Celeste grew up in Kailua, Oʻahu and returned to Hawai’i after her global education and work experience. She is now the CEO of Hawai’i Green Growth, the keeper of the Aloha + Challenge dashboard, where the 30% local food target is displayed and monitored. Celeste has an impressive history with international climate goals and is a Pacific Rim leader in engaging progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s).  

She previously served as the Director for Environment and Climate Change at the National Security Council and National Economic Council in President Obama’s White House, where she helped shape the Administration’s climate and energy policies, including the SDGs. Prior to joining the Obama administration, Celeste served as a diplomat in Saudi Arabia, Greece, and Germany. She also held positions at the U.S. Mission to the UN, served as the Climate and Energy Advisor to the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, and worked for the City of New York. 

Celeste explained how Hawai'i is ahead of the US itself, as well as any other US state, in terms of reporting on their progress on sustainability goals, including the 30% local food target.  Hawai'i is a UN local 2030 hub, thanks to her efforts. She  agrees that Hawai'i can become an example for the world -- especially if the state can successfully grapple with the dynamic tensions surfaced by needs such as housing, energy, water, employment -- all on a charismatic, very remote island archipelago.  Hawai’i’s metric based reporting model is spreading through the island nations of the Pacific, Caribbean and elsewhere, inspiring communities of practice. 

We discuss how some form of community investment vehicles  might be applicable to food system infrastructure, and she brings us a powerful example of engaging island youth - who have a specially ingrained knowledge of how systems work. Having grown up in Hawai'i herself, Celeste is definitely a systems thinker. I liked her view that sometimes you have to "make the challenge bigger so we can see the outlines of a solution", and I really appreciated her sense of urgency.  As she put it: we're simply out of time to negotiate any further.  "We  don't have all the solutions, but we are certainly trying to paddle in the right direction on this and learn," she said. 

For more information: 

Hawai’i Green Growth  

Local 2030 Islands Network

East-West Center 

TEDx Talk by Celeste Connors, “Think like an Islander to Save the Planet” (November 2021) 

In this episode, we feature  Davis Price and Keoni Lee, in conversation about their efforts towards creating a sustainable and regenerative food system economy in Hawaii. Davis, an attorney and Native Hawaiian cultural advocate, and Keoni, an entrepreneur and impact investment strategist, share insights on community-based economic development, structural food system issues and the importance of traditional indigenous knowledge.

Among the systemic issues discussed is the high cost of living, causing displacement and dislocation of Native Hawaiians to the continent. The episode dives into historical context, and practical steps towards making agriculture a viable livelihood, including legislative efforts like the U.S. Farm Bill. The conversation highlights the importance of integrating traditional Hawaiian values and practices with contemporary strategies to address current economic and environmental challenges.

This discussion encourages a rethink of modern economic systems toward more sustainable, equitable approaches rooted in indigenous knowledge and community resilience. Join the conversation to learn how these initiatives aim to bridge the gap between culture, history, and sustainable development in Hawaii.

For more info: 

‘Āina Aloha Economic Futures

Hawai’i Investment Ready (where Keoni Lee is CEO)

‘Oiwi TV (founded by Keoni Lee in 2007)

NDN Collective (where Davis Price is Hawai’i Regional Director) 

Kumano  I Ke Ala (their vision: "to elevate indigenous knowledge to revitalize traditional food systems to save the world")

Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement

Credits: 

Created, produced, and hosted by Paula Daniels

Content structure, edits and sound edits - Mackenzie Olivo (2024 graduate, University of Hawai'i School of Communications and Information)

Theme music: Caryssa Shinozawa

Logo: Reiko Quitevis and Sue Woodard

Dr. Kirsten Oleson, is an ecological economist at the University of Hawaii-  Manoa, and head of the Oleson Lab. We discuss   the valuation of ecosystem services, the potential for a climate smart food label,  and the systemic changes needed in Hawaii's agricultural sector to fulfill a statewide  vision of a sustainable food system

The conversation covers the complexity of quantifying nature's benefits, alternative indicators to the GDP for measuring wellbeing,  and the idea of integrating true cost accounting into public policy approaches to food systems upgrades, which could bring into play - at around 30% - a holistic approach to food systems that prioritizes environmental and social values over industrial-scale efficiencies.

At the close, are  excerpts from Robert F. Kennedy's famous 1968 speech regarding the  GDP and, in his own words and voice, how it "measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile."

For More Information: 

The  Oleson Ecological Economics Lab within the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa  

The Hawai’i Genuine Progress Indicator page at the Hawai’i Dept of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, which was developed based on a report by Kirsten Oleson and others 

Climate actions centered on Indigenous knowledge can improve resilience (Press Release November 14, 2023 ), regarding a chapter in the Fifth National Climate Assessment to which Dr. Oleson contributed

Ocean Tipping Points, a collaborative research project for which Dr. Oleson is a case study lead 

The full text of the speech that Robert F Kennedy Sr gave on March 18, 1968 at the University of Kansas, which included the famous paragraph regarding the GDP (at the JFK Library site)

And a link to an essay and audio recording of the GDP excerpt in the Robert F Kennedy Sr speech, at the site of the Center for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity,  a  research organization core-funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council and the Laudes Foundation

Credits: 

Created, produced, and hosted by Paula Daniels

Sound engineer: Ben Lazarus

Theme music: Caryssa Shinozawa

Logo: Reiko Quitevis and Sue Woodard

 Kamehameha Schools is the largest private landowner in Hawai'i, and owns about 115,000 acres of agriculture land in the Islands. With Leanne Kami, we discuss their local food systems strategies,  support for local farmers through flexible contracting and other means, the re-introduction of traditional Hawaiian foods such as poi, and ongoing projects that integrate cultural heritage with modern agricultural practices aimed at enhancing food security and sustainability in Hawaii. Kamehameha Schools is also enrolled in the Good Food Purchasing Program.

Leanne Kami was born and raised in Pāhoa, on Hawaiʻi Island, and resides in Panaʻewa with her husband and two sons. Leanne joined Kamehameha Schools in 2015 as a Senior Communications Specialist and served as Land Asset Manager for four years before joining the Sustainable Industry Development team in 2021.  Leanne’s kuleana (responsibilities) include supporting Kamehameha Schools’ goals and strategies towards strengthening food systems and increasing agriculture production in Hawaiʻi.  As owner and manager of Kohana  Farms since 2010, Leanne also has first-hand working knowledge of agriculture. 

Before joining Kamehameha Schools she was the  Executive Director of the Hawaii Future Farmers of America Foundation, and is a founding member of the Hawaiʻi Island Agriculture Partnership.  She has a longstanding  passion and dedication to increasing food security and resiliency of Hawaii's  ʻāina and its people. 

Stay tuned for closing thoughts on her favorite Hawaiian word: pilina.

For more info:

Kamehameha Schools (ksbe.edu)

Our food systems initiative | ‘Āina Pauahi | Kamehameha Schools (ksbe.edu)

Videos about Kamehameha Schools partners and projects mentioned:
Poi For the Pēpē

FarmLink Hawaiʻi

Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative

And about Leanne's farm: 

Kohana Family Farms

Credits: 
Created, produced, and hosted by Paula Daniels
Sound engineer: Ben Lazarus
Theme music: Caryssa Shinozawa
Logo: Reiko Quitevis and Sue Woodard

My family, the Daniels family, is from Maui. It is hard to put the words together to express all the feelings, to find a place for all the thoughts.

The beginning phrase of an oli (chant) by revered Edith K. Kanāka'ole is: E hō mai ka ʻike mai luna mai e -- grant us wisdom from above. In Hawai'i, this chant is offered at the start of an event or small gathering to focus the energies on the kuleana (responsibility) being undertaken.

Lāhainā has burned, its recent incarnation gone. Lāhainā was once an area of spring-fed wetland ponds with extensive groves of large canopy 'ūlu (breadfruit) trees. Lāhainā was once the historical seat of the Kingdom of Hawai'i and the home of my ancestors.

As we mourn the loss of lives, property, and recent history, let us also seek wisdom from above on the way forward, in best support of a grieving community. E hō mai ka ʻike mai luna mai e -- grant us wisdom from above.

Ways to support Maui in this time:

Hawaiʻi People's Fund: https://hawaiipeoplesfund.networkforgood.com/projects/200566-maui-aloha-the-people-s-response-fund

Hawaiʻi Workers Center: https://www.hawaiiworkerscenter.org/donate/ (Make in the notes section: “Lāhainā Fires” for the donation.”)

Ka Lāhui - Lāhainā Relief Fund: paypal.me/wedchi

ʻĀina Momona: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/kokuamaui

Council of Native Hawaiian Advancement, Alaka'ina and Kakoʻo Haleākalā: https://www.memberplanet.com/campaign/cnhamembers/kakoomaui

Hawaiʻi Community Foundation Maui Strong Disaster Relief: https://www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/maui-strong\

Aloha United Way: https://ignite.stratuslive.com/auw/get-involved/donate/mauirelief

Maui Food Bank: https://mauifoodbank.org

Maui Humane Society: https://www.mauihumanesociety.org/donate-olx/?formID=mainButton

Maui Mutual Aid: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=Y7J26SYUJFQU8&fbclid=IwAR1DOrh7OKiSxLsOmCLso8Z6nP8MMbj0XZ5Dna30S74RR82TtZB7dphr2p4

Maui Red Cross (Indicate Local Red Cross): https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html/

Punanaleo o Lahaina: https://tr.ee/PJ8dBSI72U

Kuleana is “a uniquely Hawaiian value and practice which is loosely translated to mean ‘responsibility.’ The word kuleana refers to a reciprocal relationship between the person who is responsible, and the thing which they are responsible for.”  (from Hawaiian Word of the Day, Hawaii News Now). 

In this episode, we talk about kuleana and politics with Anne Frederick, Executive Director of the nonprofit HAPA, and with Thomas Heaton, reporter for the Hawai’i news publication, Civil Beat. 

Anne Frederick’s organization, HAPA (Hawai’i Alliance for Progressive Action), engages deeply in state legislative politics. It was founded in 2014 around the issues of food justice and pesticide use. HAPA also founded the Kuleana Academy, a political training and accelerator program focusing on building  capacity in community leaders on issue-based, political, or electoral campaigns. 

The first part of this episode is an interview with Anne in the middle of a busy legislative session, which found her team organizing community and stakeholder engagement on a suite of bills, which we’ll discuss.  You’ll hear about their particular focus on land use and tax incentives to level the playing field. 

I invited Thomas Heaton, a reporter at the news publication Civil Beat, to join us in the second half of this episode.  Civil Beat is a non-profit online investigative journalism publication. Thomas is a New Zealand native who came to Hawai’i by way of his interest in the food system, developed during his global reporting experience. 

An explanatory note on one of the topics:  we discussed the unexpected demise of a bill to provide state matching funds to a program we speak of as “Da Bux '' which is Hawai’i’s way of describing its Double Up Bucks program. In some states, the program is called Market Match.  Each state has their own version of the program, which is based on the federal Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP; also known as Market Match, Double Up Bucks, Veggie Voucher). GusNIP is a federal program, which provides people who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (SNAP, or food stamps)  up to $10 in vouchers at participating farmers’ markets, when they use their benefits to purchase  fruits and vegetables.

For More Info: 

The HAPA website

 Anne Frederick and her team

Anne’s 2023 Legislative Session Debrief (includes info on the Da Bux program, discussed in the episode)

Civil Beat coverage of a report by HAPA on pesticide use on Hawai'i farms

More about Thomas Heaton

The Hawai'i Grown section of Civil Beat, with many of Thomas Heaton's stories

Credits: 

Created, produced, and hosted by Paula Daniels

Sound engineer: Rob Pera

Theme music: Caryssa Shinozawa

Logo: Reiko Quitevis and Sue Woodard

The Hawai’i Food Hub Hui serves as backbone for about 14 food hubs in Hawai’i,  supporting about 1300 farmers, and moving around $14 million in local food from farm to fork. Which means, they are serving about 20% of Hawaii's farmers, and moving about 20% of their agriculture economy.  

Our guest Dr. Saleh Azizi runs the food hub hui as an initiative of the Hawaii Good Food Alliance, which in turn is run by our guest Harmonee Williams, who is Executive Director of The Hawai'i Good Food Alliance, a group of "community leaders who share in the production, aggregation and distribution of food to re-build thriving community food systems."

Food hub support has been an initiative of the US Dept of Agriculture since 2009. There are about  250 food hubs throughout the United States.  They are considered critical infrastructure for regional supply chain resilience, and were particularly important during the early months of the COVID pandemic, when highly globalized supply chains proved to be as attenuated and fragile as a spider web - in other words, they can hold up well enough until there's disruption.  The shorter supply chains, which we discuss in this episode, are more able to absorb shocks to the system, able to pivot and can be more nimble in matching supply and demand.  

We talk about the definition of food hubs, their  business models, their economic development role, and how they fit into the vision for Hawai’i’s food system. 

For more info: 

The Hawai'i Good Food Alliance website 

The USDA Local Food Hub Directory for food hubs throughout the US 

A Food Hub Resource Library from the Wallace Center at Winrock International 

Findings of the National Food Hub Survey by the Center for Regional Food Systems at Michigan State University 

Regional Food Hub Resource Guide (USDA, 2012) 

And for more information on South Korea's school food distribution system, mentioned in the podcast:

Gaddis, J.E., Jeon, J. "Sustainability transitions in agri-food systems: insights from South Korea’s universal free, eco-friendly school lunch program." Agric Hum Values 37, 1055–1071 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-020-10137-2

Credits: 

• Sound Production: Keola Iseri of the University of Hawai’i, West Oahu
• Sound editor:  Rob Pera
• Logo design:  Sue Woodard, and Waipahu High School student Reiko Quitevis
• Sound creation and theme music: Waipahu High Schools students  Caryssa Shinozawa, Landon Guzman, Syd Sausal

Josh Stanbro developed and led the Office of Climate, Sustainability and Resilience for the City and County of Honolulu as its first Chief Resilience Officer. Josh is now in Washington DC and is Deputy Director of the Policy Lab with Elemental Excelerator, a global nonprofit accelerator for climate tech which was founded in Hawai’i. 

 His path from California to Hawai’i of itself tells a valuable story of 21st Century Hawai’i. And because Hawai’i was once and hopes to again be a place of sustainable agriculture, his previous work at the Trust for Public Land and the Hawai’i Community Foundation, leading up to the Mayor’s office,  tells a story of the transformation efforts underway, and the expanding reach of the Hawai’ian Renaissance.  

 From Josh we learn about the landmark case on Hawai’ian property law that inspired him to go to law school; about the sustainable agriculture projects he worked on while at the Trust for Public Land and the Hawai’i Community Foundation. We talk about the dozen good reasons to buy local; about inclusive, community driven governance; and how politics is like surfing. 

Overall we get some info on Hawai’ian activist history, a fair amount of historical and modern land use info, and a lot of good wisdom about leadership in governing.  And finally, we learn what three wishes he would have, to help Hawai’i achieve its Aloha Plus challenge goal of getting to 30% locally grown food by 2030.

For more info: 

Elemental Excelerator

The Resilience Office of the City and County of Honolulu

The Hawai'i Community Foundation 

The Trust for Public Land, Hawai'i 

Credits: 

• Sound editing: Keola Iseri of the University of Hawai’i, West Oahu and Rob Pera
• Logo design: Sue Woodard, and Waipahu High School student Reiko Quitevis 
• Theme music: Waipahu High Schools students  Caryssa Shinozawa, Landon Guzman, Syd Sausal 

Manao Chocolate is one of the top few largest craft bean to bar chocolate makers in the US today.  It was founded in 2010 by Dylan Butterbaugh, who was born and raised in Hawai‘i, as a way to build a local business from an environmentally sustainable tree crop and support supply chain transparency. 

Tamara Butterbaugh, who owns Manoa Chocolate along with Dylan, is also a chocolate sommelier. And while she’s been building out an export market for chocolate, she is also building out the local supply chain for ‘ulu, or breadfruit. 

‘Ulu is what is called a canoe crop: the crops that the original Hawai‘ians brought with them to the islands nearly 2,000 years ago. The crop plays an important role in Hawai‘ian traditional culture and was a valued staple crop until around the time of statehood in 1959, when American processed foods began to dominate the scene.  Bringing it back now closes a circle on a wheel that was broken by the twentieth century agricultural industrialization of Hawai‘i. In addition, ‘ulu is one of the only staple food crops to grow on trees; it helps mitigate climate change, and ensures a long term abundance and prosperity in the local food supply chain. The beautiful ‘ulu tree helps to sequester carbon, it doesn’t need soil tilling or weed control, and it is heat and drought tolerant. One tree can live for 50 to 100 years or more and produce hundreds of pounds of fruit per year.  

Tamara lives in Waimānalo where she maintains a 1-acre diversified farm with loʻi kalo (taro), maiʻa (banana), ʻulu (breadfruit), niu (coconut), and kokoleka (cacao)

For more info: 

• Hawaii Ulu Cooperative – Farmer-owned, ʻāina grown. There’s lots to learn on this website about ‘ulu; and you can shop online there.
• ‘Ulu Education Toolkit Guide - STEMS² (hawaii.edu) If you want to grow your own ‘ulu, here is a University of Hawai‘i education toolkit
• View by season – Manoa Chocolate Hawaii A TV series from the owners of Mānoa Chocolate, Craft Chocolate TV provides educational info for  fellow chocolate makers, chocolate lovers, and the general public on the art and process of bean-to-bar chocolate making
• Bean-to-Bar Hawaiian Chocolate Factory, Handmade in Kailua – Manoa Chocolate Hawaii You will love browsing this website for its rich info on the places and people that produce this glorious chocolate. And you can shop online for chocolate bars to be shipped to wherever you are.
• Hawaiichocolate.org - Cacao, Chocolate, Chocolatier. Website home to the Hawai‘i Chocolate and Cacao Association.

Credits: 

Created, produced, and hosted by Paula Daniels

Sound engineer: Keola Iseri and Rob Pera 

Project support: Sue Woodard

Theme music: Caryssa Shinozawa

Logo: Reiko Quitevis, Sue Woodard

Thanks to our sponsor, the Hawai‘i Institute for Sustainable Community Food Systems at the University of Hawai‘i - West O'ahu

Thanks also to the students at Waipahu High School for sound creation (Caryssa Shinozawa, Landon Guzman, Syd Sausal) and graphic design (Ashley Alfaro, Erika Pagtulingan, Reiko Quitevis); and their teachers, Noelle- lili Edejer and Sky Bruno.

Jonathan co-authored a book on water use on Maui called “Water and Power in West Maui”, and was on the board of the Hawai‘i State Land Use Commission for 11 years. As we talk in depth about land use in Hawai‘i over the centuries, we delve into some specifics about what changes are needed now to restore local food production to a meaningful percent, from conservation easements to land trusts to mindsets, and more. 

 We pegged our discussion of the history of land and power in Hawai‘i, to the  generational markers of my family -- the Daniels family of Maui.  

Mentioned:

• Jonathan’s book, Water and Power in West Maui

In addition: 

• Jonathan Scheuer’s bio
• The Civil Beat Editorial Board Interview: LUC Chair Jonathan Likeke Scheuer (June, 2022)
• Public Trust Presentation at Hawai‘i State Land Use Commission (May 14, 2022)
• Hawai‘i Public Radio Interview regarding Scheuer's book on water rights in Maui (2021)
• What Does Sustainable Yield Sustain? What (and Who) is Left Out?  (2021)

Credits: 

Created, produced, and hosted by Paula Daniels

Sound engineer: Keola Iseri
Project support: Sue Woodard

Theme music: Caryssa Shinozawa
Other music: "Monomer" by Leroy Wild, “Sugar Cane Train”, “Makapu‘u Pali”, “Kolekole”, “Waolani Dusk 3”, “Waimea Hale”, “Waolani Dusk Original” by Pacific Sounds

Logo: Reiko Quitevis, Sue Woodard

Thanks to our sponsor, the Hawai‘i Institute for Sustainable Community Food Systems at the University of Hawai‘i - West O'ahu

Thanks also to the students at Waipahu High School for sound creation (Caryssa Shinozawa, Landon Guzman, Syd Sausal) and graphic design (Ashley Alfaro, Erika Pagtulingan, Reiko Quitevis); and their teachers, Noelle- lili Edejer and Sky Bruno.