"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
A crash course in changing the world.
Overconsumption
It's almost unfathomable how much overconsumption occurs in the US. I could go on and on about this, but I will just give a little case study ;)
At my school, the cafeteria is overflowing with food. There is never a day that we worry there will be nothing to eat. In fact, our problem is the opposite. There is so much to eat that it often is wasted. I watch trays still filled with food being directed to the garbage. Then what happens to it? Is fed to farm pigs. I am a vegetarian and part-time vegan, and this is already a problem for me. It is especially unbearable because I cannot imagine how much pig that those pigs are being fed. Why can't that food be used to help those less fortunate than us?
I am under the impression that countries like ours are hindering the food security of others. There is nothing wrong with having enough to eat, indeed, that is what we want for others. But this over consumption is a form of exploitation. It is wrong.
I have been trying to get in touch with food services for a long time, but they are rather unresponsive to my requests. Writing this has really sparked me to try harder though!
At my school, the cafeteria is overflowing with food. There is never a day that we worry there will be nothing to eat. In fact, our problem is the opposite. There is so much to eat that it often is wasted. I watch trays still filled with food being directed to the garbage. Then what happens to it? Is fed to farm pigs. I am a vegetarian and part-time vegan, and this is already a problem for me. It is especially unbearable because I cannot imagine how much pig that those pigs are being fed. Why can't that food be used to help those less fortunate than us?
I am under the impression that countries like ours are hindering the food security of others. There is nothing wrong with having enough to eat, indeed, that is what we want for others. But this over consumption is a form of exploitation. It is wrong.
I have been trying to get in touch with food services for a long time, but they are rather unresponsive to my requests. Writing this has really sparked me to try harder though!
Views: 95
-
Comment by Ezra Ho on April 3, 2010 at 3:57pm
-
Yes, our consumption pattern has created a society that is founded on the selfish pursuit of instant-gratification that creates self-centered, insecure and materialistic people. You should go watch The Story of Stuff and On Modern Servitude to learn more about this backward social mentality, if you havent yet.
-
Comment by Reema on April 3, 2010 at 9:26pm
-
Thank you for the suggestions.
-
Comment by Raymond M. Kristiansen on April 7, 2010 at 7:58am
-
Let's look at it from a different angle:
What would happen if they were more realistic about their food produced compared to sales last days/weeks.
Imagine if they for instance only sold 20% of their soup consistently the last months. They then decide to only make 35% of the soup. What would happen? What would happen if those (few) who wanted to have soup saw that the pot of soup is much smaller? If the last ones getting the soup felt they were "scraping the bottom".
Imagine going to a bakery that is 'trimmed' to fit the amount of bread sold from past history. Instead of having a bakery "filled with products", also different products, giving you the choice, and also the mental image that "there is enough food here".
You yourself may come to a 'trimmed bakery' and be over-joyed. "Yes! No more over-consumption!" but - realistically speaking - is this how most people feel?
I have worked in a store during my studies and I know how important "fronting" and "facing" products is. You know, when the colourful images of the boxes with food is fronted so that the shelf looks full - even if only 30% of the shelf-space is used.
Take a look at this picture. Ask yourself - honestly - would you buy anything from this shelf?
Again - you might, but others might not. I bet you a majority would not want to buy from there. Here are a few more images of what image the bakery/store/cafeteria wants to avoid:
Lots of stock shouts "fresh!". Look at that last picture. Would you be the one taking the last cupcake? Or second last?
So, what to do?
Well, you could partner with graphic artists and designers. Make posters that portray "empty shelves" in a positive manner. Use lots of humor, and also statistics. Use logic. Because really, there is NO logic that you should make x3 the amount of soup that is sold per day the last months. Mathematically, it doesnt make sense.
Again - dont go to the poor people at the cafeteria. They are doing what they should. Instead, go to the public. The students. Slowly work the way they see things. Also work with decor people, those who set up the stores, those guys who decide how much shelf-space to give to certain products. Ask them what They think about this.
Do some home-work :)
-
-
Think about the phrase mass production requires mass consumption and the implications it has on how society was engineered to sustain the mass production of the Industrial Revolutions of the 20th Century. Rather than trying to accommodate peoples' consumerist behaviour, why not change it by addressing the root problem?
See Century of the Self for more information.
-
Comment by Sarah Shaw Tatoun on April 7, 2010 at 8:29am
-
Unfortunately, in the US it is not even being fed to the pigs-- it is going directly into trash cans, and from there into landfills. This article talks about attempts in California to reclaim at least some of the discarded food for food banks. Perhaps you could look into similar initiatives in your area to get grocery stores to donate food rather than throwing it away?
-
-
@Ezra: Addressing the root problem - how? What kind of initiatives do you suggest?
That the government put down laws on how much food stores are allowed to have/serve?
That stores that are promoting over-consumption are boycotted?
That we mix all kinds of ideology talk and discussions of the role of PR with this issue of overconsumption?
That we become moralists?
I am honestly curious as to how we can 'address the root problem' besides pointing to videos and other material that talk about the vices of consumption.
What's your next step?
-
-
To use a simple analogy, before we can figure out where we want to go, we have to understand where we are and how we got here.
The doc**entary I provided isn't just condemning the vices of consumption. It explains HOW and WHY we have them. That to me is a step towards recognising the root problem. No one knows all but with every increase in knowledge, the possibilities of what we can do expands.
-
-
@Agent Kristiansen: I completely agree with you. And this is definitely a problem, but as you say, I think that there has to be a creative solution to this problem through advertising and other methods.
Going back to my school for example. Rather than putting out a huge buffet style trays of fruit, they could portion the fruit into bowls? Realistically, a person could take more than one bowl, but they probably would not, and they most definitely would not fill their plate with bowls of fruit!
There are many other methods too, some of which you have described, but the problem is not necessarily the ideas, it is influencing people to implement them. Especially in the US, you are right, these legal implementations are unreasonable, so it is up to individuals and groups to take the initiative. I have recently helped to start a peace studies club, though, and I will bring this issue up to them, and let you all know the results. Oh, and Sarah and Ezra, I will suggest your ideas to them for sure.
Ezra, I agree that we have to know and learn about these problem, but once we do become aware of this, inaction is no longer a justifiable response!
Please keep the ideas coming! I'd love to hear more and continue this discussion. It's very helpful to me.
-
Comment by nomadHAR on April 8, 2010 at 4:30pm
-
@Raymond M. Kristiansen: easy fix: smaller shelves, smaller stores. large ultra markets like Wal-Mart are killing small communities; they destroy all local competition through unethical production methods (sweatshops, etc.), then leave the town on a whim with no stores left in it.
@Reema: i recommend getting the university and local newspapers and radio stations in on the act, as well as any local social activism groups. be loud and be obnoxious; get lots of other people and media sources to be loud and obnoxious. civil disobedience is a good thing.
-
-
Wal-Mart is horrible D:
Yes, I will try my best! Thank you for the encouragement.
Latest Activity
Fourth of July on the Lake
This past weekend was the annual celebration at the lake house in Connecticut. It is amazing that the lake is still so clear and beautiful after all these years. The watershed association has done a wonderful job protecting these waters from the damaging effects of development.The wood grill was finally ready to cook on, so we didn't miss the propane tank fueled grill anymore. The food actually tasted fresher than in the past and was easy to keep fueled.Dad was very proud of the solar hybrid…See More
Stinging Nettle
In this blog post I will focus on a plant that is abundant in our nature, and which is immensely nutritious. It's of course the Stinging Nettle. Let's start with the chemical constituents of this plant:37 % Non-Nitrogen-Extracts19 - 29 % Ash9 - 21 % Fiber4 % Fat22 % ProteinOnce the leaves are drid, their protein content can reach an astounding 40 %, which is much higher than beef, which even under the best of circ**stances can never exceed 31 % protein. In addition the Stinging Nettle consists…See More
The meal
It is 7'oclock, I was late home from work due to an assignment that i wanted to get ahead on. By the time I get home I am feeling extremley tired and I cannot be bothered to make a proper meal. I walk to the fridge and open it to see what there is for me to eat. All of the out of date foodstuffs have been automaticaly thrown away by the fridge, they will be recycled tomorrow as animal feed or something. I see i have organic local eggs and some local cheese. Foods are vacc** sealded for easy…See More
Future
FutureToday is 2020/1/1. It is just like yesterday. The war is still continuing. It has started since 2010. In 2010, that year was a horrible year. Almost every energy ran out. Every country’s governments were crushed down at the same time. There were riots everywhere. All of the big company’s bosses were killed xdeadx in the riots. Troops fought each other everywhere. Food was bought up xawayx at once. There were no more food supplies in any shops. The economy was all crushed down. All the…See More
public servants
The exchange works directly for state and public workers and servants. It gives them credit in exchange for the amount of public work they contribute to the community. The more constructive they are based off a base rate the more credit they recieve.
© 2024 Created by Alchemy.
Powered by
You need to be a member of Urgent Evoke to add comments!
Join Urgent Evoke