#PassTheMic Campaign, Jane Fonda’s Book–“What Can I Do?” Coming Soon–Insect Food for Dinner, Earth Echo Air Academy

 WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH INSECT FOOD, ANYWAY?

The earth’s growing population puts more pressure on global food production. Insects play a crucial role in moving towards a circular food system, in balance with nature.

According to scientists, environmentalists and government leaders, insect protein is the answer to many of the problems we face today. Conventional protein sources like soy and meat use up large amounts of land and water, and often have a severe impact on ecosystems. For example, the rainforests destroyed for the benefit of soy production.

A handful of EU states –- including Finland, Belgium and the Netherlands — already permit sales of bug-containing foods in shops. So, what about here in north America?

There is no specific set of standards for edible insects in USA. The FDA has made public its opinion, which is the current legal basis for the market. To be allowed for market, the insects must have been bred for human consumption. Products containing insects must of course follow the standards required by the FDA including bacteriological tests and good manufacturing practice certification. The label on the product must include the common name and the insect’s scientific name, and note the potential risks of allergy. Import from other countries is allowed, and the US FDA has already updated its Import Prior Notice with a list of edible insects products.

But many consumers will have to overcome what Niccolo Manzoni, managing partner at Paris-based Five Seasons Ventures, calls the “ick factor.”Andrea Liceaga, associate professor of food science at Purdue, whose research focuses on identifying alternative proteins, says that Even now, in the west, the idea of eating insects is gaining traction.

“One major selling point is the fact that naturally derived compounds have fewer side effects than synthetic compounds,” Liceaga said. “In some cases, side effects from drugs can be debilitating. When using natural compounds, however, these effects are usually very minimal.”

DEEPER DIVE: Bugsolutely, Time, Smithsonian

AIR ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL WORLD WATER MONITORING DAY EVENT 

Here’s a neat story suggested to us by a subscriber to The Climate Daily. Thank you Wariza Quinones. Last month, Earth Echo International sponsored a two-day, high school world water-monitoring event at Air Academy High School in Colorado Springs, CO.

More than 250 students participated in hands-on activities focused on teaching about water quality and sustainability. We highly recommend you check out the webpage describing the event. Photographs and other stuff too good to miss can be had by surfing on over to www.theclimate.org/episodes and clicking on the link to the Air Academy High School event in the Deeper Dive section at the end of this story.

The Air Academy High School event is part of the larger EarthEcho Water Challenge running now through December. The goal of the EarthEcho Water Challenge is to equip anybody with “the power to protect water sources we depend on every day.” The EarthEcho Water Challenge builds public awareness and increases public involvement in protecting the world’s resources. To Find out more, visit monitorwater.org.

DEEPER DIVE: Air Academy Water Challenge, MonitorWater.org

 #PASSTHEMIC, CLIMATE CAMPAIGN

#PassTheMic started as a campaign in 2020 to get influential figures to pass the mic to those on the frontlines of the climate crisis.

It started In late 2020 when the Tori Tsui asked environmentalist and natural history presenter Sir David Attenborough to pass the mic to frontline activists. He’d opened an Instagram account to promote his last documentary, “A Life on Our Planet.”

In less than a day, he’d garnered 1 million followers! Then just as quickly, his social media team decided to shut down Attenborough’s Instagram page once it hit 6.2 million followers. Climate activists from all around the world subsequently launched an online campaign and petition asking for Sir David to #PassTheMic.

#PassTheMic  is a way to encourage those with power and a platform to “pass the mic” to the most affected people and areas (also known as MAPA), it is an easy and direct way to redistribute power and uplift communities on the front lines.

The campaign has facilitated IG takeovers of celebrities, NGOs, rock stars, influencers, fashion designers and publishing empires, putting MAPA climate activists in front of millions of new followers.

DEEPER DIVE: Insta, #PassTheMic, YouTube

A NEW ECO-ACTION BOOK BY JANE FONDA, “WHAT CAN I DO?”

Weren’t you going to tell me about the time you just missed meeting Jane Fonda?

[Yeah, I was… One time, I missed meeting Jane Fonda… by ten minutes]

Great story. Make sure to put that chapter in your memoir!

And speaking of books, Jane Fonda’s latest is entitled, What Can I Do? What, you might ask, has actress and fitness icon Jane Fonda got to do with fighting climate change? Here are Fonda’s own words:

According to Fonda’s publishers, Penguin/Random House, What Can I Do? isn’t a wish list—it’s a to-do list. So many of us recognize the urgency in stemming the tide of climate change but aren’t sure where to start. It’s a call to action from Jane Fonda. 100% of the author’s net proceeds from What Can I Do? have gone to Greenpeace.

To Click on the link to the book, surf on over to theclimate.org/episodes and click on the link in the Deeper Dive section of this story.

And you still owe me that story….

DEEPER DIVE: What Can I Do? clip, What Can I Do?