It’s time for a top-down approach to sustainability. A top-down approach does not assume that any improvement is a failure. It celebrates any and all progress and uses them as fuel to motivate future change. In this way, we are constantly building on our achievements and creating a positive change model.
The Sustainability Triad
Three of the primary factors hindering our ability to be as sustainable as we might like to be are money, time and knowledge. I have dubbed this potent combination the Sustainability Triad. While there are certainly a variety of other factors that contribute to unsustainable lifestyles, these areas create the structure upon which our determination to be more sustainable teeters.
What is the most sustainable diet?: Part 4
This is the final section in my series on What is the most sustainable diet? Check out Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 if you are interested. As we have seen, the harder we try to identify the most sustainable diet, the more complicated it gets. This isn’t the type of question that can be answered…
What is the most sustainable diet?: Part 3
This is part 3 in my series asking What is the most sustainable diet? If you’re interested, check out Part 1 and Part 2 in the series. To sum up the first two parts in this series: Talking about sustainability is COMPLICATED. There are a lot of different definitions of what is included in sustainability. Sustainability measurements often use…
What is the most sustainable diet?: Part 2
This is the second part in my series exploring the question: What is the most sustainable diet. Check out part 1. As I have discussed previously, sustainability is a complicated and highly contested topic. While there a wide variety of areas that can be included under sustainability, it is often primarily understood in terms of climate change and…
What IS the most sustainable diet?: Part 1
In part 1 of my exploration of the question: What is the most sustainable diet? I address the recent hype that a vegan diet is ‘not as sustainable’ as other diets. In the modern world, everyone seems to want a simple answer to every question, no matter how complex. That’s probably why a recent study has been promoted as proof that am…
What’s your price tag on… sustainability? An animal’s life? Your health?
How do you quantify, monetise or in any way try to value something as intangible as, say, preventing climate change? This question may seem a bit ridiculous: Who cares? Climate change is a serious problem and we need to do something about it NOW! Yes, and no. The problem is: we live in a world where money…
Protein: A cultural obsession
Two things are true about protein: We need it. It’s NOT as big a deal as a lot of people seem to think it is. It is amazing that with all the vitamins and minerals our body needs, protein is often seen as the be all and end all of nutrition. Yet, it is almost impossible to…
Dr Michael Greger: On Death and Plants
If you are at all interested in (a) your health or (b) not dying any time soon, this video is a must. Dr. Michael Greger, of Nutritionfacts.org, has done an incredible talk on the top causes of death and how diet can prevent and even cure almost all of these. Using a wide array of…
Debate: How much meat?
I will be attending a debate tonight from 6:30 to 8:30pm tonight (UK time) hosted by Riverford Organic Farms on, you guessed it, how much meat is sustainable. Should be very interesting. You can watch the debate live. The panel includes Tim Lang, Guy Watson, Peter Melchett and Xanthe Clay.
Meeting demands for less meat
While a day doesn’t seem to go by without someone mentioning the continuing increase in meat consumption, it’s not that simple. In fact, while food consumption growth is, indeed, outpacing overall population growth, meat consumption is actually decreasing. Yes, certain types of meat (mainly poultry) continue to be eaten at rates higher than population growth in ‘developing’ countries,…
On embracing intersectionality
Advocating for sustainability and non-human animals can be a massive endeavour. It can feel overwhelming and as though there is no time or energy left to care about anything else. However, we can all be a part of the problem, even when we are trying to be a part of the solution. Building a sustainable future…
