What’s the most ethical protein, brah? Last week I published a graphic showing different kinds of butter, dairy and non-dairy, ranked from 0 to 5 Green Stars. Following up on that, here’s a graphic showing ethical scores for various sources of protein in our diets. Continue reading Sustainable Food: Ethical ratings for different protein sources
I’m sharing a post from Ethical Bargains that evaluated Ivy’s Reserve carbon-neutral butter. UK-based Wyke Farms launched this butter in 2023, a year after releasing “the world’s first carbon neutral cheddar.” In the end, I scored Ivy’s Reserve butter 2/5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact and at the same time realized that this is close to the maximum score that I’d give a dairy-based butter product. Is this fair? Continue reading Butter: I can’t believe it’s not ethical!
Which third-party certifications are effective and worth supporting? Third-party certifications can be a cornerstone of ethical consumption so it’s important to know which ones are effective – especially when governments don’t value the environment and allow corporations to run amok. Here’s a summary of eleven certifications that have been evaluated here on the Green Stars Project. Continue reading The GSP guide to third-party certifications
Compostable plastics vary in their environmental footprints but some of them are significantly better than petroleum-derived plastics in key respects. Of course we need to use reusable items as much as possible, but the inherent benefits of compostable plastics suggest that they are worth backing. Continue reading The environmental impact of compostable plastics
In this post I take a look at certifications for compostable plastics (biodegradable bags, packaging, cups, utensils, etc.) and address their most common criticisms. We’ll also take a look at terms such as oxo-biodegradable and bio-based, so that by the end you’ll know what’s what! Continue reading Certifications for compostable waste: which to trust?
Season three of the White Lotus provided some useful guidance on navigating 2026. Considering the state of America, it’s encouraging that one of its most popular shows has suggested a path to preserving mental health and possibly healing a societal rift. Continue reading Surviving America, 2026: Lessons from The White Lotus
There has been a lot of scare mongering about seed oils from social media influencers, but they are not all equal. Some cooking oils have a very high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats, which may be problematic, but there’s one notable exception: canola or rapeseed oil. A mix of canola oil and olive oil actually looks like a great choice from the three perspectives of value, health, and sustainability. Continue reading Cooking oil drama! Is this seed oil blend actually ideal?
This post examines a correction to a seminal paper by Oxford University scientists Poore and Nemecek on the environmental footprints of food. It shows that, of all the products we make, including the massive amounts of cement and steel used for construction, beef is categorically responsible for the most GHGs, by a very wide margin. Continue reading A mammoth adjustment to beef’s carbon footprint
Globally, we produce way less beef compared to steel and cement and yet the beef industry’s total carbon footprint is as large* as that of the other two industries. This is because the carbon footprint of beef, per kg of product, eclipses virtually everything else on the planet. The “carbon footprint multiplier” for beef is 100 while for cement and steel it’s around 0.8 and 2, respectively. While plans are in progress to decarbonize cement and steel, we need to put beef in perspective.
*It’s actually a lot larger if we factor in carbon sequestration on land formerly used for beef.
Continue reading Perspective on the carbon footprints of steel, cement, and beef
I’m taking a look at Bill Gates’s 2021 book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster. His book is full of useful information and hopefully has inspired changes in policy. Unfortunately, last week, Bill did the opposite of his own advice. My main issue with the book is that it downplays actions that we can take as individuals and consumers. Continue reading What Bill Gates missed in How to Avoid a Climate Disaster
The Green Stars Project 