Comments on: What is whosyourfarmer.info about?

By: Jan

Jan — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 11:32:51 +0000

Hi Judy, glad to have family also reading this information on the food/farmer/consumer relationship. I am very interested in the communication aspect of how we relate to food these days and how that relationship transfers to supporting farmers. I write to inspire you to talk with others about what you think concerning the ideas you read in this blog. I look forward to your continued interest. Aloha, Jan

By: Judy

Judy — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 03:30:15 +0000

Hi Jan,
Glad I found your blog.. It is quite interesting.
Love from your mainland sister-in-law

By: Jan

Jan — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:38:26 +0000

Hi Aaron, I checked out the link you listed…..there is a lot of local information on this site. Sharing information, about growing plants here in Hawaii that we can benefit from, is a true gift. Aloha, Jan

By: Jan

Jan — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:30:12 +0000

Hi Mary Ann, thanks for reading whosyourfarmer.info and sharing your link on information about GMO to expand consumer awareness. I am all about choice, but real choice first demands we have information to base our decisions on. Secondly, we as food consumers have to want to know more information to make better choices in food purchases. Consumers have a lot of power in what food they choose to buy, who they support when they buy it, and what effect their choice has on their own health. By engaging in dialogue, I think people like yourself, hold the flame of a healthy future, connecting us to sources of finding out what food is good for us so we can make better food purchasing choices, supporting a more sustainable community. Aloha, Jan

By: Mary Ann Saindon

Mary Ann Saindon — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 22:54:42 +0000

Hi Jan,
Check out this link for info on GMO- why it is not good for you.

http://www.truthout.org/article/three-approved-gmos-linked-organ-damage

Mary Ann

By: Aaron

Aaron — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 19:40:30 +0000

There are some interesting links at
http://helpfulhi.tripod.com/Plants/

By: Jan

Jan — Wed, 05 May 2010 15:01:47 +0000

Hi Louise, thanks for checking in, and being interested in the farmers market customer/vendor communication scenarios. I would like to interview the’ know your farmers alliance’ people, as this is another facet to building a customer/farmer relationship. Your comments and questions are insightful, they interest me and I will think about how to add them into my research for next semester, as I continue whosyourfarmer.info

By: Louise

Louise — Sun, 02 May 2010 19:16:29 +0000

Aloha Jan, I read through your blog!
I especially enjoyed your visit to the Ninoole market as I keep wanting to go check it out myself.
Here is the organization on the Big Island that I’ve mentioned to you, http://www.knowyourfarmeralliance.com Geoff Rauch in East Hawaii and Nancy Redwine in West Hawaii. Both of them might be interesting to interview as they have years of experience working on behalf of local organic farming.

A couple things I’d be interested in personally. I have noticed that at the Maku’u market, more vendors are labeling their food as to where it comes from and the fact that it was grown without pesticides. It would be interesting to hear from the vendors — who didn’t use to provide this information to their customers. Have their buying practices changed so that they are seeking out more locally grown (often from Waimea) produce and relying less on buying it from the produce warehouse? Was the change in response to consumer pressure? Are they growing more food themselves to sell then they did?

Also, I’m wondering if you have thought of posting yourself near a produce booth and noting what questions the customers ask the vendors? This takes it outside of the interview setting and into the actual interaction between food supplier and customer so that it might be possible to observe the level of information customers try to obtain before buying.

Another question I would be interested in is GMO food. Personally, a Rainbow papaya can be grown in Puna, without pesticides, but I wouldn’t trust it’s quality because not enough is known about the effects of genetic modification. Also the firms that promote these seeds tend to be chemical manufacturers with little concern about a sustainable food supply.

In the meantime, keep up the good work. I’ll keep checking in! Louise