Author: jkaybay

I have two sites, both focused on ethical consumerism. The Green Stars Project (greenstarsproject.org) aims to start a movement based on crowd-sourced ethical ratings. Ethical Bargains (ethicalbargains.org) is focused on evaluating new products that I’ve bought at the Grocery Outlet. Products are scored from 0 to 5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact.
Ethical shopping guide

Daily Footprint, #19 – The Evolution of Peanut Butter Cups

You know the phrase, third-wave coffee? Yes, it’s kind of irritating, but it’s a useful concept. You could represent the three waves of coffee with the examples of Nescafé instant coffee (first wave), Starbucks (second wave), and a roaster like Counter Culture (third wave), covered in the post on direct trade. This evolution of coffee also brought social and environmental improvements – which is reassuring … Continue reading Daily Footprint, #19 – The Evolution of Peanut Butter Cups

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Ethical shopping guide

Daily Footprint, #18 – Sustainable Chewing Gum

Indulging in chewing gum can have pretty severe consequences. A junior world champion gum chewer by the name of Violet Beauregarde transformed into a giant blueberry after trying an experimental gum during a visit to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. She had to be juiced by the Oompa Loompas and I’m not sure if she was ever the same again. In Singapore it’s illegal to import … Continue reading Daily Footprint, #18 – Sustainable Chewing Gum

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Neonics and bees, Social and environmental issues

Daily Footprint, #17 – Honey: So what exactly is happening to the bees? (Part 3)

Here’s the third post looking at the evidence that neonics are harmful to bees. I’m a research scientist and have no agenda here, other than uncovering the truth. In parts one and two I’ve focused on the toxicity of the best-selling insecticide, imidacloprid, to honey bees. But nature is complex, particularly systems like a bee colony that work together as a collective, dependent on nectar … Continue reading Daily Footprint, #17 – Honey: So what exactly is happening to the bees? (Part 3)

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Neonics and bees

Examination of evidence that neonicotinoids are safe for bees

In this post I will examine a case often cited by Bayer & Co. as evidence that neonicotinoids are safe for bees. This is part two of an impartial investigation into whether neonicotinoids (neoincs) are harmful to honey bees. I have nothing to gain from a position on either side of this debate and have looked into it with an open mind. If you search … Continue reading Examination of evidence that neonicotinoids are safe for bees

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An image of a bee foraging on a sunflower with numbers showing that the estimated weekly intake of the neonic pesticide imidacloprid is in the range of the lethal dose.
Neonics and bees, Social and environmental issues

Daily Footprint, #15 – Honey: So what exactly is happening to the bees?

As I’m sure you know, changes in the the honey bee population has been a subject of much debate for the last decade. The chart below from Bee Informed shows that around 23% of bee colonies were lost in the US during the winter of 2015/2016, significantly higher than expected losses during hibernation. But bees are also being lost in spring and summer, through abrupt … Continue reading Daily Footprint, #15 – Honey: So what exactly is happening to the bees?

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Social and environmental issues

Daily Footprint, #14 – Celebration Day: Zero-Waste Party

Happy Earth Day! As you’ve probably gathered, the Daily Footprint is about evaluating the social and environmental impact of the stuff we use every day. But what if we’re dealing with a special day that requires some kind of celebration? We’ve already had New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, among others, and probably a family birthday or two. It’s at times like these … Continue reading Daily Footprint, #14 – Celebration Day: Zero-Waste Party

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