TPM HAPPENINGS
Simon Russell Speaks to TPM
by Valerie Sisneros
Simon Russell , a local farmer and dedicated activist , spoke to TPM at our May general meeting . Simon ran a hard-fought campaign in 2012 for State House of Representatives / District 13 . He expressed his gratitude to TPM for all of our support . He spoke on a variety of interesting topics ; number one on his list was the Hawaii Farmer ’ s Union , in which he currently presides as Vice-President here on Maui . I learned that 90 % of the food on Maui is imported and 92 % of the food products we export are not really foods that would sustain us . The majority of farm products we ship out are corn , macadamia nuts , sugar , pineapple , biotech seeds , and flowers . Statistics show that we live in an area with the least amount of food security in the entire country . This seems insane when you look at all the great land and mild weather that Maui is blessed with . Simon says that in 1960 Maui was farming 2 million acres of land , today it is down to 1 million acres , with half of the land now utilized as real estate instead . He spoke about the times when farmers were families working the land for generations , but that is no longer the case since so much of the labor has been replaced by machinery . He said that most local farms are now just one family doing the best they can to feed themselves and possibly a small part of their community . Simon comes from three generations of farmers on Kauai whose family farms were wiped out by Hurricane Iniki , and they were never able to completely recover . One of the biggest challenges for farmers is the issue of the global marketplace . The island ’ s pineapple industry has been disappearing due to cheaper labor costs in the Philippines and other countries . Although land on Maui was predominantly Ag land for decades , it is now utilized in the following order ; ( 1 ) Real Estate , ( 2 ) Tourism , ( 3 ) Government Services , and ( 4 ) Agriculture . The Hawaii Farmer ’ s Union focuses on Regenerative Farming . This is the concept of growing food to feed the local communities , getting access to the land for farming , and finding people interested in farming . In addition they explore natural farming techniques . The group meets on the Fourth Tuesday of every month at the Haiku Community Center from 5:30 to 8:30 pm . In the current climate of uncertainty , local farming , and learning more about growing our own food , makes so much sense . Simon also spoke about current legislative action and the status of various bills . One of the issues Simon was very involved in was the repeal of Act 55 , the PLDC , ( Public Lands Development Corporation ); created in 2011 . This legislation would allow a majority of state land to be privatized for reasons that are definitely not in the best interest of the people of Hawaii . One example he gave was that , had Act 55 remained in effect , China could buy up huge plots of land , set up businesses and we would have no say . The people of Hawaii rose up against this travesty and over 2000 people went to the Hawaii State Legislature building in protest . It is imperative that we continue to stand against these massive land grabs by the government . He said it is a terrible idea to use State Land as collateral for debt , with the government now attempting to drain every possible resource for revenue instead of simply practicing fiscal responsibility . There is some local support for Maui ’ s large landowners to sell parcels of land to Land Trusts to be farmed by local farmers . All of the issues that Simon discussed have a direct effect on our quality of life here on Maui . We appreciate all that he does to make a difference ; he is a patriot and an inspiration . For more info on the Hawaii Farmers Union , visit their website : http :// www . hawaiifarmersunionunited . org /
Pono Press , June 2013 , Page 4