People in developed
countries often take it for granted that they can eat
whatever delicacy they want from anywhere in the world. But there are some who fear
that this globalization of food is putting all of us at
risk, and they are now going back to living off the land. Here's correspondent
JJ Kelley in Hawaii. [music playing] KIMI WERNER (VOICEOVER):
When I go spear phishing, I become an actual
part of the ocean. I become a part of
my roots, of Hawaii. I become a hunter. And more than anything, if
the boats were to stop coming, I know how to survive. JJ KELLEY: Hawaii is one of the
most remote places on Earth. To get here, it was two
flights, 12 hours total. But it feels like
you're out there. Like coastal populations
around the world-- NEIL CAVUTO: All right. You talk about Irma, you
talk about Puerto Rico-- JJ KELLEY: --Hawaiians
face threats unique to their geography. And when disaster strikes, they
get pushed to the brink fast. Here, some 90% of the food
that's consumed is imported. That means that Hawaii has
about a 10-day supply of food. That didn't always
used to be the case. Up until the islands
were largely carved up by US-backed pineapple
and sugar plantations in the early 20th century,
Hawaiians fed themselves. Now, a growing number
of their descendants are working to do so again. So it's 6:00 AM right now. We're gonna go get a meal. We're not going to
the grocery store. We're going to the ocean. JJ KELLEY (VOICEOVER):
This is Makua Beach, on the island of Oahu. I'm going diving on
this overcast day with Hawaiian native Kimi Werner. JJ KELLEY: It fits. Oh, good.
This is-- - Weights.
- --your weight belt. All right. If you need more,
we can give you more. JJ KELLEY: Kimmie is a champion
spear fisher and freediver, but she's not here for sport. Our goal today is
to get dinner to eat. How do you teach yourself
how to do something like that? KIMI WERNER: Well, I mean,
I learned from my dad. He was a freediver
and spear fisherman, and he just used this to
put food on the table. That is what gave me my ability,
I think, to relax in the water. JJ KELLEY (VOICEOVER):
Kimi's weapon of choice is a trigger-fired spear gun. This is for you. All right. Little one for me. JJ KELLEY (VOICEOVER): She says
mine is for emergency use only. Just in case a really big,
aggressive fish, like a shark comes in, you just
have something to put in between you and it. This is reassuring. All right.
I'm in good hands. KIMI WERNER: [laughs] Yes. Should we do this? KIMI WERNER: I think so. Let's do this. We kick out to the site of a
sunken ship called the Mahi. There, Kimi takes a
deep breath of air and disappears down
into the abyss. She just drops, drops,
drops, and I can't even-- can't even see her anymore. Like, she's 90 feet
underwater with no scuba, laying on the
ground and waiting. KIMI WERNER (VOICEOVER):
When I go spear phishing, I become a predator. I become a lioness looking for
food in my natural environment. JJ KELLEY: Look at her fish. Well done.
- Oh, thanks. High five.
That's a-- - Thank you.
- --beautiful fish. It is. JJ KELLEY (VOICEOVER):
Kimi's caught a pualu, a breed of
surgeon fish Hawaiians have been dining
on for centuries. Obviously, you know,
this isn't easy work. No. Like, diving to 100 feet
to get a fish like this? There's obviously
easier ways to get food. KIMI WERNER
(VOICEOVER): But when you put that work in
yourself, it makes you appreciate it that much more. I know that I'm
sourcing it responsibly, and it's evidence that I
can take care of myself. JJ KELLEY: In a place so removed
from the rest of the world, knowing how to catch a fish
is a handy skill to have. Yet, we didn't see many
other people out fishing. And that has Kimi worried. KIMI WERNER: If anything were
to ever happen where the boats were to stop coming, then
people wouldn't know how to survive because we
aren't designed right now to take care of ourselves. That didn't always used
to be the case here, though. No. JJ KELLEY: Up until
the mid-1800s, Hawaiians had a system of
divvying up land into mountain to shore slices. What you harvested depended
on what part of the slice lived on. And it was called ahupua'a. And the way it worked is that
if people from the mountains needed some fish, they would
come down and they would trade, whether it's fruits
or vegetable or taro, and people were able to
take care of themselves in this system that
was 100% sustainable. JJ KELLEY: In the era of
Blue Apron and Amazon Go, many would consider
such a system primitive. Not Kimi. KIMI WERNER
(VOICEOVER): If you were to look at any other
species of animal-- --it's like the first thing
on their list when they're born. They're going to be taught how
to get water, how to get food. KIMI WERNER
(VOICEOVER): And I just don't get how having
that knowledge and having those skills
makes us primitive-- --and not having any of
them makes us civilized. JJ KELLEY: She has a
point, especially when civilization is so fragile. This is the port of Honolulu. We're on an island right now. I live on an island-- Manhattan. I remember when
Hurricane Sandy hit, and my wife and I lost
power, we lost heat, we didn't know where we
were gonna get our food, and it was scary. And that's on an island
with bridges and tunnels. Here, this is the
bridge and tunnel. This is the connection
to the outside world, where their food comes in. And if something goes wrong, the
stakes are just a lot higher. When we come back, for plenty
of Hawaiians, self-sufficiency isn't a fringe fad-- There's a pig right there. JJ KELLEY: --it's a dangerous,
heart-pumping reality. [bow shoots] [music playing] JJ KELLEY (VOICEOVER):
I'm JJ Kelley in Hawaii, a place so reliant on
imported groceries, it's estimated the islands have
only a 10-day supply of food. For some locals, the
solution is self-reliance. And I'm here to meet a few
of those on the front lines, like bow hunter Justin Lee. Do you remember a moment in
your life where you decided, this is how you want
to find your food? JUSTIN LEE (VOICEOVER): My
dad passed it down onto me, and you know, he was my hero. Being the man that brought home
dinner via hunting or gathering was the kind of man
that I wanted to be. So what are we
hunting for today? We're gonna be
hunting for wild boar. We got some wild goats and
some wild sheep out here. JJ KELLEY: None of these
species are native to Hawaii. They were introduced to
the islands by the West. But with no natural predators
to keep their populations in check, their numbers ballooned. Today, feral herds
threaten Hawaii's delicate ecosystem,
overgrazing and trampling endangered species. They're a problem. They are. JJ KELLEY: Especially the pigs. JUSTIN LEE: They
root up everything, and they destroy the land. They're nature's
bulldozer, basically. JJ KELLEY: They're
so destructive, the Hawaiian government
encourages their eradication, which is why Justin and I
are out here this morning. Is there any limit on the
amount that you can shoot? JUSTIN LEE: If you're
hunting on public land, you're allowed two pigs a day. A day. Yeah, so there's plenty
of food out here. You could feed your
village, for sure. There's a pig right there. Pig? JUSTIN LEE: Yeah. Wow, you got a good eye. Well go this, this way, and
then we'll come up on him. JJ KELLEY (VOICEOVER): As if we
needed more proof of Hawaii's ample protein supply,
a flock of feral sheep appears on the horizon. You see 'em? Yeah. JJ KELLEY (VOICEOVER): Briefly. Oh, no. There they go. They're gone. Yeah, they're gone. They know we're here. Let's try and
focus on this boar. OK. JUSTIN LEE: Those are pigs. JJ KELLEY (VOICEOVER):
Startled boars will charge their aggressors and
slice them with tusks as sharp as razor blades. It's a dangerous game,
but a well-placed shot could potentially feed a family
of four for nearly a week. [boar squeals] Wow. Got him. JJ KELLEY: Wow. Yeah, this is a good
eating boar right here. JJ KELLEY: So how
much does he weigh? This guy's probably 80 pounds. He's not that big. But the younger,
the better they are. JJ KELLEY: Bubbles emerge
from the wound, a sign that the arrow hit the lung. That means that it
was a quick kill. So what do you do first? JUSTIN LEE: You have to pay
our respect to this boar. You know, we're not
just killing for fun. For us to survive,
something has to die. Thank you very much. JJ KELLEY (VOICEOVER):
Since he'll be carrying the meat out with him,
Justin's selective about what he harvests. We're gonna take off his front
shoulder, his hindquarters, and then his back strap. That's the tenderloin. Can you hold this up like this? Yeah. And this is meat that'll
feed your family. It'll feed my family
a few times, yeah. My neighbor's family, as well. You know, it's a community vibe. JJ KELLEY: It might
be surprising to think that self-sufficiency would
foster a sense of community. Yet Kimi says that's exactly how
strong, resilient systems are born. KIMI WERNER (VOICEOVER):
Sometimes I'd have a fish that was so
big, I'd have to share it. The beautiful surprise
that came from that is that, then, a week later, I'd
have avocados at my doorstep. You know, I'd have fruit
from people with trees, eggs from their chickens. JJ KELLEY: Kimi calls it
her own modern day ahupua'a. But in a state that lies 2000
miles away from the mainland, it's also common sense. And this push, for
self-sufficiency, is gaining ground. The Hawaiian
government has launched plans to double the amount
of food grown on the island by 2020. Can I join the party? KIMI WERNER: I suppose. JJ KELLEY (VOICEOVER):
If tonight's potluck is any indication, that
goal is within reach. Oh, my god.
This is so good. KIMI WERNER: Well, I know why. JJ KELLEY: What's
on the table here? Well, starting here, we
have the pualu that we shot. JJ KELLEY: I recognize him. KIMI WERNER: And he's stuffed
with local citrus and fruit. We have our wild pig that one of
my hunter friends dropped off. It's just a feast
that comes together. MAN: It looks amazing. And it strikes me,
you're one person going out and doing this. But it creates a community. MAN: All right. Thank you, everybody,
for being here. JJ KELLEY: And it
changes a culture. If doomsday happens, you're
gonna have the upper hand. KIMI WERNER: Right. JJ KELLEY: These folks know
that strength and independence aren't a reward for
fighting against nature, but for learning to roll with
whatever it throws your way. KIMI WERNER: Man likes
to try to conquer nature. But we don't get to dictate. Sometimes nature's like, uh-uh. Not today. And so when you live in
this type of lifestyle, and you're actually living
off of the land and the ocean, you are living by
what nature gives you. Connecting over conquering. MAN: Absolutely.
