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Hawaiʻi is the most geographically isolated community and heavily dependent on imported food and fuel. Roughly 85 percent of the food consumed in the island state is imported, which makes Hawaii highly vulnerable in times of crisis.
Your comment got me to thinking: I wonder how the population density of Japan and the Hawaiian Islands compare? Japan is amost totally dependent on importing most of their food and natural resources yet they are one of the most prosperous countries on the planet.
Your comment got me to thinking: I wonder how the population density of Japan and the Hawaiian Islands compare? Japan is amost totally dependent on importing most of their food and natural resources yet they are one of the most prosperous countries on the planet.
Looks like I'll be googling this afternoon.
GL2
I'm not 100% sure statistically. But as a person who has lived in Japan for awhile and spent time briefly living in Honolulu - very briefly.
Despite Honolulu's high-rises, there is still a lot of 'single family homes' with grass to mow and everything else.
Having grass to mow in Japan is nearly non-existant. Even in tiny tiny little towns, the houses are basically right on top of each other. The concept of 'yards' just doesn't exist, even in places where it technically could exist.
When I view google maps for Honolulu, I'm just amazed that most of the city has these yards with grass absolutely everywhere. Granted, nothing like the humongous lawns to mow on the mainland, but yards nontheless.
Than of course Honolulu is the most dense of the Hawaiian Islands. But minus the highrises, Honolulu's single family homes everywhere could easily fit several more homes on the same property line easily, almost anywhere in Japan, even in the rural areas, where it would appear by American eyes to be completely unnecessary.
To say that Hawaii produces "only" 15% of its own food is not a genuine statement. New York City produces 0% food, and has no ability to produce food, in an area with 20 million human beings. AND YOU CAN BUY HAWAIIAN PRODUCE THERE. How many more millions of people than its own population does the state of Kansas feed? If the figure that Hawaii "only" produces 15% of its own food is accurate, it is because of consumer choice. The correct way to phrase the statement, is that Hawaiian consumers only buy locally 15% of the time. Personally, I'm going to use my 3 acres to become as food self-sufficient as possible and have already began planting. If Hawaiians choose to eat 85% processed crap out of the Midwest of the mainland, then you should say "Hawaiians choose to eat 85% processed crap from the mainland of the USA", not "Hawaii can only produce 15% of its food". Hawaii is a food exporting state: Beef, fruits, nuts, produce, and more. IF Hawaii is importing 85% of its food from the mainland, look no further than the lines at the drive-throughs. You always see lines there... not so much at the roadside farmer's stands that discard rotten food every day.
Last edited by terracore; 01-14-2012 at 04:27 PM..
It is difficult, if not impossible to get quality beef strictly on grass. Corn ads the marbling that every chef will tell you, is where the flavor is. When tou see "grass fed" think "jerky-grade".
Another key to a great steak is to cut it and leave it in the frig until when you rub your finger on the meat, you finger smells sort of like, well, you know, tangy!!! Start it over a very hot grill and finish it in the oven, and avoid "well-done" like the plague.
I just read through the thread and noticed this comment. Although this is the currently accepted conventional wisdom, it is far from accurate.
Corn is not the thing that creates marbling in beef. What creates marbling in beef is excess caloric intake. Essentially, overfeeding them will make them obese and result in the deposition of intra-muscular fat otherwise known as marbling. Corn has typically been used because it's the cheapest grain stock available. But there are a bunch of other things thrown into "cow chow" which have much higher caloric densities than grain. Most commonly these include ground up remnants from the processing of other critters. This happens to also be the pathway whereby BSE (Mad Cow Disease) got into the food supply.
Also, the belief that grass fed cattle cannot yield USDA Prime-quality (e.g. highest possible marbling) is flat out wrong. There are two primary factors at work here:
The first is the energy conversion efficiency of the cow which is really a function of genetics. The current problem is the global genetic pool for cattle has been so overwhelmingly skewed toward feedlot operations that it's very difficult to find genetic lines which are highly efficient at converting grass into body mass. When you realize cows are ruminants which were evolutionarily designed to eat grass, this is truly a sad commentary about the state of our food production practices.
The second factor is grass quality. Due to the logic of today's conventional agricultural practices, the nutrient density of grass (as well as just about every other crop) is now extremely nutrient deficient. One of the methods of measuring this is known as Brix. Most conventional grazing pastures have been depleted to the point where their grasses max-out in the 5-6 Brix range. Well-managed, ecologically-aligned grazing pastures will produce grasses exceeding 20 Brix. When you graze good cattle genetics on grasses whose sugar and nutrient content exceed 20 Brix, you'll end up with fat cows and USDA Prime-quality marbling. You'll also get a product that is significantly healthier for humans to consume.
Sorry for gittin' all "cow tech" on y'all but I just couldn't let this misperception slide by...
terracore wrote: "Hawaiians choose to eat 85% processed crap from the mainland of the USA." Like I said in the other thread, I bet we have enough ag land to feed 1 million people, just not the processed and convenience foods people want to buy, and certainly not at the price they're willing to pay.
V-Mutt, thanks for the information. I often wondered what kind of grasses the pastures in Hawaii have, and whether the ranchers worried about improving their fields. I bet it isn't the ideal Great Plains grasses that fed the bison of North America, but with plenty of sun and water, it should be nutritious.
I just read through the thread and noticed this comment. Although this is the currently accepted conventional wisdom, it is far from accurate.
Corn is not the thing that creates marbling in beef. What creates marbling in beef is excess caloric intake. Essentially, overfeeding them will make them obese and result in the deposition of intra-muscular fat otherwise known as marbling. Corn has typically been used because it's the cheapest grain stock available. But there are a bunch of other things thrown into "cow chow" which have much higher caloric densities than grain. Most commonly these include ground up remnants from the processing of other critters. This happens to also be the pathway whereby BSE (Mad Cow Disease) got into the food supply.
Also, the belief that grass fed cattle cannot yield USDA Prime-quality (e.g. highest possible marbling) is flat out wrong. There are two primary factors at work here:
The first is the energy conversion efficiency of the cow which is really a function of genetics. The current problem is the global genetic pool for cattle has been so overwhelmingly skewed toward feedlot operations that it's very difficult to find genetic lines which are highly efficient at converting grass into body mass. When you realize cows are ruminants which were evolutionarily designed to eat grass, this is truly a sad commentary about the state of our food production practices.
The second factor is grass quality. Due to the logic of today's conventional agricultural practices, the nutrient density of grass (as well as just about every other crop) is now extremely nutrient deficient. One of the methods of measuring this is known as Brix. Most conventional grazing pastures have been depleted to the point where their grasses max-out in the 5-6 Brix range. Well-managed, ecologically-aligned grazing pastures will produce grasses exceeding 20 Brix. When you graze good cattle genetics on grasses whose sugar and nutrient content exceed 20 Brix, you'll end up with fat cows and USDA Prime-quality marbling. You'll also get a product that is significantly healthier for humans to consume.
Sorry for gittin' all "cow tech" on y'all but I just couldn't let this misperception slide by...
I say again, its the corn.
Without it, or some other grain, it's Utility Grade. Check out the local freed lots (places where cows raised, initially, on grass, are brought to a ready-for-market condition with grain. Of course, there is always silage, sorghum, but in the end, corn is the heavy lifter.
[color=black][font=Verdana]To say that Hawaii produces "only" 15% of its own food is not a genuine statement.
Sorry, that IS a bonafied government statistic. 85% of the food eaten in Hawai'i is shipped in.
And yes, Hawai'i exports food.
So what's the scoop? There are few mainstream staple foods grown in Hawai'i, so wheat, corn, rice, etc. get shipped in. And what gets shipped out is exotic and high-value tropical produce... papayas, macadamia nuts, coffee, etc. Most chicken and eggs are shipped in, most grass-fed beef is shipped out.
The last is one of the great ironies... most of the beef eaten in Hawai'i is shipped in, while most of the beef grown in Hawai'i is shipped out.
Why? Quality and price. What gets shipped out is very high quality and expensive. What gets shipped in is lower quality, and lower price, even with the cost of shipping factored in. Parker Ranch beef, for example, mostly goes to high end mainland restaurants. And when local grass-fed beef is available, it's more expensive than corn-fed beef from the mainland (and is not to everyone's taste) .
The same is true of coffee. Kona coffee is world famous, and expensive (and Ka'u coffee is right behind it) but most of the coffee actually consumed in Hawai'i is imported, because it is cheaper. Even a lot of "local" blends are only 10% Kona, to keep the cost down.
CAN you eat 100% locally produced foods? Of course, and personally I come close to it. But I mostly shop at Farmers Markets, and I eat what is available and in season, which is primarily stuff that is not on the average family's shopping list. But even the locally baked bread I eat is made from imported ingredients. And a family with kids is likely not going to forego their Kraft Mac 'n Cheese or Jiffy Peanut Butter or Kellog's Frosted Flakes or Nestle's Quick in favor of more taro and purple sweet potatoes.
IOW, it's impossible to grow all the food people WANT on the islands.
Ok, I know this has nothing to do with Hawai'i, but since there seems to be people here that know a lot more than I do about beef, I thought I would ask. When I was a kid we would raise our own cattle, chickens, pigs etc... and I used to love steak! Now, steak has an bad taste to me, kind of like liver. A friend of mine suggested I give Ruth Chris Steak House a try, and same thing. Once you chewed the seasoning off... YUK! Anyone know why this is?
Without it, or some other grain, it's Utility Grade. Check out the local freed lots (places where cows raised, initially, on grass, are brought to a ready-for-market condition with grain. Of course, there is always silage, sorghum, but in the end, corn is the heavy lifter.
You can keep saying it over and over again. But, it won't change the inaccuracy your original statements.
Not only is it possible to produce USDA Prime grade marbling from cattle on an exclusive grass diet, it's currently being achieved across the country, including in Hawaii. Considering this, the belief that a diet without corn or some other grain results in Utility Grade beef is not credible.
Simply because corn is the primary feed employed by large scale, commercial beef producers to fatten their cattle, it's a logical fallacy to infer this is the only method which can achieve the gold standard of USDA Prime. There are some serious issues associated with the conventional commercial beef production model. The recognition of the gravity of these issues are what fueled all the work done to create an equivalent or better beef product from an exclusively grass-based diet.
Ok, I know this has nothing to do with Hawai'i, but since there seems to be people here that know a lot more than I do about beef, I thought I would ask. When I was a kid we would raise our own cattle, chickens, pigs etc... and I used to love steak! Now, steak has an bad taste to me, kind of like liver. A friend of mine suggested I give Ruth Chris Steak House a try, and same thing. Once you chewed the seasoning off... YUK! Anyone know why this is?
Maybe it's you and not the beef.
Or could be the stuff they feed them and how they're raised. Have you tried free range grass fed beef?
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