If nothing was blocking you, what would you do?
It’s been a while since I sent a newsletter, and I promise, it’s not for want of trying. I have sat down to write to you almost every day this month – there are multiple versions saved in my Google Docs, all unfinished. So yesterday, I sat down and started again.
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Here’s what is in this edition of my newsletter. Settle in; it’s a long one:
- “What do Canadians really think about Climate Change?” – a new poll shows dropping numbers; here are my thoughts about that.
- Spiking grocery prices and how we can avoid spiking our anxiety.
- No-holds-barred advice.
- Other stuff and links – June has been a year of a month.
In a new report, “What do Canadians Really Think About Climate Change”, 80% of Canadians expressed high to moderate levels of concern about climate change. Startling numbers at a time with war and so much else going on in the world, many of us are worried.
What really stood out for me in this crucial Re:Climate report was that while an overwhelming 80% of Canadians are concerned about climate change, only 13% see it as a top-three issue. A big drop since earlier years, likely because all the other top issues like affordability, housing, grocery prices, and cost of living are so overwhelming right now. Read the full “What do Canadians really think about Climate Change” report here.
What if we all cared deeply about climate change, but we were all calling it different things?
Climate change is here, and it’s everywhere. It’s showing up as wildfires, droughts, unexpected heat, messy weather patterns, and interrupted harvests, making it harder for humans to live comfortably and for farmers to grow food for the rest of us.
Thankfully, a seismic shift in awareness and understanding is taking place. Perhaps it’s the visible effects like wildfire smoke, garbage, crop loss, and water shortages; whatever the reason, public opinion about climate change is transforming.
Every conversation I’ve had recently, on TV, online, in-person, at Toronto Climate Week, a CAPE volunteer meeting, walking around an urban Toronto farm, with those who garden and those who shop, with those who cook and who eat, from India to Canada, the US and the UK, EVERYONE I have spoken with recently is worried about our collective future, and our ability to live a comfortable life.
Climate change is here, and it’s freaking people out!
Climate change affects every part of our lives. But it feels like we all call it different things.
Let’s look at rising grocery prices. In Canada, the produce, meat and dairy section in particular has been hit hard.
Tomato prices have shot up – is it the weather?
In Spain, in 2023 and again in 2024, untimely hailstorms impacted the tomato harvest. Due to this crop loss, the following winter, tomato prices shot up because a big part of Canada’s winter tomato supply comes from Europe.
Why is almond milk so expensive?
California holds a big share of the market in almond milk – the state grows 80% of the world’s supply of almonds. But growing water-intensive crops like almonds in an area that is already going through severe drought conditions is proving to be expensive, and it’s causing more environmental uncertainty. Add in ICE Raids, and farms and farm workers in the area have been hit hard. Add on Trump’s tariffs on top of all that, and the costs pile up.
Costly bananas?
The global banana crop has been hit hard by a fungal disease, a disease that has been exacerbated due to global warming. 40% of the banana harvest worldwide has been wiped out in the past few years. Monoculture farming and climate change have impacted the banana crop, and prices have been creeping up.
Grocery prices are rising, and while the US-Israel war and Trump’s tariffs deserve a lot of the blame, it’s climate change that is shaking the very foundations of our global food systems.
For more than 8 years, I have been talking about climate change to anyone who will listen. I teach people how to cook, grocery shop, choose, regenerate, sustain, and, in general, adopt low-waste practices to live a more connected, sustainable life. Through my work, I raise awareness of how our everyday actions and small steps impact global systems in faraway corners of the world. And vice versa.
So here’s the no-holds-barred advice you came for today:
Climate change is affecting our lives in different ways. Thankfully, this means that we can approach the solutions in all different ways, too. I talked about this briefly at a Toronto Climate Week event at Carbonhound last year. Here’s a clip from the event.
What can we do?
- Start where you can. Tackle what you can.
- Protect our water, soil, nature, however possible, wherever we live.
- Nature is our biggest ally at this time. We need her support to thrive in the future. So protect nature in all her forms.
As I write this, I am deeply concerned about how the Canadian government is backsliding on issues that impact our quality of life. Laws and regulations are being put in place that are causing harm to Nature, biodiversity, soil, water, and how food is grown. I am writing to my Councillor, MP and PM, Mr Carney, to demand we protect our old trees, protect nature, invest in renewables, and support local ecosystems. I encourage you to do the same.
If you’re in Toronto, find your Councillor here. If you’re in Canada, find your MP here. If you’re writing to PM Mr Carney, here’s how you can do that.
Finally, I wanted to share this piece of research that was released back on June 4. This is a comprehensive series of deliberate actions, bold policy proposals, a change in diets and more – it’s the answer to a good life. Because the science is clear. A good life for most of us – the 99% that includes you and me – is within reach. We all have a role to play.
With love,
Puneeta
Other Stuff and Links:
- On CHCH Morning Live “Leaning into Real, Whole Foods with Puneeta”
- On Breakfast Television “Step aside Maxxing – Here’s the NEXT HOT TREND”
- Toronto Climate Week and early highlights of what I learned there. There’s more coming. I just need the world to stop spinning for a moment.
- Also heard at ToCW – “The world is decarbonising quickly, and it’s not out of a virtuous impulse.” Watch Rick Smith, President, Canadian Climate Institute, at the ToCW kick-off. (his speech starts around 1’50’’ into the recording).