Tag Archives: deforestation

Facts and Stats, General ramblings

Anxiety, Sadness and Deforestation: How the Earth Shifted in 2016

5 Comments

It’s almost the end of 2016 and I can’t help thinking that something really big has just happened. And I don’t just mean Trump, Brexit and the final nail in the coffin for the Great Barrier Reef.

It feels like the ground has shifted beneath my feet, and the sturdy soil I once stood upon has switched colour, texture and smell. It feels as though the ground has literally changed its own reaction to my clunky feet stumbling across it, and I am no longer welcome.

The world around us feels anxious, resentful and fatigued. Meanwhile the Earth itself is warming up (quite literally we know) as though it’s firing up for a fight that we all know it will win (but potentially at the cost of humans in the process). Something big has definitely happened this year, and this shift is only going to continue into 2017.

Can you feel it too? Continue reading Anxiety, Sadness and Deforestation: How the Earth Shifted in 2016 →

Facts and Stats, Green food, Green health, Nature, Sustainability, What to buy

Is Soy really the greener option?

3 Comments

Soy is fast becoming a healthier, greener option for meat and dairy; not just for vegetarians, vegans, and the dairy intolerant, but for the environmentally, ethically and health conscious too. As most coffee shops now offer soy milk, and soy based products – such as tofu and tempeh – become a standard option in many restaurants and cafes; it’s provided the world with a widely available alternative, in which to get your protein, calcium and B vitamins.

Over the last few months I have certainly become a bit of a soy fiend; and find I rarely go a day without some kind of soy based product. The convenience of tofu burgers, soy milkshakes and tempeh “bacon” rashers have largely made my transition to veganism almost seamless; in a world where I can lazily keep my eating habits if I want, simply by switching to this magic bean ingredient!

But this has got me thinking. Making these switches has been fantastic for avoiding animal products; but as the industry continues to grow, how green can soy really be? So I did a bit of digging, and opened a whole can of worms… Continue reading Is Soy really the greener option? →

Facts and Stats, Green health, Green news, Nature, Sustainability, What to buy

Understanding: Palm Oil

4 Comments

In an interview with the Ecologist last week, one of my favourite green cleaning brands, Ecover, revealed their use of algal oil (a synthetic biology oil) in replacement of palm oil. This sparked my curiosity. Why would a company who pride themselves on using “plant and mineral based ingredients…without those chemical nasties” switch from naturally grown Palm oil to a genetically modified organism (GMO) ingredient? We have all heard of the issues surrounding palm oil, but is it really that bad?

So I did a little bit of digging (lazy girl style) to get to the bottom of this natural, but controversial oil; and made a few discoveries of my own very close to home… Continue reading Understanding: Palm Oil →