Sainsbury's Supermarket Launches 'Meat-Free Butchers' Pop-up For World Meat-Free Week

Sainsbury's Supermarket Launches 'Meat-Free Butchers' Pop-up For World Meat-Free Week

London’s Sainsbury’s supermarket is launching its first vegan pop-up MEAT-FREE BUTCHERS, serving sausages, mince, fillets, burgers and other delicacies not derived from animals.

The pop-up will be located at the chain’s Bethnal Green branch from June 21 to 23, honoring World Meat-Free Week (website). Sainsbury staff will serve 20 animal-free products including BBQ-pulled jackfruit, chorizo-style Shroomdogs, meatless bacon, veggie ribz and Moroccan vegbabs .

Gisele Bundchen Covers ELLE Spain June 2019, Lensed By Nino Munoz For Environmental Issue

Gisele Bundchen Covers ELLE Spain June 2019, Lensed By Nino Munoz For Environmental Issue

Inmaculada Jiménez styles environmental activist Gisele Bundchen for the June 2019 issue of ELLE Spain. Nino Munoz captures the cover star in an issue devoted to the environment.

Washington Becomes First State to Allow ‘Human Composting' As A Burial Method

Washington Becomes First State to Allow ‘Human Composting' As A Burial Method

In 2015, cremations outpaced burials for the first time in United States history. And as the National Funeral Directors Association points out, this upward trend is set to continue over the coming decades, with the national cremation rate predicted to reach nearly 80 percent by 2035. Still, while cremation has obvious environmental advantages over burial—think of all the wood, reinforced concrete, steel, copper and carcinogenic formaldehyde needed to inter the deceased—the process isn’t as Earth-friendly as you might think. In fact, Laura Yan reported for Pacific Standard in 2016, cremation releases 600 million pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.

Human composting is the brainchild of Katrina Spade, CEO of alternative burial company Recompose. Speaking with local news station KIRO 7, Spade explains that recomposition involves moving the body to a specially designed facility—“part public park, part funeral home, part memorial to the people we love,” in the entrepreneur’s words—and placing it inside of a vessel filled with wood chips, alfalfa and straw. After several weeks of microbial activity, the body breaks down into soil that can then be given to family of the deceased or used by conservation groups to “nourish the [surrounding] land.” Overall, the process uses an eighth of the energy required for cremation and saves more than one metric ton of carbon dioxide for every individual who opts to use it.

Arizona Muse Gushes Biodynamic Farming, Lensed By Richard Phibbs For Town & Country UK

Arizona Muse Gushes Biodynamic Farming, Lensed By Richard Phibbs For Town & Country UK

Arizona Muse is styled by Miranda Almond in ‘Taking A Stand’, a collection of earth-friendly, noble origins, country manor looks. Photographer Richard Phibbs captures the bucolic scene for Town & Country UK May 2019./ Hair by Paul Donovan; makeup by Polly Osmond

Lydia Slater interviews Arizona at a farm in Sussex, peering into polytunnels of spinach and lettuce while discussing her escalating commitment to eco-fashion and sustainability.

Bumble Bees Don't Generate Big Buzz and Their Numbers Are Also In Steep Decline

Bumble Bees Don't Generate Big Buzz and Their Numbers Are Also In Steep Decline

Overcoming Barriers to Urban Agriculture In American Cities

PHILLY’S URBAN FARMING PLAN COULD INCLUDE HUNDREDS, POSSIBLY THOUSANDS, OF VACANT LOTS. MARCH 20, 2019. JESSICA GRIFFIN / FILE PHOTOGRAPH PHILLY.COM

Overcoming Barriers to Urban Agriculture In American Cities

Achieving such yields in a test garden does not mean they are feasible for urban farmers in the Bay Area. Most urban farmers in California lack ecological horticultural skills. They do not always optimize crop density or diversity, and the University of California’s extension program lacks the capacity to provide agroecological training.

The biggest challenge is access to land. University of California researchers estimate that over 79 percent of the state’s urban farmers do not own the property that they farm. Another issue is that water is frequently unaffordable. Cities could address this by providing water at discount rates for urban farmers, with a requirement that they use efficient irrigation practices.

In the Bay Area and elsewhere, most obstacles to scaling up urban agriculture are political, not technical. In 2014 California enacted AB511, which set out mechanisms for cities to establish urban agriculture incentive zones, but did not address land access.

One solution would be for cities to make vacant and unused public land available for urban farming under low-fee multiyear leases. Or they could follow the example of Rosario, Argentina, where 1,800 residents practice horticulture on about 175 acres of land. Some of this land is private, but property owners receive tax breaks for making it available for agriculture.

All-You-Can-Eat Food Packaging Could Soon Be On The Menu

All-You-Can-Eat Food Packaging Could Soon Be On The Menu

By Sylvain Charlebois, Professor in Food Distribution and Policy, Dalhousie University. First published on The Conversation.

Within a year, single-use plastics and excess packaging have become Public Enemy No. 1.

A recent Greenpeace-led audit looked at the companies behind the waste lining Canadian waterways. Much of the plastic trash cleaned up from Canadian shorelines this fall was traceable to five companies: Nestlé, Tim Hortons, PepsiCo, the Coca-Cola Company and McDonald’s. All these companies are part of the food industry, which is hardly surprising.

With consumers looking for convenience and portable food solutions, this problem will not go away anytime soon. In fact, it could get worse if nothing is done.

Compostable containers

In the food industry, conversations about green supply chains focus on compostable and even edible solutions. Plenty of technologies exist.

On the compostable front, we have come a long way in just a few years. In 2010, PepsiCo Canada came out with the first compostable chip bag for SunChips. This new package was meant to completely break down into compost in a hot, active compost pile in approximately 14 weeks. Some tests concluded that it did not.

When Biodegradable Plastic Is Not Biodegradable -- Only To A Degree

When Biodegradable Plastic Is Not Biodegradable -- Only To A Degree

The idea of a “biodegradable” plastic suggests a material that would degrade to little or nothing over a period of time, posing less of a hazard to wildlife and the environment. This is the sort of claim often made by plastic manufacturers, yet recent research has revealed supposedly biodegradable plastic bags still intact after three years spent either at sea or buried underground. So un-degraded were these bags that they were still able to hold more than two kilos of shopping.

The study’s authors, Imogen Napper and Richard Thompson at the University of Plymouth, tested compostable, biodegradable, oxo-biodegradable, and conventional polythene plastic bags in three different natural environments: buried in the ground, outdoors exposed to air and sunlight, and submerged in the sea. Not one of the bags broke down completely in all of the environments tested. In particular, the biodegradable bag survived in soil and sea almost unscathed.

Maine Becomes First State To Ban Styrofoam Food Containers In 2021

Maine Becomes First State To Ban Styrofoam Food Containers In 2021

Maine is now the first state to ban Styrofoam food containers. The bill, signed into law on Tuesday, with an effective date of January 2021 prohibits convenience stores, restaurants, grocery stores, farm stands, and coffee shops from using containers made of polystyrene, which is more commonly referred to as Styrofoam.

Foam food containers made of polystyrene are among the 10 most commonly littered items in the US, and more than 256 million pieces of disposable Styrofoam products are used every year in Maine , according to the Natural Resources Council of Maine.

VOX digs deeper into the ban, exploring the complexities of banning the very lightweight Styrofoam.

Eye: Mango's 'New Voices' Channel California Lifestyle As Students Join #FridaysforFuture Climate Strikes

Eye: Mango's 'New Voices' Channel California Lifestyle As Students Join #FridaysforFuture Climate Strikes

Models, artists, activists — ‘New Voices’ Mango calls them — Adwoa Aboah, Jolie Allen, Luna Bijl and Sasha Pivovarova join actor Patrick Schwarzenegger in Mango’s Spring/Summer 2019 campaign. Camille Bidault Waddington styles the carefree quartet in images by Alasdair McLellan.

Selah Marley Pops Into BKLYN Studios May 3-4, 2019 With 'A Primordial Place'

Selah Marley Pops Into BKLYN Studios May 3-4, 2019 With 'A Primordial Place'

Selah Marley opens an art quickie ‘A Primordial Place’ , on view at BKLYN Studios In New York City from May 3rd until May 4th, noon to 8pm. BKLYN Studios is located at 445 Albee Square West, Brooklyn NY 11201 in Citypoint.

U.S. Honey Integrity Task Force Publishes Quality Results On Top 30 Brands

U.S. Honey Integrity Task Force Publishes Quality Results On Top 30 Brands

AOC is working to restore our significant archives on the topic of bees and the dangers of global bee collapse. Moving from the sweet story of survival around Notre Dame’s honey bees and the beekeepers of Paris, we’re reading Bee Culture: The Magazine of American Beekeeping.

Bee Culture shares an update on the work of America’s Honey Integrity Task Force, whose purpose is to insure the integrity of products sold as ‘pure honey’. The Economist reported in August 2018 that America’s taste for honey “is nectar for con men.”

Survival Of Notre Dame Bees Inspires Gratitude + Update On Global Bee Populations

Survival Of Notre Dame Bees Inspires Gratitude + Update On Global Bee Populations

There’s a debate around the pros and cons of urban beekeeping and its impact on country bees and the global bee threat of bee colony collapse. Whatever one’s position on the subject, it was a small ray of light in the sad story of the awesome fire that swept through Notre Dame on April 15, 2019 that the bees survived.

Eating Insects Has Long Made Sense in Africa. The World Must Catch Up

‘CRAWLING SNACKS’ BY MASIE COUSINS FOR HOT HOT HOT! MAGAZINE SS 2019

Eating Insects Has Long Made Sense in Africa. The World Must Catch Up.

Scientists have long proposed insects as feed or foodstuff for animals. But views about entomophagy differ widely: food conscious lobbies and scientists promote insects as novel foods while at the other extreme people view eating insects as crazy. Between those two extremes are communities that have been practising entomophagy for ages.

Most edible insects are harvested from the wild. Little effort has been put into how they could be mass produced and used as a source of protein more generally. To do this, it’s important that the biodiversity of edible insects is understood better, and that indigenous knowledge is uncovered.

Why Banning the Mammoth Ivory Trade Would Be a Huge Mistake

Why Banning the Mammoth Ivory Trade Would Be a Huge Mistake

By Douglas Mac Millan, Professor of Conservation and Applied Resource Economics, University of Kent

There is widely held belief that the only way we can protect globally endangered species that are being poached for the international wildlife trade is to completely ban the trade. This is a dangerous misconception and will speed up extinction rather than prevent it.

Adrian Lister, a mammoth expert from University College London, recently suggested that mammoths should be listed under the convention on international trade in endangered species to keep their ivory from being laundered into an illegal trade in tusks. He argued that the mammoth trade is encouraging the poaching of elephants by keeping up the demand for ivory.

This is madness. Mammoths and mammoth ivory is not rare – it is estimated that there are 10 million mammoths that remain incarcerated within the permafrost of the Arctic tundra. And in any case a ban on mammoth ivory would not stop the trade, it would simply drive it underground and attract the attention of organised crime groups. For example, in my own research I found that prices for illegally caught whale meat rose very quickly when enforcement efforts intensified and this in turn led to the trade being controlled by dedicated “professional” criminals.

In the same way, a ban on mammoth ivory would drive up prices and lead to many mammoth sites being excavated in clandestine fashion, without any associated scientific endeavours to garner knowledge and understanding of these great beasts. In fact the current situation supports collaboration between collectors and academics about new finds, to the benefit of scientific research.

Eastern & Oriental Express Becomes 'Tiger Express' In Bangkok To Singapore Trip For Tigers

Eastern & Oriental Express Becomes 'Tiger Express' In Bangkok To Singapore Trip For Tigers

Called the ‘Tiger Express’, the excursion has teamed up with the global tiger conservation charity initiative, ‘Save Wild Tigers, to “raise awareness about the plight of the world’s last remaining wild tigers, writes Friday’s The South China Morning Post.

Will Burrard-Lucas + Tsavo Trust + BeetleCam Capture Kenya's Endangered, Magnificent Elephant Queens

Will Burrard-Lucas + Tsavo Trust + BeetleCam Capture Kenya's Endangered, Magnificent Elephant Queens

You are forgiven for thinking that F_MU1 is a woolly mammoth brought to life. Queen of Elephants, the name photographer Will Burrard-Lucas gave to F__MU1, was a rare “big tusker” elephant, one of perhaps only 30 left in Africa. This royal creature enjoyed a peaceful life for more than 60 years in Kenya’s Tsavo National Park.

These images of F_MU1, renamed Elephant Queen on WBL’s website, are among the last images captured of her. Over long periods of horrific, violent poaching in Kenya, Elephant Queen is a survivor, and she died a natural death shortly after Burrard-Lucas made these magnificent image captures for his new book ‘Land Of Giants.’

Burrard-Lucas embarked on the ambitious project in partnership with Tsavo Trust in August 2017, in an effort to promote worldwide support for the elephants of Tsavo.

In his own words, the photographer shares his story of meeting Elephant Queen for the first time:

New Survey Raises Concerns About Elephant Poaching in Botswana

PHOTO BY DIGITALARBYTER :) ON UNSPLASH

New Survey Raises Concerns About Elephant Poaching in Botswana

By Ross Harvey, Senior Researcher in Natural Resource Governance (Africa), South African Institute of International Affairs. First published on The Conversation

Botswana has an elephant poaching problem. The numbers far exceed previous years according to a new survey. The survey was conducted between July and October 2018 by conservation group Elephants without Borders, in collaboration with Botswana’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

The survey reported a total of 1677 observed carcasses in the survey area of northern Botswana. The surveyors visited carcasses that were of concern – reported as possibly poached – which numbered 104 out of a total of 128 “fresh” carcasses.

Scientists Call for Drastic Drop in Emissions. U.S. Appears to Have Gone the Other Way.

Photo by Jaromír Kavan on Unsplash

Scientists Call for Drastic Drop in Emissions. U.S. Appears to Have Gone the Other Way.

By Abraham Lustgarten , ProPublica. This story was originally published by ProPublica.

The signals are blaring: Dramatic changes to our climate are well upon us. These changes — we know thanks to a steady drumbeat of alarming official reports over the past 12 months — could cripple the U.S. economy, threaten to make vast stretches of our coastlines uninhabitable, make basic food supplies scarce and push millions of the planet’s poorest people into cities and across borders as they flee environmental perils.

All is not yet lost, we are told, but the demands of the moment are great. The resounding consensus of scientists, economists and analysts tells us that the solution lies in an unprecedented global effort to immediately and drastically drop carbon emissions levels. That drop is possible, but it will need to happen so fast that it will demand extraordinary commitment, resolve, innovation and, yes, sacrifice. The time we’ve got to work with, according to the United Nations, is a tad more than 10 years.

And so it stings particularly badly to learn from a new report released this weekby the Rhodium Group, a private research company, that U.S. emissions — which amount to one-sixth of the planet’s — didn’t drop in 2018 but instead skyrocketed. The 3.4 percent jump in CO2 for 2018, projected by the Rhodium Group, would be second-largest surge in greenhouse gas emissions from the United States since 1996, when Bill Clinton was president.