Eight US lawmakers explain how states can support climate change education in their schools.

By Glenn Branch

So you want to help to improve climate change education. Good for you!

Climate change education is a critical component of any plan for responding to the disruptions caused by a warming climate. Today’s students will spend the rest of their lives on a hotter planet, mainly owing to the actions — and inactions — of their elders, and they need to be prepared with appropriate knowledge and know-how. And yet climate change education in the United States is often far from adequate.

If you think that suitable legislation might be the remedy, you’re not alone. In the last five years, by my count, no fewer than 90 measures aimed at supporting climate change education have been introduced in the legislatures of 21 states across the country. I interviewed eight of their sponsors by phone or email, and here’s what I learned that might help you, as a citizen concerned about the climate crisis, to support the introduction, passage, and enactment of such legislation in your state.

Seek sponsors who recognise the importance of the issue

Two of the legislators, James Talarico in Texas and Christine Palm in Connecticut, are former teachers themselves, so they didn’t have to be convinced of the importance of preparing students.

“Education is the first step in helping create the leaders of tomorrow who will need to tackle this issue head-on,” Talarico told me. “The first step to solving a crisis as complex and existential as climate change is through education.”

Harness the energy and enthusiasm of youth activists

Wendy Thomas in New Hampshire was already concerned about climate change, but it was youth activists from 350nh who convinced her to introduce her resolution supporting climate change education. Youth-led and youth-oriented climate activist groups, including Ten Strands in California, Green Eco Warriors in Connecticut, and Climate Generation in Minnesota, led the support for the measures in their states. 

Emphasise the injustice of not providing climate change education

“Disadvantaged communities throughout the state … are likely to experience the first and worst climate impacts,” even while they have benefited the least from the activities that cause climate change, Andrew Gounardes in New York told me. “We have an obligation to ensure our youngest and most vulnerable community members gain the knowledge and skills to adapt to a rapidly changing world.” 

Remember that politics is the art of the possible

Luz Rivas’s bill, which was enacted in 2023, mandated the teaching of climate change in California’s public schools, but a previous version would also have required climate change to be a mandatory topic of study in high school. Why the retreat from the previous version? Rivas explained that California’s schools were under so much stress owing to the COVID-19 pandemic that she decided not to insist on the more ambitious provision.

Expect political partisanship to be a barrier

Juan Mendez in New Mexico noted, “Political partisanship overrides what needs to be done” to improve climate change education.

Chris Larson in Wisconsin similarly reported, “Even critical issues that should be bipartisan are halted due to partisanship.”

Larson added that he wished that he had worked more with the business community, which might have enabled his climate change education bill “to garner Republican legislative support.”

Communicate with your legislators

All the legislators I interviewed agreed that people who want to support measures like theirs can do a lot to help. Palm in Connecticut emphasised that state government is “the sweet spot” for action on climate change: big enough to make a difference but small enough to be approachable. Simply letting your legislators know that you support climate change education, or a particular measure intended to improve it, can go a long way in motivating them.

Make your support for climate change education visible

Testifying in legislative committee hearings can make a huge difference; even attending hearings without testifying to show your support can be helpful, Nicole Mitchell in Minnesota told me. Mendez in New Mexico stressed the importance of storytelling in any communication with legislators in order to capture their attention and their emotion.

“I can be ignored,” he acknowledged, “but real people who tell their stories are harder to ignore.”

Be persistent

Only two of the legislators I interviewed — Rivas in California and Palm in Connecticut — have enjoyed success with their measures so far, and neither of them succeeded on their first try. Indeed, it took four years and two legislative sessions for Palm’s proposed statutory requirement to teach climate change in Connecticut’s public schools to pass. Talarico in Texas expressed his resolve: “Despite our climate education bill not passing, I’m not giving up — and neither should you.”

Climate change education is popular: about 75% of Americans agree that schools should teach about the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to global warming. The challenge is to channel the public’s abstract support for climate change education into specific and implementable legislation that will make a real difference in the classroom. That’s how legislators and their constituents can help to equip today’s students to cope with the challenges of the warmer world they will inherit.

This article by Glenn Branch was originally published on Yale Climate Communications. It is republished here as part of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now.

The post How US States Can Support Climate Change Education in Schools appeared first on Green Queen.

A review of climate studies has revealed how global heating and extreme weather events have affected children’s education and performance in schools.

There is ample evidence about the effects of climate change on children’s mental and physical health. Over half of young people have suffered from breathing difficulties and other health issues as a result of air pollution, for example. Air quality changes mean asthma levels in American children will increase by 4-11% if post-industrial temperature rises breach 2°C, while cases of Lyme disease are forecast to rise by up to 241% per year.

There’s also an emotional and mental toll, with children experiencing trauma from major climate events like storms and fires, whose after-effects can bring about higher anxiety and post-traumatic stress rates. This stress itself can lead to illnesses later in life, like heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and cognitive decline, according to the US EPA.

And while there’s also a growing body of literature about children’s knowledge and education about climate change in school curricula, the impact of extreme weather on their educational performance isn’t as prevalent in the public conversation. But that’s exactly what a new review of climate studies has done, examining the impact of climate stressors on children’s education.

Published in the Nature Climate Change journal, the researchers defined climate stressors as sudden events like storms, fires, heatwaves and floods, as well as more gradual events, such as rising sea levels, droughts, and vector-borne diseases. They found that heat exposure and reduced academic performance represented one of the key connections in their review.

How climate change affects children’s education

Calling heat “arguably the most intuitive, far-reaching and well-studied climate-sensitive stressor”, the study found that in the US, adolescents’ maths scored decreased significantly on days where temperatures cross 26°C, while in New York public schools, student exam scores suffered on “very hot” days over 32°C.

Similarly, in China, student scores on high-stakes university entrance exams dropped by 0.68% for every 2°C temperature increase on test days, while students’ performance on maths tests was associated with a drop equal to losing nearly a quarter of a school year. But there were longer-term knock-on effects from poor performance too, with students being less likely to graduate high school on time when exams are taken in hotter weather.

There is a relationship between exam scores and high temperatures over longer timeframes too. In South Korea, for example, students obtained lower maths and English scores on university entrance exams after school years with more days above 34°C, with a greater effect in cities that were historically cooler.

Apart from heat, researchers also looked at the impact of natural disaster like wildfires, floods and droughts. Short-term school closures in Cailforia due to wildfires have been linked with worse academic performance, while exposure to such fires has been linked to a decrease in the number of school years completed in Indonesia.

The latter was also the case for storm-exposed students in China. Meanwhile, schools in the US and Nicaragua saw test scores decline in the year immediately following a major storm. The effects of floods were also examined, with destroyed bridges in Zimbabwe meaning children couldn’t get to school, dropping rainy-season attendance by about half. In the worst flooding years, crop failures caused increased malnutrition, which caused absenteeism, poor academic performance and permanent school drop-outs, showcasing how flooding can cause traumatic stress and undermine mental health.

Droughts have similar impacts, decreasing school attendance in countries like Nigeria, Iran, Kenya and Mexico. One example looks at a severe drought in India, which was associated with a 4% drop in maths and a 2.7% drop in reading exam scores.

Additionally, vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue are set to increase in frequency due to climate change, and these have already been linked to cognitive impairment and lower school performance. Inversely, malaria eradication has led to increased school attendance and better school grades in Uganda and Mozambique.

Vulnerable populations more adversely affected

The researchers point out several underlying factors for the link between climate stressors and academic performance. Humans have been shown to experience lower cognitive performance at higher temperatures, while hotter night-time temperatures worsen sleep (which subsequently impairs memory) and day-time temperatures limit access to play (impeding children’s wellbeing).

But the implications of the climate crisis can affect children even before they’re born. For example, kids whose mothers were pregnant during Hurricane Sandy in the US in 2012 were more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. Wildfire exposure has been linked to decreased birth weight and pre-term birth, while hurricanes are associated with a rise in ADHD, anxiety and behavioural disorders.

Climate change also exacerbates inequalities in education access, disproportionately affecting disadvantaged groups. In the US, for example, heat affected the exam scores of racial and ethnic minorities and children in lower-income school districts more. And, in the Philippines, children with lower-income families and smaller social networks were more likely to drop out of school following a super typhoon. And in instances where girls’ education is prioritised less than boys’, their attendance and exam scores suffer more due to stressors like droughts and storms.

Likewise, regions where people are more vulnerable to climate change effects are also the regions where children receive fewer years of schooling. The researchers outline several possible measures to protect children from climate stressors. These include installing cooling technologies, effective disaster response planning, building stressor-resilient schools, and addressing systemic socioeconomic, gender and racial inequalities.

“Short-term adaptations such as retrofitting schools with air conditioning can adapt learning environments vulnerable to heat exposure, but long-term investments are also needed to limit early-life stress exposure that undermines children’s cognitive, social and emotional development,” the study states.

The post Educational Injustice: How Climate Stressors are Affecting Children’s Education appeared first on Green Queen.

Today’s kids are more vulnerable to climate change than any generation, and thus more inclined to have consumption behaviours that are kinder to the planet – the meat industry is trying to derail that by influencing the education system.

Writing for the Press Herald in 2022, food writer Avery Yale Kamila had a forecast to make: “Knowing quite a few members of Gen Alpha, I predict these young people will look at Gen Z’s love of vegan meals and say: “Hold my soy milk,” before showing us how veg-forward a generation can get.”

It underlined the importance of sustainability and planet-friendly habits among the world’s youngest generation. In 2019, one report found that 67% of six- to nine-year-olds wanted their central career path to be directed towards saving the planet. And that makes sense too: set to be the largest age demographic group ever, Generation Alpha will experience more adverse climate change impacts than the rest of us.

A 2021 analysis showed that people born in 2020 onwards could face up to seven times more extreme weather events – especially heatwaves – than those born in 1960. To Kamila’s point then, this is already beginning to shape how this cohort lives. According to one survey (also from 2021), 72% of millennials with children said their families are eating plant-based meats more often. And kids’ behaviour is extending to adults too – 80% of parents have been influenced by their Gen Alpha children to change their consumption behaviours or actions to be more eco-conscious.

Meat is notoriously bad for the climate – it accounts for 60% of the entire food system’s emissions, while the wider livestock industry takes up 77% of all agricultural land, despite producing only 18% of the world’s calories and 37% of its protein. Beef, meanwhile, is the worst of the lot in terms of supply chain emissions, with a footprint more than double that of the next on the list.

So naturally, Big Beef has a PR problem, especially amongst Gen Alpha. But it is an impressionable group, and it’s why the industry is hoping to change kids’ opinions on the industry.

How the beef industry is influencing teachers

As reported by Wired, the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture (AFBFA) – a beef industry group – has been producing lesson plans, resources, in-person events, and webinars for the last eight years as part of a campaign to influence teachers across the US to bolster beef’s rep.

This is because the AFBFA is apprehensive about science teachers – and subsequently, millions of students – getting exposed to “misinformation”, “propaganda” and “one-sided or inaccurate” information, when they “turn toward the internet for information when designing lessons”.

The group wants to increase “agricultural awareness and literacy in teachers and students”, which it says will lead to a higher level of “consumer trust and interest in the beef industry”. On similar lines, a funding document reveals that it hopes to leave educators with a “more positive perception” of the cattle sector.

To illustrate the programme’s “ability to build beef demand protect beef’s image”, the AFBFA refers to a 2021 survey of science teachers, which found that 82% have a positive perception of how cattle are raised for beef production, and 85% believe the industry is very important to society. Those who attended one of the group’s programmes are eight percentage points more likely to trust positive statements about beef production.

This extends to children too, with 92% of educators saying AFBFA programmes have “furthered their students’ understanding of the importance of the beef industry to society”. The group’s executive director, Daniel Meloy, hopes that this programme will help students “gain a greater understanding of agriculture through science education”, according to Wired.

This is evidenced in the lesson plans provided by the AFBFA. One of these directs students to beef industry resources like BeefNutrition.org and FactsAboutBeef.com – both of these are funded by the Beef Checkoff scheme, a national marketing programme designed to increase demand for beef both domestically and internationally. The AFBFA is also a contractor to Beef Checkoff, which has spent $42M this year alone across its initiatives – these amounts are approved by beef industry groups the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and the Federation of State Beef Councils.

Another lesson plan directs students to create a presentation for a conservation agency introducing cattle into their ecological preserve. Meanwhile, younger students practice sums by adding the acreage of cow pastures in one worksheet, while another one aimed at kids aged 8-11 asks teachers to “remind students that lean beef is a nutritious source of protein that can be incorporated in daily meals”.

The AFBFA campaign further includes teachers’ visits to ranches or other parts of the supply chain – last year, 29 educators and school administrators attended a three-day event by the Colorado Beef Council in Denver (which included three webinars as well). It followed similar events taking place in Minneapolis, Nashville, Oklahoma City, and Syracuse, New York since 2019. Meloy said the programme is aimed at high- and middle-school teachers, with each of the AFBFA’s On the Farm immersive events hosting up to 30 of them. And participants at the most recent event represented over 70,000 students.

One of the AFBFA’s funding documents reveals that educators’ perceptions of beef changed positively after attending an On the Farm experience. “They shared that their existing perception of beef production was that of unsustainable agricultural practices carried out using an uncaring corporate-style management structure,” it reads, adding that the programme allowed them to observe how passionate farmers are about the health and quality of their animals, and how much science and tech goes into farming.

A blatant attempt at misinformation

The funding document mentions the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in 44 US states, which sets guidelines to encourage teachers to emphasise how science is used in a real-world context. The AFBFA hopes to use this shift as a way to provide teachers with learning materials about the beef sector.

“NGSS requires teachers to approach challenging topics such as climate change and sustainability. Teachers and students are receiving information from educationally trusted sources that do not represent agriculture accurately or in a balanced way, and beef production is often the target of the misinformation,” it says. “To achieve balance and to ensure the accuracy of information, a concerted effort must be made to engage teachers in the conversation around these topics.”

The document further revealed that the AFBFA, whose 2024 campaign is set to cost $800,000, plans to strengthen its relationship with State Beef Councils to reach as many people as possible – 2.5 million educators and a further 125,000 key opinion leaders this year. “This programme’s resources do not promote or encourage students to make a predetermined decision,” Meloy told Wired. “Scientific accuracy is our focus and is demanded by the K-12 Framework for Science Education and built into the NGSS.”

But “scientific accuracy” seems like a bit of a stretch, when you consider that AFBFA’s classroom resources feature images of cattle in open fields, sidestepping the reality of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), where 70% of American cows (66 million) are held for at least 45 days. These are confined spaces that house animals in suffocating conditions without the freedom (or really, the space) to roam.

The meat and dairy industry – with its billions of dollars in government subsidies – will continue to run the education sector ragged in its hope of influencing the leaders of tomorrow. And that’s despite the attempts being blatantly subjective, biased and misinformed. But it’s critical that these efforts are curtailed – you don’t want Gen Alpha Americans to grow up and think eating meat isn’t harmful to the climate, like the current adults do.

The AFBFA says its campaign “will lead to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the beef industry as current and future consumers become better equipped to sort fact from fiction” – but maybe the foundation needs to go on its own fact-finding mission.

The post Meat Misinformation: How Big Beef is Funding Education Schemes to Influence Kids appeared first on Green Queen.

Much like its 2000 prequel, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is establishing itself in the 2023 cultural zeitgeist – can it help change people’s diets into something more sustainable and animal-friendly?

“People want to know where their food is coming from, but they also don’t want to know. People would prefer to trust what is told to them rather than delve deeper.”

It’s a statement that sums up how meat – industrial or otherwise – is perceived by billions around the world. VFC co-founder Matthew Glover was speaking to the Guardian about the new Chicken Run movie, noting how inaction on the part of the consumer is down to successful lobbying and marketing by the meat industry.

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, which came out to cinemas and Netflix earlier this month and has been the talk of the town since, follows a rescue plot for thousands of chickens trapped in an industrial farm and destined to end up as a nugget. It’s one of those children’s movies that adults could really do with watching – given how vociferously we eat meat.

The filmmakers say they aren’t “here to preach” – but can the movie transform the way kids and adults see and eat food?

How Chicken Run 2 highlights factory farming

The stop-motion movie revolves around Ginger and Rocky, the married couple from the original movie, and their daughter Molly. The latter is interested in a far-off place where a company is doing something with chickens, and befriends fellow chicken Frizzle, who convinces her into infiltrating the company.

What follows is a fairytale-looking world of chickens who have an eerily hypnotised smile, which Molly and Frizzle realise is part of a plan to kill them and turn them into nuggets. The former’s parents end up on a rescue mission to save the chickens.

The stunned, brainwashed chickens in the factory farm are in that state of joy due to their lobotomised collars. This is because when a bird is frightened (when – for example – it senses it’s about to be killed), “its muscles tense and the connective tissue forms knots”, resulting in “tough, dry and flavourless meat”. If you engineer a chicken’s response to being ‘processed’, it will significantly enhance the flavour – and sales – of poultry meat.

The Aardman Animations film may be a fictional tale, but it’s one inundated with heavy doses of reality. “Whether or not they’ve set out to make a vegan morality tale, the reality is that this is what happens in poultry farms,” Richard McIlwain, CEO of the UK Vegetarian Society, told the Guardian. “They’re not making it up.”

In the UK, 95% of all chicken eaten is factory-farmed. Despite this being public knowledge, Brits are flocking to supermarkets to buy more and more of it – this year saw the value of chicken sales reach £285.1M, with 5.9 million kgs of the meat being sold more than 2022. This is thanks to the cost-of-living crisis – chicken is considerably cheaper than red meat products like beef or pork – as well as a perception that chicken is more environmentally friendly.

While the latter is technically true, it’s still bad for the planet – and worse for the actual birds. And it’s not just the UK: across the Atlantic, 99.97% of all chickens eaten by Americans are intensively farmed. This amounts to 8.9 billion birds, versus the 3.6 million that aren’t raised in factories. If that number is striking, consider the global figure: as of 2021, over 73 billion chickens are slaughtered the world over annually, according to the FAO.

Why Chicken Run chose the nugget

The focus on nuggets in the Chicken Run is a shrewd move. They’re amongst the most popular meat products, glorified by the big fast-food chains – it doesn’t feel like a coincidence that the movie is set in the 1950s, when fast food was just emerging.

This approach differs from that of other movies like Babe and Okja, or documentaries such as The Game Changers and Cowspiracy – while these films either focus on wider meats like pork, or the environmental and health benefits of reducing meat/eating more plant-based protein, Chicken Run hones in on a much-loved foodstuff.

In the UK, a recent survey conducted by plant-based meat giant Impossible Foods found that almost a fifth of 2,000 respondents “couldn’t live without” nuggets, and 13% would choose them as a final meal. It also revealed that just 16% of people preferred vegan nuggets.

This disparity can be seen in both retail and foodservice too – only Burger King offers a plant-based nugget out of fast-food giants, including McDonald’s and KFC. But in what feels almost like an overcorrection, the retail market for vegan nuggets is oversaturated. In the US, there are over 20 companies selling these (both branded and private-label), which has led to cases like vegan nugget startup Nowadays closing shop. In the UK, VBites – another business that sold plant-based nuggets as part of its portfolio – filed for administration earlier this month.

For many consumers, the overprocessing of plant-based ingredients used in alt-chicken nugget formulations is an issue – the ingredient lists are too long, the labels too crowded. But this perception perhaps misses the irony of the overprocessed nature of conventional chicken nuggets. At McDonald’s UK – hardly known as a clean-eating mecca – chicken just makes up 45% of the McNugget, while a 2013 study revealed that only 40-50% of the content of the chicken nuggets sold by two fast-food chains in the US was meat, the rest being fat, muscle, tissue and bone.

This is what Chicken Run 2 hopes to shine a light on. “We want the film to be engaging and entertaining and a great ride, mostly,” said the film’s director, Sam Fell. “But yes, if you come away and you think a little bit more like a chicken by the end of it, then that’s not a bad thing.”

Similar films have sparked a huge uptick in veganism and vegetarianism – Babe being a prime example – can Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugger replicate that effect? Jon Ronson, who co-wrote the similarly galvanising Okja, certainly thinks so. “This will have an impact. It sounds quite upsetting and traumatising but I trust Aardman to do it in a fun way,” he told the Guardian. “All over the world, you’ve got these vast numbers of animals confined indoors. Art is supposed to reflect a dark reality. So all power to them.”

The post Can Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget Help Change How We See & Eat Food? appeared first on Green Queen.

Eating a vegan diet leading up to pregnancy can help lower the risk of developing hypertensive disorders like preeclampsia and gestational hypertension, according to a large-scale, 20-year-long American study.

The new study, published in the peer-reviewed journal American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, examined the diet of 11,459 women aged 18 and over, asking about the frequency and quality of their plant-based food consumption.

The women examined had participated in the Nurses’ Health Study II, which ran from 1991-2009, with diets assessed every four years via a questionnaire to calculate what the researchers called a plant-based diet index (PDI) – with a higher score meaning higher adherence to vegan eating). This was used to evaluate the health effects of plant-based diets on pregnant women.

“We wanted to know how one’s diet leading up to pregnancy influences the pregnancy, so we monitored women for virtually their entire reproductive life – almost 20 years – and gained an awareness of their typical diet before pregnancy,” study author Jorge E Chavarro told Medscape. In total, the researchers assessed 16,780 pregnancies among the 11,459 women in the study.

The analysis revealed that as the proportion of animal-based foods decreased and vegan products increased, the risk of women experiencing hypertensive disorders of pregnancy reduced too. Women in the highest PDI quintile – those consuming the most percentage of plant-based foods – saw a significantly lower risk of these conditions compared to those in the lowest PDI group, who experienced a 24% higher risk.

Meanwhile, the risk of pregnancy-related hypertension decreased in a linear manner as plant-based consumption increased. The results were clearer for hypertension than preeclampsia, but “a diet made up primarily of plant-based foods seemed to be protective for both”, explained Chavarro.

“Could it be that modifiable lifestyle factors before and during pregnancy may not only help reduce problems during gestation but also prevent women’s health problems years later? That was the general motivation for this study.”

Scoring foods based on health factors

The study used a scoring system to determine which foods are healthy, and which aren’t. Every four years when the women were presented with the questionnaire, they were asked about the consumption of 131 foods and drinks in the past year.

18 food groups were categorised into three subsects: healthy plant-based foods comprised whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, vegetable oils, tea and coffee; unhealthy vegan foods consisted of fruit juices, refined grains, potatoes, sugary drinks, sweets and desserts; and then there were animal-based foods, including dairy, eggs, seafood, meat and more.

Healthy plant-based foods were given positive scores, and the other groups were given more negative ratings – the consumption and frequency of each food group were classified into the PDI using quintiles.

There was a negative dose-response relationship between PDI and disease risks – the higher the PDI, the lower the chance of developing pregnancy-related conditions. “A vegetarian diet isn’t necessarily healthier than a non-vegetarian diet if it’s made up of superfluous foods like French fries and soft drinks,” said Mercedes Sotos-Prieto, an associate professor at Harvard University’s School of Public Health, who wasn’t involved in the study. “The difference lies in the quality of the plant-based foods. That’s what makes the difference between a healthy and an unhealthy diet.”

Chavarro added: “The women in the highest quintile aren’t necessarily vegetarian or vegan, but they consume much fewer animal-based foods than the others.” He noted that meatless diets are compatible with healthy pregnancies. “All vegans know how to get vitamin B12 from supplements.”

He continued: “There are certainly many ways to eat healthily, but if we think about these pregnancy complications that can have serious consequences for the mother and the fetus, we might consider this as a healthy diet option.”

Of the benefits observed in the study, a large proportion were associated with better weight control. Women who were eating more plant-based food gained weight more slowly than those who consumed a higher proportion of animal-based products. “They are different in terms of their weight trajectory over many years. So, part of the association that we observe is related to better long-term weight control,” said Chavarro, but added: “But the other half of the association is attributable to the diet itself and not necessarily to weight.”

Limitations and the need for further research

The study had one major caveat – 90% of participants were white. Asked if these results could apply to other ethnicities as well, Chavarro said the study needs to be repeated with other populations. “And that’s going to take time. But even without that information, I think we can use this study to inform other populations, regardless of ethnicity,” he claimed.

Sotos-Prieto has also conducted a similar 10-year study of 12,000 Spanish adults, which found that a 10-point increase in PDI was linked with a 14% lower risk of mortality from any cause and a 37% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Like Chavarro, she believes the results could be applied to other populations, as long as each country’s culture is taken into account. “If it’s a population that consumes a lot of refined cereals, for example, make small changes to whole grains,” she explained.

Chavarro said that ideally, there need to be more studies to back up this research’s claims. But he added: “There are two ways to understand the problem. One is not making recommendations until you have three controlled clinical trials, which – even with the willingness and funding to do so – will take 15 to 20 years. But if we have to provide the best available information to those who need it today, I think these are solid results for guiding behaviour.”

He continued: “It’s always better if we can make decisions based on solid, incontrovertible information. But it’s not always available, and you must learn to live in both worlds and make decisions with uncertainties.”

The post Plant-Based Pregnancy: Vegan Diet Lowers Risk of Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnant Women appeared first on Green Queen.

Reframing climate change education around a message of “hopeful alarm” will not only underscore the threats we face, it will also show students how they can act to shape the future.

By Jeffrey D. Corbin, Meghan A. Duffy, Jacquelyn L. Gill and Carly Ziter

This story was originally published by AGU’s Eos magazine.

The Realities of Climate Anxiety

Students in an ecology of urban environments course at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, plant a campus garden, the outcome of a final project in collaboration with the university’s Office of Sustainability. Student projects were guided by the climate goals of the university’s Sustainability Action Plan and focused on emissions reduction (e.g., through reduced lawn maintenance) and climate change adaptation (e.g., increased vegetation cover to reduce urban heat). Credit: Sarah O’Driscoll

The urgency of the climate crisis grows every year; meanwhile, disinformation and politicization have made communicating the science of climate change increasingly challenging. For the past 2 decades, such communication efforts have focused mainly on convincing people that climate change is real while also combating organized campaigns of denialism [Mann, 2012]. These efforts have largely succeeded: Polls show that the public now overwhelmingly accepts the reality of climate change. In one recent example in the United States, Leiserowitz et al. [2022] found that three-quarters of those surveyed were “alarmed,” “concerned,” or “cautious” about climate change, whereas fewer than 20% were “dismissive” or “doubtful.”

So although challenging climate change denial may still be necessary in some contexts, scientists, educators, and others who communicate about climate science face a new challenge: the clear gap between the public’s concern over climate disruptions and its understanding of what can be done today to affect our tomorrow. We must better convey to audiences the needed changes—in energy sources and land use, for example—and that humanity can, indeed, influence the scale of disruptions that unfold [Marris, 2021; Mann, 2021]. It is time to reorient our messaging, focusing less on predictions of future hazards as though they are foregone conclusions and instead communicating a “hopeful alarm” that simultaneously stresses the urgency of the situation and instills a sense of agency in guiding the future.

Students are a vital demographic to reach as we shift the prevailing messaging of climate communication. Not only do they represent the next generations who must face the challenges of climate change, but also when they are surveyed, students and younger people generally profess concern about the issue and interest in climate action at higher rates than older segments of the population.

Indeed, young people, including many of our own students, are hungry for information: In a 2023 survey, for example, 30% of U.S. teenagers expressed an interest in learning more about jobs related to sustainability and climate change. Meanwhile, hiring for “green jobs” has already been outpacing overall hiring in recent years, and transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy is forecast to generate millions of jobs in the coming decades. Educators and climate communicators can help meet these demands and empower students by providing specific examples of useful actions and relevant tools and opportunities to help them act constructively.

The Hopeful Alarm Approach

We must be a beacon of hope, because if you tell people there’s nothing they can do, they will do worse than nothing.

Margaret Atwood, The Year of the Flood

If hopeful alarm sounds like Pollyannaism, rest assured it is not. We can communicate the seriousness of potential perils to humanity and nature from climate change while also offering examples and resources that model constructive engagement, much as a physician would communicate the urgency of a cancer diagnosis while outlining a path forward. That is not heedlessly optimistic—rather, it is simply pragmatic.

Worry, not fear, has been shown to encourage protective, adaptive behaviors [Marx et al., 2007]. Despair and hopelessness, meanwhile, have been documented to lead to “climate anxiety” and to sap motivation to act—indeed, fossil fuel interests deliberately promulgate widespread cynicism and “doomism” among the public as a strategy to prevent meaningful action [Coan et al., 2021].

Any message of hopeful alarm should begin by emphasizing that people have agency, both individually and collectively, to shape the future. The die is not cast: Any actions that reduce carbon emissions today will improve our future, and there are not just two possible outcomes—success or failure. Instead, there is a continuum of potential outcomes, and where we land along that continuum depends on decisions we make now and in the years to come.

Technologies and policies with the potential to reduce atmospheric carbon emissions and greatly moderate the consequences of climate change exist [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2023]. Adaptation measures can also be undertaken so that future impacts are more manageable. Yet it is rare that these messages are presented clearly to the public.

Implementing these technologies, policies, and measures will be difficult and likely involve discussions, negotiations, and, ultimately, widespread buy-in, not only from lawmakers but also from the public. But if much of the public isn’t aware of the options available for dealing with the climate crisis, how are the needed conversations even to begin?

As a part of the effort to broadcast hopeful alarm, educators should reconsider climate-related content in their courses. For example, how much focus is put on messages like “Climate change is happening, and it is serious” versus “Here are solutions and ways to get involved”? We argue that in most curricula, not enough time is devoted to discussing solutions and, especially, to providing students with examples of productive action on behalf of the climate to inspire their own participation.

Bringing Climate Action into the Classroom

Many options exist by which educators can incorporate discussions of climate action into courses of different sizes, durations, and levels (see sidebar). Even single class sessions that include sharing examples of role models and mitigation actions can make a difference for students.

One of the easiest, yet still impactful, ways to broaden presentations of climate change is to highlight people and institutions involved in climate action: for example, activists influencing public policy, entrepreneurs bringing new products to market, and municipalities building climate resilience.

Among the individuals we highlight are Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and scientist Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, whose identification with the evangelical Christian community resonates with a particular segment of students. We share resources such as the edited volume All We Can Save [Johnson and Wilkinson, 2020] and the Not Too Late project to help show the range of people involved in climate solutions, and we encourage students to participate in youth movements such as Zero Hour and the Sunrise Movement. We also describe steps that local municipalities have taken, such as instituting climate action plans and projects to confront flooding risks exacerbated by extreme weather and sea level rise.

Classroom discussions of these individuals, movements, and institutions can be tailored to a wide variety of audiences, including students in many non-STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields such as business, sociology, and even the arts. Such stories are empowering and breed a willingness to engage [Sabherwal et al., 2021].

Instructors can offer students more in-depth analysis of how carbon emissions can be targeted. For example, students can evaluate carbon-emitting activities and consider how those activities could be more efficient. Project Drawdown, which highlights dozens of specific actions across a range of sectors that reduce emissions or enhance natural carbon sinks, and Project EDDIE, which provides curricular modules and teaching activities (e.g., exploring green roofs as a solution to climate-induced precipitation increases), are great resources from which to draw. Instructors can also emphasize the rapid growth in emissions-reducing technologies using business-focused analyses to counter perceptions that controlling carbon emissions is dependent solely on government largess.

In courses in which more time is available to focus on climate action (e.g., in courses featuring supplemental laboratory sessions), students could investigate climate action plans and emissions data from their own campuses to determine where cuts could be made or propose initiatives to reduce emissions. We have, for example, directed students to calculate campus carbon emissions related to electricity, heating and cooling, and transportation. They can also compare the energy provided via conventional versus renewable sources. Such projects make discussions of carbon emissions more concrete because they are centered around students’ own experiences while also giving them valuable tools of analysis and even policy action.

The activities described above are largely directed at undergraduate and graduate students, but they can also be undertaken in secondary school classrooms and laboratories. Many, if not all, of them support education standards related to analyzing and interpreting data, using mathematical and computational thinking, constructing explanations and designing solutions. In addition, the National Center for Science Education offers a “Climate Super Solutions” module for grade 9–12 classes that supports various Earth and space sciences core ideas.

Simulations and Service Learning

Educators can engage students in immersive simulation exercises that illustrate emissions policies and their consequences. For example, in Climate Interactive’s World Climate Simulation, students act as climate negotiators representing one of six major nations or nation blocs at a United Nations conference where the goal is to reach an agreement that keeps global average temperature increases “well below 2 degrees Celsius” above the preindustrial average.

Students carrying out a World Climate Simulation review briefing papers with information about their bloc’s economic and emissions profiles and negotiation goals before adopting any of a variety of pledges to control future emissions and deforestation. Pledges are entered into the associated C-ROADS climate simulator, which provides real-time feedback on how the pledges will affect future climate.

The simulation activity usually involves multiple rounds of negotiations among the different blocs, in which participants refine their pledges and develop a deeper understanding of the timelines and commitments necessary to achieve the climate goal and of the competing interests among countries. Surveys of more than 2,000 participants in the World Climate Simulation have shown that it effectively promotes feelings of both urgency and hope among participants, as well as an intent to learn more and a desire to act [Rooney-Varga et al., 2018]. Our own experience is that the simulations are engaging, lively sessions that result in realistic and unpredictable outcomes.

Internships and service learning opportunities can be among the most impactful experiences for students. Instructors can help by publicizing and helping students pursue such experiences. Students who work directly in city or state agency offices, organizations, or companies that do local and regional work on climate solutions, emissions reductions, and mitigation planning gain valuable connections for future employment and action. They also gain an understanding of how concrete policies can make a difference in real-world settings [Coleman et al., 2017]. Seeing how such internships have influenced students’ future career paths has been among our most rewarding mentoring experiences.

Finally, educators should encourage students to share with others what they’ve learned about the urgency of climate change and about ways to combat it. For example, students can email or write postcards to local stakeholders or decision-makers about the need for action. We also encourage students to view themselves as “nerd nodes,” or trusted sources on science for people in their networks [Willingham, 2013], and to begin conversations with family members and others in their community about climate change.

To help in this effort, we point them to valuable science communication resources (e.g., this piece on how to talk about COVID-19) to help them think about how best to frame their message. Students have reported feeling empowered to talk with people outside of class about what they have learned and how rewarding that experience was.

From Empowerment to Action

All educators hope that their students and audiences internalize what they learn so they can apply the knowledge beyond the classroom. For those of us who educate about climate change, it is especially imperative that we motivate students to act constructively with respect to the climate crisis.

The concept of hopeful alarm reflects the rapid and dramatic shift in public attitudes about climate change in recent years. Instead of asking whether climate change is real and why it matters, many people—notably students and young people—now ask, “Is there any hope?” and “Is there anything I can do?” Hopeful alarm provides a framework for answering those questions through positive, motivating messaging.

The scale of the climate challenge is vast, so the entrée to action can be overwhelming. Students benefit from exposure to specific, practical examples of actions and role models as well as from their own experiences with getting involved. By providing these examples and facilitating these experiences, we highlight clear pathways and equip those most likely to act on behalf of the climate with the tools they need to be successful.

This article originally appeared in Eos here.

The post Climate Education: How We Can Instil Hope & Action, Instead of Fear & Eco Anxiety appeared first on Green Queen.

These are the tried and tested vegan meat products my toddler loves and will eat up with no argument. It’s an added bonus that the rest of the house loves them as well.

In an ideal world, we would all be eating a whole food plant-based diet with no processed products. That same world would probably see toddlers going to bed with little to no fuss and clean plates every mealtime. The reality is that as a busy working vegan mum, I’ve learned to shirk off the guilt of having go-to faux meat products in the fridge. That being said, I choose them carefully and with certain ethical and environmental parameters in mind.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Heura® Foods (@heurafoods)

1. Heura Chorizo

Starting strong right out of the gate, Heura Chorizo is a new but favourite addition to our weekly shop. It comes in sausage format, which is easy to chop into small bitesize pieces for a meaty and very flavourful bite. I found it very soft at first, but it soon cooks into a hefty chunk, so don’t be put off. Our daughter eyed the red food suspiciously on the first serving, sniffing it from a distance initially, before diving in. Now, she only has to see it to ask for “chotzo”. The first time I tried this product, I found myself reaching for the packet to triple-check it was vegan. Then I messaged my mum to tell her I would buy her some, so she can enjoy one of her favourite foods, guilt-free. It’s a real family affair now.

What it’s made from: Soy and extra virgin olive oil. It’s non-GMO and the soy is harvested from crops that do not encourage or support deforestation.

My favourite dish to use it in: I’m no professional chef, but I can whip up a surprisingly special dish with chorizo. I pan-fry some chunks, to get them firmed up and leeching their spicy oil into the pan, then throw in thickly sliced king oyster mushroom ‘scallops’. I let the two sear and almost caramelise together, before serving on top of a swirl of linguine. *chef’s kiss*

Bonus points for: The packaging that has been designed to allow super clean plastic liner removal, with everything else heading straight in the home recycling bin. Fantastic.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by future farm plant-based meat (@futurefarm)

2. Future Farm Tuna

This is a product I snoozed on for much longer than I like to admit. I think I was just hesitant to try vegan tuna after a previously disappointing experience. Didn’t I feel foolish for waiting so long? The texture is not flaky like conventional tuna and almost reminds me more of a corned beef kind of firmness, but it works. Plus, its the taste that sells this product, thanks in large part to the microalgae oil. It reminds me of the upmarket glass jars of fish you get in the Mediterranean, just with none of the cruelty.

What it’s made from: Soy, pea protein and chickpeas. Also non-GMO and the packaging doesn’t feel like it is trying to hide any weird ingredients.

My favourite dish to use it in: A tough one. A simple tuna pasta bake never goes amiss, but equally, this is great served on its own as part of a sharing platter, with fresh bread and pickles.

Bonus points for: The funky space-age branding that makes me feel like an extra from Star Trek when I use it.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by GREENFORCE UK (@greenforce_uk)

3. Greenforce Meatballs/Burgers/Sausages

Bear with me, because you might be skeptical about any powder-to-meat product tasting good and being appealing to children. I felt the same, but after testing the full Greenforce range (I was sent a box containing all products), our household is an independent supporter of the brand. Not everything was a resounding success. The fish cakes and mince weren’t liked by everyone (the former got a resounding “urghhhh, yuck” from the small one) but the meatball, sausage and burger mixes became firm favourites instantly. You just mix the contents of a packet with very cold water, leave for 30 minutes, then shape and cook. Top tip: make sure your hands are wet when you shape or they will get covered. Extra cool vegan mum points are on offer if you let your kids help with the shaping.

What it’s made from: Pea protein is the hero ingredient, giving a juicy and meaty texture to everything. All ingredients are sustainably sourced.

My favourite dish to use it in: The overwhelming favourite in our house is the meatballs, served with a simple tomato and basil sauce, spaghetti and a big helping of nooch on top. Our daughter skewering a huge meatball and trying to eat it in one go tells you how tasty the products are.

Bonus points for: A genuine commitment to zero waste initiatives. The packets can be easily recycled and food can be portioned out to guarantee no waste. Plus, as vegan protein goes, you get a big dose here, with no compromises or high fat levels. This is a protein-rich food without being calorific.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Better Nature: Plant protein (@betternaturetempeh)

4. Better Nature Smoked Organic Tempeh

Not all kids will be keen to try tempeh, but as a tofu advocate from around six months old, our daughter has never feared fermented soybeans. Better Nature‘s tempeh hits a little different from other versions we have tried. There’s no bitterness, just an almost nutty note that feels earthy and natural. We’ve tried all the different flavours, with some not being well-received (sorry curry bites, nobody was a huge fan), but the smoked organic is the ultimate winner. We always have a packet in the fridge for those days when only a buddha bowl will do.

What it’s made from: Soy beans. All products are gluten-free.

My favourite dish to use it in: Easily a build-your-own-buddha-bowl. We like to have a fridge and cupboard clear out night, putting a host of veggies, nuts, seeds, cooked noodles and rice on the table, with everyone building the buddha bowl they fancy. Tempeh is the ideal protein addition because it only takes a few minutes to griddle on both sides and it soaks up any dressing.

Bonus points for: Being a great source of omega-3 and B2. It’s easy to overlook these, but I know our daughter is getting a healthy dose of both without overthinking things or having to meal plan.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @vivera_uk

5. Vivera chicken breasts

This is a tough one for me. Our household is an ethical vegan one, so when brands that we like get bought by less-than-ideal corporations, we tend to stop lending our support to them. Having been acquired by Brazilian meat giant JBS, Vivera caused me some headaches. On the one hand, our daughter loves the “chicky” and will eat it, unseasoned, as part of a snack plate whenever I put it out for her. This is a relief for any parent. On the other, it’s another big meat company cashing in and leveraging its massive profits. Ultimately, we decided to only buy the chicken breasts and no other products from Vivera, because they are a solid favourite and could be helping to disrupt the meat sector from within. Maybe.

What it’s made from: Soy, wheat and pea protein.

My favourite dish to use it in: We make a mean chicken sandwich. A vegan brioche bun, some homemade pesto mayo and slices of Vivera chicken make for a fast but insanely good meal.

Bonus points for: No bonus points here I’m afraid. Vivera is lucky to still be in my ethical vegan mum fridge at all!

The post Vegan Mum Must-Haves: 5 Alternative Meat Products I Always Have In My Fridge appeared first on Green Queen.

Feeding your child should not be a barrier to success, argues our special columnist Australian entrepreneur Glen Hare, and that means companies need explicit, comprehensive breastfeeding policies for working mothers.

In a major and unexpected turn of events, I’ve been thinking about breastfeeding – a lot. Naturally, a gay man, with no children, is not generally expected to be across the intricacies of breastfeeding and its interplay within the workplace. But, what about a gay man, with no children, who is the founder and managing director of a company with a fifty percent female workforce? Should he be expected to think about breastfeeding? Absolutely.

It may be surprising, jarring even, for some to hear a male business leader discuss breastfeeding so openly. What I find even more surprising, though, is the fact that it’s taken so long. Fifty-three percent of my team at Fox & Hare Financial Advice are women (none of whom are living under a gender pay gap) and fifty percent of them are mothers. But, until recently, zero percent were protected by a strong, fair breastfeeding policy. These numbers are not anomalies. Fifty percent of Hong Kong’s total labour force is female – the second highest in the Asia Pacific, only topped by Macao and just ahead of New Zealand. 

Let’s be clear, breastfeeding is a natural and essential practice that provides numerous benefits for mothers and babies. These include, but are not limited to, the reduced risk of certain diseases, better cognitive development, and a reduction in the mother’s risk of some cancers. However, the professional burden of breastfeeding, that is the negative implications for long-term earning and career prospects often falls solely on women. This is an unfair burden that, as a business leader reliant on a team of talented, reliable, and extraordinary mothers, is my responsibility to alleviate. 

Without a supportive work environment and the proper protections in place, extended maternity leave or frequent breaks to accommodate breastfeeding can result in a whole range of negative outcomes for mothers. Women may face challenges in maintaining continuity and progression within their careers, especially if they work in competitive fields or industries where rapid changes and advancements occur. These interruptions can impact salary growth, skill development, and opportunities for promotion. Not ideal in a world that upholds a persistent and alarming gender pay gap. 

Some employers may view breastfeeding as a sign of reduced commitment to work, assuming that mothers who breastfeed will be less available or less dedicated to their job responsibilities. This perception can result in biased treatment, limited career advancement opportunities, or even the denial of certain professional opportunities for breastfeeding women. As a result, mothers may feel pressured to conceal their breastfeeding or may feel compelled to choose between breastfeeding and participating in professional settings. All of this can have far-reaching implications for an earning capacity, long-term career prospects and perhaps less importantly, depending on who you ask, the health of your organisation as a whole. 

The scariest part about it all? The fact these negative effects are not inherent to breastfeeding itself but stem from a lack of supportive policies and business leaders’ tolerance for archaic, yet pervasive societal attitudes towards breastfeeding in the workplace. At Fox & Hare, we’ve chosen to tackle these challenges head-on. By implementing a comprehensive breastfeeding policy, and fostering a culture that values gender equity and work-life balance, we intend to build a workplace where starting a family and maintaining a career are not competing priorities. 

The policy itself is far-reaching, yet surprisingly manageable. We provide suitable and reasonable facilities for team members who choose to express or breastfeed their child; lactation breaks during work hours; access to flexible work options and actively work to ensure the wider team is aware of our breastfeeding policies/facilities. As an already flexible workplace, the measures outlined in the policy offer little in the way of distraction or inconvenience for the wider team. For a new family, however, they can be revolutionary. The challenge of adjusting to their new lives just got a little easier, and we are incredibly proud to offer that opportunity. 

Of course, for some in the business community, the ‘human angle’ is never enough to justify the cost of programs centered on equity and/or inclusion. For them I offer this, women now make up a majority of university enrolments and graduations across the developed world. It is inevitable that, at some point in the near future, the most skilled applicant for a role in your organization will be a woman. As is the case with every ‘must have’ hire, other companies will be competing for their attention, time and expertise. Which employer do you think they will choose? 

As a founder and business leader, it is my responsibility to remove every possible barrier to my team’s success. Becoming a mother should not be a barrier to success. Feeding your child should not be a barrier to success and, as an extension, having a male leader who doesn’t think about breastfeeding should not be a barrier to success either. And so, I am very happy to report that the Fox & Hare breastfeeding policy brings us one step closer to a world where mothers are not penalised for caring for their children. 

The post OpEd: Company Breastfeeding Policies Help Build A Better, More Equitable World appeared first on Green Queen.

Breast milk alternatives are poised to disrupt the infant formula market. Here are the players you need to know.

The recent U.S. baby formula shortage has brought into sharp focus a need for alternatives to be brought to market. The U.S. has been attempting to increase its supply of infant nutrition products, but with little success. The result is panic over children’s development and health concerns for those with specific metabolic needs. 

Reports of a growing black market for baby formula highlight the seriousness of the issue. Observers have noted that the monopoly of the U.S.’s supply by a handful of manufacturers has caused the bottleneck, resulting in calls for more options to be available for parents who are unable or unwilling to chestfeed. 

The cultivated and precision fermentation breast milk sectors, though niche, offer optimism for parents globally that there will be other choices. The following five startups are pressing ahead to make sure that every child is fed, with sustainable and allergen-free alternatives to conventional baby formula.

1. Biomilq

Founders: Leila Strickland and Michelle Egger.

Country of origin: U.S.

Funding to date: $24.5 million.

Manufacturing method: Cell cultivation.

Significant developments: Moving from proof-of-concept to proof-of-complexity in 2021.

Projected launch: Within four years.

Biomilq was founded specifically to disrupt the profit-driven baby formula sector by placing the focus back on parents and their children. Work began on the project in 2013, with a prototype confirmed in 2021, allowing the startup to claim it was the first to make “cell-cultured human milk outside of the breast”. 

Bill Gates has invested more than once in the staunchly female-founded and led company that has stated a team of men in suits would not have been able to secure as much funding for such a development. 

2. Helaina

Country of origin: U.S. 

Founders: Laura Katz.

Funding to date: $24.6 million.

Manufacturing method: Precision fermentation.

Significant developments: Recreating immune-equivalent proteins that have previously only been found in breast milk.

Projected launch: Unconfirmed.

Helaina uses precision fermentation to produce what it calls a nature-equivalent breast milk solution. Following its latest funding round, a $20 million Series A in November last year, the startup is scaling its production technology to make meaningful movements towards commercialisation. The company uses the same technology as Perfect Day, which has recreated nature-identical whey proteins for cow-free dairy. 

Helaina has successfully reprogrammed microbes to produce breast milk proteins which have been clinically proven to increase infant immunity.  These will be used to produce the first product slated for launch: a “humanised” infant formula.

3. TurtleTree Labs

Country of origin: Singapore.

Founders: Fengru Lin and Max Rye.

Funding to date: $39.4 million

Manufacturing method: Cell cultivation.

Significant developments: Moving from a singular focus on producing dairy milk without cows to include human breast milk for children.

Projected launch: By 2023, following commercial delays for initial 2021 ambitions.

In 2020, TurtleTree announced it was looking to work with leading baby formula brands to create human breast milk products. At the time this was a lateral move from the startup’s existing success with cow-free dairy. The announcement came after a successful pre-seed funding round in January the same year. It projected the ability to unveil a cultivated breast milk product by 2021, costing $26 per litre. 

In December 2020, TurtleTree closed a $6.2 million pre-Series A funding round, specifically to accelerate its cultivated breast milk R&D. In June 2021, the startup unveiled its first commercial product, a cell-based human lactoferrin. The ingredient has been shown to offer immunity and developmental benefits. The ingredient is expected to be approved for sale far quicker than cultivated whole milk, allowing TurtleTree to start disrupting the infant formula sector more quickly. Approval is being sought in Singapore and the U.S. simultaneously.

4. Wilk (formerly BioMilk)

Country of origin: Israel.

Founders: Nurit Argov-Argaman, Arik Kaufman, Yaron Kaizer

Funding to date: $10.3 million.

Manufacturing method: Cell cultivation.

Significant developments: Earning U.S. patent approval for cultivated breast milk processes in 2022.

Projected launch: Initial samples are anticipated by 2023.

Similarly to Turtle Tree, Wilk was initially founded to look at the possibilities of cultivated dairy milk. This evolved to include human breast milk in a bid to break into the $45 billion global infant milk sector. In 2021 the company became the first cell-based milk manufacturer to go public. 

Following successful patent applications earlier this year, Wilk is submitting more to protect its intellectual property while R&D continues. Current focus is on identifying the best ways to maximise milk yield from cultivated mammary cells.

5. Me&

Country of origin: Australia.

Founders: Esha Saxena and Luis Malaver-Ortega.

Funding to date: Unconfirmed.

Manufacturing method: Cell cultivation.

Significant developments: Unconfirmed.

Projected launch: Unconfirmed.

New kid on the block, Me& has been launched to amplify the benefits of breast milk without excluding parents unable to chestfeed. The startup lists a number of health conditions that have been proven to be improved by feeding children breast milk, including asthma and diabetes. The company is looking to use cultivation technology to capture and replicate complex components of human breast milk to develop products that can be given in place of conventional formula.

The post These 5 Alt Breast Milk Startups Could Prevent the Next Baby Formula Shortage appeared first on Green Queen.

Last month, a groundbreaking summit dedicated to the sustainability of school meals took place in Hong Kong, led by school students and The Alliance for Sustainable Schools (TASS).

The event, which coincided with Earth Day, was organized by Drop In The Ocean (DITO), a student environmental group at Chinese International School, TASS, and Grassroots Initiatives, a consultancy focused on sustainable food. The Sustainable School Food Summit was the first of its kind.

Bringing sustainability to schools

More than 100 students, teachers, and sustainability practitioners from 20 schools in Hong Kong convened at the summit, discussing sustainability challenges related to school meals. The objective was to devise long-term, effective strategies to facilitate change within schools, covering topics such as sustainable seafood, the EAT-Lancet planetary health diet, plastic packaging, and food waste.

Diets significantly impact climate change and biodiversity loss, with a third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions originating from food and agriculture. The world’s leading climate experts agree that diets need to shift toward reducing these environmental impacts by promoting sustainable eating practices, particularly in heavy meat-consuming regions like Hong Kong, where daily meat consumption per capita is among the highest globally.

“School food is an untapped opportunity to introduce meaningful sustainable practices,” said Anthony Dixon, Chairman of TASS. “This innovative event demonstrates the power of school students working together with suppliers to accelerate change towards a sustainable future. Our hope is that it will be replicated hundreds of times over by schools around the world.”

Until recently, the subject of sustainable school food hasn’t received sufficient attention, according to the event organizers. This pioneering summit aimed to shift this narrative by debunking myths hindering the widespread acceptance of sustainable school food and highlighting the urgency of sustainable food practices.

Proof of concept

Attendees were treated to a culinary experience created by three local chefs renowned for their sustainable food ethos — Chef Marc Briol from Kin Food Halls, Chef Michael Smith from Moxie by the Arcane Collective, and Chef Tina Barrat, formerly of Ma Seeds of Life. Attendees tasted and voted on the chefs’ sustainable dishes, suitable for school lunch menus. The offerings were also assessed by an expert panel, considering sustainability factors, flavor, and affordability.

“The chefs worked to ensure their dishes met a litany of criteria: they had to be tasty with a low-carbon footprint, cost less than 13 HKD per serve, be nutritionally balanced, ethically sourced, and contain local and regenerative ingredients where possible. They also had to appeal to students – perhaps the toughest audience of all…and incredibly they all did!” said Sonalie Figueiras, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Green Queen Media and keynote speaker of the summit.

Peggy Chan, Founder of Grassroots Initiatives said that while chefs are often too busy stuck in the kitchen doing their routine work, but when they’re able to reflect on their role in human health and the health of our planet, “it opens their minds to the possibilities of all the good they can generate.”

The day concluded with a panel discussion led by students and featuring senior executives from school food catering companies, examining the challenges of providing sustainable food in schools. The impact of the summit promises to be lasting, with school lunch caterers pledging to introduce sustainable, low-carbon dishes to their menus in the coming academic year.

Reflecting on the summit, student organizer Jade remarked, “The most remarkable aspect of the event was that we didn’t just talk about sustainability: we put our ideas into practice. The chef’s dishes introduced us to exciting flavors we had never tried before and will definitely be a hit when they appear in school canteens.”

The post Hong Kong’s First Sustainable School Food Summit Calls for a Wholesale Dietary Shift appeared first on Green Queen.