fever". It would have taken at least 60' of container space, maybe 80' to bring all our stuff here. We did get rid of almost everything and brought over a 20' container, mostly because we had some specialized equipment that would have been more expensive to replace than to ship. We used the extra space for household goods. Most of the things we brought are OK but some of them will eventually be dumped because of the climate. And we moved from one rain forest to another. We don't have air conditioning or dehumidifier and have no intentions of paying to operate one. It seems like most houses here are HPM, Argus, or some other variety of kit home and they are small. We love our small home, especially the fact that we can paint it, clean the gutters, etc all by ourselves. To us living aloha is about spending time outside including our screened lanai.
After we moved here it was about 6 weeks before we saw our container again. All the "important" stuff (computers, documents, etc) we brought with us or had previously shipped. It was kind of a drag getting the container. After only 6 weeks it was like opening a present we really didn't want. And in all honesty a good half the contents are still inside it. Some of it we have used (think garage stuff) and some stuff we haven't used yet. Some of it will probably get tossed. But we could have easily lived without any of it. There are lots of things we got rid of in Alaska and replaced here with new stuff but they were all things that needed to be replaced anyway. Our mattresses were at the end of their lifespan, most of our furniture had outlived our dogs... you get the point. We did bring our newer expensive leather furniture and with regular wipe downs they are doing just fine in this climate.
People here have made good points. It may make a lot of sense to bring your stuff with you. Every person's situation is different. But most people I have talked to- the consensus is that mainland "stuff" doesn't fit an island lifestyle. Even with our drastic downsizing and island planning we still made mistakes (tell me again why I have 3 boxes of molding winter clothes? Sure I'll visit the mainland someday but will those clothes even be suitable to wear by then? Will they fit me?)
Armed with all the good information on this forum people can evaluate their own lives and make good informed choices. But if you aren't sure you can or can't live without something, think about whether you want to get $2 for it at a garage sale on the mainland, or pay $20 to bring it here, only to find out that it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit your lifestyle, it starts to disintegrate, or after 6 weeks you had forgotten you had ever owned it...
I love the Big Island. I could live on any of the islands I wanted, so moving here was not because we were broke. Perhaps that is why we were able to put into the mix to utilize a container when we returned from the mainland .... we had things we wanted to keep (the replacement cost in Hawaii would be high), and we could afford a container.
We bought containers when we moved inter-island, and later sold them. The fact we could afford to do so helped to put that into the mix of options we looked at.
My point is that there is not a "one size fits all" when moving. Folks need to look at their own circumstances, and do their own math, and do their own evaluation of the importance of their possessions, and make their own choices. No option is the "wrong decision", if that decision is right for the individual.
But if you aren't sure you can or can't live without something, think about whether you want to get $2 for it at a garage sale on the mainland, or pay $20 to bring it here, only to find out that it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit your lifestyle, it starts to disintegrate, or after 6 weeks you had forgotten you had ever owned it...
This is another illustration of why it is important to "do the math". For us, who were already shipping a container (which is not based upon weight), it did not increase the price to bring along a spare coat we might only use for camping, or a set of children's books that might only last a few more years. We were not paying a penny more to bring those things. Now, would I have paid an extra $20 for each of those items, no way. But realistically, when doing pricing and comparisons, a person needs to look at all the options and the actual prices for those options.
I'm wondering why it is a NEGATIVE thing to eat healthy local produce vs. processed grocery store foods...or how it would be better for the BI economy for people to buy processed foods from out of state rather than buying local produce from local farmers?
After 15 years in Alaska eating mostly only processed foods and produce barged in from South America we took our first vacation to the Big Island. We stopped at a small farmer's stand on the side of the road and couldn't believe how much fresh fruits and vegetables we could get for only a few dollars. We were hooked. Since moving here it has become the bulk of our diet. I quickly lost 20 pounds and we feel much healthier. We are now growing a lot of our own food and supplement that with stuff from the farmer's markets. I think it's one of the best things about living on the Big Island. The hens we bought as chicks have recently started laying eggs, we are plucking fresh produce from our garden, we are getting fruit off our trees. Life is plenty good. To eat something that was harvested minutes ago instead of weeks ago... and artificially ripened... there is no way to put a dollar value on something like that.
To eat something that was harvested minutes ago instead of weeks ago... and artificially ripened... there is no way to put a dollar value on something like that.
Exactly. And that's part of a lifestyle choice which is simply not available everywhere.
This is another illustration of why it is important to "do the math". For us, who were already shipping a container (which is not based upon weight), it did not increase the price to bring along a spare coat we might only use for camping, or a set of children's books that might only last a few more years. We were not paying a penny more to bring those things. Now, would I have paid an extra $20 for each of those items, no way. But realistically, when doing pricing and comparisons, a person needs to look at all the options and the actual prices for those options.
You have brought up a very good point which in fairness of "full disclosure" I need to point out that my personal experience was moving to Hawaii from Alaska which means moving the stuff TWICE. It takes one barge shipment BY WEIGHT to get it to the mainland and then a second shipment to get it to Hawaii BY VOLUME. I don't know why the difference. Maybe because pushing/pulling barges through cold water uses more fuel.... I don't know. In either case the minimum weight charge for a 20' out of Alaska is 3,000 pounds (plus the tare weight (weight of the container)). Ours weighed 7,000 (plus tare) so we had to pay a per-pound charge on everything over the first 3,000.
That all being said, if the cost of shipping our stuff was only 50% of what it actually was, my advice would still be exactly the same.
I'm wondering why it is a NEGATIVE thing to eat healthy local produce vs. processed grocery store foods...
The wonderful farmers markets are one of my very favorite things about visiting Hawaii. One of the first things I do after landing is to find out where and when the different farmers markets are and I try to hit them all! Another thing we do is find out the best places to get homemade Lau Lau.
Ok, now we are REALLY off topic and I am hungry!
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