Welcome back to The Green Light!

After a brief break – unexpectedly extended by the blackout across the Iberian Peninsula – we’re here to bring you more stories of progress in the fight against climate change and nature loss.

☀️ The power of agrisolar

Farmers in California’s Central Valley are bolstering their financing security by swapping crops for solar panels. Creating renewable energy is around 25 times more valuable per hectare, while it massively reduces farms’ water usage. And, while some crops will inevitably have to be grown elsewhere to make up the deficit in food supply, some farmers are managing to grow leafy greens and berries underneath the panels. Otherwise, the switch can give the soil time to regenerate, so it'll be a lot healthier at the end of the panels’ lifespan.

🍽️ Flipping the script on the veganism debate

Reducing our meat consumption is one of the clearest solutions to the climate crisis. But when doing so is presented as an all-or-nothing lifestyle change, and vegans and carnivores are pitted against each other, people are far less likely to make attainable and impactful adjustments to their diets. Shifting the narrative and showing people that they don’t have to go 100% vegan to make a difference will go further in encouraging them to actually cut back.

👗 The guerrilla take-back scheme

Rather than tossing them in the trash, protesters are returning unrecyclable clothes from whence they came. The trend started when designer and activist Wendy Ward sent a polycotton sheet back to Sainsbury’s ten years after it was purchased, at a loss for what else to do with the material. This has sparked the #TakeitBack campaign, where consumers are mailing old clothes back to brands to urge them to think twice about the materials they use and take responsibility for what they produce.

✉️ The Green Light recommends

From pig to plate, the food industry is massive, fast-moving – and it loves its secrets. Want to know how people, companies, and governments shape what ends up on your fork? Step into the Food Jungle.