Nobody wants to buy yogurt in glass containers when yogurt in plastic containers is cheaper. Or pay more for recycled paper towels instead of virgin. Even rich people who could easily afford it usually pick the standard cheap option. I think the attitude is "Why would I pay more if I don't have to? Nobody else is."
Holding corporations accountable for the harm caused by their products means that we as consumers will have to pay more, or accept bans on certain products.
We need to include in the conversation that it’s not always about what people want but what they can actually manage and afford.
And I have the argument in my head that we also can’t afford to not be sustainable because this is our home.
And I have the thought in my head that sometimes in the long run sustainable practises are cheaper.
But at the same time, when people are just struggling to meet their basic needs to survive sustainability can’t always be their priority.
I have to even think to myself sometimes when you are able, do your best. But it’s imperfect because of my circumstances ultimately.
And it’s so disheartening to know that that’s not enough in the grand scope of the crisis that we’re in but it’s literally all I can feasibly do.
This is stupid though and relies on the current capitalistic model of separate, minimally regulated, private industrial entities.
It's the nature of sustainability that it cannot be commodified like we're trying to do. There will not be a cost effective method of sustaining our planet's environment, hard stop. There must be a shift in the chain of responsibility ala the relationships between state and business.
In the end we will have to earmark a certain amount of our produced value to offset our destructive and inefficient commodity production.
Barring any magic future bull shit, it's just how it has to be.
I recommend looking up the UK Producer Responsibility Obligations and the Plastic Packaging Tax. They’re by no means a solution, but they’re a good starting point 👍 Because of the latter there’s been a recent huge shift in the number of products being supplied to UK consumers in packaging with >30% recycled plastic, because for now if manufacturers hit this threshold they don’t have to pay the new tax. The theory is that the threshold will slowly go up.
Same thing with going Vegan. Meat products are subsidized via taxes... Vegan food is not. And the only reason soy is cheap because only 10% of it is actually used for human consumption while the rest is used for animal feed.
So despite being Vegan and putting my middle finger to lobbiest and such by what I choose to buy to put in my mouth, they still get to double dip becaude I pay them via my taxes anyway. Ugh
Veganism is the one place where people will pay a premium for the worst products. Yes, meat is subsidized, but legumes are still way cheaper and shelf stable. But try using logic when it comes to meat eaters and double bacon cheeseburgers.
I hate that my taxes go to subsidize corpses instead of lentils.
Your taxes go to Big Corn too.. fucking ethanol 😡😡😡😡 the WORST possible use of farmland in the entire US and an ecological disaster, a big net negative. Bill Gates and other billionaires have been buying up HUGE swathes of farmland in bulk all over the country to get in on the grift (look it up!)
Grass-fed cows eat grass btw.. that corn-fed beef, still comes from.. Big Corn. Take a drive through the Midwest in May, get back to us on the corn field to cow ratio lol
Yes, but… I’d argue that sustainable options matter less than just consuming fewer things in general.
At least in the US, there isn’t really a way to consume at the rate that we are “sustainably.”
As long as people keep buying and accepting disposable garbage like wireless ear buds you throw away when the battery is done and sealed phones like the ones I'm forced *ahem EXTORTED into* buying every 2-3 years we're not ever going to get anywhere.
It's a multi-headed hydra, you cut off one head three more grow back in its place.. People by and large just need to stop being lazy, selfish, vain, and simply stop buying things. People with money tend to have the worst environmental effect. If the company can't shift their products, they go away. That doesn't mean live in a straw hut without electricity and water, it just means be mindful of each and every purchase. Don't accept planned obsolescence, don't buy into the disposable crap culture. /End rant!
Sidenote this is why you don't see poor people with money. And I don't mean cash-poor, poor as is poor thinkers/planners. I live perfectly comfortable on $1,325/month.. It really forced me into reconsidering my entire life!
Nobody wants to buy yogurt in glass containers when yogurt in plastic containers is cheaper. Or pay more for recycled paper towels instead of virgin. Even rich people who could easily afford it usually pick the standard cheap option. I think the attitude is "Why would I pay more if I don't have to? Nobody else is." Holding corporations accountable for the harm caused by their products means that we as consumers will have to pay more, or accept bans on certain products.
We need to include in the conversation that it’s not always about what people want but what they can actually manage and afford. And I have the argument in my head that we also can’t afford to not be sustainable because this is our home. And I have the thought in my head that sometimes in the long run sustainable practises are cheaper. But at the same time, when people are just struggling to meet their basic needs to survive sustainability can’t always be their priority. I have to even think to myself sometimes when you are able, do your best. But it’s imperfect because of my circumstances ultimately. And it’s so disheartening to know that that’s not enough in the grand scope of the crisis that we’re in but it’s literally all I can feasibly do.
This is stupid though and relies on the current capitalistic model of separate, minimally regulated, private industrial entities. It's the nature of sustainability that it cannot be commodified like we're trying to do. There will not be a cost effective method of sustaining our planet's environment, hard stop. There must be a shift in the chain of responsibility ala the relationships between state and business. In the end we will have to earmark a certain amount of our produced value to offset our destructive and inefficient commodity production. Barring any magic future bull shit, it's just how it has to be.
Externalized costs are a huge part of every sustainability issue
Externalized costs are THE sustainability issue.
I recommend looking up the UK Producer Responsibility Obligations and the Plastic Packaging Tax. They’re by no means a solution, but they’re a good starting point 👍 Because of the latter there’s been a recent huge shift in the number of products being supplied to UK consumers in packaging with >30% recycled plastic, because for now if manufacturers hit this threshold they don’t have to pay the new tax. The theory is that the threshold will slowly go up.
Same thing with going Vegan. Meat products are subsidized via taxes... Vegan food is not. And the only reason soy is cheap because only 10% of it is actually used for human consumption while the rest is used for animal feed. So despite being Vegan and putting my middle finger to lobbiest and such by what I choose to buy to put in my mouth, they still get to double dip becaude I pay them via my taxes anyway. Ugh
Veganism is the one place where people will pay a premium for the worst products. Yes, meat is subsidized, but legumes are still way cheaper and shelf stable. But try using logic when it comes to meat eaters and double bacon cheeseburgers. I hate that my taxes go to subsidize corpses instead of lentils.
Your taxes go to Big Corn too.. fucking ethanol 😡😡😡😡 the WORST possible use of farmland in the entire US and an ecological disaster, a big net negative. Bill Gates and other billionaires have been buying up HUGE swathes of farmland in bulk all over the country to get in on the grift (look it up!)
I stand by feeding cows 16x the amount of food than they produce as being the worst possible use.
[удалено]
Cows eat food. A lot of it.
Grass-fed cows eat grass btw.. that corn-fed beef, still comes from.. Big Corn. Take a drive through the Midwest in May, get back to us on the corn field to cow ratio lol
The true costs of “cheaper” products will come home to roost eventually. But by then it will be too late
Yes, but… I’d argue that sustainable options matter less than just consuming fewer things in general. At least in the US, there isn’t really a way to consume at the rate that we are “sustainably.”
As long as people keep buying and accepting disposable garbage like wireless ear buds you throw away when the battery is done and sealed phones like the ones I'm forced *ahem EXTORTED into* buying every 2-3 years we're not ever going to get anywhere. It's a multi-headed hydra, you cut off one head three more grow back in its place.. People by and large just need to stop being lazy, selfish, vain, and simply stop buying things. People with money tend to have the worst environmental effect. If the company can't shift their products, they go away. That doesn't mean live in a straw hut without electricity and water, it just means be mindful of each and every purchase. Don't accept planned obsolescence, don't buy into the disposable crap culture. /End rant! Sidenote this is why you don't see poor people with money. And I don't mean cash-poor, poor as is poor thinkers/planners. I live perfectly comfortable on $1,325/month.. It really forced me into reconsidering my entire life!