Monika Merkes PhD Ⓥ
@monikamerkes.bsky.social
We must transition to clean energy and a plant-based food system, as well as protecting and restoring ecosystems. Animals, People, Planet – we're all connected. #PublicHealth #CovidIsNotOver #FactsMatter #democracy #auspol #vegan. Melbourne, Australia
Reposted by Monika Merkes PhD Ⓥ
Deadly H5 bird flu detected on remote Australian island.
The deadly H5 strain has been found on sub-Antarctic Heard Island, officials say, though it doesn’t “substantially” raise the risk to Australia. Heard Island sits over 4,000 km southwest of Perth and 1,700 km north of Antarctica.
The deadly H5 strain has been found on sub-Antarctic Heard Island, officials say, though it doesn’t “substantially” raise the risk to Australia. Heard Island sits over 4,000 km southwest of Perth and 1,700 km north of Antarctica.
Bird flu confirmed in elephant seal population at Heard Island
The federal government says testing confirms the presence of avian influenza in samples collected from southern elephant seals on Heard Island — a sub-Antarctic Australian external territory.
www.abc.net.au
November 25, 2025 at 5:50 AM
Deadly H5 bird flu detected on remote Australian island.
The deadly H5 strain has been found on sub-Antarctic Heard Island, officials say, though it doesn’t “substantially” raise the risk to Australia. Heard Island sits over 4,000 km southwest of Perth and 1,700 km north of Antarctica.
The deadly H5 strain has been found on sub-Antarctic Heard Island, officials say, though it doesn’t “substantially” raise the risk to Australia. Heard Island sits over 4,000 km southwest of Perth and 1,700 km north of Antarctica.
Reposted by Monika Merkes PhD Ⓥ
Earth Is Getting Darker
as Earth is reflecting less sunlight, with most dramatic dimming occurring in Northern Hemisphere
This means N Hemisphere to continue warming faster than global average and see more intense and prolonged summers in years ahead
www.discovermagazine.com/the-earth-is...
as Earth is reflecting less sunlight, with most dramatic dimming occurring in Northern Hemisphere
This means N Hemisphere to continue warming faster than global average and see more intense and prolonged summers in years ahead
www.discovermagazine.com/the-earth-is...
The Earth Is Getting Darker, Which Could Mean Hotter Summers in the Future
Learn the surprising reasons why Earth has grown darker over the last 20 years, which include volcanoes, clouds, and cleaner air.
www.discovermagazine.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Earth Is Getting Darker
as Earth is reflecting less sunlight, with most dramatic dimming occurring in Northern Hemisphere
This means N Hemisphere to continue warming faster than global average and see more intense and prolonged summers in years ahead
www.discovermagazine.com/the-earth-is...
as Earth is reflecting less sunlight, with most dramatic dimming occurring in Northern Hemisphere
This means N Hemisphere to continue warming faster than global average and see more intense and prolonged summers in years ahead
www.discovermagazine.com/the-earth-is...
Reposted by Monika Merkes PhD Ⓥ
Province that has no plan to deal with the #longCOVID destroying the healthcare workforce turns to AI to hallucinate a world in which that problem has a solution that doesn't involve facing reality.
November 23, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Province that has no plan to deal with the #longCOVID destroying the healthcare workforce turns to AI to hallucinate a world in which that problem has a solution that doesn't involve facing reality.
Reposted by Monika Merkes PhD Ⓥ
My cultural awakening: Chicken Run turned me vegetarian
My cultural awakening: Chicken Run turned me vegetarian
Aardman’s tale of a group of plucky hens standing up to their pie-making masters was a favourite in our house, and – I realised – incompatible with my taste for burgers
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:27 AM
My cultural awakening: Chicken Run turned me vegetarian
Reposted by Monika Merkes PhD Ⓥ
Our exhausted earth holds undesirable health consequences for us. independentaustralia.net/environment/...
The silent mineral deficiency no one talks about
Once rich with magnesium and life, Australia’s soils are running on empty — and so are we.
independentaustralia.net
November 23, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Our exhausted earth holds undesirable health consequences for us. independentaustralia.net/environment/...
At a global level, legally prohibiting (and enforcing) the use of behavioral economics and neuroscience research for training AI models ... Good luck!
www.noemamag.com/the-case-for...
www.noemamag.com/the-case-for...
The Case For AI ‘Datarails’ | NOEMA
We must prevent AI models from learning about human weaknesses by banning certain data from their training sets.
www.noemamag.com
November 22, 2025 at 4:05 AM
At a global level, legally prohibiting (and enforcing) the use of behavioral economics and neuroscience research for training AI models ... Good luck!
www.noemamag.com/the-case-for...
www.noemamag.com/the-case-for...
Thank god Türkiye got COP31, Australia doesn't deserve it
Talk about entitlement!
substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:53 AM
Evidence-based journalism? Why is there no mention of #methane in this article? Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas as harmful as CO2. Meat and dairy consumption has to go down too if we want a liveable planet. But that's an inconvenient truth.
theconversation.com/what-do-we-k...
theconversation.com/what-do-we-k...
What do we know about climate change? How do we know it? And where are we headed?
Cimate scientists are more certain than ever that humans are changing the climate – but there are signs of hope on the horizon.
theconversation.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Evidence-based journalism? Why is there no mention of #methane in this article? Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas as harmful as CO2. Meat and dairy consumption has to go down too if we want a liveable planet. But that's an inconvenient truth.
theconversation.com/what-do-we-k...
theconversation.com/what-do-we-k...
"Hungarian Parliament Votes to Ban Production & Sale of Cultivated Meat" ... because meat and dairy consumption is an important part of the “European way of life”. Better change your diets, otherwise you might not have any way of life in a few decades.
vegconomist.com/politics-law...
vegconomist.com/politics-law...
Hungarian Parliament Votes to Ban Production & Sale of Cultivated Meat - vegconomist - the vegan business magazine
On November 18, the Hungarian parliament voted to ban the production and sale of cultivated meat products. The motion passed with 140 votes in favor, 10
vegconomist.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:46 AM
"Hungarian Parliament Votes to Ban Production & Sale of Cultivated Meat" ... because meat and dairy consumption is an important part of the “European way of life”. Better change your diets, otherwise you might not have any way of life in a few decades.
vegconomist.com/politics-law...
vegconomist.com/politics-law...
"... the way Australia calculates forest cover obfuscates the impacts of ongoing deforestation ..." #biodiversity #climate
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Researchers say real impact of deforestation being hidden in Australia’s official figures by ‘sleight of hand’
Report commissioned by conservationists suggests some recorded new growth is misclassified or otherwise not equivalent to losses in species-heavy forests
www.theguardian.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:53 PM
"... the way Australia calculates forest cover obfuscates the impacts of ongoing deforestation ..." #biodiversity #climate
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
'The bee-sting puffy lips, frozen brows and taut necks ...'
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Plastic surgeons wrestle with requests for ‘Mar-a-Lago face’: ‘You’re going to look like Maleficent’
The puffy, artificial look is rising in popularity - thanks to Maga elite such as Kristi Noem and Matt Gaetz
www.theguardian.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:17 PM
'The bee-sting puffy lips, frozen brows and taut necks ...'
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Reposted by Monika Merkes PhD Ⓥ
Beef and dairy can never be "net zero".
But that doesn't stop the industry aggressively pushing its greenwash, including through its 72 delegates (lobbyists) at the Belém climate COP: www.theguardian.com/environment/...
But that doesn't stop the industry aggressively pushing its greenwash, including through its 72 delegates (lobbyists) at the Belém climate COP: www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Another one bites the dust. Two weeks after JBS settled a false advertising lawsuit with the NYAG to stop making "net zero" claims, Tyson has just settled in D.C. about its own "net zero" claims. There is no such thing as low-emissions or carbon-neutral cattle.
aldf.org/article/tyso...
aldf.org/article/tyso...
Tyson Foods Agrees to Stop Making 'Net-zero' and 'Climate-smart Beef' Claims
Lawsuit alleged Tyson Foods falsely claimed it will be net-zero by 2050 and marketed its industrial beef products as “climate-smart”
aldf.org
November 18, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Beef and dairy can never be "net zero".
But that doesn't stop the industry aggressively pushing its greenwash, including through its 72 delegates (lobbyists) at the Belém climate COP: www.theguardian.com/environment/...
But that doesn't stop the industry aggressively pushing its greenwash, including through its 72 delegates (lobbyists) at the Belém climate COP: www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Thank you @geoffrussell.bsky.social for telling me with so many compelling words that I'm contributing to the Utility Death Spiral. 🤔
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Utility Death Spiral
Pakistan teaches us all an example about electricity grids
substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Thank you @geoffrussell.bsky.social for telling me with so many compelling words that I'm contributing to the Utility Death Spiral. 🤔
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Reposted by Monika Merkes PhD Ⓥ
Last year it was ok to eat diseased salmon, so this year, maybe it’s “would Sir & Madam like antibiotics with that diseased salmon? “
Intensive salmon farming - a pox on the waterways
Intensive salmon farming - a pox on the waterways
November 16, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Last year it was ok to eat diseased salmon, so this year, maybe it’s “would Sir & Madam like antibiotics with that diseased salmon? “
Intensive salmon farming - a pox on the waterways
Intensive salmon farming - a pox on the waterways
"Around half of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture, with two-thirds of this allocated to livestock.
The meat industry alone accounts for nearly half of global methane emissions, mainly due to cattle farming."
It's killing our planet, and it's so unnecessary.
The meat industry alone accounts for nearly half of global methane emissions, mainly due to cattle farming."
It's killing our planet, and it's so unnecessary.
MEAT AND CLIMATE CHANGE
"A team of infectious disease specialists argues that shifting to plant-based diets can slow climate change, reduce antibiotic resistance and lower disease risks - empowering clinicians to champion sustainable nutrition."
#AusPol #News
www.news-medical.net/news/2025102...
"A team of infectious disease specialists argues that shifting to plant-based diets can slow climate change, reduce antibiotic resistance and lower disease risks - empowering clinicians to champion sustainable nutrition."
#AusPol #News
www.news-medical.net/news/2025102...
Plant-based diets could curb climate change and infectious diseases, experts say
A new review in Open Forum Infectious Diseases links animal agriculture to climate change, antimicrobial resistance, and infectious disease spread. The authors urge healthcare providers to promote pla...
www.news-medical.net
November 16, 2025 at 11:24 AM
"Around half of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture, with two-thirds of this allocated to livestock.
The meat industry alone accounts for nearly half of global methane emissions, mainly due to cattle farming."
It's killing our planet, and it's so unnecessary.
The meat industry alone accounts for nearly half of global methane emissions, mainly due to cattle farming."
It's killing our planet, and it's so unnecessary.
Reposted by Monika Merkes PhD Ⓥ
A case that seems to be getting stronger by the headline
www-psychologytoday-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.psyc...
www-psychologytoday-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.psyc...
"The Arrogant Ape": A Strong Case Against Human Superiority
Dr. Christine Webb presents a new mindset for de-centering humans and offers a celebration of humility that leads to a new understanding of other species—and ourselves.
www-psychologytoday-com.cdn.ampproject.org
November 16, 2025 at 3:35 AM
A case that seems to be getting stronger by the headline
www-psychologytoday-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.psyc...
www-psychologytoday-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.psyc...
Look at the image. Does it look like beef to you? These are living, sentient animals. The deforestation caused by the meat industry is not visible. Nor is the #methane emitted. #AnimalAgriculture has to be phased out, for so many reasons.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Australia welcomes Trump’s removal of tariffs on beef and other food imports
‘We maintain our position that tariffs on any Australian products are unjustified,’ trade minister Don Farrell says
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Look at the image. Does it look like beef to you? These are living, sentient animals. The deforestation caused by the meat industry is not visible. Nor is the #methane emitted. #AnimalAgriculture has to be phased out, for so many reasons.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Reposted by Monika Merkes PhD Ⓥ
ANTIBIOTICS DUMP IN TASSIE SALMON FARMS
"As some salmon farms begin administering the drug straight away, the state's director of public health is suggesting people consider not eating fish caught within 3 kilometres of affected pens."
#AusPol #GoVegan #Environment
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
"As some salmon farms begin administering the drug straight away, the state's director of public health is suggesting people consider not eating fish caught within 3 kilometres of affected pens."
#AusPol #GoVegan #Environment
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Antibiotic approved for Tasmania's farmed salmon — but maybe don't eat fish caught nearby
The industry's use of the drug is in response to an "endemic" bacterial disease that caused the deaths of up to 15,000 tonnes of salmon from January to April, resulting in dead fish material washing u...
www.abc.net.au
November 15, 2025 at 1:15 AM
ANTIBIOTICS DUMP IN TASSIE SALMON FARMS
"As some salmon farms begin administering the drug straight away, the state's director of public health is suggesting people consider not eating fish caught within 3 kilometres of affected pens."
#AusPol #GoVegan #Environment
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
"As some salmon farms begin administering the drug straight away, the state's director of public health is suggesting people consider not eating fish caught within 3 kilometres of affected pens."
#AusPol #GoVegan #Environment
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Reposted by Monika Merkes PhD Ⓥ
🤔 Why does animal testing persist when better, human-relevant methods exist?
A new analysis by Dr Pandora Pound in the NAM Journal reveals it’s not science holding us back, it’s academic culture.
Read more 👇
www.eceae.org/news/why-res...
A new analysis by Dr Pandora Pound in the NAM Journal reveals it’s not science holding us back, it’s academic culture.
Read more 👇
www.eceae.org/news/why-res...
Why researchers still cling to animal experimentation – and how to change it
Even as sophisticated, human-based research methods – known as New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) – transform toxicology and regulatory science, the...
www.eceae.org
November 13, 2025 at 9:15 AM
🤔 Why does animal testing persist when better, human-relevant methods exist?
A new analysis by Dr Pandora Pound in the NAM Journal reveals it’s not science holding us back, it’s academic culture.
Read more 👇
www.eceae.org/news/why-res...
A new analysis by Dr Pandora Pound in the NAM Journal reveals it’s not science holding us back, it’s academic culture.
Read more 👇
www.eceae.org/news/why-res...
Reposted by Monika Merkes PhD Ⓥ
Spain orders to lock down all poultry due to risk of bird flu reut.rs/4nVZn8J
Spain orders to lock down all poultry due to risk of bird flu
Spain's Agriculture Ministry has ordered to lock down all poultry from November 13 due to the risk of bird flu, it said on Thursday, widening the measure that previously only applied to several high-risk areas.
reut.rs
November 13, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Spain orders to lock down all poultry due to risk of bird flu reut.rs/4nVZn8J
Reposted by Monika Merkes PhD Ⓥ
What could possibly go wrong with this 'clean and green' industry? www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Heavy sarcasm alert.
Heavy sarcasm alert.
Tasmanian salmon resilient to bacterial disease bred like 'stud bulls'
A salmon mass mortality event caused by a bacterial outbreak has given scientists "a lot of genetic knowledge" to put to use in a selective breeding program.
www.abc.net.au
November 13, 2025 at 10:15 AM
What could possibly go wrong with this 'clean and green' industry? www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Heavy sarcasm alert.
Heavy sarcasm alert.
And what about #methane ? Methane emissions also need to decrease if we want a liveable planet for future generations. That means we need to change our diets. Meat and dairy have to become a thing of the past.
It’s not enough for renewables to rise, but carbon emissions need to decrease—and rapidly—to have any impact on the #ClimateCrisis. Fossil fuel and plastics need to become a thing of the past. #COP30 www.bbc.com/news/article...
Fossil fuel emissions rise again - but renewables boom offers hope for climate
Carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels are forecast to reach a new high in 2025 but could soon peak.
www.bbc.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:28 AM
And what about #methane ? Methane emissions also need to decrease if we want a liveable planet for future generations. That means we need to change our diets. Meat and dairy have to become a thing of the past.
Reposted by Monika Merkes PhD Ⓥ
How a Texas refinery turns Amazon-destroying cattle into 'green' jet fuel reut.rs/49zCKn9
How a Texas refinery turns Amazon-destroying cattle into 'green' jet fuel
A Texas refinery that supplies green fuel to U.S. airlines has been purchasing animal fat from cattle raised on illegally cleared lands in the Amazon rainforest, according to a Reuters review of government tracking data, interviews and eyewitness accounts.
reut.rs
November 13, 2025 at 12:05 AM
How a Texas refinery turns Amazon-destroying cattle into 'green' jet fuel reut.rs/49zCKn9
Growing forests and phasing out animal agriculture, the simplest and cheapest solution. #climate
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Removing CO2 from atmosphere vital to avoid catastrophic tipping points, leading scientist says
10bn tonnes must be captured from the air every year to limit global heating to 1.7C, says Johan Rockström
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Growing forests and phasing out animal agriculture, the simplest and cheapest solution. #climate
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
"The Road to Belém: Paved with Greenwash" #AnimalAgriculture #methane
changingmarkets.org/report/the-m...
changingmarkets.org/report/the-m...
The Meat Agenda: Agricultural Exceptionalism and Greenwash in Brazil • Changing Markets
As Brazil prepares to host the 30th conference of the parties of UNFCCC (COP30) in heart of the Amazon, the country is positioning itself as a global climate leader with ambitious emissions reduction ...
changingmarkets.org
November 11, 2025 at 10:56 AM
"The Road to Belém: Paved with Greenwash" #AnimalAgriculture #methane
changingmarkets.org/report/the-m...
changingmarkets.org/report/the-m...