Hawaiian Coffee bill quashed
Six weeks ago we asked you a simple question: “How Hawaiian is Hawaiian coffee?”
The answer actually shocked a few people as we revealed that under current legislation as little as 10% of Kona Coffee has to come from Hawaii’s Big Island for it to be legally packaged and sold as Kona coffee. Unsurprisingly, there was a movement to try and up that percentage and get the current law changed.
But despite a large portion of farmers actively campaign for a change, there was some resistance to the anticipated bill. State Senator Russell Ruderman admitted that “the opposition [is] very small, but influential. It is one of those things where money and politics is the problem.”
West Hawaii Today has reported that a House Bill on the issue has failed to gain any traction. And, worryingly, it didn’t even received a hearing.
To compound matters it appears that Ruderman’s Senate bill, which had undergone substantial revisions over the past few weeks never reached the floor of the Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means committee.
Speaking to the press, probably in a resigned tone, Ruderman is quoted as saying: “In my opinion, I was the only one who has an understanding of the coffee growing industry.”
“I think it’s a matter of lobbyists with financial interests having undue influence over legislature.”
The Hawaiian media has Scott Enright’s testimony as potentially a key factor in the bill’s failing: Enright, the chairman of the state Board of Agriculture, cited a near decade old study that found that blending Kona coffee with cheaper varieties increased demand as the product would become more affordable
The Hawaii Food Industry Association is also believed to have opposed the bill.
Speaking about the decision, Bruce Corker, a Holualoa coffee farmer and member of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association, called for the battle to continue. “We need to keep at it,” he said. “Next year marks 25 years that Hawaii has been out of step with the rest of the [United States].”
“There is no other region in the world that allows blending of their geographic brand,” added Ruderman who also stated that he plans to reintroduce the legislation next year.
photo: Christopher Michel [CC BY 2.0]
I had testified also with findings from the very same study Scott Enright quoted from. Hawaii’s Coffee Industry: Structural Change and Its Effects on Farm Operations. Hawaii Department of Agriculture, 2006: "...if marked unclearly, the label could mislead consumers to think that the content is Kona Coffee. Thus, (10% Kona) blend coffees could compete away (100%) Kona Coffee consumers." "...if consumers are tricked, by any means, to believe that the (Kona Coffee) blend is pure (Kona Coffee), blend coffees could damage the reputation and/or businesses of pure Hawaii-grown coffee brands." "It is irrational to conclude that Kona Coffee is good because Kona blend is good, as opposed to Kona Coffee is good, so Kona blend might be good, too."