HOW IS CONSUMERISM BEING RESOLVED, AND WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL IMPACT IF consumerism ISN'T RESOLVED?
RESOLUTION:
Consumerism is getting worse and more prolific, although there is a growing number of people who support an Anti-consumerism movement. “Anti-consumerism is a sociopolitical ideology opposed to consumerism, which discourages ever-growing purchasing and consumption of material possessions. Anti-consumerist activists express concern over modern corporations or organisations that pursue solely economic goals at the expense of environmental, social, or ethical concerns.” (Unknown: Wikipedia - Anti-consumerism: 2014: Int) An example of this is ‘Buy Nothing Day’ (BND, see figure 5), BND is an international day against consumerism. It is held in the U.S on the Friday after Thanksgiving, also known as ‘Black Friday, everywhere else it’s on the last Friday of November. The first BND was organised in Canada, in September 1992. The event is founded by Ted Dave in Vancouver and is promoted by Adbusters magazine, who say it "isn't just about changing your habits for one day" but "about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment to consuming less and producing less waste.” (Unknown: Wikipedia - Buy Nothing Day: 2014: Int) In the past few years there has been an increasing number of books like ‘No Logo’ by Naomi Klein’s (see figure 6), and films like ‘The Corporation’ and ‘Surplus’, which popularise anti-corporation ideology to the public, as they believe that corporations invade people’s privacy, create false needs for consumerism, and manipulate politics and government. Another anti-consumerism movement is referred to as Affluenza. ‘Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic’ dents consumerism as “a painful contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more”. (Graaf, John De, David Wann, and Thomas H. Naylor: Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic: 2001: Book) These movements play an important role with our society, highlighting to the general public the negative effects of their consumerism.
POTENTIAL IMPACT:
Consumerism has an everlasting impact, “…to live is to consume” (Joshua Becker: Becoming Minimalist - 10 Reasons to Escape Excessive Consumerism: Unknown: Int) A problem facing many countries across the world is the excess consumption of food leading to major health problems and placing a significant strain on its health system. It is estimated that if the excess consumption of food does not change, over 40% of the UK population could be overweight within generations. (Unknown: Global issue - Consumption and Consumerism: 2014: Int) Another concern is the ability of countries to produce the required amount of food to meet demand. “William Rees, an urban planner at the University of British Columbia, estimated that it requires four to six hectares of land to maintain the consumption level of the average person from a high-consumption country. The problem is that in 1990, worldwide there were only 1.7 hectares of ecologically productive land for each person.” (Unknown: Global issue - Consumption and Consumerism: 2014: Int)
Another problem facing affluent countries, including Australia, is the amount of food that is wasted. It is estimated that in Australia we throw away $8 billion dollars worth of food each year, that is around 4,000,000 tones. (Unknown: Food Wise - Reduce Food Waste » Food Waste Fast Facts: 2014: Int) When all this food and organic land fill rots it gives off methane, which is 25 times more potent than carbon pollution that comes out of your car exhaust. Nevertheless when we throw away food we also waste all the water, fuel and resources it takes to get the food from the paddock to your plate. Considering that Australians discard 20% of the food they purchase each year there is enough waste to fill 450,000 garbage trucks and when placed end to end with New Zealand, the convoy would bridge the gap just over three times over. (Unknown: Food Wise - Reduce Food Waste » Food Waste Fast Facts: 2014: Int) These are important issues which need to be addressed by all countries across the developed world, issues which will only get worse if no action is taken.
Consumerism is getting worse and more prolific, although there is a growing number of people who support an Anti-consumerism movement. “Anti-consumerism is a sociopolitical ideology opposed to consumerism, which discourages ever-growing purchasing and consumption of material possessions. Anti-consumerist activists express concern over modern corporations or organisations that pursue solely economic goals at the expense of environmental, social, or ethical concerns.” (Unknown: Wikipedia - Anti-consumerism: 2014: Int) An example of this is ‘Buy Nothing Day’ (BND, see figure 5), BND is an international day against consumerism. It is held in the U.S on the Friday after Thanksgiving, also known as ‘Black Friday, everywhere else it’s on the last Friday of November. The first BND was organised in Canada, in September 1992. The event is founded by Ted Dave in Vancouver and is promoted by Adbusters magazine, who say it "isn't just about changing your habits for one day" but "about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment to consuming less and producing less waste.” (Unknown: Wikipedia - Buy Nothing Day: 2014: Int) In the past few years there has been an increasing number of books like ‘No Logo’ by Naomi Klein’s (see figure 6), and films like ‘The Corporation’ and ‘Surplus’, which popularise anti-corporation ideology to the public, as they believe that corporations invade people’s privacy, create false needs for consumerism, and manipulate politics and government. Another anti-consumerism movement is referred to as Affluenza. ‘Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic’ dents consumerism as “a painful contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more”. (Graaf, John De, David Wann, and Thomas H. Naylor: Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic: 2001: Book) These movements play an important role with our society, highlighting to the general public the negative effects of their consumerism.
POTENTIAL IMPACT:
Consumerism has an everlasting impact, “…to live is to consume” (Joshua Becker: Becoming Minimalist - 10 Reasons to Escape Excessive Consumerism: Unknown: Int) A problem facing many countries across the world is the excess consumption of food leading to major health problems and placing a significant strain on its health system. It is estimated that if the excess consumption of food does not change, over 40% of the UK population could be overweight within generations. (Unknown: Global issue - Consumption and Consumerism: 2014: Int) Another concern is the ability of countries to produce the required amount of food to meet demand. “William Rees, an urban planner at the University of British Columbia, estimated that it requires four to six hectares of land to maintain the consumption level of the average person from a high-consumption country. The problem is that in 1990, worldwide there were only 1.7 hectares of ecologically productive land for each person.” (Unknown: Global issue - Consumption and Consumerism: 2014: Int)
Another problem facing affluent countries, including Australia, is the amount of food that is wasted. It is estimated that in Australia we throw away $8 billion dollars worth of food each year, that is around 4,000,000 tones. (Unknown: Food Wise - Reduce Food Waste » Food Waste Fast Facts: 2014: Int) When all this food and organic land fill rots it gives off methane, which is 25 times more potent than carbon pollution that comes out of your car exhaust. Nevertheless when we throw away food we also waste all the water, fuel and resources it takes to get the food from the paddock to your plate. Considering that Australians discard 20% of the food they purchase each year there is enough waste to fill 450,000 garbage trucks and when placed end to end with New Zealand, the convoy would bridge the gap just over three times over. (Unknown: Food Wise - Reduce Food Waste » Food Waste Fast Facts: 2014: Int) These are important issues which need to be addressed by all countries across the developed world, issues which will only get worse if no action is taken.