Posted on: Tuesday, August 3, 2004

EDITORIAL
'Local grown' need not stay niche market

Hawai'i has come a long way from the days when most of our food products — particularly the higher-end products — "had" to be imported from the Mainland.

The rise of regional cuisine, with its demand for fresh local products; the surge of available land, as large-scale sugar and pineapple production has waned; and the growing sophistication of the local market have led to a revolution in the local food and agricultural industry.

One of the key ways this growing local industry is making connections with consumers is through the farmers' markets that have sprung up, from O'ahu to the Big Island.

One of the more successful is the Saturday morning market in the shady parking lot of Kapi'olani Community College at Diamond Head.

As outlined by staff writer Catherine Toth, this market has become a viable launching pad for small local growers, caterers, producers and others.

Sales at the morning market are brisk, but the connections made there lead to other sales and other business elsewhere.

Hawai'i will almost certainly never become totally self-sufficient for the food we eat. And there's no need to pursue that goal.

But what can be grown, made and sold here should be grown, made and sold here. It contributes to a healthy, sustainable economy and it encourages and protects our uniqueness.