Paul McCartney is asking Peet’s Coffee & Tea to drop its charges for plant-based milks. This made my happy for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it’s good to see someone, especially someone as famous as (Sir) Paul McCartney, focusing on the details. Continue reading Paul McCartney protests plant-based milk charges at Peet’s
When it comes to water usage, there are several different angles to consider: blue water, green water, and water scarcity, for example. There are also significant differences in the reported water footprints of various consumer goods. There is, however, fairly universal agreement on the best way to reduce our water footprint. Continue reading The best way to reduce your water footprint
A key research paper investigated whether we will be able to feed the human population in 2050 without further deforestation. The researchers examined 500 scenarios of food production (high-yield intensive agriculture versus lower-yielding organic) and consumption (various diets) to find out which scenarios do not require additional encroachment on forests. The details of which scenarios work and which don’t provide crucial guidance on our food shopping habits. Continue reading How to feed the world without further deforestation
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
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 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
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?
What are the best chicken nuggets from the perspectives of taste and ethics? I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while, but since Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget just came out on Netflix I figure it’s a good time to put this together. Continue reading The tastiest and most ethical plant-based chicken nuggets
The Green Stars Project 