KAILUA-KONA — “Buy local. It matters.”
KAILUA-KONA — “Buy local. It matters.”
That’s the message from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture on the bottom of the television screen as a soothing, disembodied voice explains the simple steps one can take to guard against the threat of rat lungworm disease. Most plainly, wash your vegetables.
It seems simple enough, but consumers of homegrown greens from farmers markets to mega-chain stores like Whole Foods appear in need of a bit more convincing.
Local buying trends haven’t impacted Hawaii Island as intensely as Maui, where skittish wholesalers and retailers aren’t merely creating shifts in the market but are actually causing a change in the products farmers in the state are planting.
“Some of those farmers that grow that kind of produce, lettuces and cabbages, have been hit really hard, especially on Maui,” said Dr. John McHugh, administrator for the Plant Industry Division with HDOA. “I understand some affected farmers are switching crops to something that’s not normally eaten raw. That way they get away from the potential stigma of rat lungworm disease being associated with raw produce.”
The disease is believed to have been present in Hawaii for at least a half century, McHugh said. But 16 confirmed cases in 2017 and more efficient, effective methods of diagnosing rat lungworm, a disease historically shrouded in symptoms correlated with a plethora of illnesses, has caused “a somewhat hysterical reaction.”
Maureen Datta is the co-owner and operator of Adaptions Inc., a regional food hub on Hawaii Island that buys from dozens of local growers and sells wholesale to every level of the food industry across the state. The company also runs a community supported agricultural service that supplies 125 families directly with local produce.
Adaptions Inc. hasn’t had to reduce its purchasing significantly as demand on Hawaii Island remains relatively steady, Datta said. Only one of her restaurant clients has chosen to transition to mainland-grown produce thus far, while a few resorts on the Kohala Coast requested a statement of precautions being taken to protect greens before arriving for consumption.
Datta believes the difference between the Big Island and Maui comes down to familiarity with the threat, which she said in reality is quite minimal.
“Our customers on Maui are reporting that it’s just not moving. I think they’re feeling it more because this is new to them,” she said. “It’s not so new to the Big Island, so the local population here is not so reactive.”
That attitude was reflected at the Kona Farmers Market on Saturday, where patrons browsed the produce aisles at several stands, including Mattie’s Fresh Produce.
“I’m not concerned,” said Marilyn Purganan, who buys many of her greens there. “In Filipino cooking, we cook most of our produce anyway.”
Sonny Saradpon echoed her sentiment, adding he and his wife buy local and also continue to cultivate their own garden in Hilo.
“There’s always going to be something,” Saradpon said. “The main thing you have to do is just inspect and prep your food well.”
Mattie Riingen, who has run her stand at the market on Alii Drive since 1991, said sales have been a little lower in recent weeks but added it’s difficult to discern precisely why as this is a typically slow time of the year.
Datta said the media craze around rat lungworm over the last few months has proven the culprit of whatever undue fear exists among Hawaii Island consumers.
“I think that educating people is important, but scaring people is not because it just paralyzes them and it can really hurt our industry,” Datta said.
Other outlets indicated that local produce sales are down on Hawaii Island, but also registered the impact as minimal thus far.
“Our sales are down a little,” said Debbie Arita, of KTA Super Stores. “Local farmers are concerned.”
Arita was unable to provide precise numbers, but co-owner and operator of Lone Palm Sprouts Ruth Rotstein said her sales have jumped roughly 5 percent in the last few weeks as nervousness around the disease threat has become more prevalent.
Lone Palm Sprouts grows its sprouts indoors and sells a salad product supplied by an organic grower in California. When the disease scare first took hold, Rotstein’s products hit the shelves with an accompanying notice that they weren’t grown locally and therefore posed no risk.
“Last week I went into a restaurant (we supply) to eat and they told me they were so glad because our salad was grown on the mainland,” Rotstein said.
That’s not true everywhere, though.
Rhonda Kavanagh, CEO of Kealakekua Ranch LTD., which owns Choice Mart in Captain Cook and buys from hundreds of local growers, said concern she’s heard voiced hasn’t translated into a drop in sales. However, it’s possible that has something to do with a significant portion of Choice Mart’s clientele.
“I’m not seeing less consumption of local produce,” Kavanagh said. “We live in a place that really wants to support the community, particularly our shoppers. Many of the farmers are our neighbors and our customers.”