Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Matthew Hayek

@matthewhayek.bsky.social

8.6K followers 330 following 360 posts

NYU Asst. Professor of Environmental Studies. Climate, animals, land use, and food systems. MatthewHayek.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · Nov 4

New study: we found that small reductions in pasture-based beef production in some areas, especially in temperate, humid regions like the Eastern US & Europe, could lead to large amounts of CO2 removal by regrowing native forests. Here's an explainer 🧵 www.nyu.edu/about/news-p...

Small Reductions to Meat Production in Wealthier Countries May Help Fight Climate Change, New Analysis Concludes

Eliminating fraction of current beef production could remove three years’ worth of global fossil fuel emissions

www.nyu.edu

6 92 220

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 4d

Diets are currently crossing many planetary boundaries simultaneously and leading to millions of death, with healthcare costs soon exceeding over a trillion. Eating lower on the food chain can help address all of this. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

‘Planetary health diet’ could save 40,000 deaths a day, landmark report finds

Diet allows modest meat consumption and would also slash food-related climate emissions by half, says report by 70 leading experts from 35 countries

www.theguardian.com

2 13

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 4d

The new diet recs still see major reductions in land based animal food, far greater consumption of whole plant foods, and little changes in seafood consumption relative to present day, despite or massively unsustainable resource exploitation of oceans. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

The EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy, sustainable, and just food systems

The global context has shifted dramatically since publication of the first EAT–Lancet Commission in 2019, with increased geopolitical instability, soaring food prices, and the COVID-19 pandemic exacer...

www.thelancet.com

1 10

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 4d

The new Planetary Health Diet has been released by the EAT-Lancet commissions. Despite hearing years of talk about major methodological changes, the new recommendations look...basically the same as first one! Image from the Guardian. Links below

2 5 31

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 9d

Love this

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 9d

Can you tell followers how to attain neckerchief and bandana neck ties that drape naturally, don't stick out in odd directions, etc.? All of the advice out there is awful!

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 9d

I know a few New England homeowners who badly wanted *all the things* that a heat pump provided but they were dissuaded over bad advice from neighbors and HVAC specialists. I don't think anyone was greedy or nefarious. There's just such a knowledge gap around costs vs upsides.

1 2

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 9d

These missions' weakness is that many struggle to articulate how strategies for tackling societal issues will directly translate into urgent, immediate GHG reduction, or how they'll double the effect tomorrow. GHGs have a time value: 1 ton/year displaced today is far better than next year.

2 1

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 9d

I'm not saying that these aren't worthy focuses; any can be a piece of a robust and systemic theory of change. I'm just concerned that overly focusing on "root" (really systemic) causes can distract from the tangible, direct cause: continuously releasing GHGs into the atmosphere.

1 2

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 9d

Similar takeaway here. A common thread was "we're tackling the root causes of climate change", which ranged across structural inequity, military industrial complex, forced labor, or using any agrochemicals. The phrase is a stand-in for funder perceptions & priorities, potentially biases.

Kate Marvel @drkatemarvel.bsky.social · 9d

my takeaway from climate week nyc is that "climate storytelling" is a little too much "we must reimagine our deepest souls in relationship to mother nature and the moral abyss of the polycrisis into which we must now stare" and not enough "ok but get a heat pump"

1 4 20

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 21d

It was a great pleasure working with @scmcclelland.bsky.social at NYU for the past year and a half, and I recommend folks follow her here and on LinkedIn for great research on ag and nature-based solutions to climate change!

Shelby C. McClelland @scmcclelland.bsky.social · 22d

🚨 Big News!! 🚨

I am so excited to announce that I’ve recently joined the faculty at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences @stonybrooku.bsky.social ! My initial position is as a faculty fellow under the SUNY PRODiG+ Fellowship Program. 1/n

www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/soma...

Image of Shelby McClelland wearing a black Stony Brook University t-shirt standing in front of a tree.

1 9

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 23d

Don’t get my points mixed up. I’m not pro gas, I even think we should eliminate gas in homes, including stoves. But the superior quality of induction is not clear-cut to me.

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 23d

It’s largely about the quality and diameter of the magnetic elements used to induce heat. More here: youtu.be/_CrI33N-Sjg?...

Induction Stoves -- Watch Before You Buy One!

YouTube video by Helen Rennie

youtu.be

1 2

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 23d

This is a thread about accessible options for people who are close to not cooking at home if further inconveniences are introduced. Not about people who spend $8,000+ on a range.

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 24d

I have smooth cast iron from my grandmother. Cook regularly on it, including very “sticky” things. I still don’t use it for tofu. Nor ceramic nonstick. My carbon steel wok on blazing heat fares better, but that + constant re-seasoning isn’t a bar I’m going to hold the average American to rn.

1 1

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 24d

Sure. I can do lots on cast iron. But avg bar for many young adults is incredibly low. There is often no “getting the trick of it”. Just giving up and ordering grubhub.

1 2

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 24d

No doubt. Just a few observations, but not disagreeing:
- chefs aren’t public health experts
- celebrity news ≠ health/enviro news
- induction stoves are still bad at even heat (see Helen Rennie’s youtube)
- many high-end restaurants now use induction anyway bc it keeps kitchens cooler & calmer.

2 2

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 24d

They do! But it seems to me like the highest priority should be on forever + reactive + readily-replaceable and not forever + more-stable + less-replaceable

2 1

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 24d

I'm not saying I think a legal ban or restriction is a bad idea. But painting this as pro-environmental voters versus greedy celebrity chefs completely misses the tradeoffs, and burns opportunities for legislative win-wins with enviro health + cooking convenience.

2 2

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 24d

I just follow a number of home cooking youtubers like Adam Ragusea and Helen Rennie. They don't make millions also they just don't use ceramic alternatives; just teflon-lined aluminum for some applications and steel/iron for others

1 1

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 24d

I doubt it exists. Study would be costly and there's been zero incentives till now. There's a whole ton of smaller consumer behavior research on google scholar though on nonstick pans, ceramic alternatives, and eating in/out on google scholar though. Much of it seems to point to tradeoffs

1 3

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 24d

The manufacture of these pans likely creates more enviro exposure to harmful chemicals than normal imperfect home use. That needs to be looked at & dealt with. More effective & safer alternatives still need to be developed.

1 3

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 24d

This article doesn't cover real stakes of this ban. Yes, celebrity chefs hawk products. But PFAS aren't all equal. PTFE in pans is relatively inert & foolproof for home cooking provided you use wood utensils. Ceramic just isn't as effective. A ban could backfire & cause more takeout & snacking

California Wants to Ban ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Pans. These Chefs Say Don’t Do It.

www.nytimes.com

4 1 20

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 24d

Also teflon PTFE and chemicals used for binding them are much larger an more inert than the active chemicals that we're finding in water supplies. The nuance needed here is that manufacture of these pans likely creates more enviro exposure to harmful chemicals than normal imperfect home use.

1 1 2

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 24d

I genuinely think that this ban could affect how people to cook less at home. Non-fluoride compounds like ceramic linings just are not up to snuff and lose nonstick ability on repeated heatings. Risks of home exposure need to be compared risks of potentially increasing snacking & fast food

1 2

Reposted by Matthew Hayek

Colm Duffy @colmduff.bsky.social · Aug 13

What if wealthy nations could lock in high methane emissions and still claim climate neutrality?

That’s the risk with “temperature neutrality”.

Here’s the plain-English version of our new study:

medium.com/@colmduffy/h...

How one country’s potential climate backslide could block others from feeding themselves, and…

The Dangerous Allure of ‘No Additional Warming’.

medium.com

13 28