In this post I’m going to outline a game plan to incentivize all the lonely Starbucks lovers to finally start bringing their own reusable cups! The bonus stars that you earn by bringing a personal cup will score you a free bag of coffee beans in no time. If you select organic beans, this will put a little extra pressure on Starbucks to source ethically. Continue reading Starbucks Lovers: Bring your own darn mug! PS: Free coffee!
I want to talk about the impact of the election result on climate change. It’s important to know that our ability to mitigate climate change largely depends on us, personally, not on the government. Around 82% of total US emissions result from the actions of individual American residents. Here’s a plan of action… Continue reading The US election result & climate change
How should we think about ethical products when they are owned by multinational corporations with poor ethical track records? There are a few different ways of looking at this. I’ll share my thoughts and ask for yours in a survey on the topic. Continue reading Ethical brands owned by mediocre multinationals
I was surprised to see that actually not much has been written about ethical perfumes. Here I take a look at Matiere Premiere, a fairly new French perfume company that aims to be ethical. It’s the only major perfumer to grow its own raw materials – organic roses and tuberoses in the Grasse region. I picked up a Matiere Premiere Discovery Set at the Parfumarija in Dublin and share my Green Stars rating. Continue reading An excursion into the world of ethical perfume – Matiere Premiere
The biggest problem with our conversation on UPF and the NOVA system: it’s turning people off plant-based foods and back toward meat and dairy. But it’s based on a completely flawed logic. Continue reading UPF and the NOVA classification system
This is the first of two posts detailing how the UPF conversation is a front line in the war against plant-based food. As a case study, I take a look at a high-profile research paper, published in The Lancet last month, and the media coverage that delivers a very misleading message. Continue reading Ultra-processed food: How meat and dairy are co-opting the narrative
Beef and legumes, the most popular sources of protein in the animal and plant worlds, respectively, are at opposite extremes in terms of environmental and social impact. There has been a large-scale war playing out over this dilemma – here is a summary of some of the battlegrounds. Continue reading The war over the most critical ethical dilemma
Many large food corporations tout in-house programs for ethical ingredient sourcing, usually represented by a catchy name and a logo. Should we trust, avoid, or ignore them when aiming to make an ethical purchase? Continue reading In-house ethical sourcing logos: trust, avoid or ignore?
Agroforestry involves the integration of forestry and agriculture: producing a crop while maintaining native tree life, as much as possible. It’s a key solution to climate change and biodiversity loss – but how can we best support agroforestry as consumers? Continue reading Agroforestry and how to support it
Cellulose is the most abundant renewable carbon source on the planet. Plants capture more carbon dioxide (CO2) gas from the atmosphere than we humans generate and much of it is stored as cellulose. We need to make better use of this resource instead of burning or wasting it. Here are some examples… Continue reading Why is cellulose so important?
The Green Stars Project 