I have a confession to make.  As much as I grew up on the farm, I really didn’t pay attention to the things my dad used to do while on the farm.  I was busy being the labor and didn’t care much about how or what he did to grow things.  I was too busy grumbling about having to work.

I now wish I had paid better attention to him now.  The last several years has been my own journey to learning how to grow things and what works the best.

I have read so many comments that think all of conventional farming techniques are bad.  I’ve heard things from activists stating that it is poisoning the land, too much pesticides, organic is the only way to go, and so on.  I had to test this out for myself to see what really works.  I also feel that it’s good for kids to learn about growing things also.

Two years ago, I decided to start an aquaponics system.  I’ll just say that it didn’t work out the way I planned it too and it isn’t that easy to do.  I learned that this is definitely not going to feed the world or us for that matter.  Not to mention that the cost to start one up is pretty steep, which is around $250 for just a small 26 quart set up.  I turned into a fish feeding pond for my kids.

After that failed to yield, I decided to switch to gardening the old fashion way, but on standing garden boxes.  I used the same box as the aquaponics system and designed my own wooden bases to prop them up on.  It cost about $100 to get a double garden box set up.  I was hoping that my grandmother would take interest, which is why I made it accessible.  She didn’t care so I went full swing into it.

I placed lots of potting soil in it and mixed some compost in it the first year.  We did get some vegetables like lettuce and beets that were decent in size but didn’t get too big.  It didn’t taste all to well either.  I asked my dad why the things were so stunted and tasteless, and he said that my compost wasn’t fully broken down and it was actually stealing nutrients from the plants because the bacteria was still present.  A stressed plant will not yield much or have good taste.  Aha!

I dug up the stuff in the boxes and decided to let it fallow a bit and started again.  I did some MiracleGro like my dad instructed and wow, the difference was totally noticeable.

Our second round of beets turned out totally amazing and was nearly 4 times the size of the first batch planted.  It also grew in half of the time as the first planting.  These were the size of softballs!  These were also much more sweeter and fleshier than the first crop.

The Japanese cucumbers we grew were amazing also.  Most of the cucumbers grew inches in a matter of a day and got to be about 2 feet long!  My dad told me to wrap the flowers in newspaper to keep the fruit flies from stinging it.  If I didn’t, I’d land up with worm infested cukes.  He was right because we did get a nice worm eaten one.  We got to enjoy about 4 before our dog decided that she wanted to enjoy before we could.

The vines were beautiful and really vigorous to start but after the cucumbers came out, I noticed that the ants and the aphids came along for the party too.  I only had 2 vines and still had to spray it.  Duocrops do get pests.  Lesson learned.

By the time my dad, the plant doctor, saw it, he said that I had missed the exponential curve of the bugs.  He said that I needed to time to spraying of soap water before the population exploded or it would be too late.  In no time at all, the vines were invested in pests and eventually destroyed by the bugs, no matter how I sprayed.  I missed the right opportunity.  Lesson learned.

The lettuce box was much more successful the second time around after the compost had been completely broken down.  My dad reminded me that I’d better put some snail and slug bait around or risk rat lungworm disease.  Yet another lesson learned why we need substances with effective pest control chemicals in it for growing our food safely.

After growing a season of lettuce, cucumbers, and beets, I dug out and rotated the soil and to my surprise, I found earthworms!  So many people think that by growing conventionally, one is killing the soil.  Not so! These worms were huge, with some measuring over 5 inches long!  I didn’t use any manure and used MiracleGro and yet there were these beautiful worms.

Later on, I did attempt kale but that was a major fail because I discovered that the bugs love it.  It was covered in aphids and caterpillars constantly, as well as needing multiple spraying to keep it free of bugs.  My kids looked at it and said, “Gross!”  The guinea pig and dog got lucky and got most of the kale that we managed to save.

Yet another lesson learned was why every year there is new seed stock in the garden stores.  After our basil plant seeded and spread all over to the other boxes, I discovered that they subsequent generation of basil was not exactly like the first.  I asked my dad and he said basic genetics.  Light went on in my head.  Aha! If you want the best traits of the crop, you have to get new seed each year, if not, you won’t know the next time because of the genetics may or may not be the same.

After going through this experience, I’ve come to realize that growing food is not that easy.  It is easy to sit on the internet and read something that tells you what kind of farming is better.   Until you actually grow it, you’ll learn first hand what works and what doesn’t.  The pests are ever present and ready to destroy your small garden and if not controlled, you get nothing.  The same applies to farms big or small.

My garden has taught me that it takes a lot of skill to grow things and until you do it, you’ll know the truth.  A garden is just that, a garden.  To be successful at gardening, does not translate into expertise in farming.  Unless one grows all of their own food and enough food for others, respect the farmers because they have that magic touch to do what they do for us each day we sit to eat.

My grandfather, Thomas Kamiya, who started up the farm as his livelihood.

I decided to take some time off and enjoy myself.  I took my daughter to go and see the Lion King that is playing here in Honolulu.  I saw it 10 years ago in San Francisco and forgot about how wonderful that show really is.  From the intricate costumes, colors, music, artistry, and puppetry, it is one of the best shows around.

As I sat in wonder of all of this, I thought to myself more about it.  You know, if it weren’t for a farmer, things like this would be non-existent in our modern day living.  Let’s make a list of the things we enjoy today that a farmer had something to do with…

-The nice homes and buildings we live in.  Someone had to feed the architects, masons, steel workers, plumbers, contractors, lumber workers, carpenters, permitting people, electricians, cabinet makers, carpet layers, flooring specialists, window makers, painters, and truckers so that our homes could be built.

-The cars we drive to take us where we need to go.  Someone had to feed the engineers, steel workers, welders, mechanics, auto painters and workers, the glass makers, the upholstery crafters, rubber makers, safety inspectors, and oil workers to make our cars and keep them running.

-The wealth of communication options we have with computers and cellphones.  Someone had to feed the computer designers, chip makers, programmers, component parts makers, electrical engineers, patent specialists, graphic artists, plastic makers, alloy metal workers, and operators to keep our lines of communication open.

-The roads we drive on to and from our journeys everyday.  Someone had to to feed the asphalt makers, road workers, stripers, traffic light engineers, electricians, heavy machine operators, civil engineers, budget managers, and concrete workers who put that road together for us.

-The schools that our children go to.  Someone had to feed the people who built and maintain the school, the teachers, the janitors, the administrative staff, the cafeteria workers, and superintendents who run the schools to educate our children.

-The constant access to fresh running water and power.  Someone had to feed the people who built the infrastructure of pipes, engineers, scientists who know where the water comes from, the heavy machine operators who laid the pipes, the helicopter pilots who carried the lines over the mountains, the pole workers, and people who monitor the power and water to keep it on.

-The freedom from preventable illnesses.  Someone had to feed the scientists who had time to search for a cure, a chemist who studied solutions to hold the vaccine, nurses to give the vaccine, the biochemist who figured out how to make large quantities of it, doctors to educate people about the diseases, public health officials to monitor for outbreaks, and companies who made these vaccines available to the masses.

-Access to the culture and arts.  Someone had to feed people so that they could have the freedom to get off of the farms and develop their creative interests in making musicals, choreographing plays, singing, dancing, set making, story writing, and other forms of art and entertainment.

-Travel around the world.  Someone had to feed people so that Wright brothers had the ability to design the first plane, study aeronautic engineering, workers to build the planes, and pilots to get one to his or her desired destination.

-Have a hobby garden.  You don’t have to grow most of your food because a farmer grew it for you.    Nor do you have to raise and kill animals to eat.  You have some time to work a real job and make more money to start up a hobby garden that brings some fresh produce to your table.

If it weren’t for the ingenuity, efficiency, and sustainability of our farmers, we would not be lucky enough to have the kind of lives that we do.  We never have to worry about whether our crops are going to be able to feed us or be decimated by disease.  We have constant access to food and just have to walk in the store to pick it.  We don’t even spend the majority of our lives growing food because we don’t have to.

We have so much time on our hands to do other bigger and greater things.  It’s all thanks to those creative and hardworking folks called our farmers.  It’s really sad that some folks, who benefit from the farmer’s hard work, have decided to protest and disrespect this very work with false information.  That’s simply not right.

If you feel the need to protest, remove all of the modern technology in your life because it was all started with the work of a farmer.  If you long to go back into the “good old days,” you should live in it and see for yourself how life really was.  Get off the computer, turn off your power, stop driving a car, stop using running water or any of the modern conveniences of life.  Stop shopping at the grocery store and produce all your own food, if you can’t appreciate what the farmer has done for you.

For lawmakers who want to turn back the hands of time on farmers, they should live the way they propose to legislate and then see if that is the right path to take.  Then ask your activists to get out of their Waikiki apartments and live the life that you propose.  The experience will be a true wake up call for most, who have never spent a day on the farm.  There won’t be any time for marches because you’d be working on the land and preventing the pests from attacking your food.  A real farmer knows all of that too well.

Just remember, that you would not have that nice life you do today if it weren’t for all the people that were fed by that farmer.

I happened to be perusing some of the bills that are coming into play this session and came upon this very interesting one, SB1987/HD1.  This bill pertains to the acquisition of raw milk.  

Permits the acquisition of raw milk and raw milk products by owners of cows, goats, and sheep and cow shares, goat shares, and sheep shares if certain conditions are met. Requires farms and dairies that produce raw milk or raw milk products to register with the department of health. Permits farms and dairies to set up a location near an improved road to distribute their products to owners of cow, sheep, or goat shares. Prohibits the sale and redistribution of raw milk and raw milk products. 

The sponsors of the bill include:  WOOLEY, BELATTI, CACHOLA, CARROLL, CREAGAN, HANOHANO, C. LEE, LOWEN, MCKELVEY, MIZUNO, MORIKAWA, THIELEN

It is also interesting to note that while we are trying to legalize raw milk, there are others also trying to label genetically modified organism labeling.  They include:  ENGLISH, CHUN OAKLAND, GABBARD, GREEN, RUDERMAN, SHIMABUKURO, Ihara, Keith-Agaran, L. Thielen

That bill reads as such:

Establishes, beginning January 1, 2015, labeling requirements for any food or raw agricultural commodity sold in the State that contains a genetically engineered material, or was produced with a genetically engineered material; establishes exceptions; establishes violations; requires director of health to adopt rules.

(Note that it does not include any prepared food either to be labeled and establish any reasons for this law to begin with.)

I find it really odd that Representative Wooley, who championed the failed “right to know” and label it campaign last year, is supporting a bill to allow people to consume raw milk.  Raw milk as we know it has caused many deaths and disability due to contamination issues.  The chances of getting ill on raw milk is 150 times greater than consuming pasteurized products according to a CDC report.  (That is very scary to me that I would never want to expose my family to ever.)

So what do some of the health organizations of our country state regarding this policy about raw milk?

The American Academy of Pediatrics have issued a new policy statement urging pregnant women, infants and young children to consume only pasteurized dairy products as opposed to raw milk and milk products.

 

The CDC state that the risk of becoming ill from raw milk or milk products is significantly greater for people with weakened immune systems, the elderly, pregnant women, infants and young children.

There are even documented stories of many children, who have been harmed by raw milk and it is terribly sad for the entire family affected by this.  It’s not just one family but many already.  The costs to life and health are just not worth it.

Of course, the advocates for drinking raw milk will tout all the so called benefits of it, however the data does not corroborate this claim.  (Note that the word, “believe” is used frequently in the video below, which indicates that this is an ideology not backed with data.)

So where is Representative Wooley getting this information from about this bill?  It isn’t hard to find since her alliances with the Organic Consumer Associations are hard backers for people asking for the “right to drink” raw milk.  Really, a right to drink something that has a high risk for contamination and proven deadly or harmful?  These are the same people asking for the “right to know,” when we really know that it is far from the truth.

Nary a biotech papaya, that she so wanted labeled, has ever caused anyone harm compared to raw milk.  A papaya is pretty much guaranteed to help keep you living longer, as my grandmother lived to the ripe old age of 96.  Raw milk would have likely killed her.  Where’s the logic in these lawmakers?  

Kenneth Kamiya, my dad

Once in awhile, the farmer has a chance to sit down and put his thoughts together.  Here’s what he has to say…

As we begin a new legislative session, we are often reminded of the adage that the “squeaky wheel gets its way.”  How absurd!

What happened to our aloha spirit of mutual respect, live and let live, and honoring wisdom and education?  No matter the facts, the loudest clamoring to get one’s way or to impose one’s beliefs on others is not the way I was raised in Hawaii.  

We often praise the isseis and nisseis of all cultural groups that made Hawaii a special place to live and work, and eventually retire.  Through their hard work, suffering, self restraint, and self denial, we now enjoy the fruits of their labor.  However, in this current age, we as farmers, are now told to emulate the squeaky wheel, to protect our heritage and culture.  In all due respect, and with the belief in aloha handed to me and my children, we are reluctant to become the very thing we were taught not to do.  It is just not our way.

Therefore, it is incumbent in our elected officials, as they chose to be, and some duly elected, to be brave and honest and honor our aloha spirit.  It is not our way to make more noise than the opposition so that you can make an excuse for your actions.

Hawaii is known as the melting pot of cultures.  Many people from diverse regions of the world came to our islands for one common reason…  To start a better way of life.  The opportunity that brought them here was agriculture.

My family have had their hands in agriculture for a very long time.  My great grandfather was born in Hiroshima, Japan and came to Pahoa on the Big Island, where he grew coffee.  My great grandparents on my dad’s side immigrated from Okinawa and started their life on the Big Island of Hawaii to work on the sugar cane plantations over a hundred years ago.  Many other local folks have similar stories of relatives who came from the Philippines, China, Korea, Japan, Portugal, and other countries to give them a better opportunity.  The very diversity in Hawaii was created by agriculture.

With the blending of so many cultures, brought specifically for the industry, the groups of people placed on the plantations had to develop a new culture.  They didn’t share a common language or culture so a new one evolved over time.  That culture is what we know of today as being “local.”

Being local has its own set of unstated rules about how we treat each other and how we interact with each other.  Local folks value respect for others.  Can you imagine if the Chinese workers went up and told the Japanese ones that they didn’t like something about them?  Plantation living meant maintaining harmony and working together towards a common goal.  It was key to the success of the plantations here.  A plantation could never function if there were such uprisings of people against each other.  Coexistence and interdependence was key to everyone’s survival and a way of living here.

Fast forward a century later and see what has happened.  The plantations are no longer here and a new kind of agriculture has replaced those lands.  Technology has advanced how we farm and how we take care of the land.  Farming has built an evidence base to expand on.  Agriculture still remains a huge industry here and is still what makes the country country.  However, what has changed is that certain people have started to attack it.  Agriculture is essentially a tapestry of what makes Hawaii unique.  A small group of people, who don’t share our plantation and farming roots, have decided to unravel at the threads of what made us who we are by using fear and misinformation.  Local people have never experienced such kind of tactics and stand at a crossroad as to how to handle this.

Many long time local farmers have decided to remain quiet, while others, have decided to speak up.  The ones who have spoken up have paid the price by being ridiculed and disrespected by these activists.  They’ve decided to lay low and hope that the tide will change soon since activists have succeed in destroying reputations on the social media.  Local folks don’t like being the target of this kind of behaviors and just endure quietly.  Leaders are not hearing these voices as a result.

These activists and aligned politicians have essential decided to unweave the very thing that made our islands what they are today.  It is very clear that they don’t understand or embody what it means to be local.  Richard Ha, a long time farmer who owns Hamakua Country Springs Farm, calls these locals the “rubbah slippah folks.”  They want their Hawaii, not the local style Hawaii that those of us born and raised know of.  They are also taking advantage of the fact that local folks just don’t speak up.  It is so against typical rubbah slippah folks to stick their necks out for something.  The level of respect of the activists are clearly zero.  They are essentially coming onto local folks’ farms and dictating what and how they want their food grown.  What local person would ever think of doing that?

Right now, local family farms like my dad’s and others are at a huge junction as to what will be their next action.  Local farmers and ranchers are being put in positions where they have no choice but to speak up for themselves against a public, who have little to no ties to their work or agriculture.  Even our faithful customers don’t know how to help in this environment.  There is a new culture being formed, as to what values the new generation of farmers need to possess.  The new local style of handling this needs to be, “SPEAK UP for what you love and honor!”

I am only a single person, who decided to take a leap and speak up.  I have created a simple way for others to do the same.  Please sign the petition to give your support to the farmers of our state and let our leaders know that the local folks aren’t going to sit back anymore.  It’s now our turn to be heard!  That is how I will honor and respect my roots in agriculture!  Will you do the same?

When your write to a senator and they respond back to you with this kind of statement, what does it sound like to you?

Here is a comprehensive list of what activist groups like the Babes Against Biotech, Ohana O Kauai, Hawaii SEED, GMO Free Hawaii, GMO Free Kauai, GMO Free Maui, GMO Free Oahu, and Earthjustice have done to solve problems in the various agricultural industries here in Hawaii…