Food for Thought: Senator Mazie Hirono talks sustainability, military readiness

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Senator Mazie Hirono joined Sunrise Weekends anchor Annalisa Burgos for a conversation on military readiness at Kapa Hale in Kahala. The restaurant is an example of local sustainability efforts. Chef Owner Keaka Lee is a semifinalist for a prestigious James Beard culinary award.

“I’m a big proponent of supporting our ag and food sustainability is something that a lot more people are getting onto, because we import most of our food and why not support our farmers, right,” Hirono said. “As we deal with the farm bill this year, it’s going to be really important to support our specialty crop people. Everything we grow in Hawaii, are considered specialty crops. Because we’re not the big crops that you get all the subsidies. We’re not the soybean, cotton and all that. But all of this is specialty, they deserve our support.”

In addition to overseeing the defueling and closure of Red Hill, Hirono said she is working on upgrading military infrastructure in Hawaii and pushing climate change initiatives.

“The Department of Defense is the biggest user of fossil fuel in the entire country. And I think the practically the world, the single biggest department user of fossil fuels, we need to get away from our reliance on fossil fuel. And the Department of Defense is well aware that they are contributing to global warming. And so I’ve been pushing for things such as they shouldn’t electrify all their non combat vehicles by 2035. And then we want to get to the combat vehicles,” she said.

Sunrise Weekends also interviewed Kapa Hale Chef Keaka Lee. Tune in next weekend on K5 from 7-9 a.m. for a look inside Kapa Hale’s kitchen.

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