On the topic of not having kids for the environment, I think its super fine to make as a personal choice, but people should definitely not be shamed for having children. However, it has been shown that women's rights have greatly reduced the birth rate, so uplifting women in places such as southern Asia or sub-Saharan Africa could have a bigger effect than an individual deciding to not have children. By uplifting women, I mean creating job opportunities on par with men, introducing sex education, and providing access to birth control would be a better answer to the population concern rather than eco-fascism.

I currently have a two and a half month old. Having children is something I knew I always wanted and if I’m being honest I do often worry about what kind of future she will have… but I plan on raising her in a low waste, plant based home and hoping that she can be a part of a positive change

On the topic of kids: I am happily childfree for many reasons. I am of the opinion that folks need to start THINKING before having kids. Some just have because "it is what one does". HELL NO! Remember you are bringing a helpless human being into a very hard world with finite resources. It takes work and a lot of devotion to raise them into decent and responsible folks. So, if it is not a "hell yes", it should be a no. I am aware that this is a bit of a first world problem, but it is what I have noticed around me. We should work on education and emancipation and on the access to birth control so that people start realizing that kids are a choice and one not to be taken lightly!

ZERO WASTE TOOTHPASTE SUCKS - really I hate it xx this was a fun video xx ps. I want to try this one you mentioned though, but we don't have it in the UK!

Re: that hot take about eating animal-containing leftovers -- I am vegan more for ethical reasons than environmental but I would STILL eat animal-containing stuff my parents are about to throw away! I'm with ya Shelby, before that mac'n'cheese goes in the trash, you bet your butt I'm gonna smash them leftovers -- no food left behind XD

For the not having kids point, it's worth mentioning that one of the factors that leads to a lower birth rate is female education, so like you said, rather than saying people shouldn't have kids because it's selfish maybe if people thought of it in this way and maybe support charities/policies that encourage female education opportunities it would have that knock on effect of slowing the population growth (hard to imagine on a global scale though) 😊

The issue I have with the "no kids" line of argument, and which ties into the point you made about eco-fascism, is that it tends to be used as a stick by people in developed countries to beat people in less developed countries, and totally ignores both (a) the fact that developed countries are the ones that have created this mess, and (b) the legacy of colonialism and exploitation that has created the conditions in less developed countries

I brought up the guilt of having a kid up with my therapist and she suggested I watch the beginning of the movie Idiocracy. She basically said that so many people are having kids that are contributing to waste (and stupidity, like in the movie, but that's not relevant here), but we need more people in the world who will make it better. It's true, if I raise a kid that practices good environmental stewardship, then he can spread that knowledge or come up with additional solutions.

The no kids thing is a hard one. I had planned on adoption until I read The Child Catchers (highly recommend!!!). Since WW2, there's been so much demand for adoptable kids that the adoption industry has become so corrupt, from "manufactured orphans" to straight up kidnapping and beyond. I might foster a teenager one day though.

I love the fact that some cosmetics manufacturers, for example, are encouraging people to return the aluminum containers for lip balms, moisturizers and solid perfumes

Saying that people who have kids don’t care about the environment gives big eco fascist vibes. The individuals aren’t the ones committing the majority of the pollution. Turn that anger towards corporations!

As a vegan if I were to run into a meat leftovers situation, if I knew my relatives were going to throw out any future leftovers I would take the food home to and I would find a carnist to gift the meal to. That way it is not wasted and I have displaced a meal that would have otherwise been meat, so only one meat meal was eaten instead of two.

Soil degradation is scary 😔 watching The Biggest Little Farm on Netflix gives me hope. I really hope we take sustainable farming seriously.

Another super hot take: blaming the top 100 companies for being the largest emitters is absolutely passing the buck and causing inaction among individuals. The majority of these companies are oil, gas, coal, plastic manufacturers, and chemical manufactures. They have a demand to meet caused by consumers no matter how far down the line. Sure efficiencies can be put in place, but I’m sure from a monetary perspective those companies are already highly motivated to be efficient. Consumption is the market driver for primary source emissions from the top 100 companies.

I like how most of your opinions / lessons are given from a purely educational standpoint and come off as without bias. That is so helpful to get your point across. We need more of that. It makes you want to listen to someone more when you don't feel like they're shaming your view.

I am so glad you mentioned the fact that there are situations where a reusable rag is NOT the move. I have two cats and I hate that I feel like paper towels are a necessity.. but they are. Unless I stock up rags just for cleaning pet messes, or the occasional bug, and then hand washing it because it wouldn’t be a big enough load to use a machine.. it’s not realistic. Though I do save my to go napkins for sure!

I love that you talked about population and having children since it is such a touchy topic. I've always been a believer that the children should not outnumber the adults in the household, so that each child can get the individual attention they deserve. This also aligns with my belief that you can replace yourself, and possibly your partner, on the planet, but there is no need to have a surplus of children. Personally I think large-family line of thinking is pretty selfish, especially when the older children are expected to help and take care of the younger children. Keep families small, adopt, foster, be a surrogate for someone who can't have children, get involved with youth programs in your community, there's more than one way to be a "parent" and enrich the lives of the future generations.

Thank you, Shelbi. I'm a 13 year vegan and support lab grown meat 100%!

Re the lab grown meat - I’m sceptical that the resources required to grow meat in the lab is environmentally friendly. Having worked in labs for a couple years/ been involved in cell culture, the materials required include animal products and ALOT of plastic ware… But it absolutely should be invested in because I think it could be environmentally friendly(er?)

What I thought was super interesting when I was looking into worm composting, was that the worms used decide to not over reproduce because they know it'll be a competition for food. I thought it's insane how worms can self regulate themselves but us people have a hard time discussing this. I think one of the reasons it comes to is not enough resources for people: condoms, birth control, Plan B, etc. Especially the education!!! In my county the schools who decided to stop having sex ed saw in increase of student pregnancies.

Have a great day y'all!

About the having kids thing, I personally have a genetic disability. Because of this I do not want to have kids because I wouldn’t want to pass that genetic mutation on and cause someone else to suffer because I was selfish. However telling all disabled people that they shouldn’t have kids would be eugenics and I certainly don’t approve of that. I think it’s kind of similar with environmentalism turning to eco fascism. Saying you personally won’t have kids is an individual choice but shaming others (esp poor poc) is not the side you want to align yourself with

I'm of the same opinion as you when it comes to kids. I personally don't plan on having any biological children and would like to adopt but I would never judge anyone who chooses to have children and would never tell someone not to have kids. I personally feel like there are already too many humans on the earth but I'm not going to expect everyone else to do what I do.

my initial decision not to have children was based on environmental reasons, but ultimately i truly asked myself a question i dont think all that many people ask themselves...but when it comes to having kids, i think it either has to be a hell yes or a hell no- for the child's sake. being fully wanted is the least they deserve.

Thank you for saying something about being an environmentalist and eating meat. I was born with nutritional deficiencies where I HAVE to eat meat, I really hope lab grown meat becomes more accessible and affordable in the near future.

Yes we need another video in this series!

My mother-in-law is faecally incontinent. Yes there are washable incontinence pants, but neither hubby and I can deal, so we use adult nappies that get thrown away. Cleaning her up is hard enough using disposable gloves etc

Many cities and towns have limited recycling. My parents can only recycle cans, newspapers and cardboard. I was shocked no plastics or glass.

that cockroach one :'D - I personally avoid killing them and am quite concerned about how normalised it is to kill bugs and insects! the mainstream appearance of environmentalism rightfully protects larger animals, but it's not just these that we need to protect, it's actually a lot of living bacteria, insects and microscopic creatures that we're losing to a changing climate. I also have obscene allergic reactions when i get bitten, so I put a repellent on my own body but do not like to go around spraying it all over my room or anything.

when it comes to “population control” discussions - providing healthcare and education to women around the world can give women the power to control their family life and is predicted to lower the population increase by 2 billion. Project drawdown can tell you more

If we kill a pest, we usually use a bug zapper flyswatter that runs on rechargeable batteries and no napkin is wasted. If smashing is a necessary, we'll use a shoe and then a wet washcloth to clean up the mess that can then be rinsed and washed.

I really enjoyed you video. Especially how logically you come up with answers. Everything has good and bad stuff, nothing is perfect.

I have this wonderful thing called a CRITTER CATCHER- I can grab spiders and stink bugs and then safely remove them from my home without a tissue or a flush of the toilet.

My local council has this really cool section on their website where you can search the item you want to recycle and it'll tell you if it can go in curbside or a specific bin. Not sure it other places have this but I thought it was cool for the things I have to buy that I want to be able to recycle if I can't reuse

To hand roach commenter: ...use a shoe?????

I don't understand why sustainably packaged toothpaste can't just be normal toothpaste in some kind of better recyclable packaging like a glass jar. Is there something I'm missing???

Yay, thanx for not killing bugs and mentioning it. Just because they are not cute and are easily killable doesn't mean you should kill them. They also have value in this life.

Do you know how we can invest in lab grown meat? Asking because I also watched a video by you about investing in sustainable companies and I think lab grown meat is going to be a game changer.

Thanks Shelby, always appreciate your well-researched take on things. Great video 🥰❤️

Also loved this video topic and I would like to see more like this! I love that your channel is now getting into the nuances and crevices of the ZW movement beyond the swaps.

I like more 'controversial' topics around sustainable living, there isn't enough civil conversation. People tend to feel so strongly about something and stick to their echo chambers and then easily fall into arms of eco fascism or complete opposite side of the spectrum. I believe people should be able to have children without judgement, ultimately we are animals and it is wired in our biology. But! We must rethink big families, be more considerate and mindful with family planning and we have to normalise not having children. There is no wrong reason NOT to have children but there are plenty of bad reasons to have them (societal/cultural pressure, 'saving' your relationship, lack of access to contraception and the list goes on). I come from extremely catholic country and I have observed how strongly religion has influenced our culture clearly defining the role of a woman (you're obliged to have children, contraception bad, abortions banned). This is true for vast majority of cultures where religion dictates how people should live (and so called 'first world' countries are not free of this indoctrination). Education and empowerment of women is the key. I dislike when rich people preach 'sustanability' and proceed to have however many children they want. It also infuriates me when I see family channels on KZfaq with 3+ children constantly talking about expanding the numbers because 'let's make baby girl because we only have boys'. I don't know if anyone else has noticed that but it's definitely a trend which sends very negative message as it promotes mindless procreation. Not to mention they use their children as cheap labour yet barely anyone questions it 🙄 Another one I dislike when people say zero waste/minimalism/ sustainable living makes no sense because it's those big companies that pollute environment. Absolutely they do and absolutely I agree we need systematic approach and system change, an individual should never carry the whole burden of saving the planet. But! We as consumers hold some power, companies provide products because we demand it. By refusing unnecessary products and changing our habits we can send a message that we no longer want to participate in over consumption, we no longer demand beef burgers five times a week or we no longer need as much petrol etc. I know it's not all that straight forward, people are in different situations and not every lifestyle change is equally attainable for everyone and reshaping current processes will definitely be a tricky job for number of reasons. However, we cannot just ignore individual responsibility and I really dislike when people don't even want to try to think what they could change and refuse to get basic education regarding what is happening to our planet.

I think you brought up a great point that it is unbridled consumption, not the birth of a baby, that causes damage to the environmental future. Human life is precious and on a completely different scale than inanimate goods. To mandate that any person couldn't be born or couldn't give birth is such a violation to human rights.

loved the vid Shelbee, would love another episode!! x

Hold up. Anytime i squish a bug. I bring out the shoe. Not my BARE HAND. or a NAPKIN. 🤣

I agree with "zero-waste is not the answer" BUT I also feel like I can't ask businesses and governments to change, if I'm not willing to change. And I also think spending my money on zero-waste things and systems shows companies and governments that people are willing to use different packaging/systems/etc. I'm new to the realm of lowering my waste, but that's this amateur's hot take.

Ooooh I’m excited for this shade! 😂

Ironically enough, the reason I started wanting to reduce the waste I produce and be more sustainable was because of my child and any future children I might have. I want them to have a bright and beautiful future. There are ways to have children and not impact the planet harshly. It is also possible to try and offset your kids impact on the planet. People want families for a lot of reason, and it's great that we as a society are recognizing the many different ways to define family. It's not right to shame people for how they choose to have one whether it's adoption, surrogacy, animal, friends etc. (Plus pretty much every first world country on the planet is having a major population crisis so, it's not like our population is growing by much)

While I don't think we have the authority to tell people NOT to procreate, it's one of the many reasons we chose adoption. Personally, I'd feel selfish and irresponsible (AGAIN SPEAKING ABOUT MYSELF SPECIFICALLY) bringing more people into the world when there are already so many children without families.

Suggestion for next video: I’d love to see something about picking efficient appliances for the home (read: washer and dryer, fridge, dishwasher, maybe what type of water heater is best, etc). Could possibly be a mini series with opportunity for sponsors like Home Depot to show up again. As someone who’s preparing for homeownership, I’m really interested in how to make my home more efficient to not only save money on bills but also to be less impactful on the planet. I know some will say homeownership in general is bad, but renting is neither a strong option in my area nor a means of generating wealth.

Anyone who wants more sustainable toothpaste and doesn't live in the US, try Ben&Anna. Their toothpastes come in little glass jars, with an aluminium lid and a bamboo thing you use to spread the toothpaste. It's a great toothpaste in terms of taste and texture and they have options with flouride! I love it!

Laughing that there are people out there willing to say that having children is selfish. As a mom I can tell you it is the most selfless thing a person can do - you literally give every single part of yourself and your life to another human! I 1000% agree with holding big corporations more accountable for the destruction they are wreaking on our planet. But never can I agree with shaming a woman for following the most primal, instinctual, sacred part of herself - motherhood.

Well informed video Shelby, thanks🙌🏻💕

personally given our environmental problems, I don't think it would be good to bring more people onto the planet at least until we can manifest carbon capture and/or other solutions to our environmental problems. Thank you for answering the no kids issue.

Thanks for the video! There are so many sides to these points its hard to weigh them out in a 15 min video… that being said I saw water in an aluminum can the other day… didn’t get to read if it was from recycled or new materials but i thought it was interesting.

Ahh!!! I'm fangirling so hard right now that I was the first person featured in this video! Plus, you actually agreeing! :)

I'm 15 seconds into this video and I have to say your HAIR looks incredible!! Wow so gorg. Ok gonna watch the video now, can't wait to hear the tea haha.

Love you so much, Shelby! You're amazing and I'm so glad youre talking about this in a fair manner! My wife and I both have to keep eating some amount of meat, because were both severely anemic, and bad things happen when we try to cut out meat completely (we did try!). What we do instead is, we buy meat only at the farmers market, where the meat is grown on the islands we live on, and we HUGELY diversify what types of meat we eat. Rather than just focusing on beef, which ive noticed a lot of vegans/veges do, we eat pretty much everything but pork.

I think this was very eloquent! I agree about the future children and you handled it very well.

Ben & Anna-Toothpaste is a blessing!

Moderation in all things, People! I probably eat meat or fish once or twice a week. But only a small portion and it is not my major meal focus! I had two children, one biological and one adopted. I would have loved a larger family but was mindful of the responsibility of raising moral, kind and caring individuals.

I purchase a whole locally raised grass fed cow. Lasts the year. Only eats grass, drinks water and poops.

I found you on Tik Tok and didnt know you had a KZfaq channel! Happy to be here

I wish more people would adopt I hope that if you do you share it all and encourage others too !

We don't have single use napkins in our house, so we use toilet paper to catch those icky critters or clean up our pets messes

9:06 that only-child pressure of ending an entire bloodline if I don’t have kids really gets me

Oh yay! I missed this antihaul energy

My environmental hot take: If you're depressed, neurodivergent, grieving, or generally struggling with life BUY THE PAPER PLATES. Screw recycling and composting and zero waste if you're struggling to feed yourself. It's more sustainable to take care of yourself and gain more functioning than to beat yourself up about using a paper plate.

Love this video. Good job 👏

My spouse is omnivore and I am not (my only exception is sushi, my favorite😍) but he eats veggie like 90% of the time. We have also replaced a lot of dairy items with vegan items (milk, butter, cheese, not cream cheese tho because I can't seem to find a good one lol) He still eats turkey semi reguarly but he says he sees beef and pork now like a special treat and he is glad he cut back. I never asked him to eat vegetarian as well, but he has cut back so much on his own and it has been pretty cool to see. I do the grocery shopping and he knows he can always ask me to pick up meat products, but it's been over a month since I last did!

I need an hour-long version of this 🤩 Or a series, a series works too 🤪

One thing that really changed my perspective on whether or not having kids is ethical was a video I saw where women who are indigenous to so-called Canada were talking about how they didn’t relate to not wanting to have kids “because the world is ending”, because to them, the world already *has* ended. They’re rebuilding their lives and communities from the ground up, and having bio kids after decades of forced-sterilization is an act of protest.

One trend that has really been frustrating lately is people using big business as an excuse to not do their part. It’s this lazy attitude of “well, most of the world’s waste and carbon emissions come from big companies, so don’t shame me for not recycling/using my AC excessively/etc!” Obviously it’s true that big companies are the biggest offenders but that is NOT an excuse to give up and not put in any effort. On an individual level it’s still our duty to do whatever we can. I think that’s where the appeal of zero-waste comes from; it puts power back into individual people’s hands and reminds them that they CAN help. Shrugging and saying “well, it’s all big industry’s fault; you can’t blame consumers” and then doing nothing is being a part of the problem. We are ALL capable of doing something even if it’s as small as using a reusable shopping bag. It still helps.

One of my favorite videos thus far. 👍🏻

So my City is completely getting rid of our recycling program and idk what to do now. There are some things I have to buy packaged and have no choice and I really don't want to throw these things away in the landfill.. maybe I'll just move lol

Thank you!

This is definitely one of my favourite videos!! I personally don’t have much hope for future generations so I won’t be having any children in an effort to lessen future suffering, but will happily adopt if the times comes I feel I need to be a mother. I don’t believe anyone should be shamed for such a personal choice but we certainly have no shortage of children in need of a safe and loving family already on the planet.

spoken like a person who has never had roaches. You never catch and release with those bugs....... they could be expecting!!!!

Killing cockroaches with your hand?! I just use ✨La Chancla✨ I try to trap and take out of my house any insect that bother me but cockroaches disgust me so is an instinct to kill them 😝

My husband and I would never go vegan, however I recognize that the way we eat it is not sustainable, so we've cut back actually quite a bit and it wasn't that big of a change to our life. Now we maybe eat beef maybe once or twice a week.

Another hot take( this is a good place to vent haha!) our grid is not ready for the 100% adoption of renewable energy. We had an incredible amount of work to do before our 100 year old electric grid can meet the demands of influx from solar and wind. Plus, batteries use a non renewable resources and are currently the only way to store renewable energy on the market. The Grid is a great book on this subject:

can you make a video on growing/raising your own food?

Another hot take - use water to wash yourself (like bidets) instead of toilet paper (no matter how sustainably packaged and shipped). It's a lot more hygienic, you don't even need that much water honestly and you can use a towel to pat yourself dry after.

i switched to native on your reccomendation and as odd as it sounds, stopping using antiperspirant has made me sweat a lot less, and i live in a hot, humid area. it took about two weeks for my sweat production to change and it’s been way, way better since

Yay! Early. Hi Shelbizee. 😘💚

My hot take; we're ALL hypocrites by simply living in society and the systems we do. If only those that live in the woods can the ones to demand change then nothing will change. Being part of a system AND demanding for it to change is valid.

I agree with you 100% on the topic of kids. For health reasons and my personal beliefs, I consider it unethical to have kids. But, I'm not going to bag on a woman who wants to have kids...as long as they raise them right and aren't entitled about it. We need parents to raise the next generation of informed, responsible adults to carry on when we're all gone.

Have you tried Smyle toothtabs? They offer an option to get a small glass bottle to store them in, come in a recyclable paper bag and they offer both fluoride and fluoride free options!

I have to pause half way through to make this comment- I’m so glad you mentioned your opinion on eating meat to avoid food waste! I feel the same way and on the few occasions that I have explained that to people they get so confused and judgmental 🙃 Editing your add about the roaches 😂 I just moved to SC and there are roaches EVERYWHERE. People legit refer to them as the state bird. When they are in my house I kill them with a shoe and then sweep them into a dust pan. No hands or napkins needed 🤢

Alternative take on meat consumption: I am not a big red meat person at all, but on the rare occasion I do have some, I always purchase from one of the small local farms in my area. I am friends with the owners and have seen first hand that the treatment is very humane. Every year they have the same number of calves born (no spike due to demand) bc that is all they have the resources for to sustainably raise them. By purchasing from them i keep the money out of the pockets of corporate farms and it has the same effect as if i didn’t eat meat at all bc I am not increasing their demand

Have y’all ever heard of a flyswatter

Im just here to say that im from Uruguay and in my country we don't even get so many eco friendly choices regarding product or even reusable water bottles, an Hydroflask cost 100usd here and not everyone has the chance to do grab it, also we don't even get good reusable bags or reciclen toilet paper, unfortunately we have to really do it slowly since we are a bit behind it, love the tips and also the info!

Because of a medical condition and my small town rural environment, I am unable to be plant-based. I don’t eat red meat; however, I am lucky enough to have locally raised and butchered poultry. In order to go zero-waste and plant-based, I would have to drive over 130 miles round trip. So, the three or four poultry meals I have each week, paired with minimally packaged foods is the best way for me to eat sustainably and healthily. Not all solutions work for all people. Shelbi, I appreciate that you promote that idea, which is motivating and speaks to all your viewers, not just those who are fortunate to have the same resources as you 😊

this is why I love yooouuuu!

People think having kids is unethical and adoption isnt? Whew I cant even begin on that one You not wanting to say cockroach is sending me ILY

I ended up loving Bite Toothpaste Bits and they have a Fluoride alternative. I know it's not for everyone (I know the texture is odd for some...I make sure it's crushed to a powder before brushing with). My dentist actually likes it, too.

Would love a sustainable school supply/back to school video :)

Anyone who thinks people need to stop having kids should put their efforts towards making abortion and birth control way more accessible.

Re: toothpaste: My dentist (who is INCREDIBLY thorough and nit-picky) told me that studies show toothpaste doesn't matter much. What matters is mostly brushing technique, and so a good technique with no toothpaste at all will actually yield much better results than sloppily brushing your teeth with great toothpaste. Minty toothpaste breath isn't necessarily clean breath, it's just masking. Fluorite, however, is important.

good topics to talk about

I agree with pretty much everything being said about having kids in this day and age. Some people REAAAALLY want kids. It's like, their whole life, their identity, their dream. I would never tell them to not have kids. But being childfree definitely should be encouraged. We should at least urge our kids, communities to think about it and consider it. Too many people have kids just because they think they're supposed to or because they have pressure from their family or community. We need some people to have kids (if we want to sustain the human race lol which I know some people aren’t keen on) and we also need some people to not have kids. Population control. There's a little too much pressure and focus on having a big family, especially in certain religions and cultures. We should not try to grow and grow and grow. We have reached the point where there are more than enough people in the planet, we don’t need to keep growing! We definitely need to have better resource distribution and less waste to care for countries full of struggling people. Better access to birth control, too. Anyway, long story short, I agree that having kids right now is not the best idea for them or our environment, but people who really really want children should still have them. People who don't feel strongly shouldn't have them just for the sake of another checkmark on the generic to-do list of life.