This post is going to be edited from time to time, so bookmark it and check back once in a while.
What I want to do here is provide links to sites that help you decide where to spend your dollars so you get the most green back for your green(back). These sites will help you develop your own standards for sustainable living.
- http://www.goodguide.com/ for safe healthy and green products for the home, health, personal care, food and more
- http://www.eatwellguide.org/ for organic restaurants, stores, farms and more
- http://sfapproved.org/ for products that meet San Francisco's Health and Environmental Requirements
- http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/
Any truly sustainable form of sustainable living must include a complete economic reform. As it stands, our current eco-friendly efforts, slow food movements, local & artisanal support are largely restricted to the upper-middle class or higher. For example, it is simply absurd to expect the single mother who makes less than 20k to buy one lemon for $2 from Whole Foods.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. However there is no silver bullet here. For the specific example you give, the obvious solution is that organics become cheaper than factory-farm produced food. The only way organics can become cheaper is if there is enough demand. That means more of us who can afford $2 lemons, do buy it. This means rich people must have enough motivation to buy things at a premium. Which is why I am doing this blog to educate the "haves" and make it easier for them to find products that are sustainable.
ReplyDeleteThe long term solution of course is good policy and legislation. We know how the chances of that happening are really low because of who sits in Congress. They are easily bought and sold, and they can buy elections through false propaganda. Which is why we need an educated and aware public that can see through the deception. Another reason why we need blogs like these, so that at a minimum I can help my own friends see something that they may not have known before!
I agree with everything except this statement, "The only way organics can become cheaper is if there is enough demand."
ReplyDeleteThat goes against the very basic fundamentals of economics. Higher demand means shorter supply which leads to higher prices. So again, it comes back to complete economic reform. Despite many people's Utopian dreams, we still live in a world where even proponents and advocates of slow food want to make lots of money. If they can consistently get a small number of people to pay that much for a lemon, why not keep that same price or even raise it a little as more and more people pay it?
We've actually seen this happen. These wonderfully organic lemons used to be about $1 a lemon 5 10 years ago. Now that it's more fashionable to be organic and eco-friendly, they're hovering around $2.
Producers, regardless of who they are (artisanal or large volume, will charge as much as the market will bear for their products. Until that changes, this movement doesn't have a chance to become as large as it needs to be to have an large impact.
The only other way is Keynesian economics which, as you pointed out, simply won't happen with our political system.
You make 2 points in your comments. Here's what I think of them.
ReplyDelete#1. Demand and Supply - You state an indisputable economic principle, but the application here is invalid. Let me explain why. The law of demand and supply assumes that there is a "fixed" supply. So if the demand increases, prices go up. If the demand decreases, the prices go down. In other words there are only 2 variables - demand and price. With the organica movement, we have the potential of bringing into play a 3rd variable - supply. The point is that if there is an increase in demand for organics, there will be a proportionate decrease in demand for industrially grown food. The suppliers of those foods will then have a choice in order to maintain their toplines and bottomlines - a) reduce production (supply) or b) increase prices. If option "a" prevails, then suppliers will have to look for alternate (organic) food sources, because that's where the demand is. If option they chose option "b", the price increase of industrial food simply makes organics even more desirable. Eitherways its a win-win for the consumer if they chose to buy organic.
At this point you may say - well what's keeping organic suppliers from increasing their prices (citing the eg you have given of the lemon). My reply" "demand". If the demand increases, there will inevitably be new suppliers willing to serve that demand at lower prices. That is what helps price stablization. As an example - that is why China and India were able to to grow in hardware and software respectively.
2. Your second point is regarding the economics. I am not sure what your suggestion is regarding "complete economic reform". I would love to hear your thoughts on it. But for now, I have this to say:
- Yes its true that everyone wants to make lots of money. I dont see a problem with that as long as it is being done sustainably (ie keeping in mind the triple bottomline).
- A possible alternative to the money/profit driven motive would be the creation of a different kind of currency, ie a different kind of "value system". Right now money is considered synonymous with value. But even the richest person in the world will probably tell us that the things of most value to him maybe "love" or "health" or being "worry free". So ideally the true currency this world should operate on should be a currency such as "happiness" or "satisfaction". If someone could quantify that and make that attractive and exchangable, we would find far less takers for money as the world knows it today. Till then I guess we are going to see that its money that continues to make the world go round.
So how do we live with it and instead of being resigned to the fate of this planet being doomed, what can we do to make things better. Check out the article at this link - http://blogs.forbes.com/csr/2010/08/18/the-birds-and-bees-of-sustainability/?boxes=Homepagechannels. It provides a paradigm that people like me (and you?) can adopt to model better behavior patterns that move the whole world surely towards sustainability.
I think we're diverging in view point more and more as we speak. But to save time and energy (see I'm being eco-friendly, since ultimately it all comes down to how energy is used. But I stray...) I'll simplify my stance, which is probably the standard outlook on the matter: until such time as the green movement becomes less expensive for me, as the consumer, I will only support it in theory. I should not have to pay higher prices now in order to get lower prices later. Simply put, money talks.
ReplyDeleteAnd FYI, I am being environmentally conscious. All these posts were created with 100% recycled electrons. ;-)
ReplyDeleteMy question to you - what are you doing, or would do to turn back the clock on climate change... besides recycling electrons:-)... No thats a serious question really. I do want to know what people with concerns such as yours may be thinking.
ReplyDeleteHow about 'small community farming' ... like an apartment society growing its own tomatoes or something ... small to start with ... but I guess every small bit adds up. I'm sure most housing societies employ a gardner.
ReplyDeleteCrazy idea ... huh ?? ;->
Not crazy at all, Amby! I will do a blog on this and other small scale farming methods such as vertical farming and window farming. Thank you for reminding me I needed to do this.
ReplyDeleteWell the great thing about living in Seattle is that it's much more conducive, if not mandatory, to being green than any other place I've lived. So all my green urges are more convenient and accessible. As for actual actions, Aiko and I recycle, don't use energy unnecessarily (we're lazy, but also electricity wise), and we try to limit our driving by only having one car and drive it sparingly (as my work allows). And while we love the taste of organic food, we have only a dearth amount of money, so cheaper wins out usually when buying groceries. We patronize local, artisanal eateries... rarely going to a chain. Overall, I'd say we do what we can while still living somewhat comfortably and conveniently. We probably could afford organic but I would have to overcome my philosophic aversion to that whole racket they've got going.
ReplyDeleteAmbar, here's the link to the post. It features my friend Mukesh Dogra. Do you remember him from Bangalore?
ReplyDeletehttp://livegreenseegreen.blogspot.com/2010/08/urban-farming-its-fun.html
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