Is it terrible that I’m avoiding watching documentaries on the meat industry because I don’t want to become a vegetarian?
Probably.
And then my anthropology class watched Food Inc.
As I ate my breakfast burrito this morning in the dining hall, I thought about what was actually in it. Where did these eggs come from? How were those chickens treated? And this ham… were the workers that processed it treated fairly? This tortilla— how far did its ingredients have to travel to end up in my stomach? These thoughts have come up before, but it’s so convenient to shut them out, for it is often “inconvenient” (which is subjective) to face the truth.
Then I began to think, as I often do, about the state of the world and how much stuff we produce. This stuff includes the clothes on our back, the food in our refrigerators, the waste that’s piling up in dumpsters and landfills across the globe. We, ourselves, are an endless production line that depletes both the earth and ourselves by promoting and perpetuating unhealthy and unsustainable lifestyles. I’m guilty of this. Most of us probably are. And frankly, I’m kind of lost on what to do about it. I need to do more research.
But I know that the way in which we are living cannot go on for much longer. And we’ve already established really easy things to do as a part of daily routine.
For my job in the Residence Hall I’m working in, I recently made a bulletin board about being green and why it actually matters, because I believe a lot of people don’t care about sustainability as a result of not actually knowing why it’s important.
Why is sustainability important? Because this planet is designed to function a certain way, and we are affecting those natural processes. Adaptation only goes so far— carbon dioxide and methane are not meant to enter the atmosphere at the levels we are causing them to (only 150 years of cars, planes, power plants, etcetera, have made these levels skyrocket above what they’ve been at for hundreds of thousands of years). Climate change isn't something you “believe” in, it’s a fact. And it’s natural for the planet to change, but we are doing unnatural things to it. Thus, the changes are unnatural, and will reap extremely negative consequences.
Just do some research and you will understand why these things are important. More often than not, people do not see problems because they are uninformed about them. And that means informing ourselves from a diverse array of sources.
Recycle because all of the stuff we produce has to end up somewhere, and with a rising population and mass consumerism, the amount of stuff is simply going to keep rising, while Earth stays the same size, and there will not always be places to put it. Recycle because deforestation contributes to rises in greenhouse gases— because we need trees, and they need our help. Recycle because plastic sucks, and it’s killing wildlife and filling up the landfills. Recycle because it’s easy, and honestly simply lazy to abstain from it.
Compost because organic matter that breaks down under the weight of the landfill will decompose without oxygen, thus resulting in the release of methane gas instead of decomposing into simpler organic molecules and nutrients as they do in soil. Methane traps head 22x more than carbon dioxide, even. And food leftovers are the number one item found in landfills, which account for 20% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
Be careful with electricity usage because it contributes largely to the emission of greenhouse gases through the burning of fossil fuels. We’re working on renewable energy, but a big chunk (almost one-third) of greenhouse gases released in the U.S. come from coal-burned electricity.
Conserve water because 97% of the earth’s water supply is salt water, and only 1% of the remaining 3% of freshwater sources are accessible. On top of that, our current patterns are polluting freshwater sources as we speak, so that resource gets even smaller. Just because you have access to it doesn’t mean you should use all the water that suits your fancy. It’s too currently expensive to desalinate the oceans, and I don’t think we should count on that as our future. Right now, over 800 million people lack access to safe water. I know that your shower length doesn’t directly translate to giving water to someone in need at the moment, but down the line, it could. We need to think about the impact we are having on future generations.
Where your food comes from matters because it affects both the planet earth and your greater health, and thus the health of generations to come. And the food industry affects all of the things I’ve discussed above.
Let me get that straight, Erika, you might say. We are destroying the planet, ourselves, and the future of humanity itself?
Well, yeah. Basically. Yet many don’t seem to care.
I’m guilty of living an unsustainable lifestyle. I’ll be the first to admit it. I’m playing a part in pillaging our dearest Mother Earth. And I know I need to be better, and I’m going to add certain measures into my life so that I can be better to myself, to this planet, and to the people in it.
Maybe that’s watching the plastics bought. Maybe that’s being aware of what kind of labor the clothes are produced with. Maybe that’s boycotting fast food. Maybe that’s not flushing the toilet when you pee. Maybe that’s throwing your plastic water bottle into the recycle bin that is right next to the trash can, or your banana peel in a compost bin that’s usually really easy to acquire (at least in the state of California, at the moment, and I’m sure we’ll see more states willing to actually participate). Maybe that’s unplugging your chargers when you aren’t using them, or being conscious of the lights you leave on. Don’t these actions sounds so simple?
It's about so much more than just you and me. I think it’s important that we educate ourselves on our impact on the place we call home sweet home. You wouldn’t trash your house. Why trash our home?
