Talk Story

How do you even begin to comprehend the tragedy of the Lahaina fire? Mothers, fathers, sisters brothers, aunts, uncles, children, workers and friends are forever gone. A community of homes and businesses wiped out. Irreplaceable cultural centers key to Hawaiian history no longer exist. A vibrant economic engine on Maui has been decimated.

Creative vegan chefs worldwide bring environmental sustainability, healthful nutrition and compassion for animals to the kitchen.  Some specialize in creating animal-free versions of traditional Hawaiian dishes and inventing new dishes that evoke the spirit and flavors of Hawaii.

Most people who live on Maui, like most people throughout the world, are not vegan. Is veganism incompatible with traditional Hawaiian culture?  In a Talk Story first, we turned to artificial intelligence – ChatGPT – for an answer.  Below is word-for-word what ChatGPT has to say:

A new Zoom lecture from the Vegan Society of Hawaii is called “A Unifying Theory for Lifestyle Medicine.” At first glance, one might be skeptical. This sounds rather ambitious, if not a touch grandiose. But when the proposer is Dr. Dean Ornish, you’ve got to pay attention.

Here on Maui we can use all the vegan dining options we can get — especially those featuring local, minimally processed ingredients. With only about a dozen vegan or mostly vegan cafes and food trucks serving the entire island —and not a single upscale vegan restaurant— Nui Life Kitchen Deli and Papio’s Place are welcome new additions.

For the most part, the environmental establishment ignores or downplays the decisive role of animal agriculture in advancing climate change. A few glimmers of hope are beginning to emerge. For example, Dr. Peter Carter, an expert reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently said that the climate crisis will get worse unless meat and dairy are removed from diets. And no less of an international luminary than the pope urged people to eat less meat to tackle climate change.

Last May, business executive, engineer, activist and author James Morris Hicks presented a Vegan Society of Hawaii lecture about the impact of animal ag on climate change. He restated an established, but widely underappreciated fact:

“On a per calorie basis, animal-based foods require over ten times as much land, water and energy as do plant-based foods. So, if we cannot take the animal out of the equation when it comes to feeding ourselves, we will never learn to live in harmony with nature, thereby placing the future of our civilization and our species in serious jeopardy.”

Concerns about COVID have postponed this year’s celebration of La ‘Ulu, or Breadfruit Day. However, it’s still a good time to focus on this extraordinary plant. Why does ‘ulu (the Hawaiian word for breadfruit) deserve its own day? What’s all the fuss about?

For several years while working in the scuba diving industry, Marie LeBoeuf and her “was-band” travelled in developing countries. Eventually they wanted to reunite with the creature comforts of the western world. Having already lived in Florida and desiring a new tropical diving-friendly locale, they moved to Maui in November 1999. A few years later Marie embraced veganism.

According to one trade group, approximately 60% of restaurants fail within the first year of operation. When you add a pandemic, shutdowns and a slashed customer base, it seems like a miracle that a few local vegan outfits have recently opened or expanded.

Here veganism is personal. When you get to know Dorothy the Cow or Charlotte and Berney the Pigs, how could you even think about eating their cousins? Others apparently reach similar conclusions, because Leilani and other sanctuaries are motivating many to go vegan, or at very least greatly reduce their consumption of meat.

We at the Vegetarian Society of Hawaii trust you and your loved ones are not only coping during Covid-19, but thriving. We’re lucky to live Hawaii, where whole plant foods are abundant, as are outdoor exercises like walking, beach treks, swimming, hiking, biking. A whole food, plant-based diet and outdoor exercise are essential pillars of a healthy lifestyle.

Almost every day a fast food or grocery chain, big box outlet or food manufacturer announces a new line of “plant-based” products designed to mimic popular foods like hamburgers, fried chicken, mac ‘n cheese, eggs, sausage, pizza, donuts, hot dogs, ice cream and even tuna. One analysis suggests that the plant-based food market will be worth $74.2 billion by 2027. A commentator has even heralded the growing popularity of “plant-based” knock-offs as the arrival of “the new veganism.”

Vegans embrace ambitious goals, like achieving optimal health, working for a sustainable environment and creating a world in which animals are treated with compassiion. We reflect kūlia i ka nu‘u. We “strive for the summit.”

From time to time people send us collections of links they feel would be helpful to our readers.. Ethan Clark describes himself as “an average Joe who is passionate about helping people find a fitness routine that works for them.”  He shares his personal transformation and insights in findourfitness.com.

If you thought that combatting climate change and preventing future pandemics by reducing or eliminating corporate animal agriculture would come across loud and clear during the 2020 Virtual Maui Earth Day, you would be wrong. For people who care about our planet, veganism should be a no-brainer. At Maui Earth Day 2020, it was barely a footnote.

With COVID‑19, we realize coronaviruses don't just cause epidemics, but can explode into global pandemics. Coronaviruses have already told us they can become lethal and cause pandemics. It’s not hard to imagine a combination of transmissibility and lethality that could make the next coronavirus pandemic an order of magnitude worse.

Michael Greger, M.D., the best-selling author and creator of the exceptional online resource, nutritionfacts.org, is out with a new and exhaustively researched book, How Not to Diet. It’s a seemingly definitive examination of optimal nutrition, how certain foods contribute to obesity and sustainable, evidence-based weight loss. Books like this have made Dr. Greger the nerd hero of vegans everywhere.

Most vegans go about their lives doing little in the way of advocacy or activism. Stephen Beidner is a visible vegan.

Although rather mild-mannered and by no stretch of the imagination “pushy,” you’ll find Stephen networking at monthly Vegetarian Society of Hawaii lectures, leading the annual protest against the Makawao Rodeo, staffing literature tables at community events and encouraging restaurants to broaden their vegan options.

The final months of 2015 proved to be quite eventful for Danielle and her husband, Jeremy, the owners of Kihei’s vegan food truck, Earth Aloha Eats (formerly Aloha Joy). Around the time they were preparing to move to Maui, they watched a couple of documentaries, Cowspiracy and Vegucated.  “The documentaries flipped our world,” Danielle recalls.

Who doesn’t want to lead a long and healthy life?  Many experts believe that our healthspan – the period of our lives spent in good health – may be extended if we adopt certain practices. In fact, data suggest that males can add up to 12.2 healthy years to their lifespans and females up to 14 years.

Maui surgeon Irminne Van Dyken, M.D., a featured speaker in the Vegetarian Society of Hawaii’s monthly lecture series, recently discussed how we can live longer and healthier lives.

With a few animal sanctuaries, plenty of yoga studios, some Buddhist temples and a never-ending series of wellness celebrations and retreats, you’d think that Maui would support half a dozen or more vegan restaurants.  In fact, only one or two cafés and one food truck are completely vegan.

Ginger Reid has been a vegan for over two years. “I haven’t eaten meat since I was a teenager. As a teen, I decided to eliminate meat from my diet simply because I loved animals and didn’t want to eat them anymore. I know it’s a difficult transition for many to completely cut animal products out of their meals, this list offers practical ideas on how to adopt a more plant-based diet.”

Community involvement is not for everyone, but if you want to work with kindred spirits, learn and give something back, volunteering may be for you. Here are some vegan-friendly volunteer opportunities on Maui.

Last year, Mahi Pono, LLC, a joint venture of a California agricultural group and a Canadian pension investment manager, bought 41,000 acres of former sugar land, as well as a grass-fed cattle project, Central Maui Feedstocks and additional agricultural businesses. Planning for the repurposing of former Alexander & Baldwin holdings is underway. Decisions made now will shape the future of Maui agriculture.

The conservation movement has generally excluded animal-friendly perspectives. “Conservation focused larger collectives, like population overall, ecosystem health and genetic diversity,” explains Dr. Baker. “It explicitly did not focus on individuals. Individuals and social groups matter, too, particularly if you want to achieve some of your conservation goals.”

Mahi Pono, the entity that recently purchased A&B land on Maui, claims to be an environmentally responsible steward of the land, but plans to develop cattle ranching and a slaughterhouse.  More information appears in the Maui News.

It’s a spacious restaurant in sunny Lahaina with an inventive, mostly vegan menu, a commitment to zero waste and plenty of free parking.  No wonder Moku Roots has been getting a lot of positive buzz since Alexa Caskey and Erica Gale opened the farm-to-table establishment last May.

In 1981, ten years into his medical practice, Michael Klaper experienced an epiphany. “I was a resident in anesthesiology at Vancouver General Hospital in cardiovascular anesthesia service.  Every day I’m putting people to sleep and watching surgeons open their chests, open their coronary arteries and pull out this yellow, greasy gunk called ‘atherosclerosis’ that’s clogging up their blood vessels. 

From time to time we like to pick the brains of experienced vegans because there’s always more to learn. When we discovered that Kathy Ryan was presenting The Benefits of a Vegan Lifestyle at the West Maui and Kaunoa Senior Centers, we asked her for tips and recommendations based on her nearly 30 years as a vegan.