On June 24, I stood at ‘Iolani Palace to support 13 courageous children: the plaintiffs in the Navahine v. Hawaii Department of Transportation case. Two years earlier, these brave, forward-looking keiki had brought the world’s first youth-led constitutional climate case focused on reducing climate pollution from transportation. To our joy, instead of their first day in court, we celebrated a groundbreaking settlement.
Gov. Josh Green stated at the time: “The passion demonstrated by these young people in advocating for a healthy, sustainable future for their generation and those to come, is laudable. This settlement informs how we as a state can best move forward to achieve life-sustaining goals and further, we can surely expect to see these and other youth in Hawaii continue to step up to build the type of future they desire.”
This inspiring moment was not just a legal victory — it was a powerful reminder of the impact we can have when we work together. The organizers changed the large banner at ‘Iolani Palace from its original adversarial message, “Navahine vs HDOT,” to a new, cooperative one: “Navahine + HDOT!”
It made me think of what else we could get done if we work together. After all, we need to urgently address climate change on all its fronts, and there’s a lot on our plates.
One of the most doable things is to actually look at our plates and add more plants to them. Every little bit helps. Take it from a former cheese addict: this is way easier than you think. Don’t stress about what you have to take away from your plate — think about what you can add to it — glorious colored fruits and veggies that also benefit your health. Kaiser and other health maintenance organizations offer support in going more plant-forward, and medically sound, evidence-based advice is all over the web.
During the 2024 Hawaii legislative session, Mililani High School students championed a bill (House Bill 2083, HD3, SD1) to introduce one plant-based meal option at school lunch, once a week, at one high school. It was a modest proposal, yet one that aligns with inclusivity and sustainability. Just as we’d want to offer peanut-free meal alternatives for kids allergic to peanut butter, we’d want to offer milk-free alternatives for kids who are lactose intolerant.
Most of my relatives can’t digest dairy, and we should be able to offer children food that won’t make them sick. That doesn’t include things they may have religious or ethical restrictions against eating, like pigs, cows or chickens.
We should also support keiki who want to make a positive environmental impact through what’s on their plates.
Like most bills offered in the Legislature the first time, this one didn’t pass. However, it will be coming up again in 2025, and it’s time we rally behind it. Let’s support our children’s efforts for inclusivity, for lower environmen- tal and climate impact from food, for direct health benefits (lower risk of Type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, many kinds of cancer and dementia, for example), and for economic feasibility. Plant-based meals are often much easier on the wallet than animal-based meals: check out how much a 25-pound bag of pinto beans costs, compared with 25 pounds of animal meat.
I’m inspired by both the Navahine kids and the Mililani kids, who want to lead the way. In both the courtroom and the cafeteria, our keiki are creating waves of change. Let’s honor their courage and commitment by getting behind their efforts. After all, it’s their world, too.
Victoria Balboa Anderson, a former linguistics professor at University of Hawaii-Manoa, is a member of the plant-based task force of Hawaii Environmental Change Agents and a member of Climate Protectors Hawaii.
