Off the News: Take care with meat from wild pigs

Researchers’ recent finding that wild pigs in Hawaii do a lot of damage to the islands’ biodiversity, rooting around and killing native species, explains why hunters are often summoned. Couldn’t the meat fatten the state’s pork supply, too?

No, it seems. There have been cases of trichinosis in Hawaii due to the consumption of wild boar. So there’s a regulation to stop those who want to “sell or offer for sale any game mammal … taken from any public hunting area.” So much for that simple solution.

Vital agriculture products bill saved

Hawaii’s farming industry should cheer Gov. David Ige’s change of mind in regard to House Bill 817, which sets a minimum percentage of locally sourced agricultural products that each state department must purchase, starting at 10% in 2025 and climbing to 50% by 2050. Initially, the bill appeared on Ige’s intent-to-veto list, in part, because it “incurs significant budget costs for some departments,” especially for jail and prison facilities.

On Tuesday, the bill escaped veto, with Ige rightly stating that this tall administrative order also sets worthy goals to help the state become more food resilient and less dependent on imports.