Bill Text: HI HCR145 | 2017 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Requesting Department Of Agriculture, Department Of Land And Natural Resources, University Of Hawaii At Manoa College Of Tropical Agriculture And Human Resources And University Of Hawaii At Hilo To Form A Task Force For Evaluating The Feasibility Of Forest Farming Pigs Within Double Fenced Enclosures On The State's Agriculture Lands On Islands With Areas Greater Than 4000 Square Miles.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-29 - Report adopted. referred to the committee(s) on WAL as amended in HD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Aquino, Oshiro, Say, Thielen excused (4). [HCR145 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2017-HCR145-Amended.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
145 |
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TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017 |
H.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
REQUESTING DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES, UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA COLLEGE OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURE AND HUMAN RESOURCES AND UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT HILO TO FORM A TASK FORCE FOR EVALUATING THE FEASIBILITY OF FOREST FARMING PIGS WIthin Double Fenced Enclosures on the state's agriculture lands on Islands with aReas greater than 4000 square Miles.
WHEREAS, pigs evolved in Southeast Asia about two million years ago living in forests, especially where there are oak trees that produced acorns; and
WHEREAS, due to the challenges and labor involved in hunting wild pigs, humans began to tame them about 12,000 years ago; and
WHEREAS, pigs have played an important cultural role in Hawaii since Polynesians first transported them to the islands in Canoes in the 1200's; and
WHEREAS, pigs quickly became a popular food source because they are so easy to keep, would eat almost anything and their meat could be easily preserved with salt; and
WHEREAS, ninety-seven percent of U.S. pig meat currently comes from tame swine raised on conventional farms; and
WHEREAS, these traditional farms primarily feed their stock corn and soybean meal with dried whey for additional protein; and
WHEREAS, though most pigs are raised in captivity, wild populations still exist and are highly prized for their complex rich flavor and meat color; and
WHEREAS, a small but growing niche market for pasture forested pigs which exhibit organic wild pig meat characteristics is emerging within the U.S.; and
WHEREAS, grazing tame pigs in forests have been casually practiced in one form or another since their formal domestication; and
WHEREAS, almost 1,000 years ago in the eastern shires of England, European pannage was a common practice; and
WHEREAS, this consisted of releasing pigs into the forest to feed on fallen tree nuts and seeds. It was considered a right or privilege granted to local people on common land or in royal forests; and
WHEREAS, in Spain the multifunctional agro-sylvo-pastorial system called dehesa became common 800 years ago and were usually linked to the large properties owned by military orders; and
WHEREAS, it may have been a simply land management strategy which provided additional economic agricultural byproducts; and
WHEREAS, presently Spanish dehesas continue to still be used for pig grazing September through April when trees are producing their nuts and seeds; and
WHEREAS, dehesas are the largest and most notable pasture forested pig operations in the world; and
WHEREAS, English pannage is no longer practiced but can still be observed yearly with 600 pigs for a minimum of sixty days at the New Forest National Park; and
WHEREAS, these two agroforestry systems serve as examples for many small production operations scattered throughout Europe and the U.S.; and
WHEREAS, in non-industrialized countries pigs still are set out to freely roam and find their own feed in the bushes or forest; and
WHEREAS, they return to sheltered wooden pens in the evening for warmth and sleep; and
WHEREAS, pigs raised in this way take four to five times as long to grow to harvest size; and
WHEREAS, pigs are currently blamed for damaging native forests when grazing ungulates were primarily responsible for the majority of deforestation in Hawaii in places such as Kahoolawe and Haleakala and the slopes of the Big Island; and
WHEREAS, demand for richer flavored, redder colored, better textured and more humanely raised pigs continues to grow in industrialized counties; and
WHEREAS, some believe this sustainable approach to agriculture is what will feed the future; and
WHEREAS, the market for this product is still miniscule in comparison to that of industrialized operations and research has not yet been conducted to determine if pasture forested pigs could be sustainable or profitable on a large scale; and
WHEREAS, as more rural communities continue to shrink, more agricultural land will become fallow in the United States; and
WHEREAS, rejuvenating forest ecosystems in conjunction with pig pasture management strategies like this may increase biodiversity and productivity; and
WHEREAS, pasture forested pigs will remain an important product until the small niche market is saturated or cost and production rates are competitive with conventionally methods; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Agriculture is requested to convene a task force including but not limited to representatives from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, and the University of Hawaii at Hilo and any other relevant parties for evaluating the feasibility of forest farming pigs within double fenced enclosures on the state's agriculture lands on Islands with areas greater than 4000 square Miles; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture is requested to report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2018 on its efforts, including any proposed legislation, to develop and implement a reforestation and forest farmed pig program using state agricultural pasture land; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, and the Dean of the University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, and the Dean of the University of Hawaii at Hilo College Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management.
Task Force, Reforestation, Forest Farmed Pigs
