Dutch lead the way with less meat

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For anyone with us for the first time, welcome to Voyage Green News! We provide a weekly dose of news and inspiration for a sustainable life. 💚 

♻️ This week’s sustainability news

Dutch supermarkets help people eat less meat

What’s happening: Dutch supermarket Jumbo will stop offering promotions on fresh meat products from the end of May. This is part of a plan by the supermarket chain to help their customers shop and eat more sustainably.

Why it’s happening: The supermarket chain wants to have more plant-based protein on its shelves. By 2030, they are aiming for it to be 60 percent. They are also promoting plant-based recipes to customers to help achieve this goal, which is in line with Dutch Health Council dietary guidance. This mirrors the commitment by the Netherlands’ biggest supermarket chain Albert Heijn to ensure 60% of consumed proteins are plant-based by 2030. To achieve this, they are expanding its plant-based range with over 150 new products added to the more than 1000 products currently in the range.

Why it’s important: Dutch animal rights group Wakker Dier praised the announcement as meat promotions force farmers to supply the meat as cheaply as possible to meet demand, placing animals at increased risk of poor conditions. While European supermarkets are leading the world with reducing meat consumption to help meet their climate commitments, the same can’t be said for other countries. A UK study found supermarkets there are still using promotions to sell more meat despite their pledge for more sustainable eating that would benefit their customers’ diets and reduce climate change. While some countries, such as Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Qatar, Norway, Brazil, and Germany also refer to sustainability in their dietary guidelines, more countries like Australia need to also include this messaging to help educators, dieticians, supermarkets and other food sellers to transition people onto eating more plant-based products.

The senseless killing of aid workers in Gaza

What happened: The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) killed seven aid workers in Gaza. The aid workers from the World Central Kitchen charity were traveling in marked cars along routes to and from facilities coordinated with the IDF. They were killed in three separate strikes, repeatedly targeted as the wounded sought to escape three cars as each one was hit in succession over a distance of a few kilometres.

Why it happened: The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that incidents like this “happens in wartime.” The Israeli military held an investigation and they stated the strikes were “a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification.“ They have dismissed two officers and formally reprimanded senior commanders as a result of this investigation. While acknowledging these are important steps forward, WCK has demanded an independent commission to investigate the deaths as the “IDF cannot credibly investigate its own failure in Gaza.”

Why it’s important: The aid workers were returning from distributing tons of much-needed food. Half the population of Gaza (1.1 million people) face the imminent threat of famine. The food had to reach Gaza via a man-made port off the coast on cargo ships from Cyprus, as covered in the first issue of our newsletter. After the killing of the aid workers, the ships carrying tons of food aid from Cyprus were turned back. WCK and other aid agencies have been forced to stop their activities in Gaza. Doctors Without Borders have stated that what happened to these aid workers is part of a pattern of deliberate attacks on humanitarians, health workers, journalists, UN personnel, schools, and homes. They have been saying for weeks that “this pattern of attacks is either deliberate or indicative of reckless incompetence.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for independent investigations into the deaths of all 196 aid workers killed in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war.

🌐 Travel to Sitges, Spain

Explore this charming historical coastal town

Beautiful and historical Sitges deserves a visit: The Spanish have been travelling to Sitges to soak up the Mediterranean lifestyle for hundreds of years. With cobble-stoned twisting laneways, beautiful landmarks, stunning art, festivals, multiple beaches to choose from, and more, Sitges is just a train ride away from Barcelona and well worth making the trip down to discover its delights. Read our article to learn the best things to do when in Sitges.

😇 People doing great things

More reasons to be a fan of Billie Eilish

A global superstar born into an eco-conscious family: In the house where Billie Eilish grew up, everything was treated as reusable, including wrapping paper on the gifts she received. Back in 2012, the family took advantage of a government rebate to transition its Los Angeles home to run on solar power. Then in 2014, her parents Patrick O’Connell and Maggie Baird removed the grass from their front yard to save water. As her music career started to take off, Baird would attend meetings with her daughter and grill the record labels on their environmental credentials. A decade later with a global audience and greater influence, they are finding even bigger ways to make a positive contribution. Baird founded Support + Feed in 2020, which encourages the availability of plant-based food, including at large-scale events like concerts, as a way to mitigate climate change and improve food security. Eilish also helped to launch and fund ­REVERB’s Music Decarbonization Project. Its ultimate aim is to eliminate carbon emissions created by the music industry, with initiatives such as a temporary ‘solar farm’ with zero-emission battery systems at Chicago’s Lollapalooza where Eilish headlined last summer. You can read more about Eilish, Baird, and their initiatives in this interview with Billboard.

⭐️ Weekly inspiration

$20 billion in funds distributed to US local non-profits

Investing in clean communities: The ‘green bank’ program supports the environmental and social improvement of communities across the country.

Simple design changes to benefit the planet

Innovation in publishing: HarperCollins adjusted font size and page layout, and used eco-friendly fonts, to save 245.6 million pages, equivalent to 5,618 trees.

Busting electric vehicle (EV) myths

Setting the record straight on what it means to drive EVs: The Guardian’s series on the myths, realities and grey areas surrounding EVs.

Nearly a quarter of US electricity is clean

22% of the nation’s electricity grid is now powered by renewables: Sun and wind power has grown massively over the last decade, while coal declined.

Taking reusable cups to the sky

Reusable cups from Air New Zealand: The airline conducted a trial over six domestic flights encouraging people to bring their own or use a supplied one.

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