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U-Know! Forum » 'Consumption' - doin' the right thing. |
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ron 706 posts |
Apr 11, 2008, 02:11
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GangstaDuck wrote: Is there a way out of the trap? u mean other than chewin' ur foote off...??? nah... probably not... "Like a liver badly transplanted, the planet is rapidly rejecting the human species. While the global economy seems to be geared towards infinite growth, spewing toxins into the environment with gay abandon and finding ever more harmful means of despoiling ecosystems, it is becoming more and more clear that we, as a complex society, are reaching a point of decision, and not any old decision: stop now, or collapse. Mend your ways, or descend into a somewhat more primal state of affairs. The smart money, is on the latter." be
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Eduardo 375 posts |
Apr 11, 2008, 10:39
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That looks to be a fascinating book. Due to be published in paperback on the 20th April according to amazon.co.uk. There's a link in the link to a guardian article written by Rob Newman that's also a good read. I'd not come across that before either.
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Jane 3024 posts |
Apr 11, 2008, 11:50
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Rhiannon wrote: This is like replying to myself really, you should see the knots I tie myself in doing the shopping. Yeah, me too, R. I try to think about what I'm buying, but when things aren't labelled clearly it's hard to make informed choices. I particularly hate all the overpackaging that supermarkets do. Why does a punnet of regular cherry tomatoes packaged entirely in a plastic punnet and cellophane wrapper cost less than ones that come in a cardboard punnet? As this is a vegetarian household, (Moth's a veggie but I rarely eat meat or fish) I don't have to worry about buying non-local or non-humanely reared meat and fish. But sometimes, when we're having a meal out, I can't in all conscience, order dead creatures to eat unless I know the meat or fish is 'properly' reared (you know what I mean by that - free range, local, humanely farmed.) Next time you order chicken you ask if it's free range. You can bet your arse it won't be. One thing that really gets me is the use of palm oil, you know the stuff: they chop down rainforests where Orang Utans live and plant palm oil plantations so that Orangs have nowhere to live anymore. I love Orangs and don't want to buy anything with palm oil in it, but often the ingredient listed is 'vegetable oil'. How do I know it's not palm oil?! Increasingly I am using (English) butter in my cooking instead of marg because at least I know no trees were felled to produce it. Oh and China... With all these protests going on about Free Tibet and Beijing Olympics, how many of us are actually NOT buying cheap Chinese goods? I know I'm not, but how many consumers have put 2+2 together? Being an ethical consumer is really really hard! J x
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ron 706 posts |
Apr 11, 2008, 13:30
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Eduardo wrote: That looks to be a fascinating book. Due to be published in paperback on the 20th April according to amazon.co.uk. There's a link in the link to a guardian article written by Rob Newman that's also a good read. I'd not come across that before either. has a bit o' deja vu... a rehashed monbiot... vybe... that said i don't believe it can ever be repeated often enough... be
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Moon Cat 9577 posts |
Edited Apr 12, 2008, 12:33
Apr 12, 2008, 12:09
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A very interesting and pertinent thread. I think, as Gangstaduck intimates, that one of the problems here are the words 'consumer' or 'consumerism' themselves. The fact that the act of, what is in a very real way, an act that is required in order simply to live i.e consume, has been made into an 'ism' is problematic and always sounds faintly damning. When I think of the phrase 'consume' it almost instantly sounds greedy, bloated and excessive. Similarly, when I think of 'consumerism' my thoughts conjur up images of people queuing at midnight for the new Ipod or somesuch, or of images of perma-orange 'celebs' tottering out of department stores with bags of designer shoes and clothes. And yet it is just as applicable to people queuing for bread or other groceries. We are constantly fed - pardon the phrase - images of consumerism and consuming that are perhaps on one hand supposed to be attractive and desirable, images that imply wealth, success, stability and choice. And yet, it is perhaps our conscience that leads us to see these images as excessive and, perhaps in regards to many of our personal situations, elitist and even socially and morally debilitating, especially in the current economic climate. We all consume and are consumers and partake in consumerism at one level or another. And some of the choices as to how we partake in these processes are perhaps not as readily available to some as to others. Personal circumstance, economics, even geography all have a part to play for most of us. But, as Gangstaduck indicates, we can at least think about it and make the choices where we can and that's important.
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shanshee_allures 2563 posts |
Edited Apr 12, 2008, 22:27
Apr 12, 2008, 22:23
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I think the expression 'conspicuous consumption' serves well to differentiate between consuming as a means to live, and even to enjoy ourselves a bit, and spending in order to display to the world just how loaded you are. I remember those girls from high school who'd shun the £10 bottle of perfume from Superdrug and prefer the 'prestige' of paying £20 for the exact same bottle just coz it came from Boots or Debenhams etc. A-holes of course. And what about the bananas at Asda for one? Do you rightly go for fairtrade or organic? I mean they've both been flown half way round the world, one hasn't been sprayed with rotten chemicals, but one will go towards giving some outrageously poor family a little bit extra in their pocket. I buy fairtrade, for one I find they taste better, last a bit longer, but I am aware of the impossible compromise in doing so. x
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