Dr. Monique Mironesco, professor of Political Science at the University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu, recently published “Seeds of Change: Women Cultivating Food Sovereignty in Hawai‘i and Aotearoa,” a new book that weaves together research from both locations to explore and compare women’s roles and leadership in alternative food networks (AFNs).
“Seeds of Change,” published in November by Common Ground, explores how women’s leadership functions as a form of resistance to industrial agro-food systems within settler colonial contexts. The book asks: How do Indigenous and marginalized women shape these resistances? How do Indigenous ecological worldviews inform both ancestral and contemporary food and agricultural practices as forms of decolonial praxis?
“I have been working with a variety of community partners since I started taking my students on service learning trips in my Politics of Food class, starting in 2007,” Mironesco said. “I noticed that many of these non-profit organizations, focused on food system transformation, were led by women doing important work.”
She continued, “I found similarities concerning this issue between Hawai‘i and Aotearoa New Zealand, and I wanted to make sure that these women’s stories were told in a way that would amplify their work as much as possible, keep the focus on the food system transformation goals of their organizations, and use food as an entry way to talking about decolonizing our diets and food systems with the ultimate goal of food sovereignty for Hawai‘i and Aotearoa New Zealand, but throughout all of Oceania as well.”
While AFNs are often framed as solutions to the failures of industrial food systems, they have also been critiqued for reinforcing elitism and exclusion. This study foregrounds how Indigenous women confront not only the violence of industrial agriculture but also inequities within AFNs themselves. Though situated in distinct political, social, and ecological contexts, the strategies of women in Hawai‘i and Aotearoa offer transferable insights and best practices for other island communities and beyond.
The book is structured around three central themes: women’s leadership in AFNs; the amplification of Indigenous and marginalized voices; and a solution-oriented approach that shares lessons across Oceania.
Based on interviews with 48 women — including farmers, union leaders, composters, market organizers, and educators — the research reflects a wide spectrum of food system actors embedded in nonprofit and grassroots networks. A core aim of the book is to generate an actionable toolkit and to ensure that the knowledge shared through these stories supports broader movements for food sovereignty and ecological justice.
“I started doing this research in Spring of 2020, right when the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down,” Mironesco said. “I am grateful that I was finally able to publish this important research and hope it gets conversations going about the ways in which we can move toward healthier, more resilient, and more sustainable food systems throughout Oceania.”
To purchase “Seeds of Change,” click here.
To watch a “Meet the Author” video of Mironesco, click here.
To listen to a Hawai‘i Public Radio interview featuring Mironesco discussing “Seeds of Change,” click here.