Beyond that, she recently announced her third album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, to be released May 17, 2024. She spent the days leading up to the announcement building excitement by adding all of her Instagram followers to her “Close Friends” list. Eilish had the most Instagram followers in 48 hours…with her count increasing by 7 million followers total.
While her debut album, when we all fall asleep…where do we go?, was a chart-topper in its own right, it landed Billie every GRAMMY it was nominated for at the ripe age of 18…Eilish has solidified herself as one of the most revered and sought-after popstars in the world.
Eilish recently caught media attention for quietly revealing her sexuality. In an interview with Variety, she states that she’s always liked girls…and assumed people always knew that. In a viral snippet from her new song, LUNCH, she details a love affair with a girl.
But people don’t only adore Billie for her catchy tracks that consistently top the charts. It’s not just her songwriting ability and unique vocals that keep us hooked. People love her because she’s unafraid to speak her mind.
Whether it be complaining about too many influencers being at an awards show, or calling out other artists for using unsustainable practices…Billie does not hold back.
Billie Eilish On Sustainability
Eilish home
rethinkingthefuture.com
The Eilish home is iconic for many reasons: it’s where Billie and Finneas recorded her debut album, countless other songs, and EPs, in an effort to conserve water there’s no grass, and the roof is covered in solar panels. And being environmentally conscious extends beyond the four walls of their home.
When the hottest young talent is discovered at such an early age like Eilish, record labels are chomping at the bit to sign them. It’s like when a D1 athlete is ready to commit to college…you have your pick.
But what Eilish and her mom, Maggie Baird, were looking for wasn’t about money or label-perks…they were seeking a solid sustainability program. And while that may seem like standard practice, most labels didn’t bring up environmental policies during these meetings at all.
After signing to The Darkroom via Interscope Records, the struggle didn’t stop there. Billie Eilish and her family have been consistent contributors to the fight against climate change.
Maggie Baird has since started Support + Feed, which focuses on the climate crisis and food insecurity. Support + Feed helped Eilish’s 2022 Happier Than Ever tour save 8.8 million gallons of water through plant-based meal service for the artist and crew members.
During Billie’s 2023 Lollapalooza performance, she aided the launch and funding of REVERB’s Music Decarbonization Project – which guaranteed all battery systems used during her set were solar powered. The MCD’s overall mission is to lower – and eventually eliminate –the music industry’s carbon emissions.
But more recently, Billie Eilish called out other artists for releasing multiple versions of vinyls in order to boost vinyl sales. In an interview with Billboard, she says,
“We live in this day and age where, for some reason, it’s very important to some artists to make all sorts of different vinyl and packaging … which ups the sales and ups the numbers and gets them more money and gets them more…”
Artists convince fans to buy different versions of their albums by offering exclusive features on each vinyl. Take Taylor Swift, for example, who released five separate vinyl versions of Midnights, each with a different deluxe “Vault” track.
While Billie may not have been trying to shade one artist in particular, the point is that she’s fed up. After being the rare artist in the industry who go out of their way to remain environmentally conscious, Eilish sets the bar high.
How Eilish’s New Album Is Sustainable
Billie for "Hit Me Hard and Soft"
William Drumm
Social media users were quick to claim Eilish was hypocritical by announcing that HIT ME HARD AND SOFT will have eight vinyl variations. However, each vinyl is made from recycled materials – either 100% recycled black vinyl or BioVinyl, which replaces petroleum used during manufacturing with recycled cooking oil.
This just illustrates that Eilish wasn’t directing criticism towards other artists for using vinyl variants to gain album sales…but she does think there are better ways to do it that benefit the environment without hurting their sales.
Strange Brew: Does Coffee Cause Cancer?
This assertion isn't new. A number of years ago, my husband pushed his morning cup away after a bout of insomnia led him to watch anti-coffee crusader and New Age nutritionist Gary Null preach it's evils on the 2 am segment of a PBS fund drive. While I scoffed at the notion that a drink consumed by millions over centuries was essentially poison, this latest alert, ordered by a judge in California, a state which tends to be on the cutting edge of of regulating toxins, made me wonder.
The warning labels on coffee stem from Prop 65, an 1986 law that that requires companies to inform consumers if their products contain potentially hazardous chemicals. Since California's economy is so far-reaching, the law has had a positive impact on people across the country. It's pushed manufacturers to remove substances like lead and formaldehyde from their formulas. But, according to Nathan A. Schachtman, a product liability defense lawyer and a Columbia Law School lecturer, it's also created "a cottage industry of lawyers roaming around looking for violators."
Recently, California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) recommended that coffee be exempt from the law because the health risks have been overblown. While acrylamide does cause an increase in tumors in rodents who are fed high doses, the agency says that the minuscule amount found in a cup of coffee poses no health risks to humans and that the antioxidants and micro-nutrients in coffee may even be good for you. (FYI: According the the FDA, acrylamide is also found in higher levels in french fries, prunes, some cereals and breads, toasted nuts, and canned olives). A public hearing on the issue was held on Thursday, August 16. Sixty-four percent of American adults drink coffee every morning—can we all breathe a collective sigh of relief?
According to the American Cancer Society, "Coffee drinking is associated with a lower risk of dying from all causes of death." They add the caveat that an international study investigating the link between coffee and cancer said the results were "unclear." However, the same researchers found that drinking coffee was "not a cause of female breast, pancreas, and prostate cancers, [and] may reduce the risk of uterine endometrium and liver cancers." They also noted that drinking coffee is associated with a lower risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. In 2016, the World Health Organization took coffee off it's list of possible carcinogens.
The real risk in drinking coffee is overdoing the caffeine. People with anxiety disorders and those who take certain medications may be advised against drinking coffee by their physicians. Teenagers and pregnant women shouldn't drink more than one cup a day. More than 400 mg of caffeine a day, the amount in four average cups of brewed coffee, can cause stomach aches, irritability, insomnia, tremors, headaches, and other unpleasant side effects. For the rest of us who aren't guzzling buckets of cold brew or making hourly forays to the office percolator, it's fine to continue drinking coffee.
Farm-to-Table: A Healthier Alternative to Traditional Dining
Its real purpose is to give consumers firsthand knowledge of how the produce and livestock that end up in their food are raised, and there's often an implied (but not guaranteed) commitment to keeping these products pesticide and hormone-free. Essentially, the farm-to-table movement is designed to provide healthier food options by cutting out commercial vendors.
Farm-to-table dining, unlike grocery store items labeled "organic," has a pretty good track record with regard to authenticity. There have been some issues with fraud, but for the most part, restaurants that claim to be farm-to-table are pretty reputable. When it does happen, fraud typically occurs when new owners change their supply chain without updating their menus. In certain cases, restaurants brazenly claim that they're buying from a supplier that they've never even made contact with. This however, is rare and can often result in lawsuits. In order to verify restaurants' farm-to-table claims, Slow Food USA has created a set of standards surrounding freshness, quality of ingredients, and overall taste. Restaurants that qualify, get stamped with what Slow Food USA calls the Snail of Approval. Any restaurant that has a snail sticker is considered certified. It needs to be said that, even with certification, the precise definition of farm-to-table is still elusive. It's not as if Slow Food USA has a monopoly on the term. As it is, farm-to-table functions as a catch-all for sustainability and a commitment to providing fresh, locally-sourced food.
The coveted Snail of Approval
Understandably, relying on local vendors can put strain on well-meaning restaurateurs who want to provide healthy meals for their guests. For example, a restaurant owner doesn't have to put much effort into the relationship they have with large commercial vendors. They simply pay a predetermined price for whatever goods they want and that's that. In order to find a good local farmer, chefs have to seek them out, build relationships with them, and negotiate prices. On top of this, chefs who are really committed will probably have to inspect the farms they buy from to ensure the produce their buying is being grown in a method that comports to their restaurant's mission. The opportunity cost of building these important relationships invariably gets passed down to the consumer, making farm-to-table dining much more expensive. It's so expensive in fact, that many have questioned whether or not farm-to-table restaurants are viable business models, as some restaurants shell out millions of dollars for their food every year.
Sweet green combines fast-casual with farm-to-table
In response to this, some enthusiasts have taken to buying up farms of their own, simultaneously cooking the food and tilling the soil its grown in. Blenheim Hills, a 2016 Michelin-rated restaurant in the West Village is doing just that, but there are obvious difficulties associated with running a farm on top of running a restaurant. While initial purchase of the farm, as well as training cost Blenheim Hills a decent chunk of change, buying a farm has allowed them to keep their prices competitive. Outside of the world of fine dining, popular fast-casual restaurants like the wildly popular Sweetgreen are embracing the farm-to-table model as well. On top of this, New York-based fast-casual chain Dig Inn is planning to purchase its own farm just like Blenheim Hills, as a means of cutting costs also.
Whether or not the farm-to-table model is economically viable remains to be seen, but there isn't much doubt that American diners are gravitating towards healthier eating habits. There have been some hiccups–and as with all food crazes consumers should be skeptical and do their research before buying into this growing trend–but the fact that fast-casual restaurants are adopting this style of food prep is a net positive. As more and more companies get involved and as warehouse cultivation and other urban farming techniques improve, the price of farm-to-table dining should drop significantly. Even the most cynical foodies have to look at America's shifting culture and smile a bit.Matt Clibanoff is a writer and editor based in New York City who covers music, politics, sports and pop culture. His editorial work can be found in Inked Magazine, Pop Dust, The Liberty Project, and All Things Go. His fiction has been published in Forth Magazine. -- Find Matt at his website and on Twitter: @mattclibanoff