Making choices for a better world

When I started writing this blog in January my vision was very personal, very much about me and my family.  I wanted to make better use of the fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices that Mother Nature provides for us from her storecupboard.  My sagging bookshelves are a very physical testament to the fascination this topic has held for me over the years.  But although I feel a strong connection to the Earth and to all things natural, I had been less active at putting it all into practice.

Alongside this pull towards natural foods and remedies I was concerned about the use of certain chemicals and additives that have increasingly been included in our foods and toiletries.  I don’t sit up at night reading about this stuff.  It would, in any case, worry me greatly to do so.  And so I know only about what is brought to my attention.  One by one, I can then make the decisions as to whether to continue to consume products with the worrying additive, or not.  One additive I decided not to use was parabens.  Parabens are used to lengthen the shelf life of cosmetics and are found in many products including shampoo, conditioner, facial cleanser, fake tan, toothpaste and deodorant.  In recent years studies have raised concerns about possible links between parabens and cancer, particularly breast cancer.  Anxious to avoid this risk, for some time I’ve been reading labels before buying, and will not buy any product containing parabens.  Since parabens are included in so many products this does necessarily reduce my choices; and since the eyes are not what they once were, deciphering the tiny font manufacturers use when listing ingredients is increasingly difficult and time consuming!

As a direct result of writing this blog, committing to making my own ‘potions’ and consequently giving more thought to all this, my views have already shifted.  This isn’t what I expected to happen, and it isn’t why I started the blog.  But since it’s all part of the journey that this blog describes I thought it appropriate to  take a little time here to outline where I’m at.  (If you click on the image at the top of this post you’ll be taken to a post on my other blog, Postcards from Wildwood where I outlined my earlier thoughts.)

It’s all about power.  In January I was just one person making personal choices.  Now, after some serious reading around the subject I realise that if enough of us, as individuals, take a stand we can bring about sweeping changes for the better.  I know that the testing of cosmetics on animals was banned in the UK in 1998 and is now illegal in much of the European Union.  I’ve noticed that my local supermarket now only stocks free range eggs.  These changes were brought about by shifts in public awareness and opinion.  I’ve now learned about the concept of ‘triple bottom line’ accounting; in other words, taking into account not just profits but also people and planet when making business decisions.  Many forward thinking companies are already doing this but there are many, many more that are not.  We are the ones who can make them do so.

I don’t want to drink coffee knowing that, having been paid less than it costs them to produce it, farmers are unable to support their families.  I don’t want to eat a burger knowing that part of the Earth’s essential respiratory system was destroyed in order to produce it.  And if those parabens are a potential cause of cancer for me when I use a shampoo, what must they be doing to the people who work in the manufacturing of these products?  I don’t want anyone’s health to suffer in the cause of producing a product for me to use. 

And so, as an individual, I increasingly exercise my right to choose not to buy.  If I do this alone the effects will be minimal.  What power can I wield in the face of huge multinational corporations?!  But if enough of us do it there will eventually be a tipping point that will force manufacturers to listen and act.  Perhaps, even, I will be that final person needed to tip the balance.