025: The Chemicals We Eat through Food Packaging with Maricel Maffini
The Mercast | Plastic Free Mermaid talks Change Making
Release Date: 12/04/2019
SOFT LAUNCHING: A New Podcast Unpacking the Truths and Myths of Climate Science
The Mercast | Plastic Free Mermaid talks Change Making
In a world full of noise, we will cut through the confusion and explore the growing divide on climate science. Hosted by Kathryn Nelson (aka Plastic Free Mermaid), a passionate environmental activist with two decades of ocean conservation experience, this podcast dives deep into the issues that matter—examining the rising mistrust in climate science, the role of misinformation, and how political and social divides shape the debate. Each episode explores the complexities of the climate conversation, engaging both sides in the debate, while unraveling the truths and myths surrounding topics...
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48: The Truth Behind Shark Culling with Andre Borrell
The Mercast | Plastic Free Mermaid talks Change Making
In the 1930s, Australia’s Government Shark Control Program planted baited drum lines and shark nets around its beaches to protect swimmers and surfers. But what if the true killer isn’t sharks but the very same program that claims to protect us? In this episode, I’m joined by Andre Borrell, director of Envoy: Shark Cull; a documentary that exposes the ugly truth behind Australia’s shark control program. Partnered with experts, it debunks the program’s effectiveness and highlights sharks’ undeserved reputation of being dangerous killers and their important...
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47: Our Soil Situation with Ryland Engelhart, producer of Netflix’s Kiss the Ground
The Mercast | Plastic Free Mermaid talks Change Making
When we begin our move into a more sustainable life, we can be so quickly reeled into the idea that consuming animal products and byproducts are bad; that we should be into much more plant-based food, but what if that isn’t the big picture? In this episode, I have Ryland Engelhart, producer of Netflix’s Kiss the Ground, which is a documentary that focuses on our soil health situation. He shares with us what we need to do to keep our soils diverse, and how we can contribute as soil advocates. Being earth-conscious is more than just consuming plant-based choices, it’s contributing and...
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46: Claiming Your Aboriginality and Paying Homage to Your Ancestry with Ella Noah Bancroft
The Mercast | Plastic Free Mermaid talks Change Making
As a mixed fair-skinned Bundjalung native born in Australia, Ella Noah Bancroft always felt like she was challenged about just how pure she was as an indigenous person. With growing up to words and notions like that, Ella knew she needed to pay homage to her lineage and respect to the stolen generation by continuing their culture and bringing it to the modern era. Ella is now the founder and pioneer of The Decolonisation Movement, and had dedicated her life to the rise of female energy as the way for us to reconnect and release ourselves from the bounds of personal, social, and ecological...
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45: Fighting Plastic and Light Pollution for our Turtles with Ranger Lauren Engledow
The Mercast | Plastic Free Mermaid talks Change Making
Plastic pollution is a problem that affects so many animals, habitats, and people. Turtles have come into the spotlight in recent years though, thanks to the rise in social media awareness for their protection and preservation; with a big factor to that being the viral video of the straw stuck up in a poor turtle's nose. This video hit the world hard, but we cannot stop at feeling bad for what is happening when we can make conscious efforts now to save more than just the turtles. Today I’m joined by Lauren Engledow, a turtle ranger dedicated to protecting what is left of the species and...
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44: Indigenous Solutions to Modern Period Problems with Michele Wilson
The Mercast | Plastic Free Mermaid talks Change Making
Periods, something so natural for our bodies as females are oftentimes considered taboo to talk about. In this episode, we have Michele Wilson, co-founder of a sustainable and carbon-offset brand of period-proof underwear named Awwa. She's here with us to talk about her Maori roots and how she’s taken inspiration from their innovation and made it widely available to the world. Periods don’t have to and shouldn’t contribute to pollution and plastic waste, especially not when it's an integral part of ourselves. Instead of using throw-aways and plastic inside you, please make the switch and...
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43: A New Narrative of Progress with Helena Norberg-Hodge Part 5 of 5
The Mercast | Plastic Free Mermaid talks Change Making
To conclude my five-part series with the amazing Helena Norberg Hodge, we discuss reclaiming our power of choice by making the switch to using local products and reducing our emissions. We bring to light the faults of industries, proposing a new way to tackle our overall impact on the planet. For the youth listening in-- Helena has a special message for you, addressing the quality of life corporations have placed on you and how we want to support you all through your journeys. In This Episode, We Discuss: An epidemic of anxiety and depression amongst the youth Join the local food...
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42: A New Narrative of Progress with Helena Norberg-Hodge Part 4 of 5
The Mercast | Plastic Free Mermaid talks Change Making
Corporations and businesses ferry across the world goods just for one part of their value chains-- much like being shipped from England, processed in China, then packaged in Thailand. We must ask; do we really need to move food and goods around so much? In this episode, Helena and I go in-depth about the importance of making sustainable choices to uplift our local farmers' markets and support the community economy. In This Episode, We Discuss: The flow of goods in this globalised world The problems in importing and exporting goods Building the local economy with farmers markets ...
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41: A New Narrative of Progress with Helena Norberg-Hodge Part 3 of 5
The Mercast | Plastic Free Mermaid talks Change Making
In our global society today, multinational corporations remain faceless and nameless to us as consumers to the point where it affects our mental health greatly. We strive for fame, for being known, and in this increasing globalization of the world, our likelihood to rise slim down immensely. In this episode, Helena talks about what we can do, from our conscious choices to how we treat the world at our fingertips we call our cellphones, all to cure this world's deep loneliness. In this Episode, We Discuss: The consequences of a government focused on global growth Economics of...
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40: A New Narrative of Progress with Helena Norberg-Hodge Part 2 of 5
The Mercast | Plastic Free Mermaid talks Change Making
Climate change has been in people's minds since Al Gore’s efforts to expose the truth with his documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” from a little over a decade ago. But what a lot of us don't know is that there are larger forces with far greater impact than us individuals. Corporations produce so much waste that even the great former U.S vice president had failed to address or even acknowledge it. Listen in this second part of a five-episode special with Helena Hodge as we uncover these larger forces and how the lack of acknowledgment and even awareness has bred the dominant narrative...
info_outlineDon’t you just enjoy the popping sound of popcorn as it sits inside the microwave, ready for your relaxing movie night?
But what might be scarier than your horror movie (if you're watching one), is knowing that there are chemicals from the packaging of your microwaveable popcorn transferred into your movie snack which you already ingested.
Today we are joined by Researcher, Maricel Maffini. She discusses with us a summary of her presentation from the UNWRAPPED about the chemicals in packaging that transfer to our food and the ways in which the chemicals come out of the packaging into your food.
In this Episode, We Discuss:
- A summary of Maricel Maffini’s presentation on the UNWRAPPED Conference
- Chemicals added to make the plastic more flexible
- Ways in which chemicals come out from the packaging
- Microwave safe vs Health safe
- Lipophilic plastics, PFAS, and PVCs
- Supporting companies that have a safety product policy
Get to know Maricel Maffini:
Dr. Maricel V. Maffini is an Independent Consultant. She holds a doctorate degree in Biological Sciences. She has more than 25 years of research experience in the fields of carcinogenesis, reproductive biology, and endocrine disruption.
For the past nine years, Dr. Maffini has conducted research and published on the U.S. food additive regulatory program, conflicts of interest and regulatory science. Her current work focuses on environmental health issues related to chemical safety with special emphasis on food chemicals, risk assessment, and science policy.
She has authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, reviews, and book chapters. Before becoming a consultant, she was a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, a senior science officer at The Pew Charitable Trust, and a Research Assistant Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine.
To know more about the Unwrapped conference you may check their website here.
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I hope you spend some time in nature today! I'll catch you next time.
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