Food and Power in Hawai'i: Visions of Food Democracy

Food in Asia and the Pacific

by Aya Hirata Kimura (Contributor), Krisnawati Suryanata (Editor), Kem Lowry (Contributor)

In Food and Power in Hawai`i, island scholars and writers from backgrounds in academia, farming, and community organizations discuss new ways of looking at food policy and practices in terms of social justice and sustainability. Each of the nine essays describes Hawai`i’s foodscapes and collectively makes the case that food is a focal point for public policy making, social activism, and cultural mobilization. With its rich case studies, the volume aims to further debate on the agrofood system and extends the discussion of food problems in Hawai`i. Given the island geography, high dependency on imported food has often been portrayed as the primary challenge in Hawai`i, and the traditional response has been localized food production. The book argues, however, that aspects such as differentiated access, the history of colonization, and the neoliberalized nature of the economy also need to be considered for the right transformation of our food system.

The essays point out the diversity of food challenges that Hawai`i faces. They include controversies over land use policies, a gendered and racialized farming population, benefits and costs of biotechnology, stratified access to nutritious foods, as well as ensuring the economic viability of farms. Defying the reductive approach that looks only at calories or tonnage of food produced and consumed as indicators of a sound food system, Food and Power in Hawai`i shows how food problems are necessarily layered with other sociocultural and economic problems, and uses food democracy as the guiding framework. By linking the debate on food explicitly to the issues of power and democracy, each contributor seeks to reframe a discourse, previously focused on increasing the volume of locally grown food or protecting farms, into the broader objectives of social justice, ecological sustainability, and economic viability.

241 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2016

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an academic, yet also fairly accessible collection of essays about various aspects of Hawaii's agriculture scene. I found especially interesting the historical exploration of ancient Hawaiian fishponds as well as a peek into the Big Island papaya industry. It also brought up much food for thought about agriculture vs agritourism.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pandemic forced many Americans to reconsider their relationship to food. Millions of people experienced food insecurity for the first time, and even the most fortunate of us (myself included) were shocked to see empty shelves in the grocery store for weeks. Combined with an ever-growing recognition of the many ways individual decisions and the food system overall violate human rights and contribute to climate change, there has never been a better time to dig into "Food and Power in Hawaiʻ​i."

Although this collection was published in 2016, it’s still shockingly relevant. The essays are well-written, although some lean toward the academic, which is the only reason I took off some points. But overall, it’s an accessible collection that does a great job of laying out the differences between food equity, food sustainability, food sovereignty and food security. I found my internal hierarchies constantly shifting as I progressed through, and anything that makes me challenge my own beliefs and think this deeply is a win in my book.

7/10

[Mills College Library]

338.19969 F6864 2016