Michael Greger, M.D., the best-selling author and creator of the exceptional online resource, nutritionfacts.org, is out with a new and exhaustively researched book, How Not to Diet. It’s a seemingly definitive examination of optimal nutrition, how certain foods contribute to obesity and sustainable, evidence-based weight loss. Books like this have made Dr. Greger the nerd hero of vegans everywhere.

Most vegans go about their lives doing little in the way of advocacy or activism. Stephen Beidner is a visible vegan.

Although rather mild-mannered and by no stretch of the imagination “pushy,” you’ll find Stephen networking at monthly Vegetarian Society of Hawaii lectures, leading the annual protest against the Makawao Rodeo, staffing literature tables at community events and encouraging restaurants to broaden their vegan options.

The final months of 2015 proved to be quite eventful for Danielle and her husband, Jeremy, the owners of Kihei’s vegan food truck, Earth Aloha Eats (formerly Aloha Joy). Around the time they were preparing to move to Maui, they watched a couple of documentaries, Cowspiracy and Vegucated.  “The documentaries flipped our world,” Danielle recalls.

Who doesn’t want to lead a long and healthy life?  Many experts believe that our healthspan – the period of our lives spent in good health – may be extended if we adopt certain practices. In fact, data suggest that males can add up to 12.2 healthy years to their lifespans and females up to 14 years.

Maui surgeon Irminne Van Dyken, M.D., a featured speaker in the Vegetarian Society of Hawaii’s monthly lecture series, recently discussed how we can live longer and healthier lives.

With a few animal sanctuaries, plenty of yoga studios, some Buddhist temples and a never-ending series of wellness celebrations and retreats, you’d think that Maui would support half a dozen or more vegan restaurants.  In fact, only one or two cafés and one food truck are completely vegan.

Ginger Reid has been a vegan for over two years. “I haven’t eaten meat since I was a teenager. As a teen, I decided to eliminate meat from my diet simply because I loved animals and didn’t want to eat them anymore. I know it’s a difficult transition for many to completely cut animal products out of their meals, this list offers practical ideas on how to adopt a more plant-based diet.”

Community involvement is not for everyone, but if you want to work with kindred spirits, learn and give something back, volunteering may be for you. Here are some vegan-friendly volunteer opportunities on Maui.

Last year, Mahi Pono, LLC, a joint venture of a California agricultural group and a Canadian pension investment manager, bought 41,000 acres of former sugar land, as well as a grass-fed cattle project, Central Maui Feedstocks and additional agricultural businesses. Planning for the repurposing of former Alexander & Baldwin holdings is underway. Decisions made now will shape the future of Maui agriculture.

The conservation movement has generally excluded animal-friendly perspectives. “Conservation focused larger collectives, like population overall, ecosystem health and genetic diversity,” explains Dr. Baker. “It explicitly did not focus on individuals. Individuals and social groups matter, too, particularly if you want to achieve some of your conservation goals.”

Mahi Pono, the entity that recently purchased A&B land on Maui, claims to be an environmentally responsible steward of the land, but plans to develop cattle ranching and a slaughterhouse.  More information appears in the Maui News.

It’s a spacious restaurant in sunny Lahaina with an inventive, mostly vegan menu, a commitment to zero waste and plenty of free parking.  No wonder Moku Roots has been getting a lot of positive buzz since Alexa Caskey and Erica Gale opened the farm-to-table establishment last May.

In 1981, ten years into his medical practice, Michael Klaper experienced an epiphany. “I was a resident in anesthesiology at Vancouver General Hospital in cardiovascular anesthesia service.  Every day I’m putting people to sleep and watching surgeons open their chests, open their coronary arteries and pull out this yellow, greasy gunk called ‘atherosclerosis’ that’s clogging up their blood vessels. 

From time to time we like to pick the brains of experienced vegans because there’s always more to learn. When we discovered that Kathy Ryan was presenting The Benefits of a Vegan Lifestyle at the West Maui and Kaunoa Senior Centers, we asked her for tips and recommendations based on her nearly 30 years as a vegan.

According to the Leilani Farm Sanctuary website, when you take one of the tours offered three times a week, here’s what you may encounter: “A gentle cow munches contentedly in a shaded corner of rolling green pasture overlooking the sparkling Pacific. Goats frolic, deer bask in the warm sun, pigs roll happily in the mud, and a pair of inseparable donkeys anticipate sweet nibbles of carrots and apples. Friendly chickens cluck and turkeys gobble, while ducks and geese splash in ponds. Rabbits and guinea pigs scamper through cool gardens.

Of course, the disastrous impacts of animal agriculture extend beyond individual health. Profit-driven corporations have infiltrated government and academia to promote meat-based agriculture, despite its damage to the soil water and air, contribution to world hunger and the destruction of our means of subsistence. Animal agriculture has already destroyed approximately 20% of the largest rainforests in the Amazon basin and is a catalyst for climate change.

The vegan journey of Maui musician-publisher-activist-philosopher Carlos Garcia began about 16 years ago in Los Angeles.  “While distributing free magazines, I found an advertisement for a Music and Healthy Food Festival,” he recalls.  “It looked good, so I volunteered.” To avoid turning off people, the festival wasn’t advertised as a vegan event, but it was.

Maui is not only home to a vibrant and growing vegan community, but also attracts visits from countless vegan leaders the world over.  One of them is Michelle Cehn, founder of the wonderful worldofvegan.com website.

One of the goals of MauiVeganLife.com is to share stories and perspectives from Maui’s vegan “movers and shakers” – leaders, entrepreneurs, restauranteurs, animal rights activists, chefs, environmentalists, health experts, bloggers and others.  Building veganism on Maui begins by supporting the people who are making it happen.