5/17/24: Regenerative supermarket, recovered fish, monarch migration

Planet Health

🐟 HEALTHY FISH: Good news, ocean lovers. A recent US fisheries report shows the number of fish being overfished has reached a record low, with some commercially important species like Atlantic mackerel and Pacific Northwest coho salmon recovering. “By ending overfishing and rebuilding stocks, we are strengthening the value of U.S. fisheries to the economy, our communities and marine ecosystems,” says Rick Spinrad, NOAA’s administrator.

👨‍🌾 UK CHAIN FOR FARMERS: If you're worried about the impact that modern farming has on nature and wildlife, join the 40% of customers of this UK supermarket chain who are demanding change. In response, grocery chain Waitrose will launch "Farming for Nature," and by 2035, all their fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy, and eggs will come from regenerative farms. Waitrose will also aid farmers willing to transition to regeneratively-grown products.

🌱 PLANT INTELLIGENCE: Can flowers really talk to each other? This book explores how plants communicate, defend themselves, and react to their environment, suggesting plants have a unique intelligence or "agency" to affect the outcome of their life. Unlike animals, plants lack brains but use complex chemical signals and gasses, and respond to stimuli in ways that challenge our understanding of consciousness itself!

Human Health

💨 PLASTIC INHALATION: Did you know inhalation of plastic particle air pollution "ranks as the second most likely pathway for human exposure?" According to Dr. Suvash Saha, this new model describes how— and where— inhaled nanoplastics end up inside the body. There’s multiple factors that affect where the plastics go, but he stresses the potential risks of microplastics on our respiratory health. "Non-spherical microplastic particles showed a propensity for deeper lung penetration compared to spherical microplastics and nanoplastics, potentially leading to different health outcomes."

💤 GOOD NIGHT, GARDENERS: Data published in the Journal of Affective Disorders shows that people who garden tend to have fewer sleep issues. Compared to non-exercisers, gardeners were 42% less likely to have multiple sleep complaints. "Gardening could be more strongly recommended," said study author Xiang Gao.

🥤 ULTRA-PROCESSED: Another new study about ultra-processed foods was published in the BMJ, revealing the results of two 30-year surveys spanning more than 114k participants. Consuming ultra-processed foods— instant noodles, packaged cookies, sodas, and ready-made meals— may be linked to a slightly higher mortality risk, the study says, and "the findings provide support for limiting consumption of certain types of ultra-processed food for long term health,” the authors write.

Creature Feature

🦋 MONARCH MIGRATION: The magic of the Monarch butterfly migration is beautifully expressed in this short 6-min video. "The history behind how the global scientific community finally came to understand the unique role that this part of Mexico plays in the life cycle of monarchs is just as fascinating as the butterflies themselves," says Atlas Obscura.

Nutrition 101

☀️ SUNLIGHT BOOST: The increase in sunny days for the Northern Hemisphere means it's easier to acquire one of the most essential vitamins for vitality and immune health— vitamin D. Technically it acts as more of a ‘hormone’ than a traditional ‘vitamin’, and it’s always naturally available through healthy sunlight exposure – so check out these 6 tips for increasing your vitamin D levels.

Last poll’s results

What is your favorite part of the ECL newsletter? [Top 3 answers]

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🌎 Planet Health news (38.5%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🦊 Animal stories (Creature Feature) (18.8%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🙋‍♀️ Human Health news (14.2%)