Scientists discovered a mushroom that eats plastic, and believe it could clean our landfills.

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Fungi Mutarium mushroom eats plastic www.youtube.com


Plastic waste is one of the biggest environmental issues of our time. And while a straw ban is not the way we're going to solve it — here's why – people everywhere are looking for ways to reduce plastic use and mitigate the effects of waste.

From handing out plastic bags with embarrassing labels to removing the plastic from six-packs to harnessing the power of a plastic-eating mutant (bacteria), more and more of us are working to find solutions to a growing global program.

Add one more strange and awesome plastic-killing discover to the list: A rare mushroom that feasts on plastic the same way you or I would when we go to that $5 buffet at Cici's. (I have been only once and I'm still thinking about it, even though just the thoughts are bad for my blood pressure.)

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Planet

One viral thread perfectly shares the painful reality of why poorer families buy junk food.

That escalated quickly.

The celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is currently on a tear with his #AdEnough campaign, which promotes a new sugar tax. If put into effect, the sugar tax would jack up the prices of junk food in hopes of promoting healthier eating and better cooking practices.

"This a tax for good; this is a tax for love; this is designed to protect and give to the most disadvantaged communities," Oliver said, and the tax would be part of an ongoing effort to fight childhood obesity.

However, Oliver is far from the first to propose a sugar tax to fight obesity and health issues, and this measure giving to 'the most disadvantaged communities' is not only inaccurate, but helps promote classist ideals about working class parenting.

In a now viral thread, Twitter user @sibylpain broke down why she thinks these taxes are misguided, and how they end up punishing the poor people they claim to uplift.

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Culture

How friends, family, and food stamps help this woman with disabilities survive.

When Cassandra J. Perry was 13, a physical disability prevented her from going to school.

She had a genetic connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which means that her joints are unstable, her connective tissue is weak, she’s more prone to injuries, and she has chronic pain.

When she began living alone as an adult after splitting up with her spouse, she worried about how she’d be able to grocery shop.

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The health department was called on a teen's hot dog stand. Its response was wonderful.

Jaequan Faulkner loves running his hot dog stand.

The 13-year-old from Minneapolis is the proud owner of Mr. Faulkner's Old Fashioned Hot Dogs. It's a pop-up now, but, according to The Star Tribune, he hopes to turn it into a food truck one day.

Faulkner started the business when he found his uncle's old rotisserie machine and decided to put it to good use. This summer, he set up shop, filling the hungry bellies of approximately 20 customers a day with hot dogs, polish sausages, chips, and drinks.

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