The Mercast | Plastic Free Mermaid talks Change Making

Plastic food packaging indeed protects our food but it can also be the source of chemical food contamination and increased risk in health. We don't know every material used in making these packaging and this knowledge gap can actually hurt us. Join me in this episode as we unfold the different packaging materials and chemicals that touch our food with Dr. Jane Muncke, the Managing Director and Chi...

Have you ever thought about what materials your ketchup sachet was made of? Or even thought of what this type of packaging may do to your health? In today's episode, we are joined by Shilpi Chhotray from the UNWRAPPED Conference. She shares with us the huge problem that comes from sachet packaging and how it is being used by various companies for multiple products. Join us as we discuss this probl...

Microplastics are everywhere, from the shirt that you use, the food that you eat, and even in the air that you breathe in. In this episode, We interview Dr. Martin Wagner from the UNWRAPPED Conference as he debunks claims on microplastics and educates us about the research around Microplastics and Nano plastics. Dr. Martin Wagner is a professor of biology at Norwegian University of Science and Tec...

The single most important thing for us to do about the general chemical and plastic issue is to redesign plastic. - Pete Myers Join me in this episode as we unravel the chemicals that are in plastics with Dr. Pete Myers. He is the founder and Chief Scientist of Environmental Health Sciences.  In this conversation, he summarizes the presentation he did at the UNWRAPPED Conference. He talks about th...

Join me in this part 2 episode with Dr. Leo the author of Sicker, Fatter, Poorer, as he explains the economics of plastic-free packaging and the dangers of food packaging with hormone-disrupting chemicals. He also shares simple steps and actionable solutions that'll not only benefit us but also our economy as a whole. Get yourself informed, don't forget to grab a copy of Dr. Leo's "Sicker, Fatter,...

Did you know that you can become fatter, sicker, and poorer because of plastics?  In this episode, we interview Dr. Leo from the UNWRAPPED Conference as he exposes the chemicals that break our hormonal systems and harm our health in ways where it's difficult to recover. Dr. Leo Trasande is a physician at NYU and the author of Sicker, Fatter, Poorer , a book that reveals the alarming truth about ho...

Join me today as we dive deeper into the fascinating culture of Indigenous people and the sea country with Indigenous Reef Education Ranger, Blake Cedar. Blake is a member of the Dreamtime Dive, the only boat in Australia that incorporates indigenous history, wisdom, and culture in their tours. He is very passionate about sharing his culture and heritage with everyone. In this episode, Blakes talk...

Did you know that there are high levels of hazardous chemicals called PFAS  ( per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ) in your takeaway food packaging? Before you freak out, what exactly is PFAS and why should you stay away from it? Join me as we understand what these chemicals are with Mike Schade, the Mind the Store Campaign Director for Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families. In this episode, Mike simp...

Agriculture is one of the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect that's responsible for the climate change we are experiencing today. On the other side, agriculture is also vital in ending the climate crisis that we are currently. Through a holistic farm management that bring nutrients back to the ground while lessening the plastic pollution...

The nutrients in beef greatly depends on what the cow eats. If eating processed and unhealthy food degrades our health, then it's most likely the same with animals.  Okay, you might be confused. But how does the way a cow is raised or fed could make any difference to your health and to the environment? Today on Mercast, Andrew Cameron, the owner of Byron Grass Fed (a company that connects ethical...

Did you know that seaweed has many uses? Before, it was mainly harvested and gathered for basic uses such as food, fertilizers and animal food. Today it is used in a variety of applications; namely cosmetics, biofuel, and food supplements!  Today's episode, we're going to learn everything about seaweeds with Ian O'Hollaren, the founder of Seaquoia, a wild California kelp and seaweed company. Ian i...

Join me today as we talk about the topics discussed from UWRAPPED with Maria Westerbos. Unwrapped is a conference that brings together world-renowned scientists to increase global recognition of the known human health risks of plastics while promoting a culture shift to safer alternatives! Maria is an expert in the communications world, founder and director of Plastic Soup Foundation, an organizat...

Today's episode will center around the plastic pollution in Southeast Asia. If you travel to Southeast Asia, you'll notice how food packaging differs from what we are used to here in the global north. This small plastic packaging called "sachet" is now causing major harm to our environment particularly on bodies of water.  In this episode, we'll talk about the plastic food packaging in Southeast A...

Today's episode, Cyrus Sutton takes us back on the Hawaiian grounds and into surf filmmaking as we go deep into his life and work. Cyrus is an environmental and pro surf filmmaker. He is also the director of the award-winning surf film Riding Waves in 2003 and the filmmaker behind the documentary Island Earth. and he's going to share his experience making the film as well as his learnings from doc...

"We must work towards a world where plastic pollution is unthinkable" — Capt. Charles Moore When you scan your home, you'd probably find a lot of plastic packaging everywhere. We try to reduce our plastic consumption but it's quite hard when business entities are using it on the products that we're consuming daily. For real change to happen, we need laws that'll require producers and manufacturers...

Beekeeping is becoming more popular today. Keeping your own bees is indeed appealing but the messy process of harvesting honey can stop you from actually doing it. Harvesting honey can really make you as "busy as a bee", not only is it messy but you're also disturbing the bees. If you want to experience the joy of harvesting pure, unprocessed honey minus the mess - Cedar Anderson, the co-founder a...

Join me today as we talk about mushrooms with Julian Mitchell, one of the co-founders of Life Cykel, an evolutionary mushroom biotech company that uses waste and mushroom to create healthy medicinal products and technologies! Now, doesn't that sound amazing!? In this episode, not only will you learn that mushrooms are good for you, you'll also learn about its amazing healing powers that benefits u...

The Philippines is one of the many countries around Asia that continue to struggle in managing non-recyclable waste or single-use plastics such as sachets. To address this problem, environmental groups insist that such waste shouldn't be addressed through a linear waste management approach, but through Zero Waste management system. In this episode, Asia Pacific Coordinator for GAIA, Froilan Grate...

In Indonesia, locals use rivers for washing, bathing, and drinking. But many are unaware of how contaminated the water is due to industrial waste from industrial factories and irresponsible dumping. The river water is so polluted, eating fish from it can cause food poisoning and even death! To stop pollution from flowing into the Indian rivers, Prigi an Indonesian scientist turned radical environm...

Imagine a world free from plastic. Wonderful isn't it?   Our vision of a plastic-free world is possible and it's slowly happening. There are many amazing people working hard to make this happen and one of them is Emma! Emma is a Plastic Pollution Campaigner at Friends of the Earth. I met her from the Break Free from Plastic Global Leadership meeting and she's here to talk about her involvement wit...

Our planet is drowning in a never-ending pile of plastic! And people are showing no signs of slowing down or reducing their consumption. Businesses are still active in producing single-use or disposable plastic products, and it has become an integral part for others to consume it. We are definitely in plastic crisis! Plastic pollution is not only harming our planet but also us humans. Glady, this...