The fight for sustainable practices of having dominion over this planet is multi-faceted and nowadays hijacked by various principalities and powers. On one end, a despotic moralism arises that would condemn those less fortunate to the outer fringes of hell for not sacrificing their two meager coins upon the altar of sustainability. On the other end is the self-serving capitalistic machine that seeks to devour and destroy, merely changing it’s chameleonic skin to match the ever-changing whims of society.
Our choices are inherently moralistic. Decisions that we make reveal an underlying worldview and framework. Choosing between a banana and an apple seems mundane, but living in Western Pennsylvania clearly means that one fruit is seasonal, the other is foreign. We have long since moved into a new food era, where we can have the food of our desires no matter the season or location.
The more we heed our basic instincts for cheap sugar, salt, fat, and protein in whatever form we want it, whatever time of year we want it, the more we create a simple agricultural world and the more we will depend on the diversity of life with which that same agriculture competes on a finite planet. [1]
Our desire for a standardized food experience will lead us into destruction as we seek to build a new tower of Babel, a shrine that destroys the very beauty and diversity of the created order under the facade of human progress.
Yet despite our individual (consumer) choices, the underlying systemic issues are unaddressed.
Making series of small, ethical purchasing decisions while ignoring the structural incentives for companies’ unsustainable business models won’t change the world as quickly as we want. It just makes us feel better about ourselves. [2]
Let us then seek to bring systemic change – through prayer, through voting, through volunteering, through donating.
Sources:
[1] https://www.wired.com/2017/03/humans-made-banana-perfect-soon-itll-gone/
[2] https://qz.com/920561/conscious-consumerism-is-a-lie-heres-a-better-way-to-help-save-the-world/