Week 2 Over consumption

Real Food Challenge

Calculate your ecological footprint as best you can and discuss. How many worlds does your lifestyle require? Use the Footprint calculator

While many challenge the idea that we can 'save the world' through shopping differently, ethical consumption is a practice we need to understand.  Ethical consumption means using our knowledge of the damage done to people, animals and ecosystems as the basis for what and how much we consume. Follow one of the links below to learn what some organizations are asking of consumers.

The Good Guide is one example.   Students against sweatshops is another group you could look at. Or Buy less Crap

Some people eat only animals raised "humanely" or buy from companies that pay workers fair wages. Fair wage campaigns have been organized by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers for instance, which gathered farm laborers in Florida and won a major battle against Taco Bell. Another way to consume is to buy fairly traded goods. Fair trade seeks to pay producers (of cotton, coffee etc.) enough so that they can produce in more ecologically sound ways and enjoy a decent standard of living. Fair trade coffee is promoted by Equal Exchange among others. The Real Food Challenge tries to bring food justice to campuses. Here's another campaign on bananas.

Students against sweatshops

Follow the things is a website produced by British cultural geographer Ian Cook. It documents how stuff gets made, particularly the aspects we don't see when we buy the things we love to have.

Go to one of these links, investigate, come back and tell us about it. Or, see if you can follow a thing that you buy. How much do you know about how it gets from there to here? What goes into it? What can you find out?

Optional: Can we really save the world through shopping? If none of these links seem exciting, listen to this audio and see what you think.