We try to buy things that are produced locally from local resources when we can’t produce them ourselves. I spend a fair bit of time researching products trying to find out where they are made and from where the materials used in making them come. It is usually a frustrating and depressing project. So few things are made and sold locally. Even things made here aren’t sold directly here. They must first travel back and forth across the country to get to us. Take toilet paper for example. It isn’t made anywhere near here that I can find. So, logic would say look for the closest source or the most environmentally friendly one. The closest is at least 500 miles, and it is a brand that is not sold in any of the local stores. Environmentally friendly options involve mail order (at quite a high price and a lot of shipping) or a 140 mile round trip to Whole foods to pay a high price for a product that was shipped quite a way to get to the Columbus store. What is one to do? The non-toilet paper options are not very pleasant. I have looked at growing Mullen. It grows wild around here, has large soft fuzzy leaves, and I’ve been told that it makes good toilet paper. But, a field full of Mullen, and the energy and effort needed to cultivate, harvest, and process it seem a bit much right now. So we go to Wal-Mart and but the most eco-friendly brand they carry. Not the ideal, but it is probably the best use of our resources at the time.
Finding that balance between the vision and life in the ‘world as it is’ is a constant struggle for me. I know how I want to live, but it is a slow process dragging the rest of the world into a shape that allows me to live that way. It helps if I stop and list the things we have accomplished on our way to a better life. Here is a short list.
We have reduced our electricity use so far this year by 8% compared to the same time last year by turning things off, changing to compact florescent lights, and accepting a wider range of indoor temperatures.
We have found and are using local sources for all of our milk, most of our cheese, all of our eggs, most of our fresh produce, and some of our bread and grains.
We have cut our imported animal feeds to about 10% of total feed (except for dog and cat food which we still buy from non local sources.)
We have reduced our fuel consumption by 12% by driving less and making more efficient use of the trips we do take.
We have a long way to go, but we are on our way.
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Hey Alan, tonight I watched Fast Food Nation, and I have a better understanding for why doing what you’re doing is important. Sometimes a good narrative is better than good data. (Actually, for better or worse we humans respond better to narrative than data, which says something about something I’m sure….)
Also, I wanted to mention that I appreciate your enthusiasm because it's awfully easy to simply suck from the corporate teat and pretend that everything is just great. It takes a lot of courage to live differently.
And also I wish they never made that damn Matrix movie because it’s cheesy as all hell, and yet also instructive. And mentioning the Matrix is like farting in an elevator, and yet a good narrative can say so much about narrative. It’s all so meta I want to puke.
Anyway Fast Food Nation has some amazing shots inside a real meat factory. Like some real Upton Sinclair type shit.
-Jake
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