Guilt is an inescapable part of our lives. Even though human beings are incapable of consistently making good decisions, most people feel guilty whenever they make the “wrong” choice. However, with the advent of the “green” movement, there is a new dimension to making the right decision. Now, people feel they are not only harming themselves when they make the “wrong” choice, but also our entire planet; for example, when they choose the cheaper milk with steroids rather than the more expensive organic milk. In recent years, we are constantly pushed to ask ourselves, “Is what I’m doing right for the Earth?”
I’m not arguing that environmentalism is a new concept, or that Wesleyan is special in its extensive implementation of sustainability initiatives. However, in recent years, environmental consciousness has penetrated more aspects of society than ever before. With this recent growth, “living green” has become engrained into our decision-making process. This new “green” choice, especially when it comes to food, is hard to ignore no matter how we live our lives—and when we do ignore it, zealots of the green revolution inundate us with shame.
This is precisely the problem I wish to focus on. While the sustainability revolution has undoubtedly had (and continues to have) positive impacts on individuals, world economies, and the environment, there is too much shame placed on those who seemingly go against this trend. What needs to be eliminated from environmental discourse is the guilt associated with making a “wrong” decision, and the over-zealous, unrealistic approaches to “living green” that alienate and intimidate people more than they unify them around a common cause.
Before the sustainability trend became a popular mantra, most of us only felt guilty if we ate too much, or if what we ate was unhealthy. Now, there is the added shame of eating something that is “unsustainable”—bananas from Brazil, potatoes cultivated with pesticides, or corn produced without cover crops. Unless you only eat fruit and vegetables grown on not-for-profit organic farms located less than 100 miles away, your diet is probably unsustainable. Although there are many options that follow the “green” dogma in their production, there are many more tempting choices that do not. This is not only true for food, but for every aspect of life—transportation, consumer goods, even how we heat and cool our homes.
As with everything in life, there needs to be moderation. Of course, if we all made a conscious effort to eat locally-grown, organic, sustainable, vegetarian meals, the world would likely be a more stable place, both politically and environmentally. However, that is an unreasonable request. For some, the choice to live a carbon-neutral lifestyle is the right one, but, for most of us, it remains an impossible idea.
However, the guilt doesn’t just end with the green food revolution. The shame involved with resisting sustainability trends continues in many other areas of life, such as economics, development, production, and engineering. If you don’t have a hybrid, you are contributing to green house gases. Don’t use local products in your store? You surely are killing the earth. There are frequently positive, green choices that can be made, but it is very difficult when the other options are usually cheaper, easier to implement, and more accessible.
People do not appreciate being told to change their ways, especially if it means changing what they eat. Most people who are accused of killing the environment when they eat red meat, or of starving hundreds of thousands of people because they want cheap grain, will not be sympathetic to the sustainable food initiative.
A better system would be to instruct as many people as possible about alternative, sustainable choices, without paternalistically judging them if they do not decide to make those choices immediately. That way, the right choice can at least be made some of the time, rather than none of the time. As soon as we accept that we cannot always afford to make the right choices even when we want to, we can start making more informed decisions and try new, more sustainable routines.
For example, instead of feeling guilty every time you eat meat, or order take out, or buy bananas from Brazil, try a more moderate approach. Eat meat one or two days less per week. Buy the slightly more expensive, organic option sometimes. Don’t grab the banana off the shelf if you know it’s out of season, and take a local apple instead. There needn’t be guilt attached to our decisions if an honest effort is made to appreciate the consequences of our choices.
If we approach the green food revolution as a positive alternative rather than as a required transformation, then we can slowly begin to make all of our lives more sustainable while still allowing for life’s guilty pleasures.
Leave a Reply