Another reason to eat locally grown food

[Miulang]

Was the tainted wheat gluten from China that affected so many of our pets just the tip of the iceberg? When we eat food from cans, do we really know where all the ingredients came from (even if the origin of the product itself may be from the US)?

The answer may be a resounding NO, if this story is to be believed. China, which now exports more goods than the US, has a long history of adulterating food produced there with chemicals and practices that might be banned elsewhere in the world. With lax inspection at the Chinese end and insufficient controls at our end of the chain, the likelihood of human-based poisoning from Chinese-imported food products is fairly high.

Even reading food labels may no longer be sufficient, because as with cars, even if the final product is labelled American, some of its components may have been procured elsewhere.

So about the only way you are guaranteed to know what is going in your mouth is to purchase the raw ingredients from a reputable local source and prepare it yourself.

Miulang

[Hellbent]

Re: Another reason to eat locally grown food

sounds like time for the 100 mile diet?

also HW article on it locally

[tikiyaki]

Re: Another reason to eat locally grown food

Yikes. While I knew that most everything is manufarctured over in China, I didn't realize that FOOD PRODUCTS was part of that. That's scary, because China is like the wild west over there. Lax laws, low quality control, very little business scruples, and health codes ?... Pulleeze.

Having a widget like an MP3 player, a lamp, or the promotional drink coasters for my new Tikiyaki Orchestra CD made over there is one thing, FOOD is another entirely. That's scary. In a country where some unthinkable things are edible, this could be dangerous.

Wow, that's cause for alarm.

[Hellbent]

Re: Another reason to eat locally grown food

can you give exaples of what is an unthinkable edible thing? i think every culture has something like that. haggis. natto. rocky mountain oysters.

i could probably agree with the other stuff tho.

[Pomai]

Re: Another reason to eat locally grown food

Having a widget like an MP3 player, a lamp, or the promotional drink coasters for my new Tikiyaki Orchestra CD made over there is one thing, FOOD is another entirely. That's scary.

Nice plug Tiki! On that note, I'm in line to BUY a copy of your T.O. CD when it's released. Sounds nice.

The only problem with locally-grown or made anything is it's often more expensive than the competition due to high overhead (read real estate), processing, manufacturing and distribution limitations and/or general higher cost of doing business in the islands. On the plus side, most Hawaii products have excellent quality standards, which, for the most part, justifies the higher prices.

I like the line in the movie Top Gun when the Commander tells "Mav" and "Goose" that if they keep messin' around, they'll be "flying rubber dog sh#t outta' Hong Kong".

[tutusue]

Re: Another reason to eat locally grown food

Nice plug Tiki! On that note, I'm in line to BUY a copy of your T.O. CD when it's released. Sounds nice. [...]

Oooh...me too...me too!!! Love it. It's perfect for my (eventual) Little Grass Shack! Love the graphics on the site, too!

Back on topic...think I'll take the local farmer's markets a bit more seriously!

[joshuatree]

Re: Another reason to eat locally grown food

Does anyone here think the food sold here in Hawaii is overpriced to the point of gouging? I know there's the extra cost of shipping but when you see some of the prices for food in other states; and I'm talking about the same mass produced, non-organic, pesticide laced, genetically modified food; I wonder if stores use the whole "everything has to be shipped in" as a huge excuse for the prices they charge.

[tikiyaki]

Re: Another reason to eat locally grown food

Sorry for the shameless plug guys
Didn't mean to derail the thread.

Anyway, I really hope this doesn't start affecting food products we use everyday. There are supposedly a reported 39,000 cases of dogs being affected by the Menu Foods issue from a month ago. That's scary.

[CranBeree]

Re: Another reason to eat locally grown food

shipping/freight charges is not an excuse...it is freekin expensive to ship stuff here and therefore passed on to the consumers.

[joshuatree]

Re: Another reason to eat locally grown food

shipping/freight charges is not an excuse...it is freekin expensive to ship stuff here and therefore passed on to the consumers.

It's expensive but is it that much where food prices is like double or maybe even triple of what you find on CONUS? I've seen $0.39/lb sunkist oranges, $0.20 for a bunch of green onions, $0.69 for 5 cloves of garlic, etc. I don't think you can remotely find those prices in Hawaii. And those aren't clearance items either. Maybe we just gotta work at getting rid of the Jones Act? No other state gets more affected by the Jones Act than Hawaii. Every other state, including Alaska, has a land route option.

[CranBeree]

Re: Another reason to eat locally grown food

It's expensive but is it that much where food prices is like double or maybe even triple of what you find on CONUS? I've seen $0.39/lb sunkist oranges, $0.20 for a bunch of green onions, $0.69 for 5 cloves of garlic, etc. I don't think you can remotely find those prices in Hawaii. And those aren't clearance items either. Maybe we just gotta work at getting rid of the Jones Act? No other state gets more affected by the Jones Act than Hawaii. Every other state, including Alaska, has a land route option.

think of it as ...when a company brings a product in and sells it to you, they have to mark it up to make some profit, then add on the shipping/freight charges... well there went the prices. do you know that sharper image marks up by 400% to cover costs, sales rental etc etc...shoe stores mark up by a certain percentage also..i forget its been so long since its been since over 10 years that i've seen the account..i was interning at a shoe store in Ala Moana doing accounts payable...a shoe at cost was between $4-5 and was retailed for $49.99.

[Miulang]

Re: Another reason to eat locally grown food

It's expensive but is it that much where food prices is like double or maybe even triple of what you find on CONUS? I've seen $0.39/lb sunkist oranges, $0.20 for a bunch of green onions, $0.69 for 5 cloves of garlic, etc. I don't think you can remotely find those prices in Hawaii. And those aren't clearance items either. Maybe we just gotta work at getting rid of the Jones Act? No other state gets more affected by the Jones Act than Hawaii. Every other state, including Alaska, has a land route option.

Getting rid of the Jones Act would help bring prices down and possibly create a "lifeline" for Hawai'i in times of shipping strikes on the West Coast. But it still wouldn't address the quality control issues with imports from Asia...I can tolerate defects in manufactured goods, but NOT tainted food! And if we think Hawai'i has issues with invasive species now, can you imagine what things would be like if ships, harboring alien pests, were allowed to dock directly at ports in Hawai'i? Bugs from some parts of Asia would absolutely love the climate in Hawai'i.

Miulang

P.S. Getting rid of the Jones Act might also help the people seeking sovereignty further their case for independence if there was less reliance on CONUS for critical goods.

[scrivener]

Re: Another reason to eat locally grown food

I wonder if stores use the whole "everything has to be shipped in" as a huge excuse for the prices they charge.

Of course that's part of it, but when costs are higher for everything from labor to taxes to property, even without shipping expenses, the retail prices will be higher. Our minimum wage is two dollars per hour higher than the Federal minimum wage; I know I don't have to tell you how much more it costs to own land; fuel costs, even for strictly in-state transportation and energy, are going to boost expenses more than they would where fuel is cheaper (which is just about everywhere on the mainland).

It's just what it costs to live here.

[joshuatree]

Re: Another reason to eat locally grown food

think of it as ...when a company brings a product in and sells it to you, they have to mark it up to make some profit, then add on the shipping/freight charges... well there went the prices. do you know that sharper image marks up by 400% to cover costs, sales rental etc etc...shoe stores mark up by a certain percentage also..i forget its been so long since its been since over 10 years that i've seen the account..i was interning at a shoe store in Ala Moana doing accounts payable...a shoe at cost was between $4-5 and was retailed for $49.99.

But in your example, you are comparing apples to oranges. Food are items of necessity. Shoes and Sharper Image are items of luxury.

Aside from marking up for the extra shipping charge, I don't see why there needs to be a major markup for profit. The prices I quoted for food on CONUS are prices those stores are making a profit on.

[CranBeree]

Re: Another reason to eat locally grown food

But in your example, you are comparing apples to oranges. Food are items of necessity. Shoes and Sharper Image are items of luxury.

Aside from marking up for the extra shipping charge, I don't see why there needs to be a major markup for profit. The prices I quoted for food on CONUS are prices those stores are making a profit on.

uhmm..that whole concept would apply to food to. trust me i know these things. but then again you could always try your hand at being buyer for a distributor.