Local/Hawaii

A Recyclers’ Guide to Oahu and Maui

Approximately 800 million beverage containers are sold in Hawaii each year – that’s a lot of plastic, aluminum, and glass! The HI-5 program is helping to keep these materials out of landfills through a 5-cent deposit redemption, and the City & County of Honolulu is evaluating options for curbside recycling following a voter-approved charter amendment. Keep Reading →

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A Thanksgiving for the Earth

Go vegetarian – Eating vegetarian is the single most important thing you can do for the planet. In fact, in its 2006 report, the United Nations said raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined. The negative effects of the meat industry are far reaching. Forests are being bulldozed to make more room for factory farms and feed crops to feed farmed animals, and this destruction causes soil erosion and contributes to species extinction and habitat loss. Keep Reading →

AINA In Schools: Creating Lifelong Environmental Stewardship

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our kids could really connect with the earth in a meaningful and lasting way? If school programs could help them form a lifelong appreciation and caring for Hawaii’s environment? If planting, growing, harvesting, and eating fresh, local produce could teach them about good nutrition, healthy choices, and where food comes from? If school cafeterias could be a market for local farmers so that fresh, local crops could end up as wholesome school lunches? Keep Reading →

Celebrating 35 Years of Service to Hawaii!

Back in 1977, when Down to Earth was founded by a group of friends in Wailuku, Maui, “health food” was considered unconventional. The idea of improving your health through organic and natural foods and a vegetarian lifestyle was a passion for some, but it was not a concept many people thought about at the time. Keep Reading →

Curbing Global Warming - Your Everyday Choices Make a Difference!

Burning fossil fuels (oil and petroleum) releases CO2 into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Here in Hawaii over 90% of the energy we use for electricity and transportation is produced by burning oil!

Reducing CO2 emissions can seem like an overwhelming challenge, but the choices we make in our everyday lives can help curb global warming. If you think you can’t make a difference, check out the results of taking these seven simple actions:

If all the readers* of this article would..

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Down to Earth Joins "Kanu Hawaii Eat Local Challenge!"

This September Down to Earth will participate in Kanu Hawaii's Annual Eat Local Challenge! by offering special vegetarian cooking classes and in-store demos featuring local produce and putting select local produce at 15% off! Keep Reading →

Down to Earth Policy on Products Containing GMOs

February 14th, 2012

(Feb. 14, 2012) -- Down to Earth is striving to promote the sale of Non-GMO foods, i.e. food products that do not contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs), reduce the number of products that potentially contain GMOs, and limit and control the introduction of any new products that may contain GMOs. Keep Reading →

Eating Local from Your Own Backyard

If you are among the many people who recognize the importance of buying local produce, consider the possibility of growing your own. After all, it doesn’t get much more “local” than your own backyard! Keep Reading →

Hawaii should require labeling of GMO foods

April 25th, 2012

(Published in the Honolulu-Star Advetiser April 22, 2012) -- As Americans, we value the basic right to choose from a wide variety of foods in the marketplace, to make informed choices as to what we feed ourselves and our families.

Presently this right is being denied to the more than 90 percent of Americans who want to know if a food contains genetically modified organisms (GMO). Keep Reading →

Hawaiian Forests: An Endangered Life-support System

Hawaii’s native forests are a true biological and cultural treasure. They shelter more than 10,000 plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth; they protect watersheds, beaches and reefs from devastating run-off and sediment; they foster the survival of traditional Hawaiian cultural practices. But perhaps most importantly, Hawaiian forests serve as a life-support system for our islands, replenishing and delivering the fresh, clean water that is so vital to plants, animals, and humans. Keep Reading →