Tuesday, September 25, 2007

super market choices

We sometimes do quite a bit of research on what we buy. We read reviews about car mileage and maintenance and comparison shop our electronics. Yet when it comes to food, the very items we use to nourish our bodies, we often don’t ask where it comes from and we end up having our choices made for us. Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma explores the food industry and the findings are initially rather dismal.*

Low-income Iowa farmers purchase vast amounts of fertilizer, pesticides and corn seed, in order to produce more generic corn (which only pulls down prices, which will only erode the land and pollute the water). The corn will then be purchased and transformed into high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oil, the backbone of processed foods (and also found in a surprising number of other foods—cereal and bread).

Cows and chickens are crammed in confined quarters, and forced fed meat and corn mixtures (contrary to their natural diets) until they are ready for slaughter. Egg hens are crammed even more tightly than meat hens, with as many as 10% dying from the confined conditions.

While organic once offered an alternative to our mass-produced supermarket choices, it has also turned into economies of scale affair. As Gene Kahn, former (?) CEO and founder of Cascadian Farms (a big corporate organic produce company) comments, “Everything morphs into the way the world is.”

Organic produce mostly comes from large industrial size farms since it’s cheaper than buying from many individual farmers, and then tons and tons of oil are expended in shipping the produce fresh across the nation or even across the globe. Free range chickens are only given a small door open to the outside in the last two weeks of their nine week lifespan (after they have grown accustomed to staying indoors in their cooped up pen, only slightly better than those of the non-free-range variety). As Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm, “Now which chicken shall we call ‘organic’? I’m afraid you’ll have to ask the government, because now they own the word.” I guess organic ceases to mean anything anymore when organic TV dinners are now sold at Whole Foods. (All that being said, organic food has greatly diminished the amount of pesticides and chemicals poured into our soils and waters).

So it saddens me to see even the most integral choices of our lives embedded with injustice to the poor and damage to the environment. I find it harder and harder to imagine being able to live without participating in these injustices, as I am certainly one who has benefited greatly from the comforts that these systems have afforded us.

As Geez magazine puts it, I wake up finding myself “somewhere between dreams for a better world and a padded, private life (I) didn’t exactly choose”. In today’s supermarket abundance, the vast array of flavours and textures, I don’t feel like I have very many real choices.



* This entry was compiled from quick notes I made in response to the earlier half of Pollan’s book, which was rather depressing. If I ever get around to it, I will write my response to the second half of his book, which was far more hopeful, and does offer some alternatives to our usual supermarket choices. By the way, Omnivore’s Dilemma is an excellent book—I highly recommend it. Not only does Pollan succeed in making 100 pages written about corn engrossingly interesting, he’s also made me rethink what and how I eat. I actually have an extra copy… so please contact me if you would like to borrow it/have it (you have to promise to read it!).

Friday, September 14, 2007

there's a whole world out there

Lots of blogs have many entries that consist mainly of interesting links (e.g. The Elegant Variation). Since nothing in this world is truly original, I'm debating whether or not to do this permanently on a weekly or monthly basis, so I'm trying it out.

Basically, here are some interesting links (articles, sites, thoughts) I've stumbled upon recently. Most of them have probably made me want to write a blog entry about them, but by now, I know that I will never get around to it, but I think these links are worthy enough to be shared.

In order to disclaim any credit for my own web surfing skills (though I do probably spend too much time on the internet), most of my article browsing comes from: Arts and Letters Daily (actually most of my links come from here), the Philadelphia Inquirer, Footnoted, Craftzine blog and the NY Times. I occasionally visit McSweeney's, Adbusters, and Slate. I keep the Economist on my bookmarks toolbar folder to motivate myself to read it and keep up with international relations and economics, but I never actually do. I've also started frequently the Daily Pennsylvannian blog, now that my friend Nick is blogging for it. I have now finally started using Google Reader, which wonderfully cuts down on the amount of listless surfing I do.


  • The whole Dawkins/Hitchens/Harris atheist debates are raging on. Just as a few Christians may not agree with others of the same faith, the same thing seems to be happening in the arena of non-belief. A Third Edge article presents a more balanced view of religion. And a glowing review of the recent book, Darwin's Angel: An Angelic Riposte to the God Delusion can be found here (okay, this may not have been written by an atheist, but as far as I know, it is a secular publication).

  • An academic blog debate has spurred as a result of Bitch PhD's ranting complaint about her $5000+/month salary. Oh No a WoC PhD writes an excellent "Shame List" regarding academia in response.

  • Since carbon offsets are now morally questionable, the latest development in keeping our carbon footprint small is to stop having children.

  • Both Madeline L'Engle and Luciano Pavarotti have passed away recently. If you have not read Madeline L'Engle, I highly recommend that you start with A Wrinkle in Time.

  • Seward Johnson has some amazing trompe l'oeil sculpture copies of famous paintings. Much of his collection can be found at Grounds for Sculpture, a 35-acre sculpture garden in NJ.

  • Knitting is not boring (except when I'm really trying hard to finish a sweater). I want to be able to make this someday. I also wouldn't mind being able to spin out this vest. In the meantime, I will stick to bunny rabbits. There's also been quite a boom in knitting art: These sweatshirts can keep you up to date with the news. There was also that knitted homes of crime exhibit at the ICA.


Thursday, September 13, 2007

I'm sorry

I’m sorry about all my mad ranting against sweatshops. I'm sorry if you felt judged. Please forgive me.

I was angry and upset, so I used big words and vulgar images and whatever other tricks I could conjure out of my little bag. I only did it because it hurt me so much to hear and read what was going on. I desperately wanted things to change.

I did not mean to judge those who may work for or buy from these various companies-- I'm sure if you looked at my list of monthly purchases, you will still find companies who engage in unethical and unjust practices. I have to admit I don't really know whether it's objectively right or wrong to buy from Wal-Mart or to work for Halliburton*, but I do hope for a world where we don't have to ask these questions because Wal-Mart treats its employees and suppliers well and Halliburton actively promotes and pursues renewable energy sources.

So I do not mean to condemn you, because I am in the same position as you. Rather, I want to exhort you to yearn (and to strive for) a society where injustices are not so deeply embedded in the way that we live, so much so that we often do not even know that they are there.

Try shopping only thrift stores for a few months, or learn how to make your own soap. You can talk to the homeless man on the streets or volunteer to plant trees or start your own herb potted plant garden in your apartment. Why not take the riskier, lower-paying job that you really love? Or maybe you just want to start praying.

When we go against the pattern of the world, in the opposite direction of the pull and the tug of what everyone else is doing, we often find ourselves surprisingly blessed by a joy much greater than the comfort and convenience of what we left behind.


*Though if you do feel slightly uneasy about it, perhaps it's worth questioning it.

Monday, September 10, 2007

luxury is artificial poverty

I was browsing in the bookstore today and stumbled upon a book called Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Luster by Dana Thomas. The book describes the transformation of old luxury brands such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton into mass-produced corporate commodities.

The writer is nostalgic for an old aristocratic age when luxury still signified quality, and not a mere brand name. Today, even the supposed luxury brands are mass produced. Corporate brands even deceive the consumer: a common practice is to manufacture most of a handbag or a shoe where it is cheap ( e.g. China). "Made in China" stickers are put on the products, but then are later removed. Then, a smaller portion of the product is manufactured in Italy (a bag handle, an insole) and inscribed with "Made in Italy" so the consumer assumes that the entire object is made by some skilled craftsman in Italy. So a $2,000 bag by Chanel could very easily be made by the same 15-year-old laborer in a sweatshop as a Wal-Mart $10 purse.

Though I have no desire to return to the former hierarchical class structure and the material symbols of distinction, I too admire elegant design and craftsman quality, and am disappointed that good, valuable products are hard to find in these assembly line days. We have a million copies, but nothing real. The loss of authenticity continues.

I am also saddened by the power luxury brands exert over us—Japanese girls who prostitute themselves so they can buy Louis Vuitton. A recent college graduate chooses to work as an investment banker, regularly working 100 hour weeks, in order to buy Gucci diamonds with her lucrative bonuses. Suburban mothers run up high-interest credit card debt to buy the latest Hermès scarf. And I catch myself desiring the products in the glamorous fashion magazine photo spread, or envying the aura of sophisticated looking women who shop in the Burberry and Coach stores near my workplace.*

Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.

~ Socrates

* Money aside, looking that way would take so much maintenance that I would probably have to spend 2 hours a day grooming and ironing in order to achieve it. You become that which you seek after.

** An alternative to luxury brands is esty.com, a website where tons of individuals or small organizations sell handmade arts and crafts, from jewelry to handbags to screen-printed t-shirts and clothing. 10 Thousand Villages, a non-profit, that sells fair trade products is also pretty cool, though you run the risk of your apartment looking a bit too "exotic".

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

outsourcing morality

In today's world of RED campaigns*, carbon offset purchases, and fair trade products, it seems easy to feel good about what we're doing.** But can any real good could come of these seemingly selfish, easy and convenient ways of raising money for the poor and "saving the world"?

Special events and galas don't raise that much money after factoring in all expenses, but they do have other effects in terms of raising awareness and recognizing important donors. But does it not seem odd that people come to galas wearing $10,000 gowns when they've only donated $5,000 to the organization or the cause? The RED campaign does not alleviate the injustices of the clothing sweatshop industry, but money is going to help AIDS in Africa right?

Are all these methods still effective and able to do some good because they redirect funds and resources to those who need it? Or do they perpetuate injustice (and perhaps cause more damage) even as they carry the illusion of helping the greater good?***

I stumbled upon an interesting article in Spiked, Is carbon offsetting just eco enslavement?, that criticizes the recent trend of buying carbon offsets. Carbon offsets are a marketing genuis-- they're so wonderfully abstract-- what exactly are they? I don't know. But who cares? They're good for the environment and they'll slow down global warming, right?

Some excerpts from the article:

The details of this carbon-offsetting scheme are disturbing. Cameron offsets his flights by donating to Climate Care. The latest wheeze of this carbon-offsetting company is to provide 'treadle pumps' to poor rural families in India so that they can get water on to their land without having to use polluting diesel power. Made from bamboo, plastic and steel, the treadle pumps work like 'step machines in a gym', according to some reports, where poor family members step on the pedals for hours in order to draw up groundwater which is used to irrigate farmland. These pumps were abolished in British prisons a century ago. It seems that what was considered an unacceptable form of punishment for British criminals in the past is looked upon as a positive eco-alternative to machinery for Indian peasants today.

...

Carbon offsetting is not some cowboy activity, or an aberration, or a distraction from 'true environmentalist goals' - rather it expresses the very essence of environmentalism. In its project of transforming vast swathes of the developing world into guilt-massaging zones for comfortable Westerners, where trees are planted or farmers' work is made tougher and more time-consuming in order to offset the activities of Americans and Europeans, carbon offsetting perfectly captures both the narcissistic and anti-development underpinnings of the politics of environmentalism. Where traditional imperialism conquered poor nations in order to exploit their labour and resources, today's global environmentalist consensus is increasingly using the Third World as a place in which to work out the West's moral hang-ups.

The rise of the carbon-offsetting industry shows that a key driving force behind environmentalism is self-indulgent Western guilt. It is Western consumers' own discomfort with their sometimes lavish lifestyles - with all those holidays, big homes, fast cars and cheap nutritious foods - that nurtures today's green outlook, in which consumption has come to be seen as destructive and a new morality of eco-ethics and offsetting (formerly known as penance) has emerged to deal with it (6). It is no accident that the wealthiest people are frequently the most eco-conscious. British environmental campaign groups and publications are peppered with the sons and daughters of the aristocracy, while in America ridiculously super-rich celebrities (Al Gore, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt) lead the charge for more eco-aware forms of consumption and play. The very nature of carbon offsetting - where the emphasis is on paying money to offset one's own lifestyle, in much the same way that wealthy people in the Middle Ages would pay for 'Indulgences' that forgave them their sins - highlights the individuated and self-regarding streak in the Politics of Being Green.

As the world grows increasingly complicated, and the effects of my actions have the potential to lead to unanticipated negative consequences, I wonder: how do I go about living a life that is in shalom (in peace, in harmony, corresponding to the way God intended it to be) with the created world and with other created beings?


*The U2 Bon Jovi campaign that designates certain products as RED-- if you purchase them, a certain (oftentimes meager) amount of the profits will go towards helping out with the AIDS crisis in Africa. For more information and commentary, please see my entry on Campaign Red.
** Take a look at Selfish Giving.
*** A large megachurch in the United States donated millions of dollars to development and aid in Rwanda (I believe....). Though the immediate impact was helpful, its long-term effects were devastating. It completely destroyed the micro-finance industry and many businesses, because of all the "free money" available.
If you dump a lot of fish somewhere, people might forget how to fish.
**** Other links to pursue: Wikipedia's entry on carbon offsets, Nonprofit Eye's commentary on fundraising events (be sure to read the comments). Feel free to add more links in the comments.