NEWSROOM
UK government withdraws backing for Shell, Equinor projects in North Sea
Energy secretary Ed Miliband has announced the government will not support Shell and Equinor in legal challenges mounted against the controversial ‘Jackdaw’ and ‘Rosebank’ oil and gas projects the firms had planned in the North Sea. The new government’s decision, taken to “save the taxpayer money,” is a stark contrast from the Conservatives’ commitment to “robustly defend” the cases. Environmental campaigners say the Conservative government’s approval of Rosebank was made unlawfully, and its claims that domestic oil and gas production would bolster energy security are unfounded. The announcement follows a decision by the supreme court in June that scope 3 emissions should be considered when approving oil and gas projects.
Australian workers get the ‘right to disconnect’
The Australian government has passed a new law giving workers the right to ignore messages from their employers or clients, outside of working hours. Employers can still contact their employees, however the law will protect employees’ right not to respond unless the refusal is deemed unreasonable. The Fair Work Commission (FWC) will be tasked with deciding what counts as unreasonable, considering factors like the employee’s role, the reason for contact and how it is made. Employees and employers will be asked to resolve disputes in the workplace, but where they are unable to, the FWC can intervene to order an employer to stop contacting its employee, or conversely, for an employee to respond. Fines will be imposed for breaching these orders. The new law, which mimics ones in countries like France, Germany, and Belgium, has been well-received.
Food Foundation says plant-based meats are better for the planet
Plant-based ‘meats’ are better for the environment and mostly healthier than animal-based products like sausages and burgers according to a new study from the Food Foundation. The report says meat substitute production uses significantly less greenhouse gas emissions and water than meat, and they are nutritionally similar. Fake meat products have less saturated fats, fewer calories, and more fibre, though newer products tend to contain more salt. Though plant-based products also had less protein than meat, this was not a concern according to the Guardian, because the UK population consumes more than enough protein already to sustain health – although only a third of these products are fortified with B12 and iron, which are found naturally in meat.
Scientists take inspiration from Indonesian cuisine to make food from food waste
Fungal biologist Vayu Hill-Maini and colleagues are using an orange fungus called Neurospora intermedia to transform food waste products into tasty ingredients. Formerly a chef, Hill-Maini worked with peers at University of California Berkeley, to sequence the genome of the fungus after finding it in oncom, a Javanese meat substitute fermented from soy. Hill-Maini discovered that N. intermedia can break down cellulose and pectin, beneficial sugars which are difficult for humans to process. The addition of the fungus to soy created delicious food and increased the protein content of the byproduct and made it more digestible. A group of 61 Danish taste testers reacted positively to oncom, likening it to mushroom. While Michelin-starred chefs experiment with the fungus to create unusual dishes, Hill-Maini is excited to deploy N. intermedia at industrial scale, transforming waste into delicious and nutritious food.
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