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In the quest for the perfect lawn, homeowners across the country are taking a shortcut一and it is the environment that is paying the price. About eight million square metres of plastic grass is sold each year but opposition has now spread to the highest gardening circles. The Chelsea Flower Show has banned fake grass from this year's event, declaring it to be not part of its ethos. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), which runs the annual show in west London, says it has introduced the ban because of the damage plastic grass does to the environment and biodiversity.
Ed Home, of the RHS, said: “We launched our sustainability strategy last year and fake grass is just not in line with our ethos and views on plastic. We recommend using real grass because of its environmental benefits, which include supporting wildlife, alleviating flooding and cooling the environment."
The RHS's decision comes as campaigners try to raise awareness of the problems fake grass causes. A Twitter account, which claims to "cut through the green-washv of artificial grass, already has more than 20,000 followers. It is trying to encourage people to sign two petitions, one calling for a ban on the sale of plastic grass and another calling for an Mecological damage" tax on such lawns. They have gathered 7,276 and 11,282 signatxires.
However, supporters of fake grass point out that there is also an environmental impact with natural lawns, which need mowing and therefore usually consume electricity or petrol. The industry also points out that real grass requires considerable amounts of water, weed killer or other treatments and that people who lay fake grass tend to use their garden more. The industry also claims that people who lay fake grass spend an average of £500 on trees or shrubs for their garden, which provides habitat for insects.
In response to another petition last year about banning fake lawns, which gathered 30,000 signatures, the government responded that it has " no plans to ban the use of artificial grass."
It added: M We prefer to help people and organizations make the right choice rather than legislating on such matters. However, the use of artificial grass must comply with the legal and policy safeguards in place to protect biodiversity and ensure sustainable drainage, while measures such as the strengthened biodiversity duty should serve to encourage public authorities to consider sustainable alternatives."
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On a recent sunny day, 13,000 chickens roam over Larry Brown's 40 windswept acres in Shiner, Texas. Some rest in the shade of a parked car. Others drink water with the cows. This all seems random, but it's by design, part of what the $ 6.1 billion U.S. egg industry bets will be its next big thing: climate-friendly eggs.
These eggs, which are making their debut now on shelves for as much as $ 8 a dozen, are still labeled organic and animal-friendly, but they're also from birds that live on farms using regenerative agriculture- special techniques to cultivate rich soils that can trap greenhouse gases. Such eggs could be marketed as helping to fight climate change.
" I 'm excited about our progress, " says Brown, who harvests eggs for Denver based Nest Fresh Eggs and is adding more cover crops that draw worms and crickets for the chickens to eat. The birds' waste then fertilizes fields. Such improvements “allow our hens to forage for higher-quality natural feed that will be good fbr the land, the hens, and the eggs that we supply to our customers. "
The egg industry 's push is the first major test of whether animal products from regenerative farms can become the next premium offering. In barely more than a decade, organic eggs went from being dismissed as a niche product in natural foods stores to being sold at Walmart. More recently there were similar doubts about probiotics and plant-based meats, but both have exploded into m勾or supermarket categories. If the sustainable-egg rollout is successful, it could open the floodgates fbr regenerative beef, broccoli, and beyond.
Regenerative products could be a hard sell, because the concept is tough to define quickly, says Julie Stanton, associate professor of agricultural economics at Pennsylvania State University Brandywine. Such farming also brings minimal, if any, improvement to the food products (though some producers say their eggs have more protein).
The industry is betting that the same consumers paying more for premium attributes such as free-range, non-GMO, and pasture-raised eggs will embrace sustainability. Surveys show that younger generations are more concerned about climate change, and some of the success of plant-based meat can be chalked up to shoppers wanting to signal their desire to protect the environment. Young adults “really care about the planet, " ays John Brunnquell, president of Egg Innovations. "They are absolutely altering the food chain beyond what I think even they understand what they're doing."
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