Obama takes issue with 'call-out culture', says it's not activism

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A new term that is slowly catching on: "cancel culture":
It tends to refer to behaviour that plays out mostly on the Internet when someone has said or done something to which others object. That person is then condemned in a flurry of social media posts. Such people are often referred to as "cancelled", a way of saying that many others are fed up with them and will have no more to do with them.

"If all you're doing is casting stones, you're probably not going to get that far,"

Relate to the recent condo resident incident where netizens engaged in doxxing and 30,000 even signed an online petition to get his employer JP Morgan to fire him....

Relate to issues about online vitriol, online vigilantism and ungracious behaviour....

Qn: How effective is social media as a tool in bringing about change in society? (RV Prelim 2019)

New York to ban foie gras over animal cruelty concerns

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Most foie gras is produced through a process known as gavage, in which ducks are force-fed a fatty corn-based mixture that engorges their livers...The process requires tubes to be inserted into a duck's throat for a 20-day feeding regimen, swelling the liver to up to 10 times its normal size. The procedure can leave ducks too big to walk or even breathe before they are slaughtered, animal activists say.
"This is one of the most violent practices and it's done for a purely luxury product,"

The Cost to Culinary Heritage:
It's like taking letters from the alphabet; they will take something out of our kitchen vocabulary that's integral to the restaurant."

For qns on animal rights, food, etc...

Biodegradable disposables can harm environment too: Experts

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Singapore has a plastic problem, having only recycled 4 per cent of its plastic waste last year. 

But did you know a metal straw has the same environmental impact as hundreds of plastic straws?...the amount of energy that goes into making, delivering and disposing of a stainless steel straw is over 100 times more than what goes into a plastic one....But the impact could be even higher, as the study did not factor in the water and soap that go into cleaning the straws every time they are reused,...Using water itself is also a burden to the environment. It has to be purified beforehand, (and) there's a lot of technology behind it.

biodegradable plastics are useful only if they are left in the environment to biodegrade....But Singapore incinerates the waste that it does not recycle.

While researchers tackle the technical aspects of plastic waste, consumers have a role to play as well.

Consumers can reduce their impact on the environment by opting to use reusable bags and food containers, instead of disposables. The excessive consumption of disposables is a waste of resources and it contributes to our carbon footprint and climate change.

People are talking about plastic like it's evil, but... It's the attitude and how we use the material. What's going on with plastics is the people are causing the problem, because we're dumping man-made materials in the environment... If you don't need it, don't use it. If possible, reuse, and, whenever possible, try to separate and recycle

For qns on the envmt....