Bun Lai may just be sustainability’s superman. His New Haven restaurant, Miya’s Sushi, was the first, and remains the only, sustainable sushi restaurant on the East Coast. He recently attained both his scuba license and a research vessel in order to make sashimi with the fish he catches himself. He’s working to exact social justice through his food, offering affordable, high quality rolls at low prices and teaching free cooking classes for inner city children—among other things. He’s the 2011 recipient of the Sustainable Seafood Ambassador Award from Monterey Bay Aquarium and has been the Huffington Post’s “Greatest Person of the Day.” Plus, he’s just so cool.

Lai was invited by WesFresh to speak on April 28 about how he works towards social change through his activism and cuisine. In his laid-back demeanor, Lai explains that, for him, they are intertwined.

“My food art is an exploration of what it is to be human,” Lai said.

With that in mind, he uses his food to celebrate all types of cultures and tries to make food out of what is usually culturally or socially unaccepted.

Take for example the “Tokyo Fro,” which is, for Lai, his “pride and joy.” The Tokyo Fro consists of lightly fried thin strips of potato. Lai informed the group that the afro is a popular hairstyle in Japan, a case of “cultures influencing each other in fantastic ways.”  Lai also threw out the statistic that 30 billion pounds of hair, one of the most nutritious things in the world, is thrown out each year instead of being eaten.

“Though there are different forms of hair, it’s all biologically identical, which contributes to the conversation of how we’re all unique and diverse, but still the same,” he said.

This quirky perspective on food permeates every aspect of Miya’s Sushi. Lai uses nontraditional ingredients in crazy combinations to create vegetarian rolls, some of which he brought along for the audience to sample. One contained sweet potatoes, mango chutney, and pine nuts; another had coconut, papaya, cream cheese, and burdock root.  There was even a “peanut butter and jellyfish” roll, which exhibited the chef’s efforts to include invasive species on his menu.

Lai has even experimented with the fundamental foundation of sushi rolls: rice. Bun Lai relayed to the audience that normally sushi rice is sweetened with corn syrup. Lai replaces corn syrup with his own version with a low glycemic index, and includes ground flaxseed, brown rice, quinoa, and chia.

“The concept of Miya’s Restaurant is really cool, but sounds expensive,” said Will Curran-Groome ’14.

Some have commented that the concept is intriguing; however, the presumed price point makes potential patrons war. That’s where the “sushi for the masses” section of the menu comes in. It’s often difficult to make food affordable to the average person, but this particular section sells rolls that range from $2.75 to $3.50. These are also the healthiest rolls on the menu.

“I want to show other restaurants the possibility for a new normal,” Lai said.

In pursuing innovative approaches to food, he is setting an example.

“The profit margin is actually higher when you’re using mainly vegetables instead of fish, as you’re really charging for the labor,” he said.

Lai hopes that other restaurants will prioritize getting local and organic like he does. He sources veggies from sustainable farms at Yale University and other schools around the area and has also helped to fund the New Haven gardening project.

Lai’s focus was to show how small steps could make a big impact by working on two levels.

“The first is a general institutional level, which is total institutional overhaul. You need to convince the institution to commit itself in the direction of sustainability,” Lai said.

On a smaller level, he advises students to be aware of where food comes from and what is being purchased for the dining halls (even plastics). With a promise to introduce WesFresh to local sustainable seafood suppliers, Bun Lai may help propel the already dynamic move toward sustainability here at Wesleyan.