Why Food Sovereignty?
Why Food Sovereignty?
Food Sovereignty is a God given inalienable birth right. It is the right to grow, raise, and process our own food. It also means access to a clean water source and the ability to save and swap our seeds. Without food sovereignty, we don’t have the right to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness.
How does Food Sovereignty work?
Food Sovereignty works best by building relationships. We all have our strengths, knowledge, and skills that we can share with our community. We reserve the right to have the community determine the quantity and quality of our food. The food supplier, food distributor, and consumer builds and maintains a relationship based on similar values, open communication, and transparency.
Does Hawaii have a Food Sovereignty movement?
Fighting for sovereignty and the right to self-determination is nothing new to the Hawaiian people.
In 2002, the University of Hawaii patented three varieties of hybridized Polynesian taro forcing farmers to sign a licensing agreement with the University. This would prohibit Kalo (Taro) Farmers from selling or breeding the patented plants and would require them to pay royalties to UH. This caused outrage among the local people and heated protest took place on the University campus, at the State Capitol and throughout the islands.
In February 2006, Hawaiian activist Walter Ritte and taro farmer Chris Kobayashi, with the help of the Center For Food Safety, presented a letter to the University demanding that UH drop their patents on taro. By June 2006, the University of Hawaii dropped its patents on 3 varieties of taro and an important question was raised, “Who owns life?”
The Food Sovereignty struggle continues in Hawaii…
Hawaii once had over 20,000 acres of organic taro fields and now there are less than 50 acres. It is alarming that Hawaii no longer has enough agricultural production to feed its own people.
About 8 years ago, a TEDxMaui video called “What you put in your mouth can change the world” inspired us to start growing Kalo in the continental United States to help reconnect our family to our ancestral food source.
While traditionally pounding poi (Taro root) on stage, Daniel Anthony of Mana Ai explained how his family’s water rights handed down by King Kamehameha IV were taken away and how their Kalo fields dried up because they couldn’t pay the water bill. This caused him to grow up with a lot of anger and he spent years rebelling.
One day, Anthony decided to quit his job and start the first traditional poi business in contemporary Hawaii. Soon after, the State of Hawaii Department of Health issued a cease-and-desist order with a $1,000 a day fine if Anthony didn’t immediately shut down his business. Not having the financial resources to fight this, he started teaching people how to pound their own poi and began a black-market poi industry.
After a year of selling in the underground market, a local restaurant on Maui was cited by the Hawaii State Department of Health for selling illegal paiai (traditionally made poi) and forced them to throw away 20 pounds of it. According to Anthony, the story made the evening news and there was a public outcry. With community support Anthony formed a grassroots organization called The Legalize Paiai Ohana and was able to get the traditional recipe for Paiai legalized and signed into law by the Governor of Hawaii in 2011.
What about Food Sovereignty elsewhere?
In 2017, Maine was the first State to establish a food sovereignty law. In 2021, through a coalition of grassroots efforts, Maine became the first state to clearly secure the right to food in its State Constitution. The Amendment to the Constitution of Maine is stated below:
“Right to food. All individuals have a natural, inherent and unalienable right to food, including the right to save and exchange seeds and the right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing for their own nourishment, sustenance, bodily health and well-being, as long as an individual does not commit trespassing, theft, poaching or other abuses of private property rights, public lands or natural resources in the harvesting, production or acquisition of food.”
Why is Food Sovereignty important in Northeastern TN?
What happens in other places in the world has a ripple effect on the rest of us. Our community is already experiencing a shortage of food, and many are worried about food insecurity.
According to Feeding America, 100% of U.S. counties have food insecurity, 34 million Americans are currently food insecure, and rural communities are especially hard hit by hunger. Map the Meal Gap shows that Hawkins County has a food insecurity rate of 15.5% and that it would take an additional $4,769,000 to meet the food needs in just our county alone.
Where do we go from here?
People want to know where their food comes from, how it is grown and/or raised, who has contact with our food supply, what inputs like machines, energy, chemicals, and fertilizers are used, how far our food has traveled, and if the chemicals/preservatives/additives used in the process, preservation or packaging of the food is harmful.
Many of these questions go unanswered or are difficult to determine when purchasing from corporate owned factory farms. Smaller businesses and small farms supply more information and transparency in our products because we understand why it matters.
Homesteaders are the backbone of this country and can fill the gap by growing their own food and teaching others to do the same.
Support Local. Support Small Farms & Small Businesses. Start a Victory Garden. Save your seeds. Join the Back to the Land Movement. Live ALOHA!
References:
Taro Culture and Genetic Engineering
Daniel Anthony – What You Put In Your Mouth Can Change the World
Mana Ai | Fresh Hand-Pounded Paiai and Poi
Right to Food for Maine- The Weston A. Price Foundation
Maine passes nation’s 1st ‘right to food’ amendment- AP News
Food Insecurity among Overall (all ages) Population in Hawkins County- Feeding America