Episode description

Hey, it's Callee, and you're listening to a special episode of the Hippie Haven Podcast. If you haven't already, be sure to hit that subscribe button so that you automatically get each new episode right when it comes out.

While it's important that we always continue to strive for substantial change in the world around us, constant research, lifestyle changes, and/or activism can be overwhelming and exhausting, so I wanted to do another edition of good news in the sustainability field to remind us all of the progress that's already been made.

IN VEGAN NEWS:

Del Taco will be releasing vegan tacos made with Beyond Meat on April 25th at all 580 US locations. Taco Bell now has a dedicated vegetarian menu, with many options that can be veganized, including the Crunchwrap Supreme. Subway just released a vegan sub at participating UK locations. Burger King is testing vegan whoopers at 59 locations in and around St Louis Missouri in the US.

Following Canada's recently updated dietary recommendations, the French government just changed theirs as well, telling French citizens that they should eat less meat, sugar + salt, and more fruits, veggies, whole grains + nuts.

Virgin Atlantic Airlines is removing beef + palm oil from their in-flight menus.

A new study shows that almost half of coffee drinkers in the UK ask for vegan milk when ordering coffee at a cafe. This is on par with reports that about half of Americans now regularly purchase non-dairy milk at grocery stores. In fact, experts predict that the dairy industry could completely disappear in the next 10 years. They've already lost over $1 billion dollars in revenue last year compared to the year prior, whereas the vegan milk market is booming, with sales excepted to exceed $34 billion by 2024.

IN ANIMAL WELFARE NEWS:

Madrid, Spain just banned wild animal circuses, citing that the needs of animals cannot be met in a circus environment where they are confined in cages for long periods of time. Madrid is the 64th municipality in Spain to ban wild animal circuses, and Spain is one of 26 countries around the world that have enacted this type of ban.

Sharks near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia can no longer be shot dead. Shark attacks are incredibly rare, but when they did occur, authorities would try to kill any sharks seen in the area, though this inhumane practice was not found to actually reduce the likelihood of a shark attack.

Following public outcry, the US department of agriculture has announced that it will stop testing on kittens. For 37 years, they'd secretly been feeding 2 month old kittens raw meat infected with toxoplasma parasites to study foodborne illnesses. The infected kittens were studied for 2-3 weeks, then unnecessarily killed, even though this illness is easily curable and the kittens could have, and should have instead been put up for adoption. Over 3,000 baby kittens were subject to these taxpayer-dollar-funded horrors, but luckily it's finally come to an end, and the USDA will be releasing it's last 14 kittens to be adopted by USDA employees.

Germany's last fur farm just closed down, following a national ban in 2017, thanks to heavy campaigning by PETA.

The state of New York is considering a bill to ban pet stores from selling dogs bred at a puppy mill. All pet shops would be required to obtain their animals from rescue shelters or humane societies only. If you live in New York, please call your local state rep and encourage them to support this legislation!

The California Horse Racing Board banned the use of riding crops so that horse jockeys can no longer whip their horses during a race. This comes after 22 horses have died in the last 5 months at the Santa Anita horse race track alone, though it's not clear how many of those deaths were directly related to whipping.

There's currently a bill in the Canadian Parliament that would fine any new park or aquarium in Canada up to $200,000 for holding captive any dolphins, whales or porpoises.unfortunately This would not affect the two existing Canadian aquariums that have about 61 orcas, dolphins + whales held captive .

IN PLASTIC POLLUTION NEWS:

After a massive number of customer complaints, Trader Joes announced that they'll be eliminating over a million pounds of plastic from their stores, in part by no longer offering single use plastic bags at checkout, switching to biodegradable produce bags, replacing styrofoam produce packaging with bio-based compostable trays, and selling more loose produce overall.

UK-based supermarket chain Tesco is now testing sales of more plastic-free produce, though they're not making it permanent until they know how it impacts their food waste numbers. By 2025, Tesco plans to cut packaging weight in half, made all of its packaging entirely recyclable, and ensure the paper it uses is 100 percent sustainable.

New York is now the second state in the US, after California, to ban retail stores from offering single-use plastic bags at checkout. Plastic bags that are still allowed include restaurant takeout bags, deli or meat counter bags, newspaper bags, dry cleaning bags, and bulk trash bags purchased by customers. Counties in New York have the option to charge a five cent fee per paper bag as well, to encourage consumers to opt for reusable bags instead. Hawaii also basically has a similar ban in place, as every county in Hawaii has banned plastic bags, but it hasn't been made official at the state level yet. The state of Oregon is currently considering a plastic bag ban themselves.

San Francisco, California has become the first city in the nation to ban the sale of plastic water bottles that weigh less than 21 ounces. A waiver is allowed only if there isn't an adequate refillable water source nearby. San Fran has already banned plastic bags + styrofoam containers in their mission to go zero waste and eliminate all new trash from landfills.

And speaking of trash, there's a European company called Sedna that's taking fishing nets out of the ocean and turning them into carpets! Fishing nets make up almost half of the plastic pollution in the oceans, so while companies that are using recycled water bottles are great, it's even better in my opinion to see a company trying to tackle this much larger issue.

Finally, Chicago, the Windy City, has pledged to run the city on 100% renewable energy, such as wind, by 2040.

The Hippie Haven Podcast is hosted by Callee - a zero waste activist & business owner. Formerly a translator for the US Navy, Callee was honorably discharged as a conscientious objector in 2017 following an episode of severe depression & alcoholism fueled by not living in alignment with her core values. That same year, at age 23, she started Bestowed Essentials, a handmade line of eco-friendly beauty & home products that are now stocked in over 100 stores around the US & Canada. Callee began hosting this free podcast in August 2018, as well as speaking at events and teaching educational workshops across the country, as part of her life mission to arm you with the knowledge & tools you need to spark positive change in your community. In December 2019, she opened The Hippie Haven in Rapid City, South Dakota - a zero waste retail store & community space with a little free library - the first of its kind in the state. She’ll be opening a second Hippie Haven in Salem, Oregon in Feb 2021.

Follow along on Instagram - @ahippieinavan & @hippiehavenshop & @bestowedessentials
Shop zero waste home goods at www.hippiehavenshop.com
Read podcast transcripts at www.hippiehavenpodcast.com