Tonight, I was riding my bike on Kona Street, after a few drinks at Jazz Minds. I got to the intersection of Atkinson and Kona and I saw on the little concrete island a small camp that had been set-up by a homeless woman who camps there for the evening almost every night.
There were a few belongings, including a small children's bicycle I suppose that she used to carry her stuff around. I didn't see the woman, though. Then, I turned and saw her bedded-down for the night under the shelter of an awning of one of the small businesses nearby. I guess she moved from the island to the sidewalk when the rain started.
I have ridden past the Atkinson/Kona intersection hundreds of times and this woman has only begun camping there in the past few months.
A week ago, as I rode past Puuhale Elementary, I noticed a homeless man camped next to the school's fence, along the dirt driveway. I used to go to that shool.
There was a time, not long ago, where homeless people used to camp in places removed from the general public view as much as possible. If you wanted to find them, you needed to go to a park or to the beach. usually, it was someplace where they could get lost in a crowd of other homeless people and you would be unable to single them out. Those days are over.
I'm seeing homeless people camped-out in very public places: in front of Puuhale Elementary, at the intersection of Kona and Atkinson as well as the intersection of Kapiolani and Atkinson. You're seeing them camped in ones and twos, instead of in larger groups, no doubt forced there by the evictions from state and city parks.
We're seeing them throwing aside all thoughts of trying to hide themselves from public view, giving-up all sense of being embarrassed by their homelessness and simply camping where ever they can that no one else has staked a claim to previously. It's no longer a matter of trying to be inconspicuous, but of simple survival.
Without a real solution, without giving them a place where they could stay and not be molested by police, they will find other places not currently in use by other homeless people. The undersides of bridges are spoken-for, as are parks and beaches. The government has chased and hounded them from one place to another and they are left with no choice but to camp out in the open where they can easily be seen.
We are entering a dangerous phase in the homelessness crisis, where people are being backed into a corner with no place to go but down. Humans are still part of the Animal Kingdom and no animal is more dangerous than when it has been backed into a corner with no choice but to fight or die.
With a lot of people thinking that the solution to homelessness is simply for homeless people to go out and get a job when even people who are not homeless are having a hard time finding even a part-time job, shows the general lack of concern too many of us have.
The homelessness issue has gone beyond being a problem or an annoyance. It has become a crisis that is becoming more difficult to ignore and evidence of it is in every neighborhood and on every street and park.
I know what could stop the evictions and I know it will never happen. Whenever there is an eviction of homeless people from a beach or park, if there was a corresponding massive protest outside the State Capitol or City Hall and thousands of phone calls, faxes and emails coming to their offices without ceasing, politicians would no longer be able to simply sign-off on an eviction without realizing that there would be a massive protest immediately thereafter in retaliation. Elected officials know that while many people say they care about the homeless, they don't care enough to make a phone call, let alone carry a sign on a picket line.
So, we'll hear a lot about "those poor houseless people" living on the beach and we'll see their little campsites as well as news stories informing the people that yet another homeless campsite has been broken-up and the homeless people have scattered to the Four Winds.
But, we're not likely to see real solutions any time soon.
Duane D. Browning
Showing posts with label Hawaii. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hawaii. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Fireworks: Good & Bad
There are few things that can draw a good crowd like a fireworks show. People stare in wonder at the exploding rockets, which are often arranged to go off in patterns of colors beautiful to the eye. A lot of our local culture does have fireworks in its history, especially among the Chinese-American community, whose ancestors invented fireworks and gunpowder.
July 4th and New Year's Day would seem incomplete without a pyrotechnic display of grand scale and awesome visual effects.
However, all is not perfect in fireworks and it is the imperfections that have drawn criticism and calls for an outright ban. While there has been much talk of banning fireworks for all but displays put together by professionals, they have usually failed because of the Culture Card being played to great effect, as well as complaints from vendors who fear that their incomes would suffer if they were not allowed to sell them to private individuals.
While fireworks have their upside, their downside is very serious and cannot be overlooked.
First, you have the very real danger of fires. Every year, a building is engulfed in flames because of fireworks that have gotten onto their roof and started a fire which soon got out of control. People have been rendered homeless because somebody couldn't control their fireworks and this is a steep price to pay to have a little fun. As far as finding the people responsible, with literally thousands of rockets flying around, each packed with a small amount of explosives, you won't be able to keep track of all of them and one will eventually get loose and onto some one's house. So, finding the persons responsible can often be impossible.
Second, you have the danger of personal injury due to explosions and burns. Fireworks are made to burn and/or explode and children are most susceptible to injury when they get scared and either forget to let go of it or one falls in front of them or on them. We can be talking about first-, second- or third-degree burns, along with the accompanying pain and scarring, especially from 2nd and 3rd degree burns. Being burned can even lead to psychological problems for the victim, especially if the injuries sustained are particularly bad.
Next, you have the smoke which can be very heavy if there had been a lot of fireworks going-off in the area. I remember one year, I was in Kalihi and I was on my way home at around 3am. It was New Year's Day and as I looked down the road, I realized that I could not see the end of the street due to the heavy low-hanging smoke. I had a motorscooter back then and I had to ride at less than 15mph to avoid accidentally hitting some one in the darkness and smoke. Fortunately, I could still see the traffic lights and would have an idea of where to stop. Riding was especially difficult due to visibility problems, which were compounded by the acridity of the smoke which irritated my eyes, nose and throat. My eyes were tearing-up and I was fortunate to make it home, as other drivers were doubtless similarly affected.
Also, you have to include the risks to people with breathing problems such as asthma, bronchitis and lung cancer. With many children today afflicted with asthma, it is difficult for all but the most devoted of fireworks fans to justify using them in the face of the suffering inflicted upon these people who must endure hours or even days of breathing problem above what they do on a normal day. A civilized society must always consider the needs of its weakest members.
Let's not forget the fact that in areas where a lot of fireworks are going to be set-off, animals in zoos have to be tranquilized so that they won't panic and suffer from the stresses caused by hearing thousands of explosions and the smell of smoke in the air. Animals have a natural fear of flame and smoke and their first instinct is to run away from it.
Of course, there are always going to be those who use fireworks as a convenient way to hurt people and damage property. Petty arsonists can use them as a way to burn down a building and subsequently chalk it up as an accident, even though they had done it purposely. When I was a young man, an entire building at my school, Kalakaua Intermediate, was burned to the ground by vandals using fireworks. Furthermore, some can use the particularly powerful ones to blowout windows on cars and homes or even cause injury to others. I remember going through Waikiki one year and a gang of kids was enjoying themselves while throwing strings of fireworks onto passing vehicles. In these cases, fireworks are not seen as a means of enjoyment, but as an easy way to damage the property or injure the persons of others.
We certainly can't leave out the danger of improperly-stored fireworks which can go off accidentally, due to a house fire or similar occurrence. Some years ago, there was talk of limiting the number of fireworks people could buy at a time. So, before this went into effect, people stocked-up on fireworks with the intention of using some of them for the upcoming holiday and store the rest for later. After the limits were put in-place, there was a house fire where a large number of improperly-stored fireworks went-off in some one's home storage shed. What people in that case failed to realize is that fireworks, at their most basic level, are miniature explosives and should be handled and stored that way. A small fire or even a spark could result in catastrophic consequences.
Finally, you have the mess that fireworks leave behind. This mess can be considerable and is often left for others to do, while the people who had set them off ignore the problem entirely I have seen entire streets covered with the leftover red paper debris of firecrackers, which were simply left for the wind and the rain to remove, while the people who had set them off simply walked past the debris piles as if they weren't there.
By themselves, fireworks are neither good nor bad. They simply are what they are. The problems arise when people who are not trained in handling them properly do stupid, careless or malicious things that result in property being damaged and people getting hurt.
I'm all in favor of having fireworks displays for events like Chinese New Year, New Year's Day and the Fourth of July. But, I think these displays should be entrusted to professionals, rather than to any schmoe with a few dollars and the urge to blow-up something.
Duane D. Browning
July 4th and New Year's Day would seem incomplete without a pyrotechnic display of grand scale and awesome visual effects.
However, all is not perfect in fireworks and it is the imperfections that have drawn criticism and calls for an outright ban. While there has been much talk of banning fireworks for all but displays put together by professionals, they have usually failed because of the Culture Card being played to great effect, as well as complaints from vendors who fear that their incomes would suffer if they were not allowed to sell them to private individuals.
While fireworks have their upside, their downside is very serious and cannot be overlooked.
First, you have the very real danger of fires. Every year, a building is engulfed in flames because of fireworks that have gotten onto their roof and started a fire which soon got out of control. People have been rendered homeless because somebody couldn't control their fireworks and this is a steep price to pay to have a little fun. As far as finding the people responsible, with literally thousands of rockets flying around, each packed with a small amount of explosives, you won't be able to keep track of all of them and one will eventually get loose and onto some one's house. So, finding the persons responsible can often be impossible.
Second, you have the danger of personal injury due to explosions and burns. Fireworks are made to burn and/or explode and children are most susceptible to injury when they get scared and either forget to let go of it or one falls in front of them or on them. We can be talking about first-, second- or third-degree burns, along with the accompanying pain and scarring, especially from 2nd and 3rd degree burns. Being burned can even lead to psychological problems for the victim, especially if the injuries sustained are particularly bad.
Next, you have the smoke which can be very heavy if there had been a lot of fireworks going-off in the area. I remember one year, I was in Kalihi and I was on my way home at around 3am. It was New Year's Day and as I looked down the road, I realized that I could not see the end of the street due to the heavy low-hanging smoke. I had a motorscooter back then and I had to ride at less than 15mph to avoid accidentally hitting some one in the darkness and smoke. Fortunately, I could still see the traffic lights and would have an idea of where to stop. Riding was especially difficult due to visibility problems, which were compounded by the acridity of the smoke which irritated my eyes, nose and throat. My eyes were tearing-up and I was fortunate to make it home, as other drivers were doubtless similarly affected.
Also, you have to include the risks to people with breathing problems such as asthma, bronchitis and lung cancer. With many children today afflicted with asthma, it is difficult for all but the most devoted of fireworks fans to justify using them in the face of the suffering inflicted upon these people who must endure hours or even days of breathing problem above what they do on a normal day. A civilized society must always consider the needs of its weakest members.
Let's not forget the fact that in areas where a lot of fireworks are going to be set-off, animals in zoos have to be tranquilized so that they won't panic and suffer from the stresses caused by hearing thousands of explosions and the smell of smoke in the air. Animals have a natural fear of flame and smoke and their first instinct is to run away from it.
Of course, there are always going to be those who use fireworks as a convenient way to hurt people and damage property. Petty arsonists can use them as a way to burn down a building and subsequently chalk it up as an accident, even though they had done it purposely. When I was a young man, an entire building at my school, Kalakaua Intermediate, was burned to the ground by vandals using fireworks. Furthermore, some can use the particularly powerful ones to blowout windows on cars and homes or even cause injury to others. I remember going through Waikiki one year and a gang of kids was enjoying themselves while throwing strings of fireworks onto passing vehicles. In these cases, fireworks are not seen as a means of enjoyment, but as an easy way to damage the property or injure the persons of others.
We certainly can't leave out the danger of improperly-stored fireworks which can go off accidentally, due to a house fire or similar occurrence. Some years ago, there was talk of limiting the number of fireworks people could buy at a time. So, before this went into effect, people stocked-up on fireworks with the intention of using some of them for the upcoming holiday and store the rest for later. After the limits were put in-place, there was a house fire where a large number of improperly-stored fireworks went-off in some one's home storage shed. What people in that case failed to realize is that fireworks, at their most basic level, are miniature explosives and should be handled and stored that way. A small fire or even a spark could result in catastrophic consequences.
Finally, you have the mess that fireworks leave behind. This mess can be considerable and is often left for others to do, while the people who had set them off ignore the problem entirely I have seen entire streets covered with the leftover red paper debris of firecrackers, which were simply left for the wind and the rain to remove, while the people who had set them off simply walked past the debris piles as if they weren't there.
By themselves, fireworks are neither good nor bad. They simply are what they are. The problems arise when people who are not trained in handling them properly do stupid, careless or malicious things that result in property being damaged and people getting hurt.
I'm all in favor of having fireworks displays for events like Chinese New Year, New Year's Day and the Fourth of July. But, I think these displays should be entrusted to professionals, rather than to any schmoe with a few dollars and the urge to blow-up something.
Duane D. Browning
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Kapiolani Blvd Turning Into a Dump
As a follow-up to my discovery of the hole in the ground on Kapiolani Blvd last week, I decided to go back and see if the City had, in fact, filled the hole as they had promised. Sure enough, it has been filled.
I'm wondering how many people had walked past the hole and never considered reporting it because they thought the City would never get around to it or would take forever to do the job. But, here we are about five days after my first phone call and it's covered-up and safe to walk over.
Really, I cannot fathom how people can believe that their government is too busy to take care of things that pose an immediate danger to passersby or simply doesn't care. Sure, government is big and can often seem to be unfeeling. But, there are those times when the government can act quickly and get the job done.
So, thanks to Mr Lester Hirano and his staff.
While riding down Kapiolani on my way to the McCully intersection, I passed what can only be described as a garbage dump. I remember seeing a few bags of trash in the same location, but now the pile has grown by leaps and bounds, along with a swarm of flies to feast on the free food.
There were other places along Kapiolani I had passed where things had simply been left out for whatever fate awaited them. A beach chair, old bicycle tires, a rusty air conditioning unit, etc were all along the boulevard, along with unmowed grass and weeds. As I got closer to the McCully intersection and passed the self-storage business there, there was suddenly a total lack of garbage on the street and the grass was trimmed very nicely. So, in front of the business, it was clean. But, the areas fronting the residential buildings had garbage and weeds.
A sad state of affairs, I must admit.
On Kapiolani, between Kalakaua and McCully, several residences were marked with graffiti, which only added to the rundown look of the area.
I do wonder how long the trash has been piling-up before I reported it to the City. I can only guess that no one who lives in these buildings has called the City about the trash or to request that the grass be trimmed-down. Would it have killed anyone to take a weedeater and trim the grass themselves? I mean, you can borrow one from a friend, if you don't have one.
Maybe this is one of those cases where people think that it's some one else's job to take care of these things and they don't even have to take the initiative and call the City to make it happen.
There is also the very real possibility that the trash has been dumped there by people who do not live in the area and would rather it be left for others to dispose of. It happens all the time, especially if there had initially been just a small number of trash bags and some one driving by had decided that they could simply leave their garbage there for other people to have to dispose. There are numerous places around O'ahu where people simply dump assorted trash of various types and quantities and then drive back home, leaving it to the people who actually live around there to deal with it. Over time, the makeshift dump becomes rather famous and before you know it, everyone and anyone feels perfectly free to dump their shit on some one else's front doorstep. Never mind the health concerns about food waste or the fact that children walk around it every single fucking day.
Fucking inconsiderate bastards.
Still, you'd wonder if area residents are calling HPD about this sort of thing. I would and I'd be camped-out closeby to catch the motherfuckers doing it.
I am seriously thinking that I may be one of the few people who really cares what the City looks like.
Duane D. Browning
Lack of Respect for the Hawaiian Flag
No matter where you live or grew-up in Hawaii, whether you are rich or poor and no matter your educational background, the flag of Hawaii unifies us all as residents of the fiftieth State of the Union. This flag has flown over a Kingdom, then a republic, then a territory and now a State. It has remained virtually constant with few changes made since it was first adopted. While some have come forward in attempts to either introduce a "new" flag of their own creation or have tried to pass-off a flag as being the "true original" flag of Hawaii, the flag with eight stripes and the Union Jack in the canton remains as an almost universally-recognize symbol of Hawaii and its people.
However, despite all the groups and individuals who claim to be for instilling pride in the Hawaiian people, as well as the various t-shirts, bumperstickers, songs and even tattoos proclaiming an individual's pride in either being from Hawaii or being Hawaiian, our flag has repeatedly been a victim of unpardonable laxity and negligence on the part of those parties who display our flag around Hawaii.
As I was riding home from the airport after having picked-up my new cellphone from UPS, I rode past the Aloha Tower Marketplace. As I was coming out from the parking lot area, attempting to get back onto Ala Moana Blvd, I looked up and saw this:
You can't really see it in the picture, but the Hawaii flag on the right has a torn fly (the part of the flag opposite from the flagpole and flaps-around in the wind) where almost the entire fly seam has torn loose and flaps loosely, almost totally disconnected from the main body of the flag. Here's another picture I took:
You can see it much better in this picture. The flag on the right in the first picture is now the flag on the left. I also noticed that the flag on the right of this picture has its fly in a partially shredded condition, as if the entire seam had come apart and the flag was disintegrating from the fly to the hoist (the part of the flag closest to the flagpole) and also shows some signs of the colors fading after having been exposed to the sun and rain for an extended period of time. Fading colors are normal with flags which contain bright colors, like red or blue. If a flag gets dirty, you are allowed to wash it and display it and if the seams come loose without the cloth tearing, you can mend it and it's no problem raising it again. However, when the cloth is torn or the colors fade, it is a violation of relevant flag codes to display such a flag in public. There are exceptions for famous flags, such as the US flag that flew over Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. But, ordinary flags must be flown in accordance with flag codes and doing otherwise is illegal and considered disrespectful of the flag and what it represents.
Since the US flag didn't seem to be in a similar state as the others, I'm guessing that it may be a newer flag, as it does not appear to have been torn and its colors are still bright.
I immediately placed a call to the concierge desk at Aloha Tower Marketplace and informed them as to the condition of both Hawaii flags. The person who answered seemed very surprised and told me that he would immediately tell his supervisor. Satisfied with this, I made my way home.
If a flag of any sort is embossed on a pin, I'll wear it. But, I have a serious problem wearing flags on shirts, hats or any sort of clothing. The difference is that clothes are more easily damaged and soiled than a pin might be and I'd feel that I was somehow dishonoring the flag by wearing it in that way. The same goes for using flags for the purposes of advertising a product. I feel that the advertisers are taking something that belongs to all of us and trying to co-opt it for their own designs. A flag, at its most basic, is just a colored piece of cloth. However, what it symbolizes is something so profound that to use it for personal gain is something I cannot tolerate and will not e a part of. I'm not for passing anti-desecration laws to protect flags, as that would be a First Amendment violation. But, if you burn a Hawaii or US flag and get your ass beaten, don't ask me to save you.
Sadly, this is not the first time I have seen either a Hawaii or US flag being flown in a damaged condition. Sometimes, a place of business or even a government building will have workers either ignorant or uncaring hoisting the flags in the morning and lowering them at close of business, knowing that the flags should not be flown, but doing it anyway. But, whenever I call to notify the administrative offices, they always act very surprised, as if the people in-charge don't look at the flags they display in front of their buildings everyday and it takes some random stranger to do it for them.
Some years ago, a well-known self-storage company on Queen Street used to fly a gigantic US flag on top of their building everyday, along with lots of smaller ones all around the perimeter of their roof. The giant flag fell into a state of total disrepair, with larges strips of it peeling-off and this drew an enormous amount of complaints from passersby and especially veterans organizations. The company removed the flag and had to fly a much smaller one until a similar sized flag could be purchased. Flags get more expensive as they get larger, so it must have set them back quite a bit. Unfortunately, they never quite got back their public image after that. Many people believe - as I do - that you shouldn't fly a flag that you can't take care of.
So, this is just the latest episode for me in finding a flag that is being flown, even though it shouldn't. I wish I could say that this was a unique occurrence, but it wasn't and I am sure I will see this sort of thing happening again.
Duane D. Browning
However, despite all the groups and individuals who claim to be for instilling pride in the Hawaiian people, as well as the various t-shirts, bumperstickers, songs and even tattoos proclaiming an individual's pride in either being from Hawaii or being Hawaiian, our flag has repeatedly been a victim of unpardonable laxity and negligence on the part of those parties who display our flag around Hawaii.
As I was riding home from the airport after having picked-up my new cellphone from UPS, I rode past the Aloha Tower Marketplace. As I was coming out from the parking lot area, attempting to get back onto Ala Moana Blvd, I looked up and saw this:
Since the US flag didn't seem to be in a similar state as the others, I'm guessing that it may be a newer flag, as it does not appear to have been torn and its colors are still bright.
I immediately placed a call to the concierge desk at Aloha Tower Marketplace and informed them as to the condition of both Hawaii flags. The person who answered seemed very surprised and told me that he would immediately tell his supervisor. Satisfied with this, I made my way home.
If a flag of any sort is embossed on a pin, I'll wear it. But, I have a serious problem wearing flags on shirts, hats or any sort of clothing. The difference is that clothes are more easily damaged and soiled than a pin might be and I'd feel that I was somehow dishonoring the flag by wearing it in that way. The same goes for using flags for the purposes of advertising a product. I feel that the advertisers are taking something that belongs to all of us and trying to co-opt it for their own designs. A flag, at its most basic, is just a colored piece of cloth. However, what it symbolizes is something so profound that to use it for personal gain is something I cannot tolerate and will not e a part of. I'm not for passing anti-desecration laws to protect flags, as that would be a First Amendment violation. But, if you burn a Hawaii or US flag and get your ass beaten, don't ask me to save you.
Sadly, this is not the first time I have seen either a Hawaii or US flag being flown in a damaged condition. Sometimes, a place of business or even a government building will have workers either ignorant or uncaring hoisting the flags in the morning and lowering them at close of business, knowing that the flags should not be flown, but doing it anyway. But, whenever I call to notify the administrative offices, they always act very surprised, as if the people in-charge don't look at the flags they display in front of their buildings everyday and it takes some random stranger to do it for them.
Some years ago, a well-known self-storage company on Queen Street used to fly a gigantic US flag on top of their building everyday, along with lots of smaller ones all around the perimeter of their roof. The giant flag fell into a state of total disrepair, with larges strips of it peeling-off and this drew an enormous amount of complaints from passersby and especially veterans organizations. The company removed the flag and had to fly a much smaller one until a similar sized flag could be purchased. Flags get more expensive as they get larger, so it must have set them back quite a bit. Unfortunately, they never quite got back their public image after that. Many people believe - as I do - that you shouldn't fly a flag that you can't take care of.
So, this is just the latest episode for me in finding a flag that is being flown, even though it shouldn't. I wish I could say that this was a unique occurrence, but it wasn't and I am sure I will see this sort of thing happening again.
Duane D. Browning
Monday, February 15, 2010
The Shortage of Poi in Hawaii
A lot has been made of the current shortage of poi in Hawaii. Actually, what is meant is the shortage of taro (Hawaiian: kalo) which is due to multiple causes: shortages of water and labor, as well as the apple snail infestation.
I've heard numerous Hawaiian activists mention the shortage of taro as contributory to the decline in the cummulative health of the Hawaiian community. Without taro to make poi with, Hawaiians turn to less-nutritious alternative foods to occupy the place in their diets once held by poi. These alternatives are potatoes and (more commonly) white rice. Neither rice or potatoes have the nutritional content of taro and neither is a traditional Hawaiian food. Poi was once the chief staple of the Hawaiian diet and its removal or decline in overall consumption removes a link to Hawaiians' historic culture. This is often taken as a sign that Hawaiians are "losing their culture" in the Great American Melting Pot.
But, is something being overlooked? Are there similar foods that ancient Hawaiians ate if/when the taro crop might fail for some reason? If a region's taro crop was destroyed somehow, were there no other foods indigenous to Ancient Hawaii that the people could eat until the taro crop recovered the following season?
Actually, there was and there still is.
While taro was the central staple of the Hawaiian diet, it wasn't the only food available and it wasn't even the most nutritious part of their diet. That place is held by the sweet potato. In Ancient Hawaii, two crops were planted more than any other: taro and sweet potato. Since taro that is used for poi is water-intensive, sweet potato would be planted in areas when water was not plentiful. The sweet potato doesn't require nearly as much water and could be harvested much more frequently. I understand that the people of Niihau would make a poi-like food using sweet potato, in lieu of taro, due to the scarcity of water on their island.
Essentially, poi is simply a root vegetable pounded into a paste, mixed with water and salt, allowed to ferment for a short time and then eaten. This is a very common form of food preparation found all over the world. Mashed potatoes are commonly served in American homes and restaurants, while mashed yams are commonly eaten in West Africa and this food is known by a variety of names, including fufu.
Ancient Hawaiians grew a number of foods that are still commonly available today that could fill the void left by taro: sweet potato, yams and breadfruit. All of these foods are grown in Hawaii and all are as nutritious as taro. In fact, sweet potato and yams are even better for than taro. Mashed breadfruit was used as either an augmentation or a substitute for taro and poi made from breadfruit was call poi ʻulu. It is my understanding that Hawaiians didn't make poi from yams, due to the texture of the food, which is rather gritty.
Certainly, poi made from yams (if you want to try it), sweet potato or breadfruit will taste differently than that made from taro and it will feel different when you eat it. But, any one of these three food can be used in place of taro in the Hawaiian diet and any of them is better for you than white rice.
Bear in mind that I am not substituting a non-native food to take the place of taro. I am simply advocating that Hawaiians adopt a practise that was done by their ancestors.
Duane Browning
I've heard numerous Hawaiian activists mention the shortage of taro as contributory to the decline in the cummulative health of the Hawaiian community. Without taro to make poi with, Hawaiians turn to less-nutritious alternative foods to occupy the place in their diets once held by poi. These alternatives are potatoes and (more commonly) white rice. Neither rice or potatoes have the nutritional content of taro and neither is a traditional Hawaiian food. Poi was once the chief staple of the Hawaiian diet and its removal or decline in overall consumption removes a link to Hawaiians' historic culture. This is often taken as a sign that Hawaiians are "losing their culture" in the Great American Melting Pot.
But, is something being overlooked? Are there similar foods that ancient Hawaiians ate if/when the taro crop might fail for some reason? If a region's taro crop was destroyed somehow, were there no other foods indigenous to Ancient Hawaii that the people could eat until the taro crop recovered the following season?
Actually, there was and there still is.
While taro was the central staple of the Hawaiian diet, it wasn't the only food available and it wasn't even the most nutritious part of their diet. That place is held by the sweet potato. In Ancient Hawaii, two crops were planted more than any other: taro and sweet potato. Since taro that is used for poi is water-intensive, sweet potato would be planted in areas when water was not plentiful. The sweet potato doesn't require nearly as much water and could be harvested much more frequently. I understand that the people of Niihau would make a poi-like food using sweet potato, in lieu of taro, due to the scarcity of water on their island.
Essentially, poi is simply a root vegetable pounded into a paste, mixed with water and salt, allowed to ferment for a short time and then eaten. This is a very common form of food preparation found all over the world. Mashed potatoes are commonly served in American homes and restaurants, while mashed yams are commonly eaten in West Africa and this food is known by a variety of names, including fufu.
Ancient Hawaiians grew a number of foods that are still commonly available today that could fill the void left by taro: sweet potato, yams and breadfruit. All of these foods are grown in Hawaii and all are as nutritious as taro. In fact, sweet potato and yams are even better for than taro. Mashed breadfruit was used as either an augmentation or a substitute for taro and poi made from breadfruit was call poi ʻulu. It is my understanding that Hawaiians didn't make poi from yams, due to the texture of the food, which is rather gritty.
Certainly, poi made from yams (if you want to try it), sweet potato or breadfruit will taste differently than that made from taro and it will feel different when you eat it. But, any one of these three food can be used in place of taro in the Hawaiian diet and any of them is better for you than white rice.
Bear in mind that I am not substituting a non-native food to take the place of taro. I am simply advocating that Hawaiians adopt a practise that was done by their ancestors.
Duane Browning
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Ugly Truth About SPAM
SPAM, made by Hormel Foods, was first put on the American market in the late 1930s. As a low-cost substitute for fresh meat, as well as a long shelf life, it seems perfect for low income families.
Genetically speaking, humans are hardwired to like salt, sugar and fat. As such things are actually rare in nature, but neccessary for survival, humans will consume them in large quantities when they are available. This is a leftover instinct from our days as nomadic hunter-gatherers. As with the concept of Original Sin, you can blame this one on your ancestors.
SPAM is firmly entrenched as a "local" food here in Hawaii. People eat it at all times of the day or night. I've seen people eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the same day. Not to miss an opportunity to make some easy cash, Hormel Foods markets different flavors of SPAM for our consumption. These include: SPAM with cheese, SPAM with bacon, Hickory Smoked and others, as well as the low-salt variety.
In every convenience store, you'll see SPAM musubi on the shelves, along with the cheap burgers and hot dogs. Cans of SPAM fill grocery shelves, where they sell at a lower cost than any other meat, canned, packaged or fresh.
Yes, SPAM is everywhere.
But, is that a good thing?
In Hawaii, it is well-known that Hawaiians have a disproportionate amount of heart-related illnesses, diabetes and other life-threatening ailments, not to mention obesity problems.
While the root causes of these problems are many and varied, SPAM and its popularity in Hawaii only make the problem worse. With its secure place on the dinner tables in many homes in Hawaii, whether in Hawaiian or non-Hawaiian households, SPAM does nothing positive for you from a nutritional perspective and many negative things to your overall health.
Typically, SPAM Classic comes in 12 ounce cans and the label says that a single serving is two ounces. So, you've got six servings in that can.
With me so far? Okay.
According to Hormel Foods' own label on the can, each two ounce serving contains 174 calories, 137 of which comes from fat.
When you see how much of your Daily Value (DV) is provided in each two ounce slice, the numbers could actually stop your heart. Since much of the nutritional data is given in grams, understand that 2 ounces is equal to 56 grams. The DV is how much of it you require each day as part of your diet.
So, those two slices of SPAM you had for breakfast, by themselves, gave you 46% of the fat, 56% of the saturated fat, 26% of the cholesterol and 64% of the sodium you need just for that day. We're not even including the SPAM musubi you might have at lunch or on your way home from work.
That two ounce slice of SPAM gives you only 7g of the protein, 1% of the calcium and Vitamin A and 3% of the iron you need. You'd have thought that a meat product would give you more protein than that, but SPAM is basically salt, fat and cholesterol in a can.
Certainly, Hormen Foods likes to tout itself as a customer-friendly business and SPAM is a good - even fun - product to include in your daily diet. Their website even has a Shop section where you can buy souvenir SPAM logo jackets, mugs, hats, etc.
But, another side of Hormel Foods isn't so friendly: in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), David Khorram, MD, a reporter for the Saipan Tribune.wrote an article on the ill effects related to the over-consupmtion of SPAM and Hormel Foods pressured the newspaper to remove the word "SPAM" from the article and replace it with "processed meat". Dr Khorram, who actually went to the hospital with severe abdominal pain after eating SPAM one day, posted this in response to Hormel's strongarm tactics.
Sales of SPAM are steady in the poorer communities of this country and sales are peaking in the bad economy as Americans struggle to save money while putting something resembling meat on the table. Personally, I don't eat SPAM anymore. I tried it a few months ago after years of not even tasting it. I suffered some stomach problems afterwards, though not nearly as bad as Dr Khorram's. I haven't eaten SPAM since that day, no matter how poor or hungry I was at the time. I guess SPAM is something that people need to accustom themselves to eating regularly. Kind of like smoking cigarettes, isn't it?
SPAM certainly does have the PR high ground, though. There are SPAM festivals and parades, people write songs about it and Hormel is making big bucks while shoveling-out this crap.
I'm Hawaiian and I am proud to be Hawaiian. I love my people and it breaks my heart to know that many of us are eating ourselves into an early grave and that there is little I can do to stop it, aside from posting this blog entry.
If you're still looking for a cheap canned meat product, I suggest you try TREET, made by Armour Star instead. I will grant that it's a tough call between TREET and SPAM, both having an advantage over the other in certain areas.
Here's TREET's info:
If you decide to keep buying SPAM or switch over to TREET, you may want to have a look at Hawaii's 2nd Spam Cookbook (link provided). I'm sure that the recipes could work with either product. Might as well make it taste better than it does.
Duane Browning
Typically, SPAM Classic comes in 12 ounce cans and the label says that a single serving is two ounces. So, you've got six servings in that can.
With me so far? Okay.
According to Hormel Foods' own label on the can, each two ounce serving contains 174 calories, 137 of which comes from fat.
When you see how much of your Daily Value (DV) is provided in each two ounce slice, the numbers could actually stop your heart. Since much of the nutritional data is given in grams, understand that 2 ounces is equal to 56 grams. The DV is how much of it you require each day as part of your diet.
- Fat: 15g (23 % DV)
- Saturated Fat: 6g (28% DV)
- Cholesterol: 39mg (13% DV)
- Sodium: 767mg (32% DV)
So, those two slices of SPAM you had for breakfast, by themselves, gave you 46% of the fat, 56% of the saturated fat, 26% of the cholesterol and 64% of the sodium you need just for that day. We're not even including the SPAM musubi you might have at lunch or on your way home from work.
That two ounce slice of SPAM gives you only 7g of the protein, 1% of the calcium and Vitamin A and 3% of the iron you need. You'd have thought that a meat product would give you more protein than that, but SPAM is basically salt, fat and cholesterol in a can.
Certainly, Hormen Foods likes to tout itself as a customer-friendly business and SPAM is a good - even fun - product to include in your daily diet. Their website even has a Shop section where you can buy souvenir SPAM logo jackets, mugs, hats, etc.
But, another side of Hormel Foods isn't so friendly: in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), David Khorram, MD, a reporter for the Saipan Tribune.wrote an article on the ill effects related to the over-consupmtion of SPAM and Hormel Foods pressured the newspaper to remove the word "SPAM" from the article and replace it with "processed meat". Dr Khorram, who actually went to the hospital with severe abdominal pain after eating SPAM one day, posted this in response to Hormel's strongarm tactics.
Sales of SPAM are steady in the poorer communities of this country and sales are peaking in the bad economy as Americans struggle to save money while putting something resembling meat on the table. Personally, I don't eat SPAM anymore. I tried it a few months ago after years of not even tasting it. I suffered some stomach problems afterwards, though not nearly as bad as Dr Khorram's. I haven't eaten SPAM since that day, no matter how poor or hungry I was at the time. I guess SPAM is something that people need to accustom themselves to eating regularly. Kind of like smoking cigarettes, isn't it?
SPAM certainly does have the PR high ground, though. There are SPAM festivals and parades, people write songs about it and Hormel is making big bucks while shoveling-out this crap.
I'm Hawaiian and I am proud to be Hawaiian. I love my people and it breaks my heart to know that many of us are eating ourselves into an early grave and that there is little I can do to stop it, aside from posting this blog entry.
If you're still looking for a cheap canned meat product, I suggest you try TREET, made by Armour Star instead. I will grant that it's a tough call between TREET and SPAM, both having an advantage over the other in certain areas.
Here's TREET's info:
- Calories 150
- Calories from Fat 110
- Fat: 12g (18 % DV)
- Saturated Fat: 2.5g (18% DV)
- Cholesterol: 50mg (17% DV)
- Sodium: 790mg (33% DV)
If you decide to keep buying SPAM or switch over to TREET, you may want to have a look at Hawaii's 2nd Spam Cookbook (link provided). I'm sure that the recipes could work with either product. Might as well make it taste better than it does.
Duane Browning
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