Climate science has been a major talking point, and a source of the major controversy in 2019. Sceptics and supporters have gone head-to-head on the realties and potential solutions to the ever-changing environments of planet Earth. One thing climate scientists have advocated for is a change in attitude towards the consumption of meat, particularly beef, as mass farming is a major contributor to carbon dioxide emissions. Earlier this year, the journal The Lancet: Global Health published a guide on how to eat sustainably.

These guidelines recommend maintaining a diet rich in fruits and vegetables; getting protein and fat from plant-based foods; unsaturated oils from fish; and carbohydrates from whole grains. The major issue with these guidelines are not available, but affordability. According to a further study in The Lancet, the most affordable green diet would cost around $2.84 per day. Based on world income statistics, that remains unaffordable for more than 1/5 of the world’s population – approximately 1.68 billion people. It appears as though much more research evaluation of this topic is required before finding the perfect balance.

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A new study published in the journal “Vaccine” has presented findings that accuse just two organizations of funding most of the misinformation about vaccines on Facebook. The World Mercury Project (chaired by Robert F Kennedy Jr.), and Stop Mandatory Vaccinations have been purchasing 54% of all ads on Facebook decrying the use of vaccines. “Absolutely we were surprised. These two individuals were generating the majority of the content,” said David Broniatowski, a contributing author to the report.

Kennedy is the son of former US attorney general Bobby Kennedy. He also has a non-profit focused on the environment. Larry Cook, the main mind behind Stop Mandatory Vaccinations, mainly uses crowdfunding to secure money for his organization’s ads on Facebook. He was banned from popular crowdfunding site GoFundMe earlier this year, and his YouTube channel has since been demonetized as well.

Whilst many Americans get their news from Facebook (roughly 68% as reported in the study), it is likely that many people have never seen an anti-vax ad on their Facebook feed. This is due to Facebook’s ad targeting algorithm, that is designed to show ads to people who are most likely to respond or be interested in a product or service. These campaigns of misinformation are so dangerous because vaccines are one of the safest and effective medical interventions ever developed.

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