Ecofriendly or Socially Conscious?
October 25th 2011 17:33
Nowadays it seems like every coffee shop sells Fair Trade beans and every department store offers an Eco-friendly version of something. But are these two adjectives exclusive? In some ways yes.
Sometimes we have to zoom out and look at the big picture. A farmer in Africa who devotes his land to growing coffee beans because he knows that rich people would rather buy them from him than from a conglomeration may actually be fueling hunger somewhere else. His land may be more suited for growing wheat or corn (or some other plant). Therefore, in an effort to be socially conscious, we sacrifice efficiency.
Many of you know that I'm not a huge fan of increasing corn ethanol production. This is because it may be 'eco-friendly' but by diverting crops from food to fuel, we aren't being very socially conscious.
These trends also exist at home. People who choose to live off the grid or think that they are saving the environment by growing their own food may be subverting the more efficient means of production. Not that growing your own food is bad, but if everyone were to rely on it, there would not be enough arable land for everyone. As a civilization, we've reached the point where we need economies of scale to keep us alive.
Unfortunately, this debate is hard to research. You probably don't have access to soil samples in Brazil or rainfall estimates for Africa that could help you determine which fair-trade items are worth buying. But you can ask questions and get informed.
Sometimes we have to zoom out and look at the big picture. A farmer in Africa who devotes his land to growing coffee beans because he knows that rich people would rather buy them from him than from a conglomeration may actually be fueling hunger somewhere else. His land may be more suited for growing wheat or corn (or some other plant). Therefore, in an effort to be socially conscious, we sacrifice efficiency.
Many of you know that I'm not a huge fan of increasing corn ethanol production. This is because it may be 'eco-friendly' but by diverting crops from food to fuel, we aren't being very socially conscious.
These trends also exist at home. People who choose to live off the grid or think that they are saving the environment by growing their own food may be subverting the more efficient means of production. Not that growing your own food is bad, but if everyone were to rely on it, there would not be enough arable land for everyone. As a civilization, we've reached the point where we need economies of scale to keep us alive.
Unfortunately, this debate is hard to research. You probably don't have access to soil samples in Brazil or rainfall estimates for Africa that could help you determine which fair-trade items are worth buying. But you can ask questions and get informed.
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