The term planetary boundaries comes from an international group of scientists who have defined nine major threats to life on planet Earth and metrics for each of them. Aren’t you curious about what made it onto the list? It’s like The Oscars for the planet! Continue reading Earth is beyond 6 of 9 planetary boundaries. (Wait, what?)
As you probably know by now, the kind of food we choose to eat has a major impact on climate change, deforestation, pollution, biodiversity losses, water use, and food security. But the extent to which our various food options impact these environmental and social issues has, surprisingly, not been well-covered by the media. These details are obviously important for people who want to reduce their impact on the planet, but can’t immediately switch to a vegan diet (which includes most people). Continue reading The environmental footprints of meat and other foods
The US election result does not spell good news for climate change. But that just underscores how important our personal actions are – they are all we can rely on, for a while. Which corporations thrive and also the breakdown of what these corporations produce very much depends on our purchases. Continue reading Our actions as consumers are now critical
It’s useful to remember that products from the same company can vary widely in terms of social and environmental impact. In a recent post on Ethical Bargains, I compared the impact of Ben & Jerry’s dairy versus non-dairy ice creams, focusing on Steven Colbert’s Americone Dream. Continue reading Ben & Jerry’s: dairy or non-dairy?
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
The Green Stars Project 