Our Story

Some fifteen years before he founded The Fresh Hawaiian Company, Ed Hartz became interested in leading a healthier life and traded his home in Westchester County, NY, for the Caribbean. In Miami Beach he pursued his passions: ocean swimming, rowing, fitness, and ecology, with a particular focus on the marine environment. Pragmatic considerations soon compelled him to abandon the balmy climate and head back north, where—inspired by his growing partiality for wholesome living—he set himself to opening a health food store in New York City. His intentions were noble, yet plying New Yorkers with salubrious nutrition proved trickier than expected, and the prevailing feudal system threw a major wrench into his plans—as matters stood, the landlord would end up pocketing the lion share of his profits.

Ed Hartz knew he could do better, so he switched gears and applied his entrepreneurial skills towards starting a residential stone restoration business. Although revamping marble floors seemed like a far cry from retailing maple syrup and tofu products, his affluent new clientele afforded him a firsthand window into the consumption patterns of the upper class. Oddly enough, dealing in rock proved a gastronomic experience as well—Ed soon discovered a widespread lack of knowledge regarding proper nutrition and a healthy life style in general. Indeed, by following a highly industrialized diet and obediently lining the pockets of the mega-food corporations, most folks were blithely doing themselves in and wreaking havoc on our environment in the process.

In 2008, Ed Hartz travelled to Hawaii, where he spent several months absorbing the land, the sea, the culture, and the foods. As his thoughts gradually segued from restoring stone to restoring his own life, he realized an opportunity to positively affect not only his own but also the lives of his children and others through food—healthy foods grown in the U.S.A. and distributed in accordance with the principles of fair trade. Right then and there he resolved to become part of the slow food movement by bringing the fresh produce of Hawaii—and with it the Aloha spirit—to New York.

Thus The Fresh Hawaiian Company was born.

Slow Food Pioneers

The international Slow Food Movement was kicked off by the Italian gastronome and visionary Carlo Petrini. Unlike most of us here in the U.S., Petrini grew up in Italy, where he developed an abiding love for the simple, life-affirming pleasures of the table. When Petrini saw the deeply traditional ways of eating and living vanish from his native country, he flung into action.

Since its beginnings as an ad-hoc organization to protest fast food restaurants in Rome, the Slow Food Movement has snowballed into a global campaign built on the aforementioned principles set forth in his groundbreaking book Slow Food Nation: Why Our Food Should Be Good, Clean, and Fair.

Fresh Hawaiian acknowledges the myriad thinkers, writers, researchers, ecologists, anthropologists, botanists, animal scientists, environmentalists, film makers, and organizations that blazed our trail and dedicated so much of themselves and their work to raising awareness about the relationship between our eating habits, our personal health, and the health of Planet Earth. Given that our impact as individuals is necessarily limited, we must work together to improve all our lives by nurturing our bodies while healing our soils and our oceans.

Individuals:

Carlo Petrini Founder of the International Slow Food Movement and author of Slow Food Nation: Why Our Food Should Be Good, Clean, and Fair
Robert Kenner Director, On the Making of Food Inc.
Marion Nestle - FoodPolitics.com
Anna Lappe The Small Planet Institute
Muhammad Yunus 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner
Joel Salatin American Farmer using holistic methods of animal husbandry and author of You Can Farm and Salad Bar Beef
Gary Hirshberg Chairman, President, and CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farm

Organizations:

Food and Water Watch
Pesticide Action Network North America
Center for Science in the Public Interest Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
United Farm Workers
Slow Food USA
Participant Media Inc.
The Land Institute
Heifer International
The Food Trust
Farm to School
The Council for Responsible Genetics
Alliance for a Healthier Generation
The Center for Ecoliteracy
The Cool Foods Campaign
Sustainable Table
TransFair USA and Fair Trade Certified
The Small Planet Institute
Organic Consumers Association
Ecopsychology Restoring the earth and healing the mind

Books, Magazines, and Film:

Peter Pringle Food, Inc.: Mendel to Monsanto: The Promises and Perils of the Biotech Harvest
Eric Schlosser Fast Food Nation
Daniel Goleman Ecological Intelligence
Mcael Pollan In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto and The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Barbara Hendel, Peter Ferreira Water & Salt: The Essence of Life, The Healing Power of Nature
Rowan Jacobsen Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the coming Agricultural Crisis
Jane Goodall Harvest for Hope: A Guide for Mindful Eating
Richard Louv Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder
Oona van den Berg Exotic Fruit and Vegetable Handbook
Paul Roberts The End of Food