$10,000 Scholarships Available to Study Food Systems & Sustainability at UHWO!
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has awarded Dr. Albie Miles and the University of Hawai’i – West O’ahu Sustainable Community Food Systems program a $1 million grant to support research and education efforts to advance a more sustainable food system for Hawaii. Outstanding students enrolled in the UHWO SCFS program are eligible for scholarships up to $5,000.00/semester ($10,000.00/year) to support all educational expenses associated with their course of study in Sustainable Community Food Systems at UHWO. The scholarship funds are available for 2022 and 2023. Contact: albie@hawaii.edu for more information.
SCFS Program Mission:
Through a transdisciplinary course of study in agroecology and sustainable food systems, the SCFS program trains new generations of leaders to think across traditional disciplines and to use systems analysis to understand and actively solve for real-world problems and facilitate the transition to an ecologically sustainable, resilient and socially equitable food system.
What is the Food System?
The food system is the socio-ecological system encompassing all the drivers, activities and resources that go into producing, distributing and consuming food. The food system intersects with aspects of public health, culture, society, economics, public policy, and the environment.
Why Study the Food System?
- The food system is the primary cause of global environmental degradation and negative public health outcomes. Developing a sustainable and equitable food and agricultural system for Hawaii is essential to meeting state and international Sustainable Development Goals.
- The current approach to food, nutrition, agriculture, and the environment is unsustainable and must change (Inter-Academies Partnership).
- Components of a food system include farming, food processing, distribution, consumption, waste recycling, and much more. A sustainable and equitable food system delivers culturally appropriate food and nutrition for all people, and at all times, in such a way that the social, economic, cultural and ecological bases of food security, nutrition and human well being are sustained and enhanced in perpetuity.
- Food is the single strongest lever to optimize human health and environmental sustainability on Earth (EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health).
- Sustainable, equitable and resilient food systems are critically needed to maximize the economic diversity, food security, public health and well-being of our island people (Hawaiʻi and throughout Oceania).
- The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a range of food system vulnerabilities and magnified the need for policymakers, educators, researchers, planners, citizens and practitioners to collectively advance economic diversification and food system resilience and equity in Hawaiʻi and beyond.
Food Systems, the SCFS Program & Related Food System Research and Education Activities:
Rebecca Carino-Agustin, M.A.: rtcarino@hawaii.edu (admissions, transcripts, academic planning, etc.)
Albie Miles, Ph.D., albie@hawaii.edu Assistant Professor, Sustainable Community Food Systems (SCFS). University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu
Daniel ‘Bubba’ Lipe, Ph.D., lipe@hawaii.edu, Junior Specialist, Sustainable Community Food Systems (SCFS). University of Hawai’i – West O’ahu
Bubba is Western Band Cherokee and grew up in the Pacific Northwest in the woods and along the rivers of Oregon. He is a Sustainable Community Food System project specialist who works as an indigenous educator. Lipe’s passion is working with indigenous knowledge and western science, creating spaces and opportunities for students to learn about the importance of diverse perspectives in natural resource management. He has done this work for over 20 years across many different education levels. He is also an avid bowhunter and steelhead fly-fisherman.
UHWO SCFS Educational Philosophy & Learning Outcomes
The SCFS Program is built upon the 2 key learning canons of knowledge generation and transmission, and knowledge application:
Knowledge generation & transmission: Students develop a deep understanding of the most up-to-date scholarship in the transdisciplinary field of agricultural ecology and the political economy of the US and global agri-food system. The program engages students in applied community-based learning and research which informs the prioritization of food system actions and shapes the necessary planning, policy and strategies at the community, county and state level. SCFS is designed to develop a systemic and multi-disciplinary understanding of the food system. Students study the history and development of agri-food systems, regionally, nationally and globally and its impacts on global environmental quality, human health and social and economic well being. Pressing ecological and social issues in agriculture are systematically addressed along with the principles and practices of ecological sustainability and social justice in the food system. The curriculum emphasizes the integration of theoretical knowledge with hands-on learning of sustainable agriculture practices and food system change initiatives in the field. Students study a range of pressing ethical issues in food and agriculture along with traditional ecological knowledge, indigenous food ways, epidemiology, public health and food system resilience and equity, among others. This approach to sustainability education is consistent with the recommendations of the US National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.
Knowledge application: The program allows students to integrate theory and practice (praxis) of food system transformation through experiential learning in a range professional development, applied research and practicum settings. The SCFS program emphasizes experiential, problem-based and hands-on learning in order to develop food system professionals capable of solving real-world problems and transitioning Hawai‘i’s food system toward greater ecological sustainability, social equity and climate change resilience.
SCFS Vision for Hawaii’s Food System in 10 Years
Our vision for the food system in 10 years includes the establishment of a robust grassroots network of community actors, institutions and agencies that integrates planning, sustainable food production, processing, distribution, consumption and waste management that enhances the environmental, cultural, economic and public health of Hawai’i and helps the state reach its commitment the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The establishment of a sustainable community food system in Hawai‘i includes the following 10-year goals:
- Generation of an economically viable base of locally owned and operated farms that use sustainable production practices, enhance ecosystem and cultural services and emphasize local inputs;
- Marketing and processing practices that create more direct links between farmers and community members;
- Universal access to an adequate, safe, affordable, culturally appropriate and nutritious diet by community members (SDG 2: Zero Hunger);
- Food and agriculture-related businesses that create jobs and re-circulate financial capital within the Hawai‘i community;
- Living wages and healthy and safe working conditions for all farm and food system labor;
- Expansion of state food and agriculture policies that promote local or sustainable food production, processing and consumption;
- Widespread adoption of dietary behaviors that reflect concern about individual, environmental and community health;
- Biocultural restoration of Hawai’i’s sea and landscapes;
- A resilient food system supported by robust physical infrastructure and emergency planning and coordination that ensures food security and human health for all in times of crisis.
In 2019, UHWO’s Sustainable Community Foods Systems (SCFS) Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.S) degree program was ranked second in the nation for sustainable agriculture degree programs by CollegeValuesOnline.com. Graduates of the SCFS program have moved onto graduate level training in public administration, food systems, emergency management, education, natural resources management, and urban and regional planning. Graduates are employed in such diverse fields of county and state food access coordination, commercial organic farming, invasive species management, nursery and land management, university basic needs planning, seed and plant conservation, food security and disaster management, non-profit advocacy. The impact of the SCFS program for local students is demonstrated in Rainbow Uliʻi, a 2020 graduate (double major) in Political Science and SCFS. Rainbow, a Native Hawaiian and first-generation college graduate, has gone on to achieve a M.A. in Urban and Regional Planning at UH Mānoa, with an emphasis in food systems planning. Rainbow is also a full-time employee serving as the first UH Basic Needs Coordinator for the 10-campus system. Check out our Graduates Spotlight to see more about what Rainbow and other SCFS students have been doing since graduation!
- Look, M. A., Soong S., & Kaholokula, J. K. (2020). Assessment and priorities for health and well-being in native hawaiians and other pacific peoples. Honolulu, HI: Dept. of Native Hawaiian Health, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaiʻi.
- Miles, A., & Merrigan, K. (2020). If we get food right, we get everything right. Honolulu Civil Beat.
- Rockström, J., Edenhofer, O., Gaertner, J., & DeClerck, F. (2020). Planet-proofing the global food system. Nature Food, 1(1), 3-5.
- Webb, P., Benton, T. G., Beddington, J., Flynn, D., Kelly, N. M., & Thomas, S. M. (2020). The urgency of food system transformation is now irrefutable. Nature Food, 1(10), 584-585.
- Fears, R., Canales, C., Ter Meulen, V., & von Braun, J. (2019). Transforming food systems to deliver healthy, sustainable diets—the view from the world’s science academies. The Lancet Planetary Health, 3(4), e163-e165.
- Willett, W., Rockström, J., Loken, B., Springmann, M., Lang, T., Vermeulen, S., … & Murray, C. J. (2019). Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. The Lancet, 393(10170), 447-492.
- Stockholm Resilience Center 2018. Anthropocene Analysis of Food and Agriculture (video).
- InterAcademy Partnership. (2018). Opportunities for Future Research and Innovation on Food and Nutrition Security and Agriculture: https://www.interacademies.org/node/50845
- Kurashima, N., Jeremiah, J., Whitehead, A. N., Tulchin, J., Browning, M., & Duarte, T. ‘Aina Kaumaha: The Maintenance of Ancestral Principles for 21st Century Indigenous Resource Management. worldviews, 29(32), 33.
- The EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health
- Tendall, D. M., Joerin, J., Kopainsky, B., Edwards, P., Shreck, A., Le, Q. B., … & Six, J. (2015). Food system resilience: defining the concept. Global Food Security, 6, 17-23.
- Harris, J. & Spiegel, E. (2019). Food Systems Resilience: Concepts & Policy Approaches. Center for Agriculture and Food Systems.
- Altieri, M. A. 2004. Linking ecologists and traditional farmers in the search for sustainable agriculture. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2(1):35-42.