O’ahu Sustainability League
Meeting our present needs without compromising our future
Mission
The OSL is an organization of concerned citizens working to facilitate the development of a more sustainable Hawai’i, dedicated to the stewardship of the islands through the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices.
“The state shall conserve and protect agricultural lands, promote diversified agriculture, increase agricultural self-sufficiency, and insure the availability of agriculturally suitable lands.” -Hawaii State Constitution
Agricultural lands have been decreasing steadily. 16,000 acres of land, approximately 11 percent, have been converted from agricultural to urban over the past thirty years, as the population has increased by 200,000. This impairs our ability to honor this constitutional decree.
Agriculture in this state includes everything from banana and turfgrass, to cattle and equestrian. State agricultural leases were designed to provide land at a reasonable price for farmers to be able to afford to grow the food that feeds us. Of the agricultural land remaining, more and more land is being utilized for the production of non-food products and crops.
Landscape products tend to be more profitable than food crops. As a result, the non-food producers have the economic upper hand at securing long term state agricultural leases. Food farmers are at a disadvantage in the bidding process for leases, as conventional landscape nurseries drive the prices of the leases out of range of the food producers.
Supporting sustainable agriculture is not charity, but an investment in our future. As fuel prices rise, the need to feed ourselves becomes increasingly important.
True Cost of Farming
The landscape of economic indicators have changed. We can no longer look at economic viability only in terms of immediate revenue and expenditure. True Cost economics demands that we expand our calculations to include the extended pros and cons of an economic picture.
"True Cost Pricing (TCP) is an accounting and pricing system that includes all costs into the price of a product.
Under our current system, many products carry hidden environmental and social costs such as air and water pollution, deforestation, and toxic waste. These costs are created during the production, use, or disposal of the products. While the producer internalizes revenue and profits from these products, the costs are externalized to society and the natural environment." – Green Party
Sustainable practices must apply to people (social), planet (environment), and profits (economy). While the state may initially benefit from the higher lease prices paid by conventional agricultural producers, the cost in terms of environmental degradation has not been calculated.
At least 85 percent of our food is imported. As fuel prices continue to rise, and the reserves of our fossil fuels decline, the need to sustain ourselves becomes paramount. The OSL is concerned with voicing the need to protect the consciencious farmers that endeavor to develop an agricultural system that feeds the current population without starving future generations.
