OK, so you’ve tuned into the discussions on being an “ethical consumer”, and as a first step, you’ve decided to take a more considered approach to feeding yourself and your family. How do you go about it?
If changes to diet and lifestyle are to last, they need to be carefully considered and made according to a plan. Most importantly, that plan needs to be flexible and respect who you are and what you can realistically do at the moment.
Here is a suggested approach to learning to eat “mindfully” that you may find possible to adapt to your own circumstances.
1. Work out what you mean by “ethical eating.” The selection and preparation of food is a central human experience, important to physical and societal health, and this in itself is reason to pay attention to the way you go about it. But are you motivated by avoiding cruelty to animals, or by supporting people who actually grow the food? Are you concerned about the potential impact of genetically modified food on biodiversity?
Many people come to ethical eating through an interest in sustainability and the reduction of world hunger. It takes many, many more resources (water, feed) to produce a hamburger than to feed someone on grains, nuts and vegetables. The hamburger also has a greater external impact in terms of the chemicals required to raise and slaughter the meat and possibly, to package and prepare the burger for consumption.
Then there is the impact on the environment of greenhouse-gas emissions by the meat-production sector. In a much-cited study in the medical journal The Lancet (3 September2007), Tony McMichael of Australian National University in Canberra and John Pawley of Cambridge University in the United Kingdom conclude that the average worldwide consumption level of animal products must be reduced. The article also discusses the resource intensity of meat-eating and the links between red meat and certain diseases.
The point is, you need to evaluate the arguments and figure out which ones you “buy” and why you want to make changes in your approach to food. A concern about grower conditions, for example, would lead you more towards purchasing fair-trade coffee and chocolate than to reducing your consumption of meat. Obviously, you and the people close to you will need to make these decisions together.
2. Decide what you can realistically do right now. If you are raising a young family, for example, it may be a big ask to switch from meat-eating to a vegan lifestyle right away. Perhaps you could start by having vegetarian meals at home. What changes can you make now and what would be more appropriate say, a year from now?
It’s also important to be flexible. Famously, for health reasons, even the Dalai Lama occasionally eats meat. People are far less likely to make cold-turkey changes than to gradually modify their habits.
3. Do your homework. The public library and the internet have many resources on fair-trading, the cruelty-free issue (for example, free-range versus battery-hen eggs), and how to move towards vegetarianism. Checklists and question-and-answer type articles can be especially useful, such as Mary Williams’ guide to vegan food shopping.
Each individual has their own approach to trying to bring their behaviour in line with what they think and believe. With a considered, moderate approach, you will be able to reap the benefits of being “lighter on the planet” in a way that will last.
