Just thinking about how it seems like we are just starting to realize the full magnitude of how bad plastics are both for the environment and for human health%20and%20reduced%20fertility.)

Also thinking about the studies showing that cooking with gas stoves can be extremely bad for you.

What are some things you know about that aren't widely known to have similar ill effects?

  • jack [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    damn that gas stove stuff is new to me but it makes perfect sense, fucking bummer, electric stoves suck

    I spend a ton of time over the stove

    A similar one is basically any cleaning spray at all

    • AlexisOhanian [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Not to mention the dairy needed to make it as well. Things like yogurt and cheese take even more cow's milk to concentrate into the final product.

      • crime [she/her, any]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Regular yogurt doesn't take more milk to make than just drinking the volume of milk you'd use to make it, the recipe for it is just "boil milk, add a bit of yogurt you already have as a culture starter, and wait"

      • crime [she/her, any]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Since it's acidic it's not really good for much. Whey protein uses "sweet" whey, which is the byproduct whey from making certain kinds of cheese — it hasn't begun to ferment yet so its pH is above 5 and it can be used for stuff. Acidic whey is a byproduct from draining yogurts (this is how Greek yogurt is made thick - draining regular yogurt) and certain hard cheeses that have some pre-fermentation as part of their production process.

        I never really got the appeal of Greek yogurt tbh, regular thin yogurt has about the same nutritional content if you eat more of it

  • Leon_Grotsky [comrade/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Making milk substitutes like almond milk requires an insane amount of water to produce.

    Not to say it's more destructive or inefficient than dairy milk or any other food production practice; it's just surprising the sheer amount of water required to both grow the almonds, and then process them into the liquid solution.

    • DirtbagVegan [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 years ago

      Oat milk gang. While Almond milk is a water hog, it is worth pointing out that it still uses less water than dairy milk. Interesting number crunch The primary issue with almonds is that their high water use is happening in a region (they are almost entirely grown in california) where that water is scarce. I hope more people switch to soy or oat, much better for the environment.

      That being said, I hope that non-dairy milk in general gets better at packaging, since right now it's a lot of plastic and plastic-coated paper which is difficult to recycle.

        • AlexisOhanian [he/him]
          ·
          4 years ago

          Homemade oat milk can get so slimy though, I've never gotten it to last a few days.

        • TheCaconym [any]
          ·
          edit-2
          4 years ago

          Coconut milk can also be made very easily at home.

      • Leon_Grotsky [comrade/them]
        ·
        4 years ago

        While Almond milk is a water hog, it is worth pointing out that it still uses less water than dairy milk.

        Yes, I tried to be careful not to accidentally make this point in my comment. Dairy milk requires WAY MORE if you consider keeping the cow itself hydrated as part of the production process.

        That being said, I hope that non-dairy milk in general gets better at packaging, since right now it’s a lot of plastic and plastic-coated paper which is difficult to recycle.

        I have been seeing more waxed-paper containers near me (like dixie cups you can scrape the wax off with a fingernail), which is better but still not ideal imo.

            • CarlTheRedditor [he/him]
              ·
              edit-2
              4 years ago

              Oh I thought you meant like from a waste disposal standpoint, not a functional one. Gotcha. Yeah you don't want the carton to start breaking down before you're done with it.

              • Leon_Grotsky [comrade/them]
                ·
                4 years ago

                Right. Like ,from an environmental perspective waxed-paper is a solid approach. But for it to be a truly excellent replacement for plastics you gotta take other things into consideration too.

                • Orcocracy [comrade/them]
                  ·
                  4 years ago

                  I'd argue for just going back to reusable glass bottles. It's what milk used to be put in only a handful of decades ago.

      • Leon_Grotsky [comrade/them]
        ·
        edit-2
        4 years ago

        Yes, I worded my comment specifically so that it would not imply that it is worse than dairy farming.

    • CarlTheRedditor [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Lightweight long-sleeved shirts with an SPF rating. I'm not up on the risks of sunscreen but I do hate being all greasy and having to reapply it periodically.

        • CarlTheRedditor [he/him]
          ·
          edit-2
          4 years ago

          They make gloves for that! I have a set of lightweight, fingerless ones for hiking.

          Also I think I want one of those hoodies now, thanks!

    • DirtbagVegan [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 years ago

      Uhh, so we basically don’t know if sunscreens are safe or not? Wild.

      • read_freire [they/them]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Get the reef safe shit at the very least. We know for sure that most sunscreen is environmentally awful whether it's safe for the person or not

    • DirtbagVegan [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 years ago

      Lawn care is absolutely a completely cursed industry of using poisons far too dangerous for anyone to need around your house in order to make sure that you can have a green area that’s almost as bad as asphalt for absorbing rainwater.

  • Kaputnik [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I feel like people should be more apprehensive about botox considering it's a modified form of the most toxic protein found on earth (botulinum toxin) with an LD50 of 1ng/kg

    • Pezevenk [he/him]
      ·
      edit-2
      4 years ago

      People should be but the fact that it is botulinum toxin doesn't really say much on its own... I don't think botox poisoning is common.

  • Marvont [comrade/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    sugar is an addictive substance that you do not need to survive. it is in pretty much every processed food

    • DirtbagVegan [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 years ago

      I mean, like we all know fossil fuels are killing the planet and gasoline was ruining boomer brains for like fifty years. I mean stuff that’s less known.

  • kundun_i_liked_it [none/use name]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Most types of rice have significant levels of arsenic https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2015/01/how-much-arsenic-is-in-your-rice/index.htm

    The best kind is white basmati rice from California, India, or Pakistan or sushi rice from the U.S.

    Millets, bulgur, and barley are good, cheap rice alternatives.

  • came_apart_at_Kmart [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    "PFOA has been detected in the blood of more than 98% of the general US population"

    PFOA and PFOS are extremely persistent in the environment and resistant to typical environmental degradation processes. [They] are widely distributed across the higher trophic levels and are found in soil, air and groundwater at sites across the United States. The toxicity, mobility and bioaccumulation potential of PFOS and PFOA pose potential adverse effects for the environment and human health.

    PFOA and its relatives. literally in everything you can think of. food, water, air, dust. and you too.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfluorooctanoic_acid

  • Barabas [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    4 years ago

    Most furniture upholstry is pretty bad for you from all the fire inhibitors that are put in them.