food

Another Bad Year For Bees

August 6, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The latest annual nationwide survey of beekeepers in the US revealed that honeybees are still dying off at an alarming rate. According to the survey, beekeepers across the country lost 40.7% of their honey bee colonies from April 2018 to April 2019.

This annual loss represents a slight increase over the average annual loss of 38.7%. Of greater concern is that winter losses of 37.7% were the highest reported since these annual surveys began 13 years ago and are almost 9% higher than the survey average.

These results are very troubling considering that the elevated losses are continuing even after a decade of intense work trying to understand and reduce colony loss. Evidently, there has not been much progress.

The number one concern among beekeepers is varroa mites, which are lethal parasites that can readily spread from colony to colony. These mites have been decimating bee colonies for years. Products developed to remove mites seem to be getting less and less effective.

But mites are not the only problem for bees. Land use changes have resulted in reduced availability of pollen sources for bees. Add to that pesticide exposures, environmental factors, and even problems with beekeeping practices. In addition, extreme weather conditions such as wildfires and floods are only adding to the problems facing bees.

The tools that used to work for beekeepers seem to be failing and they are already stretched to their limits trying to keep their bees alive. Honey bees pollinate $15 billion worth of food crops in the United States each year. The problems facing bees are a problem for all of us.

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U.S. Beekeepers Suffered Higher than Average Colony Loss Last Year, with Winter Losses the Highest Recorded, According to UMD-Led Annual Survey

Photo, posted June 3, 2009, courtesy of Jennifer C via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Microplastic Diet

July 29, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

According to a new study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, Americans consume more than 70,000 microplastic particles every year from the food they eat, the water they drink, and the air they breathe.

While the health impacts of ingesting these tiny particles are largely unknown, there is the potential for the plastic to enter human tissues and cause an immune response or perhaps release toxic chemicals into the body.

The analysis by biologists at the University of Victoria in Canada examined data from 26 previous studies on microplastic contamination. It found that Americans eat and drink an estimated 39,000 to 52,000 microplastic particles each year, depending on their age and sex. The numbers jump to 74,000 to 121,000 when inhalation of microplastics is included.

Americans who drink water solely from plastic bottles consume an additional 90,000 particles annually, compared to only 4,000 particles for people who only drink tap water.

The researchers warn that their findings are likely to be drastic underestimates of the problem. Several major U.S. food groups – including poultry, beef, dairy, grains, and vegetables – have not been studied for their microplastic contamination. Thus, the estimate of microparticle ingestion is associated with only 15% of an average person’s caloric intake. Furthermore, there is no assessment currently available for how much plastic might be entering our bodies from food packaging.

The report’s findings suggest that microplastics will continue to be found in the majority if not all items intended for human consumption. Realistically, the only way to reduce the human consumption of microplastics will be to reduce the production and use of plastics.

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Americans Consume Tens of Thousands of Microplastic Particles Every Year

Photo, posted June 18, 2016, courtesy of Sirirat Kornsongkaew via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Why Choose Chicken Over Beef?

July 22, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Food production is a major driver of climate change. It’s responsible for more than a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions. But the environmental impact of different foods varies greatly, and making seemingly insignificant changes can actually have significant impacts.

According to a first-ever national study of U.S. eating habits and their carbon footprints, choosing chicken over beef will cut your dietary carbon footprint in half.

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey asked more than 16,000 participating Americans to name all the foods they consumed in the past 24 hours. The research team then calculated the carbon footprint of what people said they ate. If a respondent consumed broiled beef steak, for example, researchers calculated what the carbon footprint would have been had broiled chicken been consumed instead.

The study’s findings illustrate how making one simple substitution can significantly reduce a person’s dietary carbon footprint. A diet’s carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that result from the energy, fertilizer, land use, and other inputs necessary to produce food.

In general, animal-based foods have a bigger carbon footprint than plant-based foods. For example, producing beef uses 20 times the land and emits 20 times the emissions as growing beans (per gram of protein), and requires 10 times more resources than producing chicken.

According to the World Resources Institute, keeping the increase in global warming below 2°C will be impossible without limiting the global rise in meat consumption.

Last year, the EAT-Lancet Commission report found that a radical transformation of the global food system was needed because it’s threatening the stability of the climate.

Make a change – big or small – today.

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Choosing chicken over beef cuts our carbon footprints a surprising amount

Photo, posted August 30, 2011, courtesy of Ken Hawkins via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A Sensor For Spoiled Milk

June 20, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A new sensor technology developed at Washington State University may eventually make expiration dates on milk a thing of the past. The sensor essentially can ‘smell’ whether milk is still good or has gone bad.

The sensor consists of chemically coated nanoparticles that react to the gas produced when bacterial growth on milk has taken place. When such bacteria grow, they produce a volatile compound that doesn’t smell good. So, when we open a carton of milk that has begun to spoil, our noses tell us so immediately.

The new sensor does not have to be in contact with the milk. It detects the volatile gases produced by the bacteria and it changes color. So far, it has only been demonstrated in a controlled lab environment.

To really be useful, the sensor would ideally be able to show how long the milk has before it spoils. Currently, it only shows whether it is ok or already spoiled. The researchers are working on the enhanced version of the sensor.

The researchers envision working with the dairy industry to integrate the sensor technology into a milk bottle’s plastic cap so that consumers can easily see how much longer the milk will stay fresh. Current expiration dates on milk are based on best-case scenarios. They are only accurate if the milk has been stored at the correct temperature the entire time. Unfortunately, milk can inadvertently spend time above refrigerator temperature during shipment or transportation home from the store. If the new sensor technology can be successfully developed, it will be possible to know for sure whether that bottle of milk is good.

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Sensor can detect spoiled milk before opening

Photo, posted March 8, 2011, courtesy of Roxanne Ready via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

One Million Extinctions

June 14, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A group of 145 expert authors from 50 countries has produced a report based upon a review of 15,000 scientific and government sources that is the first comprehensive look at the state of the planet’s biodiversity in 15 years. The conclusions are alarming.

Thanks to human pressures, one million species may be pushed to extinction in the next few years, something with serious consequences for human beings as well as the rest of life on earth.

Based upon scientific studies as well as indigenous and local knowledge, the evidence is overwhelming that human activities are the primary cause of nature’s decline. The report ranked the major drivers of species decline as land conversion, including deforestation; overfishing; bush meat hunting and poaching; climate change; pollution; and invasive alien species.

The tremendous variety of living species on our plant which number at least 8.7 million and perhaps many more – biodiversity – constitutes a life-supporting safety net that provides our food, clean water, air, energy, and more.

In parts of the ocean, little life remains but green slime. Some remote tropical forests are nearly silent because insects have vanished. Many grasslands are becoming deserts. Human activity has severely altered more than 75% of Earth’s land areas and has impacted 66% of the oceans. The world’s oceans increasingly are characterized by plastics, dead zones, overfishing, and acidification.

The main message of the 1,500-page report is that transformative change is urgently needed. In order to safeguard a healthy planet, society needs to shift from a sole focus on chasing economic growth. This won’t be easy, but we must come to the understanding that nature is the foundation for development before it is too late.

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One million species at risk of extinction, UN report warns

Photo, posted January 1, 2014, courtesy of Eric Kilby via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Meal Kits And The Environment

June 11, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Meal kit services have become extremely popular in recent years. These are companies that deliver a box of pre-portioned ingredients and a chef-created recipe to your door to make home-cooked meals easy and practical for busy people. Leading companies like Blue Apron, HelloFresh, and Plated have been joined by dozens of others competing in the meal kit market. As of last year, annual sales for these things were over $3 billion and growing at more than a 20% annual rate.

A major rap against meal kits has been their environmental impact, mostly centered around the amount of packaging waste they generate. While there is most certainly lots of packaging waste associated with meal kits, it turns out that their overall carbon footprint is actually rather good compared with conventional ways to make homecooked meals.

A study from the University of Michigan looked at the cradle-to-grave impact of meal kits, taking into account every major step in the lifetime of the food ingredients and the packaging – agricultural production, packaging production, distribution, supply chain losses, consumption, and waste generation.

Surprisingly, meal kits have a much lower overall carbon footprint than the same meals made from ingredients purchased at the grocery store – even including their packaging. The main reason is that pre-portioned ingredients and a streamlined supply chain lower overall food losses and waste for meal kits compared to store-bought meals. Pre-portioning simply results in fewer ingredients that end up being wasted. Meal kits also have radically different supply chain structures than foods sold in supermarkets.

Whether the economics and culinary aspects of meals kits are advantageous for many people is an open question, but apparently from an environmental perspective, they are just fine.

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Climate change has worsened global economic inequality

Photo, posted June 11, 2018, courtesy of Marco Verch via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The American Bumblebee

May 29, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Pollinators, such as bees and bats, are vital for global food production. They provide an ecological service that’s necessary for the reproduction of nearly 75% of the world’s flowering plants, including more than two-thirds of the world’s food crops.

Bumblebees are among the most important plant pollinators. They pollinate many food crops, including apples, tomatoes, blueberries and legumes, as well as countless types of trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. But researchers have documented declines in both the abundance and range of many bumblebee species.

The American bumblebee, which is native to North America, is one of them. The species can currently be found in eastern Canada, throughout much of the Eastern United States, and much of Mexico.

According to a new study led by York University and recently published in the Journal of Insect Conservation, the American bumblebee is critically endangered, and it faces imminent local extinction from Canada. This is considered the highest and most at-risk classification before extinction.

The researchers used data from three sources in their study: the Bumble Bee Watch (which is a citizen science project), the Bumble Bees of North America database (that has records dating back to the late-1800s), and their own field survey work. They used the IUCN’s Red List assessment criteria to evaluate the status of the American bumblebee within its Canadian range.

The research team found that the species’ area of occurrence has decreased by approximately 70% and its relative abundance dropped by 89% from 2007-2016 when compared to 1907-2006.

The American bumblebee can still be found throughout its Canadian range. But immediate conservation action is desperately needed.

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Disappearing bumblebee species under threat of extinction

Photo, posted August 22, 2011, courtesy of Rachel Elaine via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Supermarkets And Zero-Waste

May 6, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

There are about 38,000 supermarkets in the United States alone and they are responsible for vast quantities of waste in the form of single-use plastic bags, plastic containers that store food products, and food waste as well. Globally, over 80% of poll respondents feel strongly that companies should help improve the environment. Responding to this message, markets are starting to make changes.

In a number of places, there are now markets that are package-free. The Nada grocery store in Vancouver and Precycle in Brooklyn are examples of zero waste grocery stores. Websites like Litterless provide online help for customers trying to find packaging-free grocery stores.

Markets are not only changing their packaging, they are using artificial intelligence to develop more sustainable production processes and seeking other ways to reduce waste.

On average, Americans throw away over 300 plastic bags a year, but an increasing number of grocery retailers are making commitments to more sustainable, plastic-free options. It isn’t just small stores either. Grocery giant Kroger plans to eliminate plastic bags in its stores by 2025. When that happens, it means that 6 billion plastic bags will no longer be distributed. Big Y stores will fully transition to reusable bags by next year. More and more cities and states are banning or imposing fees on plastic bags.

An interesting statistic shows that the age group of Americans that is leading the adoption of reusable grocery bags is not millennials but in fact is people over 50. With multiple generations now indicating that they want shopping to be more sustainable, it is likely that supermarkets will strive to help make that happen.

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Why More Supermarkets Are Committing to Zero-Waste

Photo, posted March 4, 2013, courtesy of Dean Hochman via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Climate Change And Global Fisheries

April 12, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A Rutgers University-led study published in the journal Science has shown that climate change has taken a toll on many of the world’s fisheries and that over fishing has magnified the problem.

Seafood has become an increasingly important source of nourishment as the global population grows, especially in coastal, developing countries where it provides as much as half of the animal protein eaten. More than 50 million people worldwide work in the fisheries industry or subsist on fisheries.

Scientists at Rutgers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration studied the impact of ocean warming on 235 populations of 124 species in 38 ecological regions around the world. Species included fish, crustaceans such as shrimp, and mollusks such as scallops. They combined data on fisheries with ocean temperature maps to estimate temperature-driven changes in the sustainable catch over 8 decades. The data covered about one-third of the global catch.

According to the study, ocean warming has led to an estimated 4.1% drop in sustainable catches, on average around the world, for many species of fish and shellfish from 1930 to 2010. In five regions that include the East China Sea and the North Sea, the estimated decline was 15 to 35%.

The researchers recommend that fisheries managers eliminate over fishing, rebuild fisheries, and account for climate change in fisheries management decisions. Over fishing provides a one-two punch to fisheries facing warming waters. It not only makes fisheries more vulnerable to ocean warming but continued warming will also hinder efforts to rebuild over fished populations.

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Climate Change Shrinks Many Fisheries Globally, Rutgers-Led Study Finds

Photo, posted April 23, 2011, courtesy of Derek Keats via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Crop Diversity

March 22, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A study at the University of Toronto suggests that on a global scale, we are growing more of the same kinds of crops, and this diminishing diversity presents major challenges for agricultural sustainability.

In some places, for example here in North America, crop diversity has actually increased. Back in the 1960s, North Americans grew about 80 crops. Now there are 93.

But on a global scale, more of the same kinds of crops are being grown on much larger scales. Just four crops – soybeans, wheat, rice and corn – occupy nearly 50% of the world’s entire agricultural lands. The remaining 152 crops cover the rest. Large industrial farms often grow one crop species – usually just a single genotype – across thousands of acres of land.

This decline in global crop diversity is problematic in several ways. On a cultural level, it threatens regional food sovereignty. If regional crop diversity is threatened, it makes it more difficult for people to eat or afford foods that are culturally significant to them.

On an ecological level, the dominance by a few genetic lineages of crops makes the agricultural system increasingly susceptible to pests or diseases. The deadly fungus that is threatening the world’s banana plantations is a prime current example. The Irish potato famine in the 19^th century is a tragic historical example.

As large industrial-sized farms in Asia, Europe and the Americas start to look more and more alike, the dangers of large monocultures of crops that are commercially valuable will only increase. It will be important for global governments to consider the impact of policies that affect the diversity of the agricultural system and its sustainability in an increasingly hungry world.

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A small number of crops are dominating globally. And that’s bad news for sustainable agriculture

Photo, posted August 13, 2012, courtesy of Alasdair McKenzie via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

New Nutrition Labels

February 26, 2019 By EarthWise 1 Comment

Food and beverage packaging in this country has included a Nutrition Facts panel for nearly 25 years. Over 700,000 products have the labels which provide consumers with information like serving sizes, calories per serving, ingredients, and nutritional content.

Surveys indicate that 77 percent of all U.S. adults claim to use the labels at least some of the time. Whether the labels are actually useful is somewhat debatable. A couple of years ago, the FDA released a proposal to update the labels to make them more useful and to reflect more recent nutritional research. The new labels are finally going to be implemented and food manufacturers with annual sales exceeding $10 million have until January of 2020 to update their packaging with the new labels.

One of the biggest changes is that the “serving size” section of the label will be changed to more accurately reflect the actual portions consumed by the typical American. For example, a 20-ounce soft drink will now be labeled as a single serving because most people will drink the whole bottle in one sitting.

The new labels will no long list the amounts of Vitamin A and C, because recent research shows most Americans are not deficient in these nutrients. Instead, the amount of Vitamin D and potassium will be listed, two nutrients lacking in many diets. New labels will also show amounts of “added sugars”, defined as caloric sweeteners with no nutritional value. The new labels will also display the calories per serving in much large type making that piece of information far more noticeable.

There is surely more to be done to make food labeling more transparent and useful for consumers, but the new changes at least seem to be in the right direction.

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Nutrition Labels Get a Makeover: Will It Make a Difference?

Photo, posted September 9, 2014, courtesy of Mike Mozart via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Hacking Photosynthesis

February 25, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

There is an enzyme known as RuBisCo that is involved in carbon fixation, the process plants use to convert carbon dioxide into sugar molecules. The RuBisCo molecule is inside the leaves of most plants and is probably the most abundant protein in the world.

RuBisCo picks up carbon dioxide from the air and uses energy from the sun to turn the carbon into sugar molecules. This process of photosynthesis is pretty much the foundation of life on Earth.

Wonderful as it is, the process is not perfect. RuBisCo is not very selective in grabbing molecules from the air. It picks up oxygen as well as CO₂ and it produces a toxic compound when it does that.

Plants operate a whole other complicated chemical process to deal with this toxic byproduct and uses up a lot of energy along the way, leaving less energy for making leaves or food that we can eat.

A research program at the University of Illinois called Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (or RIPE) has been trying to correct this problem; they have been trying to hack photosynthesis. And they may well have succeeded.

Using genetic modification on tobacco plants, they have shut down the existing detoxification process and set up a much more efficient new one. The result is super plants that grow faster and up to 40% bigger.

The next step is to get it to work on plants that people actually rely upon for food, like tomatoes, soybeans and black-eyed peas (which are a staple food crop in sub-Saharan Africa where food is scarce.)

It will be years before we know if the process can really produce more food and be safe, but it may end up leading to a major increase in crop productivity.

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Scientists Have ‘Hacked Photosynthesis’ In Search Of More Productive Crops

Photo, posted June 10, 2013, courtesy of Boon Hong Seto via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Saving Beaches With Seagrass

February 22, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Almost a quarter of the Gross Domestic Product of places around the Caribbean Sea is earned from tourism. Preserving the beaches in the region is an economic imperative. With increasing coastal development, the natural flow of water and sand is disrupted, natural ecosystems are damaged, and many tropical beaches simply disappear into the sea.

With such high stakes, expensive coastal engineering efforts such as repeated replenishing of sand and the construction of concrete protective walls are common strategies. Rising sea levels and increasingly powerful storms only increase the threat to tropical beaches.

Researchers from The Netherlands and Mexico recently published a study in the journal BioScience on the effectiveness of seagrass in holding onto sand and sediment along shorelines.

Seagrasses are so-named because most species have long green, grass-like leaves. They are often confused with seaweeds but are actually more closely related to flowering plants seen on land. Seagrasses have roots, stems and leaves, and produce flowers and seeds. Seagrasses can form dense underwater meadows and are one of the most productive ecosystems in the world. Seagrasses provide shelter and food to an incredibly diverse community of animals, from tiny invertebrates to large fish, crabs, turtles, marine mammals and birds.

The researchers performed measurements of the ability of seagrass along Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula coastline to keep sand in place and prevent erosion. They found that the amount of erosion was strongly linked to the amount of vegetation. Quite often, seagrass beds have been regarded as a nuisance, rather than a valuable asset for preserving valuable coastlines. The study opens opportunities for developing new tropical beach protection schemes in which ecology is integrated into engineering solutions.

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Seagrass Saves Beaches and Money

Photo, posted October 13, 2010, courtesy of NOAA via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Labeling Of GMO Foods

February 12, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

American consumers will soon be able to discern whether or not foods contain genetically-modified ingredients. The USDA’s so-called ‘National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard’ will be required for foods that have been altered in a way that doesn’t occur naturally. The mandatory compliance date is January 1st, 2022.

While this does sound like great news, there are some major drawbacks. The new guidelines use the uncommon term “bioengineered” instead of “genetically-modified” or “GMO.” The guidelines also allow the disclosure of bioengineered (or B.E.) ingredients in several formats: as text, a symbol, a phone number (that consumers can call for more info), or a digital link printed on the packaging. Companies are allowed to use a QR code that asks consumers to “scan here for more food information.” Scanning the QR code will bring consumers to a website where the GMO disclosure can be found.

Advocates of the various labeling options say it’ll make it easier and faster for companies to comply with the new guidelines. But critics worry consumers will find it confusing and restrict access for those without smartphones. They say that companies who elect to use a QR code or phone number should be required to include the word “bioengineered” on their packaging.

Another drawback is that products won’t have to be labeled as ‘bioengineered’ if they’ve been processed to the point where their bioengineered DNA can’t be detected. Examples include refined beet sugar, soybean oil, and high fructose corn syrup.

The fight over the labeling of GMO foods has raged for many years. But this labeling mandate falls short of consumer expectations by hiding the information about GMOs instead of disclosing it. We should expect better.

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Government lays out the rules for labeling for genetically modified foods

Photo, posted August 24, 2015, courtesy of Rob Bertholf via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Bee Friendly Amsterdam

February 11, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Scientists around the world have been sounding the alarm for years about the decline of bees and other pollinators that are crucial to the growth of crops. One place where this trend has been bucked is in Amsterdam. The diversity of wild bee and honeybee species in the Dutch capital has actually increased by 45% since 2000.

The city attributes this success to creating bee-friendly environments including the installation of so-called insect hotels. There has also been a ban on the use of chemical pesticides on public land.

Four years ago, Amsterdam set a goal to convert half of all public green spaces to native plants including species that produce flowers and fruits that provide nourishment for bees. Developers in Amsterdam are encouraged to install green roofs on new buildings which reduce reliance on heating and cooling systems and also create habitat for wildlife.

Residents can request to have a 16-inch strip of pavement adjacent to their homes removed in order to plant shrubs, flowers or climbing vines. When a new highway was built in the area in 2015, local activists planted wildflowers along the sides of the road that otherwise would have been left with only gravel or grass. This practice has spread to other major routes and along dikes and railways and is referred to as the Honey Highway.

All of these efforts seem to be having a positive effect. An initial survey was conducted in 2000 to establish a baseline. A 2015 survey of pollinators found 21 bee species not previously documented in the city. The rest of the Netherlands has not done as well, and the Dutch government has recently introduced a pollinator strategy to revive bees, butterflies and other insects crucial to the country’s food crop.

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Bees are dying at an alarming rate. Amsterdam may have the answer.

Photo, posted December 28, 2006, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Food Production And Climate Change

January 29, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

According to a University of Oxford study recently published in the journal Science, food production is a major driver of climate change as it’s responsible for 26% of all greenhouse gas emissions. But the research team found that the environmental impact of different foods varied greatly.

Meat and other animal products are responsible for 58% of all food-related greenhouse gas emissions, despite only providing approximately one-fifth of the calories we consume. The researchers found that beef and lamb in particular have the most damaging effect on the planet, responsible for half of all greenhouse gas emissions from animal agriculture.

These findings echo recommendations from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change about how individuals can reduce their carbon footprint through diet. The IPCC suggests we consume less meat and dairy products, consume more locally-sourced seasonal foods, and throw less food in the trash.

Avoiding meat and dairy products can reduce an individual’s carbon footprint from food by two-thirds. The effects of doing so include everything from conserving water and preserving biodiversity to reducing pollution and deforestation.

Interestingly, the same food can have major differences in terms of environmental impacts. For example, beef raised on deforested land is responsible for 12 times as many greenhouse gas emissions as that raised on natural pastures. But even the most climate-friendly meat options are still responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the highest-impact vegetable proteins, like beans and nuts.

Big differences can also be made by avoiding chocolate and coffee produced from deforested lands.

To learn more about the climate impact of your diet, follow the link to the ‘Climate Change Food Calculator’ on our website: Earth-Wise-Radio.org.

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Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers

Climate change food calculator

Photo, posted June 21, 2011, courtesy of USDA NRCS Montana via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Australian Plastic Bag Ban

December 31, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Last summer, the two largest supermarket chains in Australia – Coles and Woolworth’s – decided to stop offering single-use disposable plastic bags to customers. The initial public reaction was decidedly negative. However, within just three months after the radical change, the country’s National Retail Association reported an 80% drop in the consumption of plastic bags nationwide.

In that three-month period, it is estimated that 1.5 billion bags have been prevented from use. Some retailers are reporting reduction rates as high as 90% in the use of the bags. The move by the big supermarkets has paved the way for smaller businesses to follow suit. The smaller businesses typically can’t afford to risk the wrath of their customers with a major change like this. Customers have to learn to bring their own bags or buy reusable bags at the store.

In much of Australia, the phase-out of plastic bags has been legislated, but the state of New South Wales, home to Sydney, the country’s largest city, has not enacted such legislation. So, supermarkets themselves are doing the work of getting rid of the bags.

The change has not been without hiccups. For the first couple of months after the plastic bag ban was put in place, Woolworth’s saw poor sales in its stores. However, customers eventually got used to the new way of doing things and sales levels returned.

Disposable plastic bags often find their way into the oceans where they break down into microparticles. Studies have shown that these plastic bits are ingested by a wide variety of marine life. For example, a UK study found that 100% of sea turtles in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans as well as the Mediterranean Sea had plastic in their digestive systems.

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