Why is there such push back against dietary changes to support climate change? Read how a self-described beef-lover took a closer look at the climate impact of beef — and started eating a little less meat each week.
Category: Environment
Ask SciMoms: What Does Meat Have To Do With Climate Change?
This piece has been updated. A few years ago, the SciMoms received an email asking us about a 2017 video from Vox that states “what you eat matters: 24 percent of greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to simple dietary choices, or about two times as much as all the cars on the planet combined.” … Continue reading Ask SciMoms: What Does Meat Have To Do With Climate Change?
Food waste is a problem. Fix it and make our food system stronger.
One of the most powerful ways we can address climate change is also an incredibly simple one. If we can all just waste a little less food, we can help make our food system more sustainable and resilient for the future. We need all the resilience we can get. By the year 2050, the earth’s … Continue reading Food waste is a problem. Fix it and make our food system stronger.
What Is The Best Milk For The Environment?
Every bite of food we eat comes at a cost, whether you measure that cost in methane emitted from cow burps, herbicides used to save soybeans from weeds, or hours worked by farm laborers to pick and process food. Some foods come with a higher environmental cost than others. In this post, we look at … Continue reading What Is The Best Milk For The Environment?
Are we worried about flame retardants?
When I was pregnant with my first child in 2008, the nurse who taught our pregnancy class recommended that we use Dreft detergent. One of her reasons was that they don’t strip clothes of their flame retardants. At which point, I raised my hand and asked, “but don’t we want to avoid flame-retardant exposures?” Consider … Continue reading Are we worried about flame retardants?
Introduction to GMOs
Surveys show most consumers don't know much about GMOs. In this post, we review key terms and common myths about GMOs.
Have You Had the Cheap Plastic Crap Talk With Your Kids?
Cheap plastics usually end up in landfills. This post offers simple suggestions on how we can decrease our use of cheap plastic crap and save us some money, too.
What Should I Eat: Big Environmental Questions and Cutting Edge Cuisine
When you think about an exquisitely prepared multi-course meal served at the famed James Beard House in New York city, feedlot beef and supermarket tomatoes probably aren’t the first ingredients that come to mind. But that’s exactly what was on the menu at a recent dinner hosted by the Breakthrough Institute, an environmental organization based … Continue reading What Should I Eat: Big Environmental Questions and Cutting Edge Cuisine
Goody Bags: Why Do We Keep Giving Them Despite Their Environmental Footprint?
Open my son's drawer of toys and at the very bottom, you'll find fistfuls of whistles, bracelets, keychains, and small plastic figurines that we've collected over the years from goody bags given away at birthday parties. They're branded with Paw Patrol, Hot Wheel, Shimmer & Shine, and a bunch of other Nickelodeon characters that have … Continue reading Goody Bags: Why Do We Keep Giving Them Despite Their Environmental Footprint?