# 2025 Hawai‘i Food System Summit ## Objectives & Outcomes The Summit aims to strengthen food system resilience and disaster preparedness by creating a collaborative space where participants will: 1. Understand the Elements of Hawai'i's Food System and the State of Food System Planning in Hawai'i Gain insight into food system and food systems planning efforts at the state, county, city, and community levels—particularly as they relate to food security, resilience, and disaster preparedness. 2. Learn from Frontline Experiences Explore on-the-ground solutions and policies developed in response to recent disasters in Hawai‘i, including successes, challenges, and transferable lessons. 3. Recognize System Vulnerabilities Understand short- and long-term vulnerabilities in Hawai‘i’s food system, how these challenges disproportionately impact specific communities, and understand facets of resilience and benchmark indicators. 4. Identify Key Actors and Resources Become familiar with the agencies, organizations, and community actors leading food system resilience work in Hawai‘i, and assess gaps, opportunities, and resources in play. 5. Engage in Cross-Sector Collaboration Participate in structured opportunities to build partnerships across sectors and identify shared actions that advance systemic resilience. 6. Foster a Sense of Kuleana and Connection Cultivate deeper responsibility and relational understanding of food systems resilience rooted in place, people, and culture. 7. Bridge Community Solutions, Planning and Policy Make meaningful connections between grassroots efforts and formal policy frameworks, identifying how local innovation can shape or align with emerging policy. 8. Track Progress and Share Emerging Opportunities Identify actionable next steps and systems for monitoring progress and sharing outcomes across networks beyond the Summit. ## Keynote > [!info] **15-minute keynote for Hawaii Food Systems Summit** > - Considered for a 9:30-9:45am Keynote on Day 1 > - Organizers are thinking about these keynote ideas: > - Why have a summit on disaster prep and resilience? > - What are the key risks we face? > - What’s the difference between disaster prep/response and resilience? Why does it matter? ## **"Where Does Risk Live? Hawaii's Evolving Food System Vulnerabilities"** ### **OPENING: Why This Summit, Why Now** (2 minutes) **Hook:**  We're not here because a crisis is coming. We're here because we're living in one. When we think about food system disasters, we often ask: 'Do we have enough food?' But the more important question is: 'Where does the risk actually live in our food system—and how has that changed?'" **Frame the moment:** - Recent disasters (Maui fires, COVID-19, port slowdowns) revealed vulnerabilities we didn't fully understand - This summit is about moving beyond emergency stockpiling to understanding **structural risk** - Hawaii is unique: geographic isolation + extreme import dependency = living laboratory for understanding food system vulnerability --- ### **PART 1: The Evolution of Risk - Four Vulnerability Periods** (5 minutes) **Introduce framework:** Risk isn't static—it transforms with food system structure #### **Pre-Contact: Ecological Vulnerability** (<18th Century) - **Risk lived in:** Weather, warfare, localized environmental hazards - **Impact scale:** Regional (specific moku or ahupuaʻa) - **Resilience strategy:** Crop diversity, kapu system, ecological complementarity - **Key point:** Localized risk, localized control #### **First Food Regime: Integration Vulnerability** (19th Century) - **Risk lived in:** Connection to global markets disrupting local production - **Example:** Sandalwood trade → food scarcity (external economic demand creates internal food crisis) - **Impact scale:** Famines could begin and end as global markets shifted - **Key shift:** External economic forces now drive internal food vulnerability #### **Second Food Regime: Dual Vulnerability** (20th Century) - **Risk lived in:** **Both** export disruption AND import disruption - **Critical infrastructure:** The same ships/ports serving both vulnerabilities - **Example:** 1949 dock strikes—couldn't export sugar, couldn't import food - **Key point:** Dependence on centralized infrastructure creates compound vulnerability #### **Third Food Regime: Systemic Vulnerability** (21st Century - NOW) - **Risk lived in:** Corporate consolidation, infrastructure chokepoints, displaced decision-making - **New patterns:** - Single points of failure (one egg processor, one livestock processor) - Just-in-time delivery systems with no slack - Critical decisions made in mainland boardrooms during local crises - Global cascading effects - **The paradox:** More "local production" ≠ more local resilience if control is external #### Typology Timeline ![[Food Crisis Typology Timeline#^169c68]] **Summary:** "Crisis" has evolved From **Event to Condition**. We've moved from **localized** → **integration** → **dual** → **systemic** vulnerability. **Each layer adds complexity; earlier vulnerabilities don't disappear.** Distinct from acute disruptions, concern over Hawaii's food import dependency has been, for at least 150 years, a **Permanent Crisis**. Like other *crise revelatrice*, or "revelatory crises", disaster reveals existing structural inequalities how we respond to them. So too does our response to our "permanent crisis" of food self-*insufficiency*. --- ### **PART 2: From Event to Condition - Disaster Prep & Resilience** (3-4 minutes) **Understanding how we think about crisis:** **Crisis as Event** - _crise révélatrice_ (crisis that reveals) - 1949 dock strikes, COVID, Maui fires - Pattern: Acute disruption → temporary exposure → emergency response → "return to normal" - Each event reveals underlying vulnerability, then we move on **The 150-year conversation:** - Every generation "discovers" Hawaii imports 85-90% of its food - Endless reports, constant calls to increase local production - Same alarm, different decade - **But the structure keeps reproducing itself** **Crisis as Condition** - the permanent crisis - Import dependence isn't a problem waiting to happen—it IS the condition - Structural vulnerability is our baseline, not our exception - Acute events don't create the crisis—they reveal we've been living in it all along --- **Why this shift—from event to condition—changes everything:** After 150 years of event-based thinking, we know what doesn't work: - More studies documenting the problem - Periodic alarm without structural change - Emergency response that returns to vulnerable "normal" **Condition-based thinking requires different tools:** --- **Two Different Approaches:** **Disaster Preparedness** (Event Response): - Asks: "Do we have enough food for X days?" - Focuses on: Stockpiles, emergency distribution, short-term buffering - Timeline: Days to weeks - Success = surviving the acute shock - **Treats: Symptoms** **Example:** "We need 10 days of eggs in cold storage"   **Resilience Building** (Condition Transformation): - Asks: "Can we adapt and make decisions when systems break?" - Focuses on: Adaptive capacity, distributed control, structural change - Timeline: Fundamental restructuring - Success = transforming what "normal" looks like - **Treats: The condition itself** **Example:** "What happens when the single egg processing facility goes down? Who decides whether to prioritize local distribution vs. export contracts? Can we process eggs at community scale if needed?" --- **Why the distinction matters TODAY:** **You cannot stockpile your way out of a permanent condition** - Buffers run out; structures remain - Emergency response keeps you alive; resilience changes the baseline - Preparedness is necessary but insufficient **Current risks make this urgent:** - Infrastructure concentration = single failures cascade system-wide - Decision-making displacement = crisis response happens far from crisis location - Corporate "local" production can look like resilience but increase systemic vulnerability **What condition-transformation requires:** - Building capacity to function WITHIN ongoing vulnerability - Creating systems that work when external circulation breaks (dual-circulation) - Distributing control so adaptation happens locally - **Examining WHO controls the system, not just supply volumes** --- **Frame for this summit:** We're not here to just prepare for the next crisis event. We're here to transform the crisis condition we're already living in. Recent disasters didn't create our vulnerability—they revealed it's been the baseline all along. --- **Timing breakdown (3.5 min total):** - Crisis as event + 150-year conversation (45 sec) - Crisis as condition shift (30 sec) - Prep vs. Resilience distinction with examples (1 min) - Why it matters today (45 sec) - Summit frame (30 sec) This version: 1. Opens with the conceptual frame (event→condition) 2. Uses that to explain why prep≠resilience 3. Gives concrete example (eggs) 4. Connects to current systemic vulnerabilities 5. Sets up the summit's purpose Does this flow work? The egg example does a lot of work—it's concrete enough for practitioners but illustrates the deeper control/scale/decision-making issues. ### **PART 2: Planning From Event to Condition: Disaster Prep vs. Resilience (3-4 minutes) Disaster Prep vs. Resilience: **The critical difference:**   **Disaster Preparedness:** - Asks: "Do we have enough food for X days?" - Focuses on: Stockpiles, emergency distribution, short-term response - Timeline: Days to weeks - **Necessary but insufficient** **Food System Resilience:** - Asks: "Can we adapt and make decisions when systems break?" - Focuses on: Adaptive capacity, distributed control, redundant infrastructure - Timeline: Months to years - **Requires examining WHO controls the system** **Why it matters TODAY:** - Stockpiles run out—adaptive capacity doesn't - Corporate "local" production can look like resilience but increase systemic vulnerability - Infrastructure concentration means single failures cascade system-wide - Decision-making displacement means crisis response happens far from crisis location **Practical example:** - Prep thinking: "We need 10 days of eggs in cold storage" - Resilience thinking: "What happens when the single egg processing facility goes down? Who decides whether to prioritize local distribution vs. export contracts? Can we process eggs at community scale if needed?" **Understanding crisis evolution:** **Crisis as Event** - _crise révélatrice_ (crisis that reveals) - 1949 dock strikes revealed dual vulnerability - COVID exposed infrastructure chokepoints - Maui fires showed cascading supply chain fragility - Pattern: Acute disruption → temporary exposure → emergency response → "return to normal" **The 150-year conversation:** - Every generation "discovers" Hawaii imports 85-90% of its food - Endless reports documenting the vulnerability - Constant calls to "increase local food production" - Same alarm, different decade - **But the structure keeps reproducing itself** **Crisis as Condition** - the permanent crisis lens - Import dependence isn't a problem waiting to happen—it IS the condition - Structural vulnerability is our baseline, not our exception - Acute events don't create the crisis—they reveal we've been living in it --- **Why "Event vs. Condition" changes everything:** **Event-based thinking produces:** - "We need to fix this before the next disaster" - Focus on emergency preparedness and response - Studies → recommendations → status quo - Success = surviving the acute shock - **150 years of this hasn't changed the structure** **Condition-based thinking requires:** - "We operate within permanent structural vulnerability" - Focus on transforming baseline conditions - Success = changing what "normal" looks like - **Addresses why the structure reproduces** --- **This distinction maps onto:** **Disaster Preparedness** (Event response): - "Do we have enough food for X days?" - Stockpiles, emergency distribution, short-term buffering - Timeline: Days to weeks - Treats: Acute symptoms - **Necessary but insufficient** **Resilience Building** (Condition transformation): - "Can we function and adapt within ongoing vulnerability?" - Dual-circulation capacity, distributed decision-making, structural change - Timeline: Fundamental restructuring - Treats: The condition itself - **Addresses root structure** --- **The summit implication:** After 150 years of treating import dependence as an event to prepare for: **You cannot stockpile your way out of a permanent condition** - Buffers run out; structures remain - Emergency response keeps you alive; resilience changes the baseline - More studies documenting the problem won't transform it **What condition-transformation requires:** - Building capacity to function WITHIN vulnerability - Creating systems that work when external circulation breaks (dual-circulation) - Distributing control so adaptation happens locally - Accepting that resilience looks different than efficiency --- **Frame for the rest of the summit:** We're not here to just prepare for the next crisis event. We're here to transform the crisis condition we're already living in. Recent disasters didn't create our vulnerability—they revealed it's been the baseline all along. --- ### **PART 3: What Resilience Looks Like Today** (3 minutes) **Frame:** True resilience requires rethinking how our food system circulates—both internally and externally #### **The Dual-Circulation Framework** Hawaii's food system currently operates on **single-circulation**: 85-90% import dependency flowing one direction. Resilience requires building **dual-circulation capacity**: **Internal Circulation (Domestic)** - Local production → local distribution → local consumption - Multiple scales operating simultaneously (household, community, regional) - Redundant pathways for getting food from growers to eaters - Decision-making and adaptive capacity held locally **External Circulation (International)** - Strategic imports for what cannot be grown locally - Maintained trade relationships and infrastructure - Export opportunities for specialty crops - Technology and knowledge transfer **The resilience question:** Can internal circulation function when external circulation breaks? --- #### **Four Dimensions to Build and Assess** ##### 1. Infrastructure Redundancy - **Not just more capacity, but distributed capacity** - Multiple processing facilities at different scales - Example: Not one industrial egg facility, but industrial + mid-scale + on-farm processing - Redundant distribution networks - Example: Not just centralized wholesale, but farmers markets + food hubs + direct sales - **Watch for:** Single-point-of-failure consolidation masquerading as efficiency - **Dual-circulation lens:** Does this infrastructure strengthen internal circulation capacity? ##### 2. Decision-Making Locality - **Who decides during disruption?** - Where are decision-makers physically located? - What's their accountability to local communities? - Can they respond to local conditions in real-time? - **Crisis moment test:** When supply chains break, who decides whether to: - Prioritize local distribution vs. export contracts? - Process for local schools or restaurant tourism sector? - Maintain standard operations or shift to emergency distribution? - **Watch for:** "Local" branding that masks external ownership/control - **Dual-circulation lens:** Does local decision-making capacity exist for internal circulation? ##### 3. Production Diversity and Distribution Networks - **Internal circulation requires:** - Crop diversity suited to local conditions - Multiple production scales (backyard to commercial) - Distribution infrastructure connecting diverse producers to diverse consumers - Storage and processing at multiple scales - **External circulation provides:** - Access to crops that cannot grow locally - Technology and inputs to support internal production - Market outlets for specialty products - **Watch for:** Solutions that increase production volume but decrease system diversity - **Dual-circulation lens:** Are we building capacity for both circulation systems? ##### 4. Adaptive Knowledge and Community Capacity - **Internal circulation depends on:** - Community-held knowledge about alternatives - Capacity to shift practices when systems fail - Traditional and contemporary innovation - Social infrastructure for coordinating responses - **External circulation provides:** - New techniques and technologies - Market knowledge and connections - Access to expertise - **Watch for:** Solutions that build dependency vs. solutions that build capacity - **Dual-circulation lens:** Does this strengthen or weaken community adaptive capacity? --- #### **The Resilience Reality Check** **The hard truth:** True resilience may look less efficient in normal times—redundancy costs money, distributed systems have higher transaction costs, local control is messier than corporate efficiency. - Redundancy costs money - Distributed systems have higher transaction costs - Local decision-making is messier than corporate efficiency - Maintaining both circulations requires investment **But:** That "inefficiency" is actually flexibility. That redundancy is actually adaptive capacity. That messiness is actually local problem-solving power. - That "inefficiency" is actually **flexibility** - That redundancy is actually **adaptive capacity** - That messiness is actually **local problem-solving power** - That dual-circulation investment is actually **insurance against system collapse** **The practitioner question:** Are your food system investments strengthening internal circulation capacity, or just adding volume to import-dependent external circulation? --- ### **PART 4: Engaging With This Summit** (2 minutes) **What to listen for today:** 1. **Infrastructure discussions:** - Is the solution centralized or distributed? - Does it create or reduce single points of failure? 2. **Ownership and control:** - Who makes decisions when things go wrong? - What's the accountability structure? 3. **Vulnerability displacement:** - Does this solution address one vulnerability while creating another? - Are we trading dual vulnerability for systemic vulnerability? 4. **Genuine vs. performative localization:** - Does "local" mean local production or local control? - Are we building capacity or dependency? **Your kuleana in this space:** - Ask hard questions about control, not just supply - Look for cross-scale solutions (household + community + regional) - Connect your on-the-ground knowledge to these structural patterns - Build coalitions across sectors to address systemic vulnerabilities **Most concise schedule guidance:** - **Morning sessions:** Understanding current state (vulnerabilities, planning efforts) - **Afternoon:** Solution-building and collaboration - **Throughout:** Make connections between grassroots innovation and policy frameworks --- ### **CLOSING: The Work Ahead** (30 seconds) Risk has evolved. Our food system vulnerabilities today are **systemic**—shaped by consolidation, infrastructure concentration, and decision-making displacement. Disaster prep addresses symptoms. Resilience addresses structures. This summit is your opportunity to: - Map where risk actually lives in our current system - Distinguish resilience from resilience theater - Build genuinely distributed adaptive capacity The question isn't just "Do we have enough food?" The question is: **"Can we feed ourselves when the systems we depend on fail—and who gets to decide?"** --- ## Early Takes #### Option 1: Risk-Focused Opening **"From Vulnerability to Resilience: Understanding Hawaii's Food System Risks"** 1. **Opening Hook** (2 min): Recent crisis example (COVID, Maui fires, supply chain disruptions) 2. **Why This Summit Matters** (4 min): - Hawaii's unique vulnerabilities (isolation, import dependence, climate risks) - The cost of being unprepared vs. investment in resilience 3. **Defining Our Terms** (6 min): - Disaster prep vs. resilience: reactive vs. adaptive capacity - <smtcmp_block filename="Overarching Research Question.md" language="markdown" startLine="104" endLine="118"></smtcmp_block> #### Option 2: Systems Thinking Approach **"Beyond Emergency Response: Building Adaptive Capacity in Hawaii's Food System"** 1. **The Resilience Paradox** (3 min): Why being "disaster-ready" isn't enough 2. **Understanding Our System** (5 min): - What makes Hawaii's food system unique - Key vulnerabilities and interconnections 3. **The Resilience Difference** (4 min): - Emergency response vs. adaptive capacity - <smtcmp_block filename="Daily Notes/2024-05-02 -resilience heuristics outline.md" language="markdown" startLine="34" endLine="42"></smtcmp_block> #### Option 3: Historical Perspective **"Learning from Crisis: How Hawaii's Food System Has Adapted and What's Next"** 1. **Historical Context** (4 min): How past crises shaped current food system 2. **Current Risk Landscape** (4 min): New and emerging vulnerabilities 3. **Resilience vs. Preparedness** (4 min): - Reactive vs. proactive approaches - Building capacity vs. stockpiling resources 4. **Framework for the Future** (3 min): Preview of summit goals and collaborative process #### Option 4: Community-Centered Approach **"Rooted in Place: Building Food System Resilience Through Community Connection"** 1. **Why Here, Why Now** (3 min): Hawaii's unique position and recent wake-up calls 2. **Defining Resilience in Context** (5 min): - What resilience looks like in Hawaii specifically - Connection to cultural values and practices 3. **The Collaboration Imperative** (4 min): Why no single sector can build resilience alone 4. **Framework for Action** (3 min): Preview of summit outcomes and collaborative approach 5. **Our Path Forward** (3 min): Setting intentions for the summit work ### Key Messages to Weave Throughout: 1. **Resilience ≠ Emergency Response**: Resilience is about adaptive capacity, not just crisis response 2. **Systems Perspective**: Food security connects across sectors, scales, and timeframes 3. **Place-Based Solutions**: Hawaii's unique context requires locally-informed approaches 4. **Collective Responsibility**: Building resilience requires unprecedented collaboration