🌍 How We Fix The Food System

Welcome to the week.

And happy (belated) Mother’s Day to all the moms out there.

This week:

• 🥫 Green aluminum

• ☀️ Sun exposure benefits

• 🛒Climate (and health and wallet)-friendly groceries

•  🧬AI-generated proteins

• And more!

Have a great week,

— Willow

This is science for people who give a shit.

Every week, we help 28,000+ humans understand and unfuck the rapidly changing world around us. It feels great, and we’d love for you to join us.

🙋‍♀️ Vote!

Last week, we asked: Are you still invested in fossil fuels anywhere in your portfolio?

You said:

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Yes (25%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 No (44%)

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ I'm...not sure (29%)

New Shit Giver Rick wants to help solve “deforestation.“

Welcome, Rick! Let’s plant some trees.

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⚡️ Climate change:

• Aluminum (could be) back and greener than ever, with a new smelting facility called the Green Aluminum Smelter which could double the amount of primary aluminum in the US while emitting 75% less

• The level of climate disinformation the fossil fuel industry pushes runs deep, shaping the entire information ecosystem from data to research to curriculum to media coverage

• 🌎️ Still, renewable energy generated 30% of global electricity in 2023, a record set due to huge growth in solar and wind

• 🌍️ The IEA is allocating millions of dollars and carbon credits to help Africans switch to clean cooking methods that are bad for health and the environment

🦠 Health & Bio:

• Genetics is likely a cause for some Alzheimer’s (rather than just a risk), a finding that could help with early diagnoses and possibly finding new treatments

• 🌍️ A lack of diversity in genetics research is a major limitation for gene therapy, as biases in genetic databases could cause communities of color from being left out of novel therapies

• 🌎️ Yes, sunscreen is important, but sun exposure does seem to reduce inflammation which is linked to preventing many major diseases — any effect that a vitamin D supplement can’t duplicate

• In an effort to improve maternal health outcomes in the US, Congress is pushing for doulas and midwives to be covered under Medicaid

💦 Food & Water:

• 🌏️ Globally we waste a loooot of food, which sucks considering how many people go hungry, but the reasons (and solutions) are nuanced. Check out these charts for a better understanding of the problem

• How do you balance conflicting values when buying food, trying to choose options that are nutritious but also environmentally friendly, humanely produced but also affordable and accessible? Here’s your guide

• DDT has been found in deep-sea fish, causing concern for impacts throughout the rest of the food web

• 🌏️ Rain, drought, heat, and war are threatening the world’s wheat supply, and drought is causing olive oil prices to skyrocket

👩‍💻 Beep Boop:

• Forget AI-generated text, audio, images, and video — scientists are using AI to generate new proteins

• 🌏️ OpenAI has a plan to help fight deepfakes, but in a year where half the world is going to the polls, will it be enough?

• 🌎️ Phones are a big cause of mental health problems, but they could also be part of the solution with AI tech that can detect depression

• The rising demand for power from AI could affect climate policy

🌎️ = Global news

Project Drawdown just dropped resources and solutions for reducing emissions in the global food system. Get it 👇️ 

Last week’s most popular Action Step was donating to Women in AI Ethics to help create a diverse and ethical tech future.

• 🌎️ Donate to offset your carbon footprint and prevent deforestation by providing clean cookstoves for people in Africa with Burn.

• 🌏️ Volunteer your company to take action and create a more ethical supply chain that addresses deforestation, habitat loss, and human rights using the Accountability Framework.

• 🌎️ Get educated about the toilet paper brands that received an A+ in sustainability (and which ones flunked) the NRDC’s Issue With Tissue scorecard.

• Be heard about deforestation by urging your Congressmember to support the FOREST Act.

• Invest in the top-scoring sustainable, deforestation-free investment options using Deforestation Free Funds.

🌎️ = Global Action Step

What is lab grown meat?

In the wake of some recent bans of lab grown meat in certain states, it feels pertinent to drop a 101 on what lab grown meat is.

Catch up with our explainer 👇️ 

Is age just a number?

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