You know why it’s slow though, right? Specifically the meat industry is highly subsidized and they can undersell any vegan substitute to destroy their margin in the still small and slowly growing market. Even though meat production should clearly be more expensive than some vegan substitute.
Look: Consumer can either buy a product or they don’t. I can’t make producers stop using plastic for packaging. I can only not buy their products until some producer may think of a plastic free packaging. Change always comes from the top, not from the bottom.
What you’re asking for is that consumer somehow know the details of how the products are produced. For example whether the chocolate they buy is from child slaves or not. Sure, you can read about it, but is it clearly declared in the store whether that specific chocolate is child slave free or not? The only action they can take is not buy the chocolate. Or they ask. The store clerk doesn’t know better either. The producer doesn’t have to disclose this, responds with a canned response that doesn’t say yes or no.
Chocolate is one thing. That’s not a necessity for every day life. But cars in the US. Smart phones almost everywhere. If you don’t have them, you cannot participate in life. And we need to eat too.
Look I share the same frustrations. And true change can only come from political actions. Laws, oversight, fines, taxation, enforcement… Leaving change to the market isn’t a solution to anything. We can’t consume our way out of this problem.
But that’s also not the point of our conversation, I’m trying to make clear that as a consumer you still bare responsibility over what you consume.
The problem is when people throw their hands up and just ‘get what they need’ mindlessly. That’s also a choice.
When we can make choices that are clearly better and more ethical, we should. So it is on us to do the best we can, within the system we find ourselves in. We should strive for systemic (political) change outside of consumption, as well. One doesn’t get nullified by the other.
You know why it’s slow though, right? Specifically the meat industry is highly subsidized and they can undersell any vegan substitute to destroy their margin in the still small and slowly growing market. Even though meat production should clearly be more expensive than some vegan substitute.
Look: Consumer can either buy a product or they don’t. I can’t make producers stop using plastic for packaging. I can only not buy their products until some producer may think of a plastic free packaging. Change always comes from the top, not from the bottom.
What you’re asking for is that consumer somehow know the details of how the products are produced. For example whether the chocolate they buy is from child slaves or not. Sure, you can read about it, but is it clearly declared in the store whether that specific chocolate is child slave free or not? The only action they can take is not buy the chocolate. Or they ask. The store clerk doesn’t know better either. The producer doesn’t have to disclose this, responds with a canned response that doesn’t say yes or no.
Chocolate is one thing. That’s not a necessity for every day life. But cars in the US. Smart phones almost everywhere. If you don’t have them, you cannot participate in life. And we need to eat too.
Look I share the same frustrations. And true change can only come from political actions. Laws, oversight, fines, taxation, enforcement… Leaving change to the market isn’t a solution to anything. We can’t consume our way out of this problem.
But that’s also not the point of our conversation, I’m trying to make clear that as a consumer you still bare responsibility over what you consume.
The problem is when people throw their hands up and just ‘get what they need’ mindlessly. That’s also a choice.
When we can make choices that are clearly better and more ethical, we should. So it is on us to do the best we can, within the system we find ourselves in. We should strive for systemic (political) change outside of consumption, as well. One doesn’t get nullified by the other.