Welcome to this weeks environmental and recycling news as always I share both the good and the bad with you and hope that as you also do your own research that you form your own balanced opinion on how things are going…Can we believe all the headlines? I think from past experience the answer to that is no…
I don’t smoke and abhor the smell of it…I have also written about cigarette butts b4….For something so small and I have seen people just flick them away…They create a pretty big mountain of trash and do untold damage…
Cigarette butts have long been the single most collected item on the world’s beaches, with a total of more than 60 million collected over 32 years.
It’s no wonder that cigarette butts have drawn attention. The vast majority of the 5.6 trillion cigarettes manufactured worldwide each year come with filters made of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic that can take a decade or more to decompose. As many as two-thirds of those filters are dumped irresponsibly each year, according to Novotny, who founded the Cigarette Butt Pollution Project.
Switching to a plant-based diet can help fight climate change, UN experts have said.
A major report on land use and climate change says the West’s high consumption of meat and dairy produce is fuelling global warming.
But scientists and officials stopped short of explicitly calling on everyone to become vegan or vegetarian.
They said that more people could be fed using less land if individuals cut down on eating meat.
What are your thoughts on this? Over the last few decades, we have been told to cut the salt, cut the sugar, eat low-fat foods…
Now it appears that low fat means higher sugars…So we are now being told fat in moderation is ok…
Now my understanding of what a scientist does is…That they have a theory…They test that theory…That testing could take 5 years, 10 years 20 years…If then that theory is proven ….That’s good…If that theory is not proven to be correct the scientist then comes up with another theory to test so the process begins again…
Eating low fat and ditching fat was a theory…Now proven to be untrue…Back to the drawing board…BUT manufacturers and governments implemented that unproven theory …THE RESULT ….More health issues which meant more government money being spent on treatments…
Now we are being told …Follow plant-based diets…But is this another theory.?.. Is this now being tested?
My thoughts…Yes, we should eat more vegetables and less red meat…BUT…I advocate a healthy balanced diet based on the health of my parents, my self, my children over the last few decades…As good as any scientific trial…The proof of the pudding as the saying goes…
I am happy to do what I can to help climate change...HOWEVER…There seems to be a lot of theories floating around and if we don’t have good health it doesn’t matter that the world won’t exist as some theories are touting…We won’t know a dam thing about it!
Read the report a few times and then tell me what you think based on what you think are theories( which) are not facts and proven facts…
Waste I am all for reducing…How to cut down and survive in the kitchen without disposables …Click the link it has some very good ideas which are tested…Beeswax wraps are they the forward….? There really are lots of good ideas ..something for everyone…
Who wants to ditch the cling film, pack a lunch and find a suitable way to ditch the plastic baggies for something sustainable well this link doesn’t have all the answers but has a good few…
Who hasn’t been to a Tupperware party? Who still uses Tupperware…I mean don’t ditch it keep using it …Tupperware has been around for over 70 years and most people recognise the name….Well, Tupperware is changing … “Tupperware Brands is committed to meeting the needs of today’s consumers, who are increasingly asking for solutions that mitigate waste and advance a more circular economy. The introduction of this new material, and the products in which they will be used, reflect our continued dedication to further reduce our environmental footprint at all levels of the product lifecycle – from design, production and distribution to products’ use and reusability – and also reflects our heritage of innovation and sustainable design,” said Bill Wright, Tupperware Brands’ Executive Vice President, Product Innovation & Supply Chain.
I really do dislike hearing about food waste especially when I hear about children and people starving around the world…In this so-called enlightened period of time we shouldn’t be hearing about children going to school without breakfast…we shouldn’t be hearing about children starving in school holidays…
Governments around the world should be ensuring that everyone should have the basic in life and food and water count amongst that…There are many schools who feed children and wash their clothes…Something is wrong, very wrong…Children should not be relying on charity for food and clothes…I have seen comments from people like me and you who are saying that parents should be feeding and clothing their children that there should be no need for charity…Those people obviously do not struggle financially…Pull up the ladder, Jack I am alright….as the saying goes…Me….I sincerely hope you get yours in spades…Whoever you are…
I don’t need to go into the why’s and the wherefores as to why people are starving…The reasons are many…
The Magic Breakfast is a charity whose mission is to ensure that children, who might otherwise not have the best start to their mornings, get a nourishing, healthy and filling breakfast before they start their school day.
Working with ‘partner schools’, the charity provides over 40,000 children with a ‘magic’ breakfast, but with an estimated 1.8 million school-age children in the UK at risk of hunger in the morning, there’s much still to do.
That’s all for today I know I have left you on a sobering note…But please look at your food waste and carbon footprint and if you have any food leftovers think of your neighbour …they may be elderly or have young children…They may be in need of a meal or a bag of fruit if your bush or tree has yielded too much for you…We all need to be paying it forward…
Thank you for reading and if you have any news and views on zero waste or the enviroment please share…xxx
About Carol:
Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.
I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.
Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use to have to improve our health and wellbeing.
Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!
Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology
Connect to Carol (Moi)
Blog
Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest
Thank you once again for reading this post and if you love it please feel free to share or bookmark for later. If you have any queries then drop me an email carolcookstwo@gmail.com xx
Retired? No one told me! 
Pingback: The environmental A-Z… the letter A…week 1 | Retired? No one told me!
Pingback: Smorgasbord Food Column – Carol Taylor’s Green Kitchen – Homemade Bread, Plastic Alternatives, Grated Cheese | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine
Thank you, Sally …I hope this new series goes down well …thank you for inviting me back…Have a lovely week Hugs xx
LikeLike
Great article, Carol, with so many things to consider. My daughter uses the wax wraps and is happy with them. 🙂 I’m a little lazier and purchased glass containers so I use a lot less plastic, particularly disposable plastic. My husband and I have cut our meat portions by half and make up the difference with “creative” veggies. Our goal is less saturated fat, but helping the climate is a great side benefit. Articles like yours always give me new ideas, and most aren’t that hard to implement. Thanks!
LikeLike
Pingback: CarolCooks2…weekly roundup…Health, Recipes and more…so much more… | Retired? No one told me!
Such important points Carol. Thank you for posting!
LikeLike
Hi Carol, Great that your mother is still alive at 90! Longer may she live, especially as she sounds such a character…(my husband is too!) Good to think we have similar food memories. I cooked for 47 years, and when we retired, my husband requested that he take over (he hates being b ored,,,) Last night we enjoyed a mean Thai chicken curry…and he makes various sauces and experiments when in the mood or not too tired…We both make lots of soups in winter too and you know only too well…what dishes you can dish up for very little expenditure. (I despair at some of the modern lazy Mums who ‘haven’t got time’ and constantly resort to ‘take-aways!’) We are on mean (British!) pensions but it’s fun anyway to try different recipes and ideas.But I don’t have to tell YOU that, do I! Thanks for your valued input. Hugs xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know, Joy…But I worked for the civil service and when I first started they asked me if I minded working on the social fund…Of course, I had no idea…What a steep learning curve that was…I was so naive and well bought up…I saw whole families and came to realise that many had slipped through various nets and also how much the family system is broken…My thoughts…The whole system needs an overhaul…They need a mum’s army in charge, not all these politicians who know diddly squat…We would sort it Joy along with a few others I could name…Maybe I should have a chat with Boris…haha…Hugs xxx
LikeLike
I’m so glad to hear that there are programs like Magic Breakfast. Most of the schools in our city feed the students breakfast. I always fed those kids who didn’t bring a snack from home some midmorning nourishment as well. Perhaps it isn’t fair to expect a teacher to feed the kids in his/her class, but students are coming to school every day without breakfast. I couldn’t say no to them when I live comfortably.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wish there were more like you, Pete! What a kind guy. My fav. charity is “Mary’s Meals.” They feed well over 1 million children each morning all over the world and take a trifling amount out of a pound for admin. expenses. (The charity is run by two brothers.) Having three grown-up lads, who never had to go hungry, it breaks my heart to witness such poverty. x
LikeLike
What a kind heart you have, Pete…Your children were lucky to have you as a teacher…I wish more people would do that if we all looked out for the people around us the world would be so much better…It is very evident here where I live we have a homeless man and he never ever asks but he always has a plate of food given by the people around him and I always bring something back from the market…His face always lights up …that smile gets me every time…I try to give him something which is more of a treat…x
LikeLiked by 1 person
Isn’t he, Joy…Such charities always bring a tear but they shouldn’t have to do it…Lots of things need to change…I wish I had done more when I was younger…
LikeLike
As far as eating goes: everything in moderation and lots of vegetables, rather than fruit. Although being in Vietnam at the moment, and rather partial to tropical fruits, I can’t help overdosing on the fruits… I urgently need to figure out how to use the plentiful green leafy veggies I see in the markets here. And I’d love to find a chicken that actually has got some meat on it…
Lieve
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha… I hear you.. Lieve we have skinny chickens here they are also vocal…. The tropical fruit is a lovely bonus isn’t it and hard to resist… I know some are lovely stir fried morning glory or sea spinach as it is known is one my favourites as is Kale much is eaten raw here or lightly steamed with the standard spicy dips and generally BBQ Or steamed fish… I am guessing pretty much the same there?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, it is. I once bought some vegetable which I though was spinach and I cooked it as I would spinach… Wow, that was such a mistake. It all went into the bin!! So I am a little more dubious about the green stuff now, unless I recognise it from the UK or my travels..
Lieve
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha…I have so been there as well..luckily I have my daughter law to check as to how you should eat or cook 🙂 x
LikeLiked by 1 person
Another very timely reminder to us all – thank you, Carol.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh I get passionate about a cause… Haha.. Thank you my dear friend. Xxx
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure, dear Carol
LikeLiked by 1 person
As I and my brothers endured rationing during the war, may I please comment. First of all, we rarely saw obese people. Fact. My husband -now 91 – was also evacuated and experienced rationing. We had less sugar, meat, butter and cheese, plus other shortages, but we ate PLENTY of potatoes and other root vegetables and greens, had chickens when evacuated so had more fresh eggs and powdered (ugh!) We had cereal or porridge for breakfast and a ‘fry-up’ only once a week, with one fish dish weekly. Apples and berries were plentiful in season but fruit generally was sparse. Despite heart problems, my brothers are now 82 and 85 and I’m 87 (40 mentally…) Two sisters-in-law are 94 and 89 ,two uncles lived to 89 and 92, one grandma was nearly 90. Our parents lived to their 80’s too. Another best friend is 89…Coincidence or what? Healthy eating does make a difference. (We were given cod liver oil, concentrated orange juice and Virol too.) Just off to eat chicken, sweet potato and spinach…Onward and upwards. xx
LikeLiked by 2 people
Joy, your comments are always welcome …Although I wasn’t subject to rationing I was born in 1951…my parents and grandparents were. Like you we lived simply lots of vegetables and although we had meat it was far smaller servings than servings are now…My father was just starting his business so money was tight but we always ate well the highlight being Christmas as we had Oranges and Bananas…A treat…My dad had a vegetable garden and chickens luckily I never had the pleasure of powdered eggs….Fish on Fridays and the Sunday fry up…memories…..Health wise my grandparents lived into their nineties and my great grandmother got her telegram…My father lived into his 80’s and my mother is still with us and 90 this November still lives alone although my sister is next door…A bit hard of hearing..but still has all her marbles and some…and a wicked sense of humour….Very quietly me and my sister have no major ills just the odd twinge on waking….haha….Cod liver oil tablets ..yep and loved the orange juice those little bottles were a treat…Thank you so much for your comment Joy and long live sensible healthy eating with the odd treat it works for us as well Hugs xxx
LikeLike
Reblogged this on The Light Behind the Story.
LikeLike
Hi Carol, Years ago, when I lived in another town, there was an elderly gentleman who stood at a busy intersection every day and collected cigarette butts in an old plastic bread bag. I was fascinated by and filled with gratitude for this special soul who quietly and diligently collected other people’s waste. It is sad that so many people thoughtlessly throw them out their windows, etc. As for the meat issue. There are definitely strong opinions out there. I have friends who constantly post about how being vegan is the only humane and environmentally sound option. When I was a young child, my family was vegetarian. I used to have awful stomaches from all the soy (tofu mostly) and felt chronically hungry. My body metabolizes food quickly and I tend to be ungrounded and unbalanced if I don’t have some animal protein. I think we’re all different. Some people thrive as vegetarians and vegans, others don’t. Conscious eating, though, is important. Giving gratitude to all life that is sacrificed, whether it be plant or animal, eating foods that are ethically sourced, trying not to waste any food, and giving back to the planet are all ways to honor our food sources and the environment. Thank you for your weekly posts on this topic! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awwww how lovely that even then that man had foresight…bless him…Yes, I know all about the strong opinions….But interesting to hear your view as you were bought up on a vegetarian diet….I don’t use soy as mostly it is genetically modified and according to many scientists not healthy…Long term I think we may see that….Like you I believe we should have a balanced diet, be conscious and mindful of where our foods comes from and how it is produced….Thank you, Alethea, for your support and kind words they are much appreciated as are the reblogs…..Hugs x
LikeLiked by 1 person
❤
LikeLike
OK, I wasn’t going to comment here, but decided to go ahead.
While I’m not saying everyone should switch to a plant-based diet – I mean, it would be great if more people did from my point of view, but it’s not my choice to make for others, and eating a balanced and healthy diet is most important for your health, so you don’t want to enter in to that kind of decision lightly, and if you are going to do it, you definitely need to do your research first – but there is some truth to the claims of it being more environmentally friendly. I’m pretty sure they exaggerate how much of an impact it would have at least a little… Actually, probably a lot… But there are several grains of truth in there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am pleased you did comment, Tori comments are always welcome here and it is good to have a sensible balanced conversation….I agree there are some pluses to a more plant based diet. I agree we should consume less meat but most of all as you say we do our research and be mindful of our own bodies and if you read Aletheas comment she was brought up in a vegetarian family for her it caused health problems. Our bodies react to different ways of eating differently and what works for one may not work for another…. I believe we should have a balanced diet and be conscious and mindful of where and how our food is produced…Good Luck with your Vegan Diet if I come across any recipes I will mark them as such…Let us know how you get on how your body reacts whether you feel better for changing it is always interesting to hear .:) x
LikeLike
Yes. A balanced diet is most important, whether vegan, vegetarian, or whatever, and making sure our bodies get what we need, while at least making sure we know what’s in our food, and where it comes from.
As for how I’m doing: I’ve now been vegan for about two months, and am feeling better than I was before. Of course, in my case part of the choice to go vegan is that I was already vegetarian (I became fully vegetarian something like 12 years ago, having been back and fourth on it for years before that; I started what my brother refers to as “vegetarian phases” at the age of six, where I’d refuse to eat meat for weeks or months at a time, and have never been a fish fan even when I was eating meat) and decided I should stop ignoring my body’s constant reminders that it couldn’t tolerate dairy, so I know just because I’m feeling much better doesn’t mean everyone would.
Thanks about the recipes. I’m always on the lookout for more. I shared some recipe resources and things on my blog today, as it happens.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am pleased you are feeling better on your diet, Tori…I will check out your post …Diet or eating plan I feel is an individual choice taking how we feel health wise into consideration 🙂 x
LikeLike
Fascinating stuff, Carol…food waste is something we can tackle that can immediately have a positive impact…I read that more than 30% of the food in the US goes to waste…people throw out good food because of an “expiration” date, which was chosen by the manufacturer of the product to safeguard them against lawsuits…but the dates are WELL before the food is no longer edible…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly, John…. So much which as you say can be tackled immediately.. Lets hope it happens and quickly 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person