“When you are surrounded by something so big that requires you to change everything about the way you think and see the world, then denial is the natural response. But the longer we wait, the bigger the response required.”
- Paul Gilding, The Great Disruption

Luckily, Gilding seems to hold faith in the possibility of the world responding. According to a recent article in the New York Times, he is an eco-optimist who believes “we will change at a scale and speed we can barely imagine today, completely transforming our economy, including our energy and transport industries, in just a few short decades.” Convinced that his expectation is realistic, Gilding simply argues:

“We either allow collapse to overtake us or develop a new sustainable economic model. We will choose the latter. We may be slow, but we’re not stupid.”

Personally, I tend to reside in Gilding’s camp. The accusation of our species being slow to change is one I will not argue. We’ve had plenty of time to improve our ways, as individuals and as a species, but that time has been wasted by the majority. Of course, whether or not you choose to see this as a sign of the species as a whole being stupid is up to you, but I’m holding out a little more towards a general ignorance.

The bigger question to me though is whether or not you have to have at least a small bit of optimism left in your heart to continue fighting for the world, even when it seems you’re fighting against it. Is it possible to continue pushing for change when you start to believe it isn’t going to come?

“Bananas are the single most profitable item passing through the check-outs in British supermarkets, accounting for 1% of all sales. In the USA, it is estimated that bananas represent 2% of the total turnover of North American grocery retailers.”
- Banana Link, “Supermarkets“

You know that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you’re grocery shopping and something seems too good to be true? Like a mango for less than a dollar, or a handful of kiwis for less than your bus fare? There’s a reason for that. It is too good to be true.

I’m sure a lot of you already know the food industry is messed up, and for the most part, we only see the benefits. In grocery stores it translates to lower prices, while the story behind the scenes is never as pleasant. Of course, how deep into that tangled mess you choose to go is usually a matter of how much guilt you want to associate with that fresh pineapple, or how easily you can convince yourself that the winter where you live means lots of preserves and root vegetables instead of fresh produce. Sure, you can choose to buy fair trade when possible, and maybe even focus on local products, but as a vegan there are plenty of things you should be eating that probably will not grow in your backyard.

So, that nagging feeling in my stomach is sometimes pushed aside for the sake of the benefits an imported product would provide me. One of the major ones would be bananas. I grew up eating them, and they still make cereal seem a little healthier every morning. Since I’m not a nutritionist, and I arguably don’t know enough for my own diet concerns, let alone someone else’s, I’m not going to say bananas are a necessary part of one’s diet. However, I have been led to believe that they are ridiculously healthy for you, and pack one hell of a nutritional punch in a small package. A lot of times, bananas are one of the only non-local things I buy, and coming from Newfoundland that means a lot of carrots and potatoes with the occasional Canadian apple.

Thus, when I started digging a little deeper into the background of the little yellow wonder, I was not surprised to find out the true reasons why they remain so cheap throughout the year, no matter how far they travel.

Bananas – globalissues.org

The Banana Trade War – globalissues.org

Banana Link

Sadly, I’m not sure what the solution is. I just felt the information was useful, and it should be something you think of every trip to the produce aisle.

A Not so Brief Explanation of the Partnership Between Coconut Bliss & Lochmead Dairy (coconutbliss.com)

However, as I started reading the series of steps that led to Luna and Larry, the founders of Coconut Bliss, selling the majority share of their non-dairy ice cream business to a local dairy, my shock turned more to confused ethics.

Should I stop supporting Coconut Bliss because of their parent company?

Of course, the bigger dilemma this raises is how do you choose who to support and who to avoid ? I often joke that at the end of the day most products are all owned by either Coke, Pepsi, Disney, Microsoft or big tobacco. There’s not much else out there, and the deeper you dig, the more you find out your money is probably somehow going to the pockets of a company that has blood on their hands, animal or otherwise. Hence, research such as the type done by Philip H. Howard at Michigan State University is often a little depressing:

Organic Processing Industry Structure (msu.edu)

With regards to Coconut Bliss, the issue was not really that big at all, but it was more because of a lack of their products here in Newfoundland than my personal decision. However, finding out that the same dairy company produced and packaged Turtle Mountain products hit a little closer to home. Although it seems Turtle Mountain now has their own production facility, I had always assumed they were a smaller company with no big parent taking a part of my money.

So, where do you draw the line? Is the act of buying from the vegan-friendly arm of a big company a vote for them to focus more on such products, or are you really just throwing your ethical money into a big, messy well of riches? Is buying the veg* burger at the fast food joint a step in the right direction or are we better off just spending that money on fertilizer for the backyard garden? What about those of us who reside in small towns or live life on the road and have few options outside of the major companies that are widely distributed?

Personally, I’m skeptical, and it seems I’m not the only one. Marion Nestle had some interesting points about the new program over at foodpolitics.com, and I feel better siding with her than Michelle Obama.

Walmart is not a social service agency. It is a business and a hugely successful one. It outsells the largest grocery chains in America by a factor of two. Today’s New York Times says that 16% of U.S. sales of Kraft products are at Walmart stores. PepsiCo admits to 10%. These are huge numbers.

- Marion Nestle, foodpolitics.com

Her points about the problems of companies self-labeling products that are “healthy”, pricing healthier foods at prices comparable to or cheaper than less nutritious food, and their determination to place smaller Walmart stores into areas that currently lack their presence are worth considering. A company as large as Walmart did not get there by keeping the greater good at the front of their minds. A company as large as Walmart continues to grow and expand based on their interest in one thing: the bottom line.

How does a concern for profits translate into an initiative to feed people better food? Some of that remains to be seen, but I suspect smaller farmers and companies who have been trying to do the same thing will be squeezed out of the market by the juggernaut. Those who have been offering healthier food, but on a smaller scale, will not be able to supply Walmart at a price or quantity to meet their demands. As well, given that Walmart is the largest grocer in America, what they decide is a fair price or a healthy product will be seen as the baseline, and this will force other grocers to step in line or watch their sales decline. Of course, the decline of small, local businesses due to the presence of Walmart is part of the reason why they have found opposition in some areas, which they affectionately call “food deserts”. Granted, some areas certainly do lack adequate sources of nutritious food, but is it really wise to let Walmart determine these areas?

Mrs. Obama’s husband, the president, back in 2007 when he was serving in the U.S. Senate, criticized Walmart for not paying its workers more. All was forgiven on Thursday.

- Tahman Bradley, abcnews.com

Even if the US government and the first lady are willing to forgive, I am not. Walmart still has a horrible record in regards to wages, benefits and the treatment of their employees. If they were so concerned about the health of their customers, why not pay a better wage so people can afford to pay for other things needed to live a healthy life? Why not provide sufficient benefits so medical concerns are no longer an issue? I think the answer to all of these questions is obvious: money.

So, forgive me if I don’t jump onboard with Michelle Obama and so many others in applauding the big guns in their apparent concern for the hearts and waistlines of their customers. Maybe I’m just too cynical for my own good, or perhaps I have Walmart pegged wrong. Either way, I’m going to keep buying my food from somewhere a little smaller, and I’ll use my own set of guidelines to decide whether or not it is healthy thank you very much.

Smart wallets react to electronic spending by shrinking, refusing to open (ecouterre.com)

Designed to create a tangible element to online spending, which on its own can often seem without consequences, the wallets come in three different styles and each have a unique method of reminding you to slow down on eBay or etsy when you need to. They can connect with your smart phone using Bluetooth, so your bank account info can be monitored in real time, which provides an accurate indicator of how much you really should pay for that issue of T.O.F.U.

Yes, I had to go there. How else will I ever be able to even open one of these wallets if I don’t plug my own product?

With the new issue being completely digital the whole world has opened up in terms of who can be involved. In fact, I’m hoping I will be able to showcase what veganism looks like in as many places as possible. I also plan on doing it in multiple languages. That’s right, if all goes well the next issue will not be restricted to just English articles. I think it’s only right since veganism doesn’t stop at English, right?

So, if you happen to know of a great little vegan cafe down the road from you or perhaps a place you go online that is cool enough to ship to your small town, let me know. I’ve tracked down everything from a bed and breakfast in the UK that looks amazing (The Sands) to a great little bakery in Ottawa, Ontario (Auntie Loo’s). However, I now know there is so much more out there, and that makes me smile.

Of course, it also makes a guy like me want to pack a suitcase and find out how great all these places are for myself! I’m open to donations to make that happen!

=-)

Actually, let me rephrase that, I hate large places that involve people being consumers.

I stopped giving gifts around the holidays a few years ago, and I’ve felt better every year. Not being sucked into the midnight madness sales or the hot new toy every year around this time is great, especially when I catch glimpses of the decorations and the ads and realize I had forgotten all about it.

However, the rare time I find myself at the mall or some big box store park thingy, I lose a little bit more of my belief that humanity can do good. Every time I stand there in the middle of the massive hallway or parking lot while people and/or SUVs whiz by me on their way to the next big discount sale, I wonder why I even bother to be different.

When I’ve been pulled into a Wal-Mart by a friend or relative, I feel a little of my determination and self-pride slip away. How can my action (or perhaps inaction according to their cash registers) even measure-up to the amount of mindless shopping people do? Just because I’m buying my clothes at rock shows or holding onto them until they basically disappear one day in the washing machine, what does that really mean to the corporations that sit back and watch the numbers roll in?

Any thoughts on how one can change this? Successful campaigns that were undertaken to convince family and friends to not buy as much, or maybe even anything, for the holidays?

*My apologies for the non-vegan post, but I figured a post is better than no post, right? Plus, chances are most of you lovely readers avoid the consumerist pull as well as the animal one.

Although not immediately connected to veganism or food, I think there is something of interest in this article for all of us.

Cult of less: Living out of a hard drive – BBC News

The idea of simplifying one’s life was touched on in the last issue of T.O.F.U. by Amanda Rogers when she spoke of the beauty found in avoiding buying everything new and looking to renew the life of various things other’s had discarded. Of course, this article suggests that with the advent of the digital age one can take it a step further, and many people seem to be doing just that.

The interesting branch to veganism came to me when I started reading about the more futuristic idea of storing one’s mind on a digital medium. The theoretical suggestion that at some point one would be able to exist solely as 1s and 0s next to your HD version of the Matrix and your Godspeed You Black Emperor catalogue seems crazy, but a lot of things often appear that way years before they happen.

So, if you accept the idea that one day we can shed our need for a body and move our thoughts to something that fits in your current pants pocket, does that mean there could someday be digitarians? Those who live solely off of electrical energy to survive, and green energy at that. Those who do not need to consume physical things such as animal or plant products. Those who do not require clothing, transportation, water, etc… In essence, a nearly perfect environmentalist with a zero carbon footprint.

Which presents me with the question: How would you rationalize being a vegan with a body to a digitarian?

Wait, so first we kill far more pigs than normal because of a Swine Flu scare, and now we’re going to start trucking the little guys from Nova Scotia to Ontario because the plant in NS could not “source” enough living animals to continue running, but Larsen has contracts to honour?

Yeah, that’s an industry I want to play a part in. Keep up the good work. I’m going to the Sprout.